by Harsha Dewa

Created on: April 16, 2008

Surveys are an excellent way in my opinion to earn some extra cash or vouchers online and are a great way of voicing your opinion on your interests and subjects relating to your lifestyle and demographic details ie age, location, ethnic background, interests and buying habits.

How does it work?
I have come across many market research companies (survey sites) looking to improve there products or service and for this reason they value the opinions of people like yourselves. They are willing to invest money to conduct surveys to beat there competitors, improve there products or increase there sales.

You can find hundreds of companies on the internet offering lists of these companies for a fee of usually 10-50. When I first heard about getting paid to complete surveys, I came across many sites where I had to pay to obtain a list but having looked harder I found many sites offering the same information for free.
Once you find the relevant survey sites, you can register by filling in your basic demographic details and when they have a survey available that fits your profile, they will send you an invitation by email.
Best advice I can give for anyone looking to join these companies is to use an email account separate from your personal one so you do not confuse the emails. Also I keep track of all the companies I have joined on a simple excel spreadsheet making a note of the company name, website, username, password, the number of surveys I have received and also at the end of each month how many points or cash I have accumulated.

What are the surveys about?
Just about anything you can think of. You may be asked to review a movie trailer for a new movie, test a new product, give your opinions on a new advert and loads more. The surveys are generally very interesting but you do not have to complete each and every survey you receive.

How often will I receive surveys?
The number of surveys you receive depends on your demographic details and your interests which you have to fill in once you register. Different websites ask for different information and it is always good to keep updating this information. It also depends on how many survey site companies you sign up to. Some will send more than others but it will vary month to month.
When there is a survey available for you to fill in, you are sent an email inviting you with a link, estimated time it will take to complete and most of the time it will tell you the reward for completing it.

What kinds of incentives are offered?
The incentives vary for each survey, but generally in forms of cash, vouchers, entries into a prize draw, merchandise and charity donations.
Most of the website companies I have joined pay with a point system where you accumulate points that you can redeem into cash or vouchers. You can also put your reward towards a charity or receive a payment by cheque or paypal. However, there are some companies that pay you directly by cheque soon after you have completed a survey and do not have a point system.

Can you get rich?
This is certainly not a way of making a full time living but a good way to accumulate points in time to redeem for a special occasion or help towards Christmas costs.

What are referral programs?
Some survey sites have referral programs where you can earn points or cash for every person you introduce and some even pay you in points or cash every time your referral earns by completing surveys. This is a good way of boosting your earnings.

Completing surveys can be addictive and great fun and sure does pass your spare time. It would suit anyone who wants to earn some extra cash and is ideal for stay at home mums, students and those who enjoy filling in questionnaires.

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