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and causes some to quit trying.

Sign up with all the survey makers that you can. Get a copy of Robo-Form to help you fill out the repetitive parts of applications fast. Plan to sign up for 150 to 300 survey makers. Yes, it's a lot of work for no immediate return, but it will pay off in the long run. Remember that survey makers cannot send you surveys to fill out if they don't know you are there, ready willing and able, to fill them out. Get the word out, get on as many lists as you can and you will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts!

Failure to act professionally
Once registered with the survey sites, invitations start to arrive, but they don't respond immediately and a few days later find the survey has closed, or they don't reply honestly in an attempt to complete surveys for which they aren't qualified (remember you've given much of this information on your original registration form so they already know your occupation and family status for example), or simply don't put in the required effort and find their work rejected.

The client, and therefore the market researcher company, want instant results so they'll send out far more invitations than they need, accepting the input from the first to respond. If you don't complete the survey on day one, there's a strong chance the client will already have received enough information, and after a few no-shows they'll assume you simply aren't interested and remove your name from the list.

If you do receive an invitation, you need to remember that you are being paid to do a job and should act in a professional manner. This means checking e-mails regularly, answering truthfully and take your time to consider your answer rather than putting down anything to get it finished quickly.

Unrealistic Expectations
Expectation of immediate results without doing any work. Some people start out with paid online surveys expecting to get rich quick, without having to do any work. So they sit and wait, and when no money comes in they quit.

Sure, you can make money. But it's not automatic; things won't move unless and until you do. You have to do the signup work, answer promptly, take the surveys and do a good job of answering all the questions in order to make the money come in. Do these things and you will succeed.

Lack of patience with the process.
Some fail for lack of patience. You hear people say, "I tried it for two weeks and didn't make any money, so I quit."

Be patient! Two weeks is not even enough time to get started properly! If you do everything right, get signed up for the maximum number of paid online surveys in the first 2-3 weeks, you might make some income in the first month. But you will not hit your peak income for a few months. Survey makers are cautious with new signups. They will send out only a few surveys at first, to check you out, see how well and how quickly you respond. Don't expect to be invited to participate in a $250 focus group right away. They will start you with something smaller, then if that goes O.K. you will be considered for bigger things. Be patient. Don't expect everything to happen overnight. It will come. Just give it time.

Follow this advice and you will succeed.

Learn more about this author, Lynne Oconnor.
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