Paid Surveys

I’ve mentioned before that I was laid off from my job in December and have been taking an extended break since then. I’ve been exploring options, including working from home. I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned about working from home, including opportunities for making pocket money.

In fact, I’ll start with a pocket money opportunity today, namely paid surveys. Yes, there are sites around the net that want to pay you for your opinion. But don’t tell your boss to shove it just yet. You won’t make enough money to quit your day job. You’ll earn enough to pay for a book or a game every once in while.

First, avoid scams. If a survey site promises that you’ll make tons of money: scam! If a site wants you to pay a fee to sit on its panel: scam! As I’ve already said, you won’t make tons of money, and no reputable panel will require a fee.

I actually joined a couple of panels while I was still working. I’d heard about them and thought it would be fun. They usually work like this:

1. You sign up at a panel site
2. You fill in a bunch of profile surveys, so the company can determine which surveys are a good fit for you.
3. You receive survey invites through email. The frequency varies from panel to panel and will somewhat depend on how many surveys are applicable to you.
4. You fill out surveys for either reward points or cash.  Surveys typically take 5 to 15 minutes to complete, though there are longer ones. In general, the longer the survey, the more points you earn.

Surveys usually start with a few questions that will determine if you really are a good fit for the survey. If you’re not, you’ll receive a thank you and an entry into a monthly draw for cash or prizes. If you qualify, you can complete the survey and earn rewards points. Eventually you’ll have enough points to cash them in for things like online gift certificates, electronics, and cash (usually paid via PayPal or cheque). Every panel offers different rewards, and you can usually check them out before you sign up.

Expect to receive 2 to 3 invites a week from most panels. Some send more, others less. Signing up for these panels won’t result in spam. I use a specific email account for them, and I’ve never received a spam email on that account. Many survey sites are the online divisions of well-known, reputable survey companies.

Get Paid Surveys is a good place to start if this might be something you’d like to try. I can’t stress enough that doing surveys will earn you pocket money only. If you read the reviews at Get Paid Surveys, you’ll see that people are cashing in their points for $10-15 after doing surveys for a couple of months. Regard this as a bit of fun that might pay for a book every once in a while.

I’ve belonged to two panels for almost six months and joined a third last night. I don’t want to name them, because I can’t remember if doing so would be against their terms and conditions. So to be on the safe side, I won’t post the names. But if you’re considering paid surveys and want to know more, just drop me an email.