If you want to make a few quid here and there while you’re on the computer, genuine online surveys can be an easy way to rake in a little bit of cash.
Don’t expect to make your fortune this way though. Payments tend to be around 50p-£5 a time so it’s not exactly going to make your fortune.
Not only that but there are a LOT of sharks out there on the net, particularly when it comes to online surveys. Some companies even have the cheek to try to get you to pay to join. Ignore these survey companies. They’re liars.
Watch your own greed level too, though. As a rule of thumb, the more lucrative or tempting the survey sounds, the more likely it is to be bogus. Lots of people get caught out because they want something to be true so they’re easy prey to the fraudsters.
How do online surveys work?
These surveys are done on behalf of other companies that offer different types of products and services. They want to know if there’s a market for their products, if a new type of service would have a market, what people think of their competitors and so on. It’s all valuable marketing information and that’s why they are interested in your opinion.
Usually survey companies want specific types of people, depending on what their clients want. If their client is a computer games company, for example, they’re going to be targeting teenagers who like playing them. If they are a vitamin supplements company they are likely to want women over 30. You get the picture?
This is why they ask lots of questions about you and why they often reject people who apply for certain surveys. There’s nothing wrong with you, you just don’t fit their ‘profile’.
How can you make money from surveys
Firstly, make sure that you only apply to genuine survey companies. There’s a list of proper ones here but, generally, just make sure that you don’t touch any that ask you to pay to join and check the name of the survey on forums and survey blogs like this one (sadly, it’s American like the majority of them but it’s a start). Definitely avoid any that say you could earn thousands a month. Ha! If you work at it you could be earning £50 or so a month but that’s with effort.
Also, quite a few genuine surveys offer points rather than money, that you can collect up to gain some money later or a gift instead. Some of these are real, but others aren’t. Again, check elsewhere if you find one. The same goes for those that offer the chance to enter a competition. Some of them are genuine and some people actually have won prizes but you have to be careful.
How to take part in online surveys
- Register with several companies. You can sign up to as many survey companies as you like. If you have the time, the more you do the more money you will make (and the more products you could get to test). I suggest, though, that you set up a separate email account to do it (perhaps an extra Hotmail account), which you only use for surveys. This is because quite a few of these companies will try to bombard you with marketing emails and they might sell their list on to other bulk emailers so you could be getting far too many emails each day. By setting up a separate account you can let that take the strain.
- Check your inbox regularly Most surveys are sent to you via email at random times. If you have surveys waiting for you keep in mind that some will close by a specified date or when enough people have taken part so get your skates on or you’ll miss out.
Surveys can take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to complete.
Here's a list of the good companies:
Toluna
With Toluna you can earn between 1,000 and 20,000 points for each survey, depending on its length, and these are sent to your inbox. You earn a bonus 2,000 points by completing your profile, which will tell the company what surveys will suit you. You need 60,000 points to convert into the lowest £10 voucher from places like Amazon. It can take two or three months to gather these points depending on the survey screenings and how active you are on the website.
Surveyhead
Surveyhead will pay $5 just for signing up (probably about £3 in today's conversion rate). They send you invitations every time a survey comes up so you know to go and sign up. Cash rewards are paid using Paypal. It's for over 18s only – or 14-17-year-olds with parental permission (so a handy one for teenagers). Surveyhead offers all kinds of surveys including movie, travel and gaming surveys.
Panelbase
I rather like the way Panelbase approaches its surveys. For example, all respondents who are screened out of a survey are put into a monthly prize draw to win £50 cash. This is good because one of the big complaints I hear about surveys is that you go through the laborious process of filling in details about yourself only to be rejected at the end. Each survey that you actually get to do pays between 50p-£3. Some surveys include entry into special prize draws where you can win a box of wine or a flashy new wide-screen TV.
Lightspeed Panel
With this one you get points rather than cash. However, these points convert into vouchers which are worth having. You can earn between 50 and 150 points for each Lightspeed survey and these are sent to your inbox. You need a minimum of 1,100 points to convert your points into vouchers. Also, if you go in for mini polls on the website you get entered into cash prize draws of up to £2,000.
Valued Opinions
You can earn between £1 and £5 to complete surveys that are sent to you from Valued Opinions. You can also earn up to £50 for specialist surveys. Once your account reaches £10 you can redeem your points for vouchers or you can choose to donate your rewards to charities like the World Wildlife Fund and World Vision so it could be your bit for charity each month.
Onepoll
Onepoll is another one you can go for now as they will pay you £2.50 just for joining and then you can make between 10p and £1 for any surveys you complete. You also have the chance of winning £500 in a cash prize every now and then. Onepoll also pays for real-life stories you might have for the papers, so worth considering for that (although make sure you get at least a few hundred quid for your story - if they don't offer that then go direct to the magazines).
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