by Lesley Hebert

Created on: July 09, 2010   Last Updated: July 15, 2010

If you are thinking about making money at home on your computer, survey companies like Global Test Market are a viable option.

However, be cautious about which companies you sign up with, and research the rewards they offer.  Some make unrealistic promises about how much you will make.  Some offer rewards in the form of tacky merchandise, or sweepstake entries which are basically non-rewards except for the lucky few.  Beware especially of companies which ask for a sign-up fee without providing a guarantee that you will actually earn anything. 

Global Test Market does not make unrealistic promises and is free to join.  They also promise never to sell your e-mail, and offer a “no spam” guarantee.

Once you join, you receive survey invitations in your e-mail in-box.   For each survey, market researchers are looking for participants who fit a particular profile.  Therefore, each survey begins with screening questions to determine if you qualify to complete it.   If the survey is about beer, for example, and you do not drink beer, you will be screened out. 

There is an area on the website where you can complete your personal profiles.  These are quite time consuming, but taking the time to complete them will assist the company to target suitable surveys to you and increase your chances of qualifying.

If you qualify and complete a survey, you will receive three sweepstakes entries in addition to Market Points.  10 Market Points are worth $US 1.  Surveys typically pay between 20 and 60 Market Points, and take between 10 and 30 minutes to complete. 

If you fail to qualify for a survey, you will receive a sweepstake entry.

Every time you sign in to the members’ area of the Global Test Market website, you will see your points balance displayed in the top right-hand corner of the screen.  You can request a cheque once you have collected 1,000 Market Points, which is equivalent to $US 50.  The disadvantage of being paid by cheque is that you will have to wait between 4 and 8 weeks (depending where you live) to receive your payment. 

Market Points do expire after three years, or after 12 months of no account activity.  However, survey invitations are fairly frequent, so this should not be an issue.

While you will not get rich doing on-line surveys, legitimate companies like Global Test Market do offer the potential to make some supplementary income in your spare time.

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