During my quest for online work, one of the first things I learned about was online surveys. Internet survey organizations abound- and for a good reason! There are thousands of companies in the world that are willing to pay good money for people’s opinions in a quest for what is known as market research.
Every day, new companies are created and new products are brought into the marketplace. This creates an extremely competitive playing field, and both small and large businesses are forced to continually look for growth opportunities in order to stay afloat. By developing a new product, expanding an existing product or service, or identifying a new target demographic to market their product to, a good company can boost their revenue quite a bit.
As I’m sure you can imagine, launching a new product can be an arduous and expensive task. This is why consumer surveys exist- They give companies an idea about what different people like and don’t like. Or, what they are or are not willing to pay for. These companies can then use the information when developing new products or marketing strategies.
Now, there are a lot of people out there that will try and tell you that you can get rich filling out surveys online. While I am sure that some people have found success doing this, I am here to tell you that this is usually not the case. You will not make your first million by sitting in front of your computer all day, responding to surveys. But what you can do is put a little extra cash in your pocket, earn points towards free merchandise, and/or win great prizes.
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in doing, you can usually find many survey sites online for free. Or, for a small investment, you can obtain one of the survey site directories that are available on the web. If you are going to take the route of investing in a survey directory, I would strongly recommend going with a directory company that has a good reputation online. The best directories out there are updated on a regular basis, contain few (if any) dead or out-of-date links, and don’t make exaggerated claims to the huge fortune you are about to amass- after all, as I already mentioned, this generally doesn't happen.
When I first was first looking into filling in online surveys from home, I tried several different programs to help get me started. Personally, I found SurveyScout to be the most helpful. It also seems to be one of the more popular programs online, and came strongly recommended by almost everyone I talked to.
Or, if you would rather not invest any money in a survey directory, here are a few links to get you started. None of these survey sites charge any fees for signing up, and many will start sending you surveys right away:
- InboxDollars
- Global Test Market
- Opinion Outpost
- American Consumer Online
- Greenfield Surveys
- Lightspeed Surveys
- Global Test Market
In order to maximize your income from online surveys, you need have a good organizational system. Here are a few tips that I picked up along the way:
- 1) Create a new email account just for surveys. You can literally get dozens of emails a day from different survey companies, and they can very quickly clog your inbox. Therefore, I find that it’s usually best not to associate your survey accounts with your personal email address. I signed up for a free account with Yahoo.com, and had all of my surveys directed there. I chose Yahoo because they offer a LOT of space with their free accounts.
2) Join up with as many different survey companies as possible. This is really how you make your money- few companies will send out more than one or two surveys a day. By having multiple accounts with different survey companies, you will maximize your earning potential.
3) Complete all of the introductory surveys. This is important, because companies will use this information to decide which surveys apply to you based on the information you provide through your personal profile. They will want to know all about your household, your finances, your age, buying history and job. Don’t worry- they won’t ask you to reveal any personal details. The more introductory surveys you’ve filled in and/or the more complete your personal profile is, the more surveys you will receive.
4) Write down all of your usernames and passwords, and keep track of the companies you’ve applied to. After a while, it’s easy to forget which survey sites you are a member of. It can also be difficult to remember which password goes to which account. I always try to keep the same Username/Password combination, regardless of which survey site I’m applying to. That way, I never forget.
5) Be honest, but also open-minded. If, for example, you are asked about what activities you like to do, don’t limit yourself to one or two. Say you don’t like hockey much, but play it because your spouse enjoys it. If you’re familiar with the activity and spend any time at all doing it, indicate this. It will make you eligible for more surveys.
6) Take every survey you receive, even if you think it doesn’t apply to you. Many companies will reward you with partial credit/points if you attempt to take a survey but aren’t a part of the required demographic.
7) Try to take every survey as soon as you receive it. Many companies have short time periods during which they want to receive all of their information. As a result, they will only take surveys for a certain period of time. Every so often, I would find myself frustrated when I would go to take a survey, only to learn that it had expired.
Filling out surveys can be very repetitive, and they tend to arrive sporadically. Some days your inbox will be brimming with surveys, and others it will be almost empty. That’s why I don’t like to depend on surveys as my sole source of income. Instead, I tend to view it more of a source of extra pocket money.
So, if you’re looking for an extra couple hundred dollars a month, I definitely suggest looking into online surveys. I would just advise against setting your expectations too high- you may find yourself disappointed.
