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Taking surveys is one of the simplest ways to earn money online. It’s as simple as signing up, creating a profile, and providing feedback on ads, products, and services.
The big question is how much money you can make and how much work is required. While you probably won’t be able to make a full-time living taking online surveys, they can help you make some extra money in your spare time. You could also use surveys to obtain other benefits, such as free products.
Why Companies Pay for Surveys
You may think that getting paid to take a survey is absurd. Why would anyone pay you to share your thoughts?
In reality, most businesses rely on customer feedback. Companies that do not have a department dedicated to conducting consumer surveys and panels hire survey firms to do so.
Consumer feedback allows businesses to make more money by fine-tuning products and advertisements before they are released to the public. That is why companies will compensate you for your time when you complete a survey. The information you provide them will be critical to their success.
How Does It Work?
Taking online surveys is simple, though it may take some time to get started. The steps are as follows:
- Look for a company to join: For example Swagbucks. I’ve included a list of companies to look into below, but there are hundreds of legitimate businesses out there.
- Create and complete a profile: You’ll need a separate profile for each company for which you conduct surveys, and you’ll want to fill out each profile completely. Because each survey is tailored to a specific demographic, the company will not send you one unless they can tell from your profile that you fit the demographic they seek.
- Get surveys: Most survey companies will email you when new surveys become available. Some are immediately available to you. Others may require you to spend a few minutes answering presurvey questions to ensure that you fit the demographic. If you do, you can proceed to the survey (and get the reward). Other times, you may receive products to review in the mail.
- Take surveys: Simply respond to questions. Sometimes all it takes is a few multiple-choice questions. Other times, you may be required to type long-form responses to more specific questions.
- Earn rewards: The rewards process varies greatly from company to company. Some companies award points that can be redeemed for cash or other rewards. Others immediately deposit funds into your PayPal account, while others enter your name into a sweepstakes drawing.
These steps differ from one survey company to the next, so make sure you understand the process before signing up.
How Much Money Can You Make?
As previously stated, you will not make a fortune taking online surveys, but you can make some extra money for fun, debt repayment, or investing.
Monetary survey rewards range from less than $1 to more than $20, with the majority falling in the $1 to $5 range. If you can take a few per day, you can earn a lot of money in a month.
Other companies will not pay you in cash. However, they may be able to save you money by providing you with free products, often full-size products, that you must test for the survey. Obviously, this can be a great way to get free household goods, personal care items, diapers, and other items that you use on a regular basis.
When you complete a survey, some companies will enter you into sweepstakes drawing. The more surveys you complete, the better your chances of winning. These can be frustrating because you don’t always get a reward right away. However, they can be repaid with fantastic prizes such as gift cards, products, and cash.
The amount you can earn is determined by which companies you sign up with, how many surveys you complete, and which demographic you fit. If you belong to a frequently surveyed demographic, you may have more opportunities to earn money, increasing your survey earning potential.
Some companies, such as Swagbucks, also offer prizes, points, or cash for referring others to the service, so this is an additional aspect of survey-taking to consider.
The key point is that you can use surveys to earn money when you would otherwise be idle. You are not required to complete any surveys that arrive in your inbox, but you can if you have 10 or 15 minutes that you would otherwise spend checking Facebook or Tweeting.
The most profitable online surveys
There are hundreds of survey companies worth investigating. However, because different companies conduct different demographic research, you may receive different results from different companies, so it’s worthwhile to shop around.
People who get the most out of online surveys say it’s best to sign up for at least five to ten companies if you want to take surveys on a daily basis.
Having said that, here are a few of the top companies:
- Swagbucks $5 Bonus: This is a fantastic company that allows you to earn cash back or gift cards for your online activity. Swagbucks pays you to watch videos, complete surveys, vote in polls, shop online, and even play online games. Signing up is free, and if you’re going to spend hours surfing the web anyway, you might as well get paid for it.
2. LifePoints: Another site that allows you to take surveys in exchange for points is LifePoints.
The number of LifePoints you receive in exchange for completing a survey depends on its urgency and length. However, as you accumulate LifePoints, you will be able to redeem them for gift cards, charitable donations, and cash through PayPal.
3. InboxDollars: InboxDollars will pay you money for watching videos, playing games, reading emails, taking surveys, and shopping at specific stores. What distinguishes InboxDollars is that you don’t need to memorize a complicated point conversion system; you simply earn cash for each survey you complete.
4. Survey Junkie: You can earn money by taking surveys and sharing your browsing habits with Survey Junkie. As you complete surveys, you will earn points. You can see how much the points are worth in dollars on your dashboard.
You can exchange your points for cash or gift cards via PayPal. The only drawback is that you must wait until you have 500 points to cash out at the $5 mark.
5. MyPoints: This reputable website, founded in 1996, provides various ways to earn money by completing surveys, playing online video games, reading emails, watching movies, and more. The funds can be transferred to gift cards from Walmart, Amazon, Starbucks, and PayPal.
6. PineCone Research: This company pays $3 for each survey completed, so it’s a good use of your time. They don’t always accept new panel members, but you should check back frequently to see when they do.
7. Opinion Outpost: Opinion Outpost allows you to share your thoughts in exchange for points. As you accumulate points, you can exchange them for cash or gift cards via PayPal. Each point is worth approximately 10 cents. Each survey can earn you up to 250 points. It will take some time, as with the other options, to accumulate a significant number of points.
8. i-Say: Ipsos, a market research firm, connects I-Say users with survey opportunities. Although there will be fewer survey opportunities, you will not have to navigate a new site each time you take a survey.
As you accumulate points, you can exchange them for gift cards or cash. Unfortunately, i-Say does not provide a monetary value for its points. To get the best deal, you’ll have to scroll through the available redemptions at the time.
You must wait 96 hours after registering before you can begin cashing out rewards.
Conclusion
Online surveys can be a fun way to supplement your savings or pay for minor expenses. However, it is not a consistent source of income for covering major expenses.
Consider a side hustle if you’re looking for a consistent source of extra income.
Have you ever made money by completing online surveys? Do you have any recommendations for online survey companies?