qondio.com/86kC

Can Online Surveys Really Make You Money?

By Anthony Ashard

I never thought much of getting paid for doing almost nothing!
That's right almost nothing...

What are online surveys?

On-line surveys are a way for companies and other groups to conduct market research. They usually send you an email when they have a new survey ready for you. You may get invited to complete loads of surveys or just one or two a month. It depends on whether you fit their target demographic. Source

Every Penny Counts

There are a wealth of online survey companies that conduct surveys for big multi-national companies that are willing to pay you for your opinions as a consumer.

Some people I know personally are earning around an extra £100~£300 a month for doing nothing more than clicking a few boxes while you enjoy a suitable hot beverage.

Each month a cheque arrives through the post, sometimes as much as £50 per cheque! You also receive lots of little incentive freebies too, for example, soap powder, paper towels, flora margarine but to name a few.

Where to look

Here are just four such survey companies that I've found that pay well for completing surveys, and you don't have to do hundreds as I initially thought would be the case. Just a couple a week is enough to get the ball rolling.

* Global Opinions Panels

* Light Speed panel

* Valued Opinions

* New Vista Research

Why do it

Many people are looking to the internet to make a quick buck or some extra spending money in tough economic times. Doing online surveys won’t make you a million, but it’s a quick and easy way to make a little extra money each month.

So you see, in my opinion, online survey filling can not only be fun, but can also generate a few extra bucks a month for your troubles!

Contributor's Note

Have you any good or bad experiences to share on this subject?
I'd be interested to hear your story...

PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE

CTEK Solutions.co.uk
Friendly PC Support 'Jaws' Compatible
www.ctek-solutions.co.uk

Personally I have never had much luck for Paid Surveys. I did have my wife try several different sites, in an effort to find ways that people who had little money to invest in a business could make some extra money to help get them started.

What generally happens is you spend time filling out surveys and being bombarded with spam messages. Then many of these programs require that you sign up for free trials, etc.

I am not saying there is not some truth behind making money with paid surveys, www.cashcrate.com did actually pay my wife $40 in earnings. HOWEVER, it took a couple of months to earn it, and a lot of time.

TUA Enterprises Jun 21, 2010 15:20

I do quite a few surveys and have been paid a number of times since they all pay out when a certain sum is reached, usually £50 - yougov has paid me two cheques for £50 each and I'm on my way to the next. Takes some time as you say, but spare minutes in the day are the usual time. Never been ripped off, perhaps because I don't get involved with Americans. It's not a way to make any kind of sizeable sums, just 'pin money', but it all adds up and adds to the year's untaxed income! I have yet to win in one of the ones that have sweepstake entries rather than a paid price, would be handy to win £1,000 for sure. My wife is her own boss and doesn't do surveys, being too busy working full time from home!

I'd recommend yougov which, despite its name is nothing to do with gov[ernment] but is owned by Peter Kelner a market analyst and their surveys are for a wide range of organisations and topics.

Foolonthehill Jun 21, 2010 15:54

Ya know... I haven't had much luck doing surveys either. All I get is my mailbox cluttered up. When I do the surveys I get "points" instead of cash, then bombarded with offers that I don;t want. If there IS cash involved, it's for a small amount of money that they won't send a check for (minimum balance), the the next bunch of surveys are for either points or contest entries. It takes up a LOT of time with minimum return for that time.

James Emery Vigh Jun 21, 2010 16:45

Here in the U.S., all I get are opportunities to possibly win cash or a prize in a sweepstakes. Then there are the "complete 5 silvers and one gold..." offers, where they collect your personal information and then botheryou. My sister did one through to the end and never received her "$50 prepaid visa", but DID forget about a couple of the trials (if you don't contact to cancel within a specified time...) and ended up with bills for things she didn't really want.

Karla Whitmore Jun 22, 2010 00:27

i did not have a nice experience with surveys.

Care to elaborate on that comment?

Have been paid a few times for surveys, but nothing like $50 per month. Often get screened out, but keep going. Some companies give gift cards, which are almost as good as money!

James: Don't forget that points can often be exchanged for cash when you have enough of them.

snakesmum Jun 28, 2010 22:38

hi, it was not really a fun time for me trying surveys. it's a waste of time and some of them are scams.

Bing Jun 29, 2010 09:13

What an interesting idea! It sounds like a great way to make some "pin" money in the UK but doesn't sound like the USA has the same rules. I'm not sure how it works in Canada. Anyone in Qondio know? I sure wouldn't want any spam mail.

Laraine Jul 1, 2010 03:35

On-line surveys are a way for companies and other groups to conduct market research.

It's very interesting that you say this because it is the very reason that online survey "opportunities" (spelt s c a m s) do not work.

If a company wants to know what people think of their product, they include the survey with the product. This means that there is a chance that the respondent actually knows something about it.

If a company wants to know about a public reaction to a planned action, they use a mail-out to a statistically sound number of people who might have an opinion.

The idea that surveys can be carried out for many different companies by the same clique and return valuable information simply does not bear examination.

Nearly all online survey opportunities make their money in two ways.
1 - They charge people for information that is freely available on the internet
and 2 - They earn commission on the purchases made by their members. As has been pointed out, many members make purchases because they forget to cancel orders or are not aware that they have to.

theoldcoot Jul 1, 2010 04:17

There seems to be a wide difference between surveys in the UK and US. Sounds like the US is full of scams and rip offs, while my experience in the UK has been positive. I have earned money doiung surveys, admittedly not massive amounts, and it's arguable if it is worth spending the time, but if time isn't an issue then you can earn a bit. Yougov has paid me twice at £50 each time, and although it takes a while to reach that, it's welcome when you get it. Other surveys I do occasionally also pay out.
To dispell some myths: none of the surveys are about products, a few are brand awareness ones which ask such questions as 'have you heard anything positive/negative about any of these brands in the last week?' and I have never seen any attempt to sell anything. They are mostly about attitudes to a variety of issues, charting how people's opinions change over time. Market Research is a well-established and regulated sector in the UK, there are various ways they gather data, occasionally you will see people in the street stopping people and asking if they will take a survey, my partner once did this years ago. Perhaps in America there are still too many cowboys, it is, after all, where 90% of spam emanates from.

I agree, I think Theoldcoot above has had a bad experience with online surveys in the USA, because I speak of four British survey companies listed above, whom I have had nothing but positive experiences with, i also agree when he says that there are allot of scam companies who do online surveys, but it's a little unfair to tar all online survey companies with the same brush.

If I can generate one quarter of my monthly income through doing online surveys, I wouldn't call that a scam.

If you're interested in exactly how much spam emails are in circulation at any one time, Click here to check out the unique SPAMOMETER on my website.

The copyright for this content entitled "Can Online Surveys Really Make You Money?" has been specified by the contributor as:

This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.