Tips, Tricks and Techniques

[LapisLee]

Everyone wants to know which surveys pay, but there are a few other things that you need to know before you even sign up for your first paid survey site. Here are ten tips, tricks and techniques that I have learned and I will add others as they occur to me. I am sure other members will add their own as well.

1. Use a brand new email address that is dedicated solely to surveys, because your spam box will soon overflow and you do not want your personal email spammed. A good one to use is Gmail (http://mail.google.com), because it has excellent spam filtering and color-coded labels for labeling different surveys. You can also use Hotmail.com, Yahoo.com, AOL.com, etc.

2. NEVER pay for a list of paid online surveys because WE will provide that list to you for FREE. You do not need to pay anyone for anything. All you will need is a list of 20-30 good legitimate paid online surveys. You also do not need to sign up for 100-200 surveys. A basic list of 20 legitimate survey sites is enough to get anyone started.

3. Get Roboform (http://www.roboform.com/?affid=a1701) in order to save all of your passwords and personal information. Roboform will fill out online forms at the click of a button saving you time and effort. In addition, it can also be used to safely store passwords and enter those at a click of a button as well so you'll never forget a password ever again. Roboform is 100% free for the basic version. You can download it here: Roboform (http://www.yesfree.com/clicktracker/c.php?k=1.90.69)

4. Get a PayPal (https://www.paypal.com) account so you can get paid FAST. Checks often take six to eight weeks to arrive.

5. AVOID all Get Paid to Try offer sites that tell you to sign up for Silver, Gold and Platinum offers. These NEVER lead to legitimate paid survey sites.

6. NEVER give out your Social Security number or credit card information. Legitimate survey companies will not ask for either of these numbers except for tax purposes if you earn more than $600 with them during the course of the tax year.

7. NEVER give out your cell phone number because this will be used to spam your cell phone with text messages.

8. When you complete a paid survey, ALWAYS save the email invitation and keep an accurate record of every survey that you complete, particularly for the high dollar surveys of $5 and above. If there is a discrepancy and you do not receive credit for a survey it is very important that you have the survey number to reference in order to collect your incentive. Also save the original email invitation for each survey company that has the link to the home site and the support email, as well as create a link in your favorites for quick access.

9. ALWAYS fill in ALL of the profiles or screeners when you sign up for ANY legitimate paid survey. This will insure that you receive the maximum number of surveys that you qualify for. Also keep them updated.

10. Check your email FREQUENTLY as the highest paying survey invitations and, especially the lucrative panel forums, often fill up within a few hours or less of the email invitation.

[LapisLee]

I wanted to post a few websites that are particularly helpful for newcomers and that should be bookmarked in your favorites for ready reference. This a very reliable site that is frequently mentioned as THE starting point for new survey takers (prior to the opening of this forum, of course!). Here are some of their suggestions.

Survey Police (http://www.surveypolice.com/)

http://i32.tinypic.com/2lizpr8.jpg

SurveyPolice is your ultimate destination for online survey information. Let SurveyPolice help you identify survey scams, rank, review, and file complaints against online survey companies. SurveyPolice will assist you, the panelist and consumer, to voice your opinion to legitimate marketing researchers who are listening. Don't be afraid of the world of online surveys - it can prove to be a legitimate way of voicing your opinions to researchers readily willing to compensate you fairly for your time.

About and Contact Survey Police (http://www.surveypolice.com/about)

Survey Police was designed for you in mind. Police - an agency that maintains order, prevents and detects crime, regulates and controls with or as if with law enforcement. Survey Police is this agency with the ultimate aim of controlling the affairs of a community - the online survey community. Established in 2005, Survey Police was created to bring a voice to survey-takers worldwide and to uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity in the online survey community. Survey Police is working hard on your behalf so that companies providing paid online surveys comply with the following criterion:

1. Fair Recruiting Practices

Uses opt-in lists
Contain no misleading advertising

2. Respect Privacy

Protect your personal data
Comply with all national and international SPAM regulations

3. Pay Promised Incentives

Offer fair compensation for your time and effort
Pay you in a timely manner

4. Timely Customer Service

Courteous helpful staff
Answers inquiries in a timely, professional manner

5. Conduct Quality Research

Dependable survey website (doesn't crash or freeze during surveys)
Easy, enjoyable experience
Survey results used for legitimate market research purposes
Survey Police will help you determine which Survey Companies you can trust.

