What are Paid Online Surveys?
Paid online surveys are exactly that. Take an online survey and you get paid for it. These days, marketers are leveraging on the Internet to reach consumers across the board. Gone are the days of hounding people on the street or going door to door. Market research companies are willing to pay good money for your thoughts – all done through the Internet. They get a wide sample of quality consumers and survey-takers get paid. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
How Do They Work?
All you need is an internet connection and a couple of minutes. You register on an online survey website. They will email you to confirm your registration and add you to their panel list. When they invite you to do a survey you simply accept and fill up the form online.
Most companies will ask questions about your profile and interests or what you think about a particular product. Sometimes they give you the product to test and you give them some feedback but usually it is just a matter of sharing your thoughts on certain areas of interest.
Companies are simply trying to gauge what their consumers want as needs and interests are constantly changing. Your thoughts and insights will help them develop better products or perhaps come up with new products or services to address current needs. It’s quite exciting in a way, because you are contributing to the creation of better products out there whether it be vacuum cleaners, tools, shampoo or baby food.
How Much Can You Earn?
If you’re looking to replace income or earn heaps of money, paid online surveys are not the way to go. You’re better off selling Thermomixers or hawking stuff on eBay. In general paid online surveys don’t pay that much. Depending on the survey (and some can be pretty intensive), you can earn anything from $1 to $50 per survey, the $50 one probably requiring a fair bit more time.
From what we’ve seen, you could probably make a couple of hundred a month if you do it intensively every day but most people earn about $50 a month with a couple of hours a day every week.
You know, enough to cover diapers, coffee or going to a movie. Then again, sometimes you do get rewarded with some extra goodies.
Most online survey companies pay cash but some also allow you to accumulate points to redeem for products. Quite often you can also get entry into a lucky draw where you can win prizes like iPods, phones, toasters, the usual consumer-friendly prizes.
Who Are Online Surveys For?
Online surveys are for anyone who wants to earn some extra cash and who don’t mind filling up surveys, in fact some people actually enjoy it. They would suit stay-at-home-mums (or dads), retirees, students or anyone needing some flexibility in their work arrangements. If you can spare a couple of hours a day, online surveys are a decent and legitimate way to earn some extra cash without having to think too much.