by Sybille Baylis

Created on: August 11, 2010   Last Updated: November 23, 2010

I guess the obvious way to maximize survey invitations is to join as many Online Survey Panels you can find. Good luck with that, but there are many survey sites (real and scam) that will be a complete waste of your time. I will be more specific than that. Let us look at maximizing your income earning opportunities from paid online surveys that are really going to reward you. How? By following six simple steps.

(1) Only join legitimate Online Survey Panels operated by reputable Market Research companies. Some may suggest joining as many Panels as you come across and sort the good from the bad as you go along. This can be an incredible waste of time. Time spent doing a bit of research will benefit you in the end. Why spend 20-30 minutes completing a survey from a site with a reputation for non-payment? There are many articles here at Helium, under the “Online Surveys and Pay to Click” channel, that can assist you in eliminating them. In addition, free sites such as SurveyPolice that rate survey sites based on members reviews and exposes any scam sites they come across, are of great assistance.

(2) Read the Panel’s “Terms and Conditions”. Unless you are only looking to have your opinion heard, make sure you qualify for the incentives. For example, Australian residents are welcome to join Harris Online Panel but are not eligible for any rewards. You could be spending time on an ineligible incentive survey while the quota fills on a lucrative one left waiting in your Inbox.

(3) Once you have confirmed your eligibility for the rewards, decide if you consider them fair remuneration for your time and effort. There is a lot of variation between what is on offer. Top of the list is cash, followed by Gift Cards, Online Vouchers, Sweepstakes/Prize Draws entries, donations to Charities, and/or a combination of two or more of these. Then there is the “rate”. This can also vary greatly between Panels - from about 30cents to $10 for a 30-minute survey. Maximizing the quantity of survey invitations is one thing, maximizing the quality is far more lucrative.

(4) If the Panel passes your scrutiny of (1) to (3) and you become a member, nearly all will ask you to complete “Profile Surveys”. They form the basis of your demographic and the Panel uses this data to help determine which surveys are appropriate for you. It is therefore imperative that you complete all of them thoroughly to maximize your invitations. Bear in mind

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