Top Ranked Survey Companies (http://www.surveypolice.com/rankings)

These rankings are based solely on user-submitted reviews from people like you. These verified online survey companies have been rated at least 30 times by panelists.

1. PineCone Research 88%
2. NFO-My Survey 86%
3. HotSpex 86%
4. ItsYourView (New Vista) 85%
5. Opinion Outpost 83%
6. Harris Poll Online 81%
7. Epoll 79%
8. American Consumer Opinion 79%
9. eGlobalPanel 79%
10. GlobalTestMarket 78%
11. MyPoints 77%
12. panelbase.net 76%
13. SurveySpot 76%
14. Datatelligence 76%
15. SurveySavvy 75%
16. Valued Opinions 75%
17. Buzzback 74%
18. 20/20 Research 72%
19. Begin Survey 72%
20. Advisory Panel 71%
21. Global Survey Group 71%
22. BzzAgent 70%
23. Ipsos i-Say 66%
24. Zoom Panel 64%
25. Lightspeed 60%
26. Ciao 60%
27. Your 2 Cents 59%
28. pureprofile 58%
29. Synovate 57%
30. Testspin 56%
31. NPD Online Research 53%
32. Mindfield Online 47%
33. Greenfield Online 41%
34. E-Rewards 39%
35. Gozing 36%
36. Survey Exchange 36%

Survey Police Blog (http://surveypolice.blogspot.com/)

Terms of Use (http://www.surveypolice.com/popup/termsofuse)

Privacy Policy (http://www.surveypolice.com/popup/privacypolicy)

We are located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We can be reached via e-mail at webmaster@surveypolice.com or you can reach us by telephone at 403-813-4575

[LapisLee]

Although not quite as well laid out and frequently updated as Survey Police, Don't Waste Your Time Online (http://www.dontwasteyourtimeonline.com/) was helpful to me when I was first starting out. Primarily I use the list as a double check to make certain that survey sites I am signing up for have not been blacklisted. This website also has a fairly comprehensive list of paid online surveys (http://www.dontwasteyourtimeonline.com/Earn%20Rewards.htm), which is not updated as frequently as I would prefer.

SEE OUR SURVEY COMPANY BLACKLIST (http://www.dontwasteyourtimeonline.com/Survey_Company_Blacklist.htm) TO SEE WHICH SURVEY COMPANIES WE DO NOT RECOMMEND! IF YOU FIND A SURVEY COMPANY YOU THINK WE SHOULD ADD, JUST EMAIL US (contact_us@dontwasteyourtimeonline.com) AND LET US KNOW!

A few things you should know:

Most companies offer sweepstakes entries or entries into prize drawings even if you do not qualify for a survey, or if you get terminated from one. A "GC" is a gift certificate and there are a lot of companies that offer Amazon GC's since they are very popular. If you think we should know of a survey company you've found, please email us! Help us learn about these survey companies better so we can all benefit from them! And also, let us know if you've been burned by a survey company, so we can BLACKLIST them!

We've added some COLORFUL flags to help you get the type of reward YOU want! Bear with us as we finish researching and compiling our findings on the remaining companies we haven't flagged yet. Thank you.

CASH - These are companies that will pay you! They might also offer you other gifts in compensation, but if you can get money for doing their surveys, we've given them the CASH icon! These companies either put money (or points that equal money) earned from the surveys you complete, into an account, upon which you can redeem when the minimum redemption amount is reached. Usually, this amount is $5 OR they simply will send you a check after each completed survey. Examples of these types are companies such as GlobalTestMarket, which puts points into your account after each completed survey, and each point has a cash value OR, on the other hand, Pinecone is a company that sends you a check in the mail, directly after each survey is completed.

