Make Money Online by Taking Surveys? How do I do that? - 12 Questions 12 Answers

Thank you for the questions! You see, there are many different ways to make money online. One easy way is by getting paid to fill out online survey questionnaires, participate in focus groups, try out new products in order to give your opinion of them and similar activities.

Why do Market Researchers pay people to fill out surveys? Because they need to ask certain questions of a representative group with the same demographics. If their client sells geriatric drugs in the USA, for example, and wants to know users' opinions, then the survey population group must be made up of likely users of these drugs. So the market researcher does a computer search of his file of potential survey takers looking for people over the age of 55 who live in the USA.

From where did the Market Researchers get their file of potential survey takers? They solicited people to sign up to take surveys in the future. Then they asked each applicant detailed questions about their age, occupation, hobbies, interests, income level, educational level, zip code, etc., and put all this information in their computer file.

Why would anyone apply for such a thing and take the time to give them all that information? Because the survey company promised to pay them for their opinions to be expressed when they took future surveys if they did. The potential survey takers signed up in anticipation of getting paid for those future surveys. The Market Researchers budgeted money to pay them to fill out the survey questionnaires because they wanted the information and this was the surest way to get it.

So how does this actually work, in practice? The survey makers search their database, pick out a sufficient number of demographically qualified persons to be surveyed, prepare a written survey and send it out to them by e-mail. Alternatively they might post the questionnaire on their website and send out e-mails inviting the people being surveyed to come there and fill out the questionnaire online. Afterward, the survey makers send each person who took the survey a check to pay him or her for their efforts. Sometimes they make a deposit in the account of the survey taker by PayPal or similar online financial service.

How much does this pay? Surveys generally pay from $10 to $50 each, depending on length and how specialized it is. Survey focus group participation pays more, $50 to $250, depending. You won't get rich but it is not hard to make an extra $300 to $600 a month, $1,000 if you work at it.

How much work is involved on my part? A fair amount at first. You will need to sign up with 100+ up to 300 different survey makers, which will take some time. 100 at 10-15 minutes each would be 16-25 hours of computer work. After that, just check you email each day. Small surveys you can fill out in 10 minutes. Longer ones might take 20 minutes to half an hour but they pay better. No fixed hours, but you generally will want to respond to new surveys in 24-48 hours, since fast response means they send more surveys.

How does one get signed up to participate in these paid surveys? You just apply to the survey makers to be included on their lists. That can be a problem since most do not pay in cash, some are reliable, some not. Some will keep your information confidential, other will sell it to anyone who wants it and you'll find you inbox filling up with unwanted e-mail! It's best to go through a good Paid Survey Company that maintains lists of reputable survey-makers and can steer you around the potholes in the road and in the right direction.

So where can I find a good Paid Survey Company? You could just search on "paid survey company" through Google, Yahoo! or similar search engine, and go from there. Or you could visit one of the websites that reviews and reports on paid survey companies, such as surveysentinel.ya23.com or similar website.

Is there anything else that I should be aware of? Yes. There are many scams out there. The worst are the so-called "free" services offered. They are usually being paid by someone to bring them more suckers to spam and sell to! Even amongst the paid services there are people who will just take your money and give you poor to no service. Shop around before you choose your Paid Survey Guide Company. Look at their size, the quality of their guarantee, their customer refund rates. Be selective. Look at at least 6-12, ask around about them and check them out before you decide.

O.K. Thanks for the info and advice!You're very welcome!