One of my New Year Resolutions for 2009 was to try something new on the Internet. I decided to investigate Online Survey Panels because:

(a) For some time I had wanted to express an opinion on products, services etc. that I experience in daily life;

(b) My initial search led me to believe Online Survey Sites PAID for these opinions.

Well I'm now six months down the track and WOW - what a learning experience it has been. My journey began by Googling "Survey Sites" and what a myriad of options that created! However, after a great deal of trial and error, about a month later I began to get a feel for the legitimate market research sites as against the sites that were only after my email address to bombard me with marketing material (spam).

There are some quite reputable sites (and many dubious ones) that predominantly offer small incentives for viewing advertisement type emails, with the attractive incentive of $5 to $10 just for joining. However, most of these "click to view" sites only pay 2-3 cents per view and require you to accrue $30 or more before they pay out. In addition, I found my amount of spam increased significantly after I had joined a few of these sites - coincidence? - who knows?

My preference is for the accredited Market Research Companies that offer rewards for completing Online surveys ranging in length from 5 to 30 minutes on a range of topical subjects. Even then closer scrutiny is required. The "reward" ranges from cash (occasionally check, generally via PayPal), accumulating points towards a Gift Card from a leading Retail or Online store, tickets in "in house" sweepstakes, or a donation to a Charity - or a combination of two or more of these.

Obviously the cash and gift card incentives are most appealing to the majority and here the key factor is the number of survey invitation emails you receive. Cash and Points for gift cards are accumulated each survey and are not redeemable until a certain threshold is reached. Therefore, the best sites are the reputable Market Research Companies that offer cash or gift card incentives AND provide a steady stream of survey invitations. There are always "screening" questions at the start of each survey you attempt, to ascertain whether or not you fit the demographic they are targeting, and you only qualify roughly 60% of the time.

Taking all this into account, and bearing in mind I reside in Australia which excludes me from a number of good US sites, I consider the best sites I have found to be:

www.globaltestmarket.com Pays $50 check once 1,000 points are accumulated. Points awarded range from 30 to 300 depending on length and urgency, and 5 points are awarded if you fail to qualify. With regular invitations the $50 threshold is easily attainable

www.valuedopinions.com For each completed survey, a reward between $2 and $5 is credited to your "Members Account". Once the balance reaches $20 they ask you to choose a Gift card provider - from a list of popular Retail Stores.

www.lightspeedpanel.com Points earned accumulate to the minimum conversion threshold - 550 points for any Online Gift Voucher, or 575 for $5 cash via PayPal. As points range from 125 to 320, this is achievable quickly.

www.pureprofile.com An Australian Site that offers generous cash awards for regular surveys and click to view, including a failed attempt remuneration. The $25 threshold accumulates quickly on the impressive "Transaction History" page.

All these sites have offered me a steady stream of email invitations to participate in interesting Market Research surveys and on successful completion provide a fair and reasonable reward.

One final piece of advice - if you apply to join they will ask you to answer a number of profile questions to form a demographic. This enables them to ascertain what survey topics are appropriate for you, and increases your invitation opportunities. It is in your interest to complete them all thoroughly. Then wait for that first email to arrive!

Learn more about this author, David Baylis.
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