Taking online surveys is by no means a lucrative way to make money online.
However, these 10 tips will show you how you can maximise your success, and help you turn online surveys into a great side hustle.
So before you sign up to a survey site for the first time, or take your next online survey, read this list of tips first so you can maximise this source of extra income.
1. Update Your Profile
Most survey panels ask you to complete your profile as soon as you register.
But even if they don’t require it immediately, you should do it as soon as possible.
Your profile is used to match you to new survey opportunities. When you provide more information about yourself, the panel’s algorithm will be able to send more survey invitations to you.
Your profile includes information such as your age, gender and location. This basic information will help to fit you into a demographic.
For example, if a company needs to know the opinions of women who are between the ages of 25 and 35 they would use that type of information to screen out people who are not in that category.
Profile questions can go into detail on your interests. They can also ask questions about your work
experience and your skills. You can even be asked about your habits.
For example, you might be asked what type of beverages you like, how often you drink a particular beverage and what brands you prefer.
All of this information helps to match you to companies who are interested in consumers who use particular types of services.
For example, if you don’t drink coffee, you wouldn’t be invited to participate in a survey that’s for coffee drinkers. However, if you buy a cup regularly, you might be invited to share your opinion on
products in this category.
2. Choose A Good Survey Site
Choose good survey sites such as ySense and Swagbucks. They offer legitimate survey opportunities to members from around the world.
There are also other good survey sites that are open to panelists from many different countries.
However, many of them are limited to people who live in a particular geographical region because they collect market research data on behalf of companies in those areas.
You should always do your due diligence before you sign up for a survey panel. Check whether they actually pay their members and that they do so on time. Swagbucks and ySense always pay their members.
There are also many review sites that provide information on other good survey sites.
Unfortunately some ‘survey sites‘ are scams. They’ll collect your data in order to sell it to other organizations. This is not however typical of legitimate survey companies.
Other scam sites might not sell your data. However, instead they’ll collect your feedback and not pay you. They may do this by making it difficult for you to log into the system when you approach the minimum threshold for payment.
Others sometimes use technical errors to prevent you from making your payment requests.
3. Sign Up To A Number Of High-Paying Sites
Surveys won’t make you rich. However, some panels pay more than others.
You should always sign up for a number of sites that pay reasonably well so you’ll have more frequent opportunities to earn a little extra cash with surveys.
If you choose low-paying surveys, you’ll earn pennies when you could be earning dollars.
Survey panels generally pay for your time, not your knowledge of a particular product. Only a few require specialized knowledge before they request your feedback and they usually pay well for that.
These panels often have focus groups in addition to online surveys. Some of them also have interviews that are done over the phone. These telephone interviews usually pay more than mobile surveys and online surveys. Generally, in-person focus groups pay the most.
4. Join Sites With Referral Programs
Survey sites with referral programs can help to increase your earnings significantly. You will often find that the survey panel that you’re a member of won’t have lots of surveys available to you each day.
In addition, if you aren’t actively doing surveys, you won’t earn any rewards.
Referral programs give bonuses whenever someone who you invite to the site signs up. Some sites pay an initial bonus that’s equal to the sum you would earn by doing a survey of moderate length.
Additionally, if the panel has a referral program, you can often earn passive income. Several panels regularly pay you a bonus that’s equivalent to a percentage of whatever your referrals earn.
This bonus isn’t paid from their earnings. It’s paid by the site. If you have a significant number of referrals who are active on the platform, you’ll continue to earn money, even if you don’t do any surveys. These 10 survey sites pay you to refer others.
5. Choose Sites Where Cash Out Isn’t High
Whenever you complete a survey on a panel, your points will usually be added to your balance.
When that balance reaches a specific minimum, it will either be paid to you automatically or you can request it.
Some panels have a high minimum threshold for payment, such as $50. This means that it will take you a long time to get your earnings, especially if the rate of payment on that panel is very low.
If the site is really new, it’s not usually a good idea to wait a very long time for payment. That’s because it doesn’t yet have a proven reputation for paying.
A survey site that’s only been around for a year and has a high payment threshold has not had much of an opportunity to establish a track record.
With such a high threshold, you can’t be certain whether it’s a scam or members just haven’t yet reached the minimum.
On the other hand, some panels pay you as soon as you complete a survey. Others have a fairly low minimum threshold for payment of around $5 or less. This means that you can receive payouts weekly or monthly.
6. Answer Questions Honestly
Most survey panels give you invitations to participate in surveys based on the answers that you’ve provided in previous surveys.
So they will notice if something like your age changes rapidly from one survey to the next.
You’ll be disqualified from future surveys if your answers are inconsistent. If you want to ensure that you can keep participating in surveys, you need to be honest with your answers.
7. Try To Do As Many Surveys As You Can
Always try to do as many surveys as you can. If you do five surveys a week that pay $3 each, you’ll earn $15 for the week.
However, if you do just one of those surveys, you’ll earn three dollars a week.
Check your email frequently for new survey invitations. Most surveys have a quota, which means they won’t accept new respondents if that quota is filled.
Try to respond to invitations from all of the panels that you’ve joined, as quickly as you can.
8. Pay Attention To Your Answers
Try to do surveys when you can focus on what is being asked.
Sometimes surveys include questions that ask the same thing in multiple ways.
These are used as a check to ensure that you’re paying attention. Those questions are usually focused on the topic of the survey, not on your profile data.
They aren’t testing your honesty. Instead, they assess your ability to understand what’s being asked and deliver accurate feedback.
9. Choose Sites That Offer Sign Up Bonuses
A sign up bonus is sometimes given to new members as soon as they register for a panel.
This bonus can be quite generous to encourage new panelists, and helps you to reach your first payout quickly.
Sign up bonuses usually cannot be withdrawn until you reach the minimum for payout, however they can be an incentive for you to start doing surveys as soon as you’ve registered.
Check out these 5 survey sites that offer sign up bonus’s
10. Choose Panels With Multiple Ways To Cash Out
Always try to choose panels with multiple ways to cash out. These give more options that can help you to meet your financial goals.
For example, if you’re saving towards gifts for a particular season, they may
reward you with gift cards.
Legitimate survey sites pay their members by using cash, gift cards, merchandise and even phone credit.
It’s important to find out what method a site uses to pay members before you join. If you’re hoping to earn cash, you’ll need to look specifically for sites that pay you in cash.
Always ensure that the payment method is one that works for your country. For example, sites may occasionally have rewards that aren’t suitable for shipping to overseas destinations.
Similarly, some site only pay via PayPal but PayPal is not available in every country.
Some sites that pay you in merchandise and a few that pay with physical gift cards sometimes charge a shipping fee.
This means that you might have to pay to receive your rewards. It may therefore more convenient if you have cash sent to you through PayPal, a direct bank deposit or wire transfers.
High minimum payouts are associated with cash payments on some sites. Sometimes, the panel that you’re a member of will cover these fees. However, there are times when panels will request that members pay for each transfer.
You should also take this into account when you’re deciding which platforms you want to join.
Thanks for reading my article. I hope you found it informative and will help you find survey sites that will benefit you the most.
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