by Sean Bennett

Created on: January 09, 2010   Last Updated: August 19, 2010

Online surveys are regularly considered a scam. Run an Internet search for "online surveys" and you will get 35,000,000 results for survey sites. Many of which promise that you'll make $5-$75 per survey, and $150 for each focus group. Sounds good, doesn't it? Anyone would love the opportunity to make up to, what many sites claim, $400 per week, with nothing but an Internet connection and a few hours of spare time. 

In some instances, you click on one of the links and find out  there's a monthly fee, or you have to buy something to get a dollar or two. What's the point of paying $29.95 a month to be sent surveys with the possibility that you may not even make that back by months end? So yes, most online survey websites are a scam and you probably won't make any money with them. Or, you'll pay a monthly fee only to not make much money at all.

There are, however, a large number of legitimate online survey websites that are overlooked because of the perception that they are scams like the others. The trick is to find them. Some free directory sites are dedicated to listing these legitimate sites to make it easy for others to find them, without searching to the end of the Internet only to be disappointed. 

These sites are:  www.surveypolice.com, www.mysurvey123.com, www.surveymoneyguide.com, www.findfocusgroups.com, www.focusgroups.com and www.greenbook.org. 

Each one of these sites has listings for actual market research companies that really do pay people for their time and opinions. Simply click on one of the links, fill out the profile questionnaires and wait for the email invitations and phone calls to flood in! In most cases, the surveys will pay $1-$5, sometimes more, and the focus groups range from $35-$150. The focus groups can also pay more depending on how in-depth they need to go, or how quickly they need to get a project done.

Many of the legitimate sites are moving to paying panelists with Paypal. But a lot still pay with Amazon.com gift cards, debit cards, checks or prizes. They set attainable minimum payouts, usually $10-$25, and payment is received anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Don't get discouraged if you don't qualify for a lot of surveys. The purpose of them is to target a specific section of the consumer populace and get their opinions on certain products, product ideas or services. 

They can't accept everyone, that's why they ask you to fill out personal profiles. This way, you don't get your inbox filled with surveys that you'll never be accepted for, and therefore waste your time for nothing. If you sign up for as many survey sites as possible, your chances of qualifying are enhanced greatly. Once you get going with these, you can reasonably make $150-$200 a month. 

Sometimes, you will be selected to test products at home and get to keep them when done. This is in addition to what you could be paid. You will never be asked to pay for anything by the directory sites listed above or their affiliates. Not a bad thing to do for some extra cash and it's all free!  

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