POINTS - These companies let you earn points for completing their surveys, and you can redeem these points for prizes, such as gift certificates or prizes from their catalog. One great example of this type of company is ZoomPanel!

ENTRY - These companies will give you an entry, or several entries, into their sweepstakes, drawing, or whatever they wish to call it. You might win a gift, or cash! It's a shot in the dark when you think of how many other people are completing the same survey as you---HOW could you EVER win?, right?---well, don't let that kind of thinking stop you! If you don't have an entry, you've got no shot at all! And it's worth it, it's so simple to sit and complete a survey.... and we've won before in the past! Not once, not twice, but quite a few times! So finish those surveys to have your chance too! You might also receive as compensation a product to test and keep, or a cash prize.

PRIZES - Some companies, like the Flavor's Designer's Club, or BzzAgent, offer products, (what I'll refer to here as prizes), to test and keep as compensation.

AMAZON GC'S - These companies only offer Amazon Gift Certificates as their payment.

PAYPAL - These companies pay with Paypal.

[LapisLee]

Another site that is worth a look is Paid Survey User Reviews (http://www.online-paid-surveys.net/reviews/).

Looking for a list of legitimate paid survey panels with comments from actual panel members? Well here here it is! If you are interested in joining an online survey panel, first have a look at what existing panel members are saying. If you like a panel, join it, and then come back and leave your own review based on your experiences.

Top 10 User-Rated Panels

GlobalTestMarket
MySurvey.com
American Consumer
SurveySpot
LightSpeed Consumer
Opinion Outpost
NPD Online Research
Choozz
E-Poll
SurveySaavy

Survey Panel Rank (SPR) based on average rating and number of reviews.

US Market Research Paid Surveys (http://www.online-paid-surveys.net/US-free-paid-surveys.htm)

Here are their survey tips:

How do paid survey companies pay you?

Paid Survey Companies conduct market research on behalf of companies that produce products and sell services. They offer you cash and prizes in exchange for your time and consumer opinions. Companies are constantly trying to improve their products, and before they launch a new product and an expensive advertising campaign, they need to know about consumer preferences. Online surveys are an easy way for collecting consumer opinions to guide these companies. In exchange for you opinions they will compensate you with cash, prizes, or sweepstakes entries. Some of them even send you sample products, and pay you to conduct product evaluations.

How much can you make with paid surveys?

Your earning potential depends on the number, type and duration of the surveys you get. The type of and frequency of surveys you get are based on the company needs. Specifically what campaigns they are running, so you may get more one month and less the next. Typical surveys take 10 to 30 minutes to complete, and the cash paying survey generally reward you $2 to $50 or possible more for every survey you complete. Others may give you gift certificates or enter you into sweepstakes for cash or prizes. Some sites occasionally offer focus groups, these usually last 1 or 2 hours, but generally pay more than $50. For more details and user comments about a particular paid survey site be sure to check out our paid survey reviews page.

Why do they ask me for my personal information?

After you join a survey site, you will be asked to complete a profile which includes details about you, your family, hobbies, interest, and personal habits. This profile information is then used to match you up with the particular surveys they are offering. Remember all of the sites listed on this site are legitimate market research companies, and your personal data will not be abused. You will not receive spam from these sites. They only send you email when they have survey invitations for you.

Are taxes already taken out of earnings or do I have to pay income tax on money earned for taking surveys?

Taxes are not deducted from your survey earnings ahead of time. If at the end of the year, a survey panel has paid you $600 or more, they will send you an IRS Form 1099 which you should file as "miscellaneous income" on your tax return. Again this is per panel, so for example if you earn $400 from panel A and $300 from panel B, you are okay and do not have to file the earnings.

How do I know if a paid survey is going on and what should I expect?

You will be notified via email to take a survey if you are opinions are needed for a particular campaign. The survey invite will contain a link to the starting page of the survey, and the email will usually tell you in advance of the compensation you will get if you complete the survey. Sometimes they will have a few initial screening questions to see if you are entitled to complete the survey. If you are not qualified to continue the survey, you are generally given an entry into a sweepstakes or given a small amounts of points (redeemable for cash). Otherwise, the survey will continue and will receive a confirmation of the reward upon completion.

Where do I start?

Continue on and read the tips below. This will help get you started in the right direction. Then I would suggest that you get started out with the recommended paid survey list. The sites on the recommend list offer cash incentives and generally offer more surveys and higher rewards than some of the other sites. After joining all of the recommended sites, continue on to the full paid surveys pages and join the sites that interest you. Remember all of the sites and information on this site are free. You should never pay for information about online surveys. Don't be scammed by other pay survey sites that charge fees, we offer the same information, if not better here, and its completely free!

Starting Tips

Profile surveys are very important. Consumer research companies need to learn more about you, so that they can match you up with the proper surveys. To do this many of the survey sites request that you fill out profile surveys. Even though these are usually not paid surveys, they increase your chances of getting the higher paid surveys. This also shows your commitment for being a serious survey taker.

Set up a separate Email account for your paid surveys. Once you sign up with the market research firms, you will begin to receive a steady stream of survey request. We recommend that you set up a separate email address so that all of your survey emails are in one location and do not get mixed up with your personal email. You don't want to miss any important survey offers. There are several free email sites out there (yahoo, hotmail, etc.) Remember to check your email often so you don't miss any survey invitations.

Take advantage of free software that can store personal information to automate filling out forms. This will speed up the process of filling out common information like name, address, etc. We recommend RoboForm or the Autofill feature in the Google Toolbar.

You need to establish yourself as a reliable survey taker. Take all of the survey offers that are offered at first, even if they are only rewarded with sweepstakes entries. This will allow you to build up a strong track record with the individual survey sites. Soon you will start receiving more survey offers than you can handle. Once you are satisfied with the volume of survey invitations you are receiving, you can then focus on the more lucrative surveys that interest you.

Create Bookmarks for the Login locations for your sites.

Many of the sites have a login for members that allows you to change your profile information, review the surveys you have taken, etc. Be sure to bookmark these locations and organize them in you browser so that you have easy access to them. In Internet Explorer, just go to Favorites, Organize Favorites, and then create a folder name of your choice. Then store all of your paid survey locations in this folder.

Checking your paid survey accounts.

You should check your accounts from time to time. It is important to check on the number of points or cash level you have accumulated. and whether or not you have reached the requirements necessary to cash out. Also, some of these sites occasionally add more profile surveys, so it is important to fill these out, and update any changes to your existing profile information so that you get the appropriate survey invitations. In addition some of these sites offer bonuses just for logging into the site. For example, MySurvey.com gives you an entry into their $10,000 sweepstakes for every day you log in, and LightSpeed offers mini polls on their site that will reward you with an entry into their $5,000 sweepstakes.

Blog (http://www.online-paid-surveys.net/blog/)

[eddieMX07]

that showed me why I should record of all the surveys I take. Today I have to run down over 10 messeages of surveys messages and they were all from yesterday. I didn't get to them yesterday because I decide to call it a day early. Well thats the last thing I do that. Later I click the "Check Mail" button on my Hotmail and I had 22 new messages!!! Gosh Darn. WOW This hasn't happend to me in a long time. So starting Monday I will record all the survey invites I get regardless if its paid or not. I think I will use a TXT document to do this or many a Excel.

Also I'm planning to make a long list of all my earning like Lee did in the blog. I wanted to this for a long time but I have been lazy. So Sunday I will start the list because that day I get the least moment of surveys.

I read Lee's Tips and I have to agree on must of them. Thanks for that helpful list!!

[LapisLee]

Internet Paid Surveys (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/) is yet another contender that lists the Top 15 paid surveys.

Welcome to Internet Paid Surveys. Here we review the best online paid survey sites that pay you for your opinions. We feature only tried and tested paid survey companies that are really worth joining and have good reputation. Our database is frequently updated and is absolutely FREE. You never have to pay firms like surveyscout to join survey sites. Anyone who asks money in return for a database of paid survey companies are only cheating you. Go through our list of free paid surveys and join them without spending a cent.

Paid surveys are a great work from home opportunity to make some extra money in your spare time. Internet surveys are fun. At the same time, you help in the development of new products. Market research companies are interested in knowing your opinion on various matters on behalf of their clients. They are willing to pay you for the time you spend for them. Most of the reputable paid survey sites are online divisions of market research companies. They are all free to join and give rewards ranging from $1 to $100 or more per survey completed. Some paid survey sites enter you into sweepstakes where you can earn more money. Others may reward you with points which can be later redeemed for cash.

Check out the following online paid survey sites and join them to start earning from paid surveys. We have organized the paid survey sites based on where all they operate. You will see that majority of the paid survey sites accept members from USA (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/survey1.htm) and Canada (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/canada/survey1.htm) only. However, there are also many sites which accept members internationally (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/international/survey1.htm). Once you join a survey site, you need to confirm your email address and then complete your profiles at the survey site. When a new survey is in progress, you will be notified by email if you qualify for that survey. Join as many paid survey sites as possible to maximize your earnings. Roboform (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/survey/survey.php?id=roboform) is a software which helps you to fill forms fast and save your time while joining survey sites. Visit our Online Paid Surveys FAQ (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/more/surveyfaq.htm) page to learn more about paid surveys.

Top 15 Survey sites

SurveySavvy
Valued Opinions
NFO mySurvey
Globaltestmarket
SurveySpot
Epoll Surveys
Greenfield Online
NPDOR
Zoom Panel
Opinion Outpost
Ipsos i-Say
Lightspeed Research
ACOP
GFK Surveys.com
Your2cents

Top Worldwide Surveys

Brand Institute
SurveySavvy
ACOP
GlobalTestMarket
Ciao Surveys
Pureprofile
Permission Research
Planet Pulse
Harris Poll
Spidermetrix

Privacy Policy (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/more/privacy.htm)

How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy and disclaimer, please contact us at our Contact Page (http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/contact/contact.htm).

[maplaver]

I don't understand how IPSOS I-SAY is always in the top survey lists.
I really dislike them and always leave their surveys for LAST!

[maplaver]

I only get IPSOS surveys through other survey sites and won't be able to review them. I also question why NPDOR shows up so frequently in these Top Ten lists. It can't possibly have anything to do with how much cash people earn. Same with Zoom Panel. I'm not even familiar with Chooz. Any ideas?

I think I'll only use IPSOS til I'm able 2 cashout for the 1st and ONLY time. Their surveys are TOO LONG and pay TOO FEW points. It's going 2 take me 4ever 2 cashout!
I like ZOOM PANEL because at least with them I get something in return. I've gotten a book from my fave author and I'm almost ready 2 cashout 4 another book of him ;)
I unsubscribed from NPDOR and CHOOZZ for paying only with sweepstakes entries... I'm like you, I don't get why they are always in the top lists.
Supposedly CHOOZZ sends paid surveys every now and then... yeah right, when cows fly :mad:

[LapisLee]

Everyone should bookmark this site.

There are many companies on the internet which promise to reward or pay you for various activities. Some require you to read e-mails, click links or to complete online surveys, while others require you to participate in investment programs or to shop via their website. These types of website are known as "get paid" programs, and are the focus of GPTBoycott (http://www.gptboycott.com/).

Many users have found that by joining and participating in these "get paid" programs it is possible to earn some extra money each month. This reflects the fact that most online "get paid" programs are honest and pay their members as promised. However, there are other sites which look to take advantage of their users by acting dishonestly, improperly or fraudulently. The aim of GPTBoycott is to name the offending 'get-paid' companies, and to urge our visitors to stop using them. If you're tired of companies stealing your time and money, and if you want to know which sites to avoid, take a look around this site, and help us stamp out fraudulent behaviour online!

Submit a Complaint (http://www.gptboycott.com/submit.php)

Please use the following form to submit complaints to GPTBoycott. Only complaints submitted using the form below will be considered when deciding whether or not to boycott a site. As such, forum posts, e-mails and other methods of communication will not be taken into account. When we receive ten legitimate complaints about a program it is considered for boycott, and when we receive five it is added to our watch list (http://www.gptboycott.com/watch). We depend heavily on the complaint submissions of our visitors, for without them we cannot boycott a site. To read more fully about the importance of submitting a complaint, please read this article (http://www.gptboycott.com/article/Why_Submit_a_Complaint).

Once ten complaints are received for a program, the GPTBoycott staff will formally review that program for boycott. In most cases, this eventually leads to that program being boycotted. Please ensure all complaints are submitted in clear English, are free from obscenities and would be suitable for visitors of all ages. Submitting a complaint under a pseudonym is acceptable. Please note that we may edit complaints for the purpose of bringing them within the guidelines expressed above.

The Boycott List (http://www.gptboycott.com/boycott/)

The Boycott List is in many respects the most important feature at this site. GPTBoycott has been boycotting programs since 2001, and over time has developed a number of requirements which must be fulfilled before a site can be boycotted. These are outlined in the "Frequently Asked Questions" below. The importance of a boycott should not be underestimated. Many programs which have been boycotted have stopped scamming members and have closed down shortly afterwards, while others have started to pay members in a way which they did not previously. It is therefore vital that our visitors should continue to file their complaints (http://www.gptboycott.com/submit.php), so that we can continue to boycott fraudulent and dishonest sites.

The Watch List (http://www.gptboycott.com/watch/)

The Watch List comprises all programs, with a number of limited exceptions, against whom we have received five or more complaints via our complaint submission form (http://www.gptboycott.com/submit.php). Forum posts and other methods of complaint are not taken into consideration when compiling the Watch List. It should be recognised that as such, the Watch List represents a crude measure of assessing a site's characteristics and honesty. We do not recommend that our visitors use the Watch List in isolation to guide their future decisions regarding programs, and we would encourage them to undertake additional reading and research in order to assess the legitimacy and credibility of a program, for example by using our discussion forum (http://www.gptboycott.com/forum).

There are a number of exceptions to the Watch List, the most important of which are programs appearing on our Boycott List, and dead programs. In exceptional circumstances, the GPTBoycott staff will remove a program from the Watch List because the complaints are invalid for one reason or another. Requests for removal of a program from the list will not be answered, unless that request is made by the program's ownership. Any such requests should be made using the contact form (http://www.gptboycott.com/help/contact.php) provided.

[djuna73]

6. NEVER give out your Social Security number or credit card information. Legitimate survey companies will not ask for either of these numbers.

NOT true! Any honest company will REQUIRE your social security number if your earnings with then are more than $600 in a calendar year. If you do not provide the information, they do have the right to terminate your membership.

By law, any earnings over $600 must be reported to the IRS as income and there are MANY survey companies which state they will require an SSN if you reach that mark.

[LapisLee]

NOT true! Any honest company will REQUIRE your social security number if your earnings with then are more than $600 in a calendar year. If you do not provide the information, they do have the right to terminate your membership. By law, any earnings over $600 must be reported to the IRS as income and there are MANY survey companies which state they will require an SSN if you reach that mark.
Of course, djuna is right. If you do earn more than $600 from any survey company within the tax year, you will be sent a tax form that you must fill out and submit to the IRS for tax purposes. Which companies has anyone earned more than $600 per year from so far? I am very curious to know! :p

[schneiderman]

its important to add that you should not initially be required to give your SSN. After you have made a good amount of money then they will require it, but not before.

[LapisLee]

News, tips, and reviews of rewards programs, rebate portals, and survey sites.

Although Comparerewards.com (http://www.comparerewards.com/) is not strictly limited to survey sites, it is one of the most serious and professional sources of information on survey site news, as well as other reward programs. Everyone should have a look at this site from time to time to keep up with what is going on. I will also update this forum on any pertinent news items that I find reported there.

Here are few examples of some of the articles, although a bit dated, posted from their archives. I will post more up-to-date articles as I find them.

What's a Rewards Program? (http://www.comparerewards.com/archives/000043.html#000043)
October 19, 2001 2:02 PM
Updated, 11/06

There are a lot of different rewards programs out there and while they may look and feel different, they basically operate the same way. Each program is signed up as an "affiliate" with various online merchants. That means it is paid a commission anytime someone clicks through their link to an online store and makes a purchase. The rewards program shares part of their commission with you -- in the form of points, miles, or percentage rebates. After you reach a certain minimum of cashback or points, you can cash out your rebates, in the form of gift certificates, merchandise, and/or cash, depending on the program.

Some programs allow you to earn additional points in various other ways, including reading email ads, visiting websites, completing surveys, signing up for services, and even playing games! See the Rewards Program Reviews section on CompareRewards' homepage (http://www.comparerewards.com/) for details on each program. There is no cost to join a rewards program. And while your fastest rewards will be earned from online shopping, it is possible to earn enough points through free methods (reading emails, visiting websites, completing surveys, etc.) to cash out for gift certificates -- the proverbial "money for nothing"!

What's the Best Rewards Program? (http://www.comparerewards.com/archives/000045.html#000045)
October 19, 2001 2:05 PM | Permalink
Updated, 11/06

This question can be answered in a lot of different ways. It all really comes down to what's most important to you.

Which programs pay the most for shopping? Which programs pay their shopping rebates in cashback percentages (easy to understand and to compare between programs), and which pay in points (hard to convert to cashback percentages, and can be devalued if they raise the number of points it takes to buy their gift cards)?

Which programs will cut you a check, and which pay by PayPal (typically faster)? Would you rather have your earnings in a gift card?

How long does it take to access your rebate earnings? Days? Months?

Which sites have bad reputations -- for instance, bad reports with the Better Business Bureau?

All of these factors are important, but you may value one aspect of a rewards program more than another, which is why there is no one clear answer to, "What's the best rewards program?"

To see how some of the most popular programs stack up against one another, in as concise a manner as possible, I came up with two charts to help: the 2006 Shopping Rebates Comparison Chart (http://www.comparerewards.com/shoppingcomparison06.html), which lists how much each program pays for shopping at some of the big online stores (after converting those points programs' points to percentages)... and my Rebate Program Snapshot (http://www.comparerewards.com/rebatesnapshot.html), which summarizes many of the important facets discussed above and also includes some background history and buzz on the programs as well.

In addition, some programs give you opportunities to earn aside from just earning rebates by shopping. You may also want to consider this when choosing a rewards program.

Some examples:

Earn by reading emails and clicking one or more links. Sites that offer this include BondRewards (2.5c per email, maybe one a week), MyPoints (4c per email, depends on your profile but maybe one a day), FreestyleRewards (4c per email, one or two a week), and QuickRewards.net (1c per email, one a day).
Earn by correctly answering one or more daily trivia questions. These sites include CreationsRewards (1/2 a cent), Milesource (1.5c), and QuickRewards (1c to random correct respondants).
Earn by clicking links on the reward program's site. Rewards programs offering this include CreationsRewards (about 1c daily), Freeride (unsure of the daily amount - it varies), Milesource (about 7.5c daily), and QuickRewards.net (about 9c daily).
Earn for completing surveys. MyPoints occasionally offers these onsite (4c each) or by email (about 8c for attempting but not completing one; 40c for completing it). Daily surveys are available on QuickRewards.net and QuizPoints.com, but they are offered through the same site and you can only be credited for completing one at either site each day (QuickRewards pays the most for these, at 75c; QuizPoints pays 60c).
Earn for signing up for newsletters or entering contests (no credit card required). Many sites offer these and the amount you can earn varies widely by offer and by program. Rewards programs that offer these include CreationsRewards.net, Freeride, FusionCash.net, MyPoints, Pointpool, QuickRewards.net, QuizPoints, and SearchCactus.
Earn for free or low-cost trials that do require a credit card (and paying to continue the service, or calling to cancel). These are offered through all the sites in #5 plus FreestyleRewards.
Referring other members (usually only paid when the member shops or completes some other offer). Almost all programs have something like this in place.
I'm often asked, "Which programs are YOUR favorites?" I shop through many of the programs, but I do have three favorites, and I'll tell you why:


Ebates.com: I joined Ebates in May of 2000. As they've grown, over time, their rates gotten better and better, and they are very, very reliable with their payments. Six weeks after the quarter ends, if you have over $5 in your account, you get a check. Actually, they'll pay you by PayPal if you prefer, but call me old-fashioned -- I still like getting that check in the mail. With 800 total merchants (they have almost everywhere I shop) and great promotions like Double Cashback Tuesdays (where they double their rebate on orders from one merchant), Ebates is an all-around great rewards program. (New members get a $5 bonus when they join and place their first order, too.)

Jellyfish.com: These guys have a different financial model, and I would only butcher it if I tried to explain it here, but let's just say they have a closer relationship with their merchants and are able to arrange not only great shopping rates but also lower prices on some specific items that you'll only find if you use their comparison shopping function on their site. Their $10 minimum to cash out (by check or PayPal) concerned me a little at first, until I saw how much I was earning in rebates from this program. They also have a reverse auction on weekdays called their Smack Deal of the Day (more on that here).

QuickRewards.net: Fewer members means they work harder for your business. QuickRewards.net started in June of '03, and I've seen it grow tremendously since then, but without the marketing dollars of the "big boys," QuickRewards has remained one of the best kept secrets in rewards programs. Their rates are good, but not the best. They outshine all the other programs in two aspects, though: superior customer service (same day, courteous, and helpful answers to emails, meeting or beating their competitor's rates on request, adding specific merchants on request -- sometimes the same day, finding coupon codes for you on request, etc.) and incredibly fast processing of your shopping rebates (they credit your account and allow you to cash out in days). And, perhaps my favorite feature: request your earnings to PayPal with no minimum balance required, and you're usually paid the same day. Or you can save up your earnings for gift cards.

[LapisLee]

How Accurate Are Results of Online Paid Surveys? (http://www.comparerewards.com/archives/002654.html)
July 28, 2006 6:21 PM

In an article in today's Wall Street Journal Online, author Carl Bialik questions whether results from online survey sites, specifically data findings from paid online survey site e-Rewards, are really applicable to the public at large.

E-Rewards recruits survey panel members, sometimes through frequent flier programs, with the promise of rewards for completing surveys. E-Rewards' currency can be redeemed for more consumer-oriented rewards, like free movie rentals from Blockbuster, or for rewards which presumably would have more appeal to business travellers, like airline miles and discounts at online luggage store eBags. When a new survey goes live, e-Rewards' panel members are screened in order to, for instance, get responses from people from specific industries, people who work for large companies, self-employed, married women aged 26-46 in the computer industry, etc... You get the idea.

Anyway, Bialik says that the type of business person who would participate in a survey panel like e-Rewards does not necessarily hold opinions that could be applicable to Corporate America in general. "...What they're really reporting are the tendencies of business travelers who identify themselves as executives, sign up for a rewards program and then respond to an emailed invitation to participate in an online survey."

The article goes on to suggest that because blue collar industries tend to travel less and to be working out of the office, away from a computer, those types of industries would be under-represented. So, to survey business people online, then to try to draw conclusions like, "70% of business owners say they intend to..." might not really be accurate.

How accurate really IS data from paid online survey sites? I think the problem is far more pervasive than drawing too broad conclusions from under-represented population segments. The problem is, how many people have sort of...fudged answers to survey prequalifiers in the hopes that their answers would lead to their being asked to complete the full survey for a reward? (And then, once accepted, completed the survey with fake or at least misleading information?) How prevalent is this problem, and how badly does it skew the survey results?

Of course, if you're hoping to get thoughtful, valid