- Free Earn Money From Survey
- Earn Money Online With Surveys
- Can You Really Earn Money Taking Online Surveys
- Can You Really Earn Money From Online Surveys At Home
The following is a guest post from David at A Self-Sufficient Life.
However, in order to make money on the Internet working at home, it takes (gasp!) work. The promises about online surveys are at best not realistic. Note: Yes, you definitely can earn money on the Internet working at home. Many people do this very successfully. But not by doing online surveys, stuffing envelopes, or medical transcription. I recognize that you can make money from online surveys – and I do – but I also recognize that this isn’t always consistent and I don’t really expect it to be. Having said this, sometimes the pay is fantastic, but I’d be lying if I said this was the case all the time. The problem with online surveys is that you aren’t in full control. However, in order to make money on the Internet working at home, it takes (gasp!) work. The promises about online surveys are at best not realistic. Note: Yes, you definitely can earn money on the Internet working at home. Many people do this very successfully. But not by doing online surveys, stuffing envelopes, or medical transcription.
It was a few years ago now that I looked in to the world of taking surveys online for money. I no longer do more than an odd survey as I make my money in different ways now.If anyone else has considered doing likewise or has already tried to supplement their income in this manner then you probably got quite disillusioned. I almost gave up because what I found was that most sites I came across were actually nothing more than rip-offs and scams trying to take my money not give it to me.
It is a sad fact that there are lots of people trying to earn some extra money and think that it is easy to take paid surveys online and it is these people that the scammers target. They know that claims of earning hundreds of dollars from a few surveys are going to catch a few people out and they will pay them for a supposed list of high paying survey companies.
After spending days and days looking all over for any resources I could find, I came to one conclusion, you CAN make money but you will never get rich taking surveys for money. This is not to say that I did not greatly supplement my ever dwindling resources by taking the surveys, but it is not a way to get rich. A good bit of extra income can be made though and here is how to do it.
Take a look at my Get Paid To Take Paid Surveys article where I list all the best FREE to join survey sites. The list I compiled was what I found to be genuine sites that all offer some kind of reward for taking surveys. Be that money or other incentives. However, I found that there is little to be made from just registering with one or two companies. You need to register with as many survey companies as you possibly can. This will mean that you get a lot more invitations and this in turn means you will get a much better monetary reward.
Many site offer very little but they are often quick surveys so if you complete as many as you can each day then it all adds up. I have done surveys for $.10 but I have also done a survey for $25, although that does not happen often.
The reality is that if you complete as many paid surveys each day as you possibly can and treat it like a part time job where you sit down and simply get to work, then it can make a difference to the budget each month. You will not get rich but it can help tremendously to supplement an income or add to the household funds.
My final parting words of advice are these:
If you come across a site that offers you large payments for completing surveys but asks you for money first then it is a SCAM. Legitimate companies work in one way only, you complete a paid survey and then they pay you, you are never asked for money, you make it.
We’ve all seen those flashy online ads that proclaim you can make thousands of dollars in a week just by answering questions from your laptop. Clearly, this is a scam, but nowadays the bogus survey companies are getting sneakier with legit-sounding promises and more subtle messaging. Can you make money legitimately with paid online surveys?
Not all paid web surveys are scams, but most of them aren’t worth your time, either. If you’ve been trying to break into the world of paid online surveys, then carefully read the guide below to protect your information and privacy before signing up for any survey site.
Make Money With Legit Paid Online Surveys
How to Spot a Scam
The Survey Police Blog has several excellent tips for avoiding survey scams, such as looking for the company’s information and privacy policies (if those things are nowhere to be found then run!). Also, steer clear of websites that only require a name and email address to get started.
Legitimate market research companies generally ask for quite a bit of personal information to get an idea of who you are as a consumer and determine which studies and surveys you might be suited for. If they ask for your social security number, this is probably a red flag and you should avoid that survey at all costs, lest you risk having your identity stolen.
Another huge warning sign is when the survey site asks for your financial information or requires you to pay a fee to get access to those supposedly “high paying surveys.” 99 times out of 100, a survey that requires upfront payment is a scam. It’s better not to make money at all than to lose money, right? Don’t bother with these websites because bogus survey companies are usually behind them.
Paid Online Surveys – A Waste of Time?
If the wild claims of earning hundreds of dollars a day with little to no effort were actually true, then why isn’t everyone doing it? Because you won’t actually make a lot of money answering surveys.
Free Earn Money From Survey
Not only do you risk running into the pitfalls of online surveys, but it also might be a complete waste of time. If you’re filling out surveys for hours and averaging an hourly income of less than $5 or $6, then you’re better off finding higher-paying opportunities that may require a bit more work.
ScamBusters did an experiment with online surveys to see how much they could make and only averaged $0.37 per hour. Yikes, right?
Earn Money Online With Surveys
Two Examples of Legit Paid Online Surveys
If you already enjoy filling out surveys online or just want something to do in your free time that can score you some gift cards over time, then there are a couple legitimate online survey companies worth looking into.
SwagBucks currently has over 13 million users and a decent 3.8/5 rating from the Survey Police. You earn SwagBucks by completing surveys, watching videos, shopping for items online, discovering coupons, and referring friends. When you have accumulated a set amount of SwagBucks – withdrawals start at $25 – you can redeem for PayPal cash or electronic gift cards to major retailers such as Amazon and Starbucks.
i-Say by Ipsos is also a well-known market research firm, with a solid A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau. The BBB wouldn’t approve a scam site, let alone give it the highest possible rating. Through i-Say, you’ll explore polls, respond to surveys, and perform other market research tasks from the consumer’s perspective. You won’t make thousands of dollars per week, but you’ll get a nice little stream of income in your spare time.
Alternatives to Making Money Online with Surveys
Can You Really Earn Money Taking Online Surveys
Instead of wasting 20 minutes filling out a boring survey that’ll only pay you $1-2 worth of a gift card payout, why not seek out more exciting options with better financial windfalls?
Can You Really Earn Money From Online Surveys At Home
No, you won’t come close to the $100 or even $30 per hour that survey scams promise you in big, bold red letters in their spam emails. However you can possibly make a modest chunk of change through these online jobs and websites:
- Offer a service for $5 on Fiverr
- Offer more pricy freelance services on Upwork
- Become a virtual bookkeeper for a web-based clientele
- Get paid to evaluate search engines for companies like Google, Yahoo, and Bing
- Make $5 per month just for installing the Smart Panel app on your smartphone (it’ll track your usage habits, so beware if that’s too much of an invasion of your personal privacy)
- Get paid $100 to write a unique list for Listverse
What about you? Have you made money with any paid online surveys? What’s been your experience with it?