Do you want to change wasted hours into an opportunity to be effective? Instead of browsing online social networks or playing a game with idle time, become productive by signing up as a member of an online survey site and earn money!
Are paid surveys real?
Companies across the world have an interest in what consumers think about products before they decide to invest millions into a product or campaign. A business will partner with market research firms, who get paid to recruit respondents and conduct online surveys. These firms then award a portion of the money they receive to those who answer questionnaires as compensation.
How survey companies work
There are several types of survey collection methods. Research is gathered by phone calls, via approaching people in public places, and through online panels. Online panels are lists of research participants who have agreed to participate in online research.
Survey sites are generally open to anyone at least 18 years of age. Panels may be restricted to location or with specific types of employment. A few survey panels are not open for general registration and seek out members through other websites or online communities. Restrictions on joining each panel may be varied.
During registration, various questions will be asked. These questions are designed to match a respondent to future survey invitations, therefore answering these questions will be beneficial. Survey opportunities will generally show up by email. Companies often send notifications through apps on a phone. The website will track surveys completed and money that has been earned.
Survey Invites
It usually is 1-2 days before the first survey opportunity will arrive. Once the invitations start flowing to an email address, then 2 or 3 survey invitations should show up each week.
The types of surveys vary by survey company and the clients with whom they work. Each study will have its own specific needs and may require different people such as IT professionals, stay at home parents, owners of motorcycles, plumbers, or people who play video games. The number of survey invites a respondent will receive will depend on their demographics, the types of surveys survey companies receive from their clients, and the quantity of people in the pool of available respondents matching the needs of the survey.
A survey company will generally send an email invite when they find a respondent that matchs a specific survey. The invite generally contains information such as the estimated length of the survey, the amount they will pay for completing, and the link to start the survey.
Survey companies will have multiple ways for respondents to start surveys. If an email address is flooded with spam, an alternative is generally available to open survey invites when they log into their account.
Taking surveys
Respond quickly to survey invites. Companies fill survey results based on the general population. They will allow a limited number of respondents from each gender, age group, and other demographics. They don't want all survey responses from only males, they want a representative population. If a respondent matches a quota that is full, they will be screened out of the survey and not allowed to complete.
If a survey invite gives a survey estimate of 15 minutes, have at least 15 minutes to complete the survey. Surveys will only work for a specified amount of time, therefore have time to complete a survey. Surveys will timeout if a respondent is sitting on a question for a few minutes. Surveys can only be accessed once (for validity) and will not allow a respondent back into the survey if a browser is closed.
It is also necessary to be careful and thoughtful in taking the surveys. Survey companies validate the data that is submitted. If data looks as if a respondent has just answered all 1's in the multiple choices, if data shows predictive patterns, or if gibberish responses to open-ended questions are detected, the account will terminate automatically.
Companies depend on responses to drive business decisions. Opinions matter, therefore payments are made for responses. If honest answers are not given, respondents will be eliminated from the survey pool.
Mobile Survey Apps
Survey companies often offer a downloadable application via phone or tablet. These allow respondents to respond to surveys while away from home. Survey companies generally build questionnaires to be asked in modern web browsers, therefore apps are not really needed. Mobile apps add a few conveniences.
Here are survey apps available on iOS
- Surveys on the Go: is an application that can be downloaded from the AppStore. This will allow mobile users to earn from $.25 to $ 5.
- SurveyMini: Is a fun, easy way to share your opinion and get great rewards from the places you visit.
- QuickThoughts: Get rewarded simply by giving your opinion.
- survey.com: Cash and rewards by sharing opinions.
Here are survey apps available on Android
- Google Opinion Rewards: This program does not give a lot of surveys but it generally pays for terminates. It often pays you $0.25 for answering one question. Points get put towards your Google Play account.
- iPoll: Get rewards for every iPoll mission you complete. These include fun tasks such as visiting a store, taking pictures and testing products. The more missions you complete, the more rewards you will get!
- Survey.com Mobile: The Survey.com app is a great way to share your opinions and earn cash, participate in contests and sweepstakes, get discounts, and qualify for exclusive offers from leading brands
- Lightspeed: This is a survey-by-invitation only app. You can't participate or earn incentives just by downloading.
Here is a list of general survey companies that work with all mobile operating system
Get paid to take surveys
When a survey is completed, respondents will be redirected back to their survey account where they will receive a thank you message and the amount earned. Companies often require respondents to have reached a minimum payout amount before cashing out. The minimum is around $5 for the majority of companies. If a survey company requires a $50 balance before cashing out, then avoid those companies.
Survey companies offer rewards in point values that can be converted to cash or other reward types. Participants can earn from $50 to $100 a month and points can often be redeemed through PayPal, Amazon, or Visa gift cards. Other reward types may be discounts on items often purchased such as gift cards to large retail brands, or subscriptions to magazines.
Survey Rewards
Taking surveys will earn money, respondents will not become rich. Enough will be earned to have extra spending money for a vacation. This will not replace a full-time job. The maximum that can be earned by consistently taking surveys will probably be $600 in a given year. A few people do earn above $600 in a given year, and those are the lucky sweepstakes winners. Companies sometimes offer a quarterly prize draw of $25,000.
Another way that earns extra money is by referring others to participate. Companies such as iGlobal Surveys offer a generous reward for every member that joins and completes surveys. Continue to earn as the respondents that have been referred respond to surveys. One of our referrers is currently making over $400 a month for referring others.
Over the course of a year quite a bit of money can be earned. Turn idle time to something useful. The money will add up and extra spending money will be available for the following holiday.
