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I've been doing online surveys for a couple of years, but the notion that you can make good money out of it passed very quickly. Now I just do a few when the topic interests me, but even then only if there's something in it for me. Newcomers can get a rush when they see just how many opportunities there are to complete surveys but there are some reality checks that must regularly be confronted to keep things in perspective.

A serious panelist must approach the task just like that, seriously. Signing up to participate can become obsessive: "the more I sign up for the more money I will make" is in fact a bad strategy because you'll spend most of your time dealing with your email list rather than actually doing surveys. A better strategy is to start slowly, signing on with a few better known companies that will more often offer a cash reward, even if that is only a dollar or two. Inbox Dollars might be a good place to start because they are actually a survey broker, giving access to many surveys from many companies.

You'll learn some good lessons on Inbox. You'll learn that your profile will help them sort out potential surveys that you might qualify for. You'll also learn that the client survey is geared to stipulated demographics, and that the older you are the less likely most surveys care about your opinions. You'll also learn that once you actually qualify and complete that first survey you will have spent the better part of an hour for a payment of one dollar. There are many brokers out there but essentially they work the same way.

It's interesting how a survey can be offered by one company for a dollar while another company will send you the exact same survey and pay five dollars, and another will reward you by entering your name in a lottery. It's staggering how a company will ask you to spend half an hour (and that half hour will always stretch) to enter a draw that might pay $5000 once a quarter. In other words you must be deliberate in how you spend your time to maximize access to real money.

The key is to understand that your time is valuable and you should do everything in your power to allocate it to more profitable surveys. In time you will recognize companies that pay five dollars or more, like Esearch.com, but don't expect to see very many. More valuable surveys tend to direct themselves to special interest such as corporate IT and finance. The biggest payout I've received was $50 from Mediinsigh.com but it's rare to get one like that. Spend time researching quality companies that entering the latest draw.

By all means jump into the pond, but analyze what goes on and be brutally frank with yourself. Yes, you'll always read about people who claim to be making good money but the only thing that matters is how much you make. Bluntly, if you don't have a strategy to eliminate the trash, stop taking surveys and go to the gym: it'll do you more good and be less stressful

In a good week I can make $50, and if that's taken a couple of hours a day that's about $3.60 an hour, and that's with a strategy. That's why I haven't given up my day job.

Learn more about this author, Ian Buchanan.
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