10/29/2006

Paid Surveys Revealed !

Who does not like some extra cash in hand? What about when that ‘extra cash’ comes relatively easy, with the least of exertion? What about when that extra cash comes to you right in your home, without having you to move to any other place?

You guessed right! I am talking about home business. There are a great number of home businesses with the advent of the Internet. Many people are drawing a decent income from such endeavors. Each one of us is tempted to try out some of these offers, because they sound so easy and within our reach, that we feel we would miss out on a great opportunity if do not try it out. The temptation is even harder to fight when we are in dire need for cash.

I got hooked on the idea, when I had lost my job two years ago. I had more than 16 years’ seniority and never expected to get the axe. My heart was broken; but what hurt the most was that I had, all-of-a-sudden, to cut and curtail on each every expense. I was faced with an acute emotional and financial poverty.

It was at this time that, one day while idling over my computer, I clicked on a link – which I think mentioned cash from home – and I was hooked. At first I was overwhelmed at the variety and diversity of the Internet income opportunity. I found a multitude of offers ranging from data typing, to freelancing; from web designing to copy writing … to the one of the most lucrative options, paid surveys.

Taking paid surveys is an extremely convenient and easy way to earn cash online. I can see the interest growing in your eyes. What are online paid surveys, you will ask?

That is exactly what I was asking two years ago when I rediscovered the meaning of earning at my convenience! Let me start at the most important part. Money! How much can you make with online paid surveys? Will you believe when I tell you that you can make anything between $1 and $150 per survey?

They say that the difference between real and fiction is that fiction needs to make sense!! This is really applicable to making money with online surveys. It does not really make sense, but it is there life-size and true! But do not take my word for it. You go out there and just type ‘online paid surveys’ in the browser line and see what comes out of it. Try a few and just get the feel of it and see how easy is to fill in a survey.

The online surveys are just simple questionnaires which require certain information or opinions from you. These feedback are analyzed by the companies who send you the surveys and the information thus obtained go to form the future product strategy of that company, be it marketing, production, content, correction, etc.

The next logical question you would ask is why the companies would pay people to do surveys. Companies need access to information regarding the reaction of the public on the products they promote. In order to get this information they do extensive market research studies which are expensive and sometimes not reliable – when the data can be manufactured. Paid online surveys give these companies direct access to the public. The payment is calculated based on the importance of the product and the difficulty the company has to gain serious insights on it. Hence, online surveys are a healthy business proposition for the companies.

You could, as I could, build a good reliable source of income with online surveys. There are a few tips that you should keeping mind however, so you do not run into headaches.

Seek those companies that have a good feedback on the Internet; in order to find what others think of it, run a search on the name of the company asking for review or comments. Invariably, the net will throw up sufficient feedback for you to get a good idea about the company;

Remember – this type of work is just like any other work, even if it requires less mental and physical effort. Completing online surveys require patience and persistence if you want to earn a significant amount;

Another trick is to get your name enlisted in as many companies as possible. Logically speaking, even if you have only $5 surveys – which usually take anything between 20-25 minutes max (this also depends upon the speed of your browser) – and you have 4-5 per day, you could earn a very tidy sum;

I advice NOT to enlist in the survey databases who ask you a fee for membership. You can find the same market research companies for free. Why pay for the free information?

Auther by: Alex Ruban

Can You Really Make Money with Online Surveys?

I am sure you have seen the "Paid Survey" sites that claim
to pay you for your opinion. Question is: Will they really
pay you for just taking simple surveys online?

Well, I did a little experiment. Actually, it was a pretty
big experiment. I researched several hundred of these
companies.

What did I find? You guessed it:

Most were scams.

They want your email address so they can spam you. Or they
require you to accumulate 10 million zillion points before
they pay you. Or they say they pay but don't.

But, as I was weeding out all the scams I would
occasionally come across a legitimate company. It didn't
happen very often, but out of the hundreds of companies I
researched, I found 68 good ones.

Now, let me tell you -- you are not going to get rich doing
surveys online. And, if anybody tells you that you can earn
"thousands" a month -- they are lying to you. (My best
month so far I earned $104.00)

But, on the other hand it's not very hard work either. Most
surveys are short. I did one this morning that took less
than 5 minutes. It only paid $4.00 but for 5 minutes work I
am not going to complain. Yesterday I did one that paid
$10.00. Two weeks ago I did a $25.00 one. And a couple of
months ago I had one that paid $50. It varies. And sometimes
there are very short screener surveys that don't
pay anything -- you have to take the screeners to see if
you qualify for the paid surveys.

All in all, it's not a bad way to earn a few extra bucks

Paid Surveys Online - An easy way to make money online?

Paid surveys are being promoted as an easy way to make money online. Some ads promise you up to $250 per hour for taking paid surveys. Are they realistic? Can one really expect to earn that much money from online paid surveys? Let us find out the answers to these questions.

Such advertisements are usually put up by paid survey database companies like Surveyscout. They charge you for giving access to a database of market research companies, often in the range of $30 to $60. They typically have 400 to 500 survey companies in their database.

Is it worth paying these companies to get access to such a database? Whatever information you get from these companies, you can get for free on the internet on many free online survey sites. Secondly, these survey database companies do not send any surveys by themselves, and you have to join each market research company in their database individually to get any surveys. In addition, most of the survey companies in their databases are good for nothing. Only about 40 to 50 survey companies are really worth joining.

What does this mean? If you are planning to try online surveys, you never have to pay anyone. You can get the list of the best survey companies for free on the internet. You can join them and get started.

Now let us take a closer look at on the rewards offered by paid online surveys. Survey companies can be divided into those which reward you with cash for each survey, those that give you points which can be redeemed for cash, and those which enter you into sweepstakes or prizedraws.

Survey companies that pay cash give $1 to $20 or more per online survey depending on many factors. This group includes many of the best survey sites like American Consumer Opinion Panel, Surveysavvy, Ciao Surveys, Greenfield online(Gozing) and Pinecone Research. You can expect to get 1 to 4 surveys per month from each site.

Surveys that reward you with points let you accumulate reward points which you can later redeem for cash or gifts. Some of the most reputed market research companies like Globaltestmarket, Opinion Outpost, NFO Mysurvey and Lightspeed Research reward you in this way.

Yet other companies enter you into draws for cash or gifts as reward for taking surveys. Although many people don't like this form of reward system, your chances of getting the prize is quite good as the pool to select the prize winners is usually small. Some good survey companies that follow this reward system are Synovate, NPD Research, NOP World (Surveys.com), ECN Research and Nielsen Netratings.

Another important factor which determines how much you can earn from online surveys is your profile, particularly your country. Generally residents of the USA and Canada can expect to make more money from paid surveys, as there are more market research companies operating in these countries. Also they get more frequent surveys. However, participants from other countries can also hope to make some good extra money from paid online surveys.

All said and done, the maximum earnings an average person can expect from doing paid surveys is not more than $200 to $300 per month. This can be a good source of extra income for some people. But the claims that paid surveys can make you rich or replace your real job are largely unfounded. Hence, it is always best to stay with free paid surveys.

Author Resource by Shaj M .

Marketing Research Evolves – Paid Surveys Come Of Age

Up until the 20th century, buying and selling was simple. Businesses were largely local which allowed for a close relationship between suppliers and consumers. Competition was non-existent and the opinion of consumers was felt to be irrelevant.

The rapid advancements during the Industrial Revolution quickly changed business operations from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. Early marketing students had been educated as economists, schooled in the principle that demand was relevant to purchasing power. However, it became apparent that demand was much more complex than the financial ability to buy and that desire had become a factor in business.

New concepts in advertising proved that purchasing desires could be magnified and shaped by elements beyond mere availability of products. Extended markets allowed greater production of goods and transportation options quickly taught businesses that they needed to know specifics about customers to be able to compete.

With the modern marketplace being fiercely competitive, companies today have a greater demand than ever to monitor the pulse of consumers. However, the busy lifestyles of consumers in general made it more difficult for companies to engage people in telephone and direct mail surveys. Consumers perceived that they were being given a sales-pitch versus participating in independent research. And who has time for that?

The Internet age introduced easy access to consumers for marketing researchers. They could reach both general consumers and business consumers easily by posting their surveys online; however, there was still the issue of enticing people to take the time to participate.

Over the years, consumer science and market research have evolved collectively into a finely-honed craft. Companies spend over $250B globally in an effort to convince people to buy their products and services. Of that amount, over $750M goes for market research alone.

Being the savvy bunch that they are, marketing researchers finally grasped the concept of offering consumers something of value in return for their time and participation versus asking people to participate just for the sake of offering their opinions to help businesses in tailoring their products and services. To meet their own ever increasing demands for consumer information they began offering various incentives in exchange for time.

Consumer survey incentives range from entry into drawings for cash prices, points awards that can be accumulated and redeemed for merchandise and even cash payments to participants. Specialized surveys for professionals such as those in the IT industry often pay quite well. Researchers also pay consumers to participate in customized studies through which they can learn about their perceptions of specific products and/or services.

In addition to paid incentives, some marketing research companies offer people free products for sampling. They forward new products to consumers to try with the agreement that the consumer will later provide an assessment of the product. After trying the product, consumers complete an online survey sharing their experience with the product and indicating whether or not they would buy it on their own. Test products can range anywhere from household cleaners, snack foods, health/beauty products and all the way up to electronics. In many cases, participants are allowed to keep the products at no charge.

By taking advantage of paid market research offers, consumers can actually earn a part-time or even full-time income, depending upon the amount of time they invest and the number of research panels in which they participate. This has proven a productive source of supplemental income for stay-at-home moms, small business owners, retirees and college students. Simply by signing up at paid survey web sites and checking their e-mail for survey invitations, they can earn extra cash and incentives on a regular basis.

Another advantage of earning extra cash by joining Internet-based research panels is convenience. Participants can respond to survey invitations 24/7 which is much easier than trying to work a second or part-time job.

Market researchers also know that small businesses are the pulse of the American economy. With the emphasis in today’s markets having shifted primarily from that of products to the service industry, researchers always have a demand for opinions and details of purchasing practices of small business owners.

Small business owners and work-from-home professionals can have a significant impact and can shape the quality of products and services available to them by participating in online surveys. This allows them to tell companies exactly what instead of hoping that someone out there will finally deliver what they need.

Plus, they will be rewarded for the time they invest. The concept of paid surveys makes it a win/win situation for both sides. Be aware that the market research profession is largely legitimate but there are some Internet sites that are a scam. Never pay a sign-up fee for receiving information about available surveys.

Remember that you have something market researchers value: your experience and opinions as a consumer. Use that information to negotiate participation in research surveys and you will enhance your lifestyle and income.

Aurther by : Alex Ruban

Advice about Paid Surveys on the Internet

The opportunities to take paid surveys on the Internet are staggering. Countless websites offer people cash, products, or gift certificates for their opinions. Many of these surveys are legitimate offers that actually provide the rewards promised, but many of them involve a lower likelihood of compensation. Some websites let consumers access a database of paid surveys for a one-time fee. Other paid surveys require participants to go to a focus group to study a particular product in depth.

Indeed, paid survey offers are very common on the Internet. Many of them appear as pop ups when people visit certain websites. These pop up advertisements direct surfers to take opinion surveys, offering them products like free Apple I-pods and gift certificates to popular restaurants after the survey is completed. These types of surveys often require that the people who fill out the survey give personal information like their name, address, phone number and email address, and then sell this information to marketing companies that follow up with advertisements, including emails, regular “junk” mail, and telemarketing.

Another way to find paid surveys is to buy access to a database of companies that offer to pay people for their opinions. Many of the companies listed on the databases merely offer the opportunity to be entered into drawings for prizes upon completion of the surveys.The best bet for paid surveys is the focus group. They require more time than online surveys, but they have much better rewards. A focus group is a meeting that marketers have with consumers, where the consumers are asked for their opinions about a particular product. These focus groups can take an entire day or even a weekend, but they often pay well or have other rewards given out at the end.

About the Author by: Paid Surveys Info

The Risks of "Free" Paid Surveys

The Internet is loaded with websites that promise free paid surveys. These offers are very appealing. Who wouldn't want to make an easy living by giving their opinions? It is like a dream come true. But many of these free paid surveys are marketing strategies designed to gather peoples' contact information so they can be later solicited with email, telemarketers, and junk mail.

These types of paid surveys are not necessarily harmful, but they are a waste of time. Not all advertisements for free paid surveys are phony. Many marketing companies do want to know what consumers think of certain products and give some type of incentive to people who take their surveys.

Paid surveys advertised by pop up Internet advertisements or spam emails are usually less trustworthy. Consumers need to realize that they participate in these surveys at their own risk. These types of surveys are very common and alluring because they often promise to give a free product like an Apple I-pod or a Sony Playstation 2 to people who complete the survey. Oftentimes, however, what they really do is get the person's contact information and sell it to marketing companies.

Keep in mind that not all free paid surveys are dishonest. Most firms that offer rewards to people who actually come into a building to participate in marketing research do follow through on their promises. Well-known marketing companies that have been in business for a long time are also usually honest about their incentives. These legitimate offers are not as extravagant as those offered over the Internet, but it is better to receive a small reward than it is to be promised a big reward and get nothing.

Free paid surveys are risky. It is important to realize that offers that sound too good to be true usually are. It is nearly impossible to make a living by taking free paid surveys, but interested consumers can receive modest rewards for their time and participation if they find legitimate opportunities.

About the Author : Paid Surveys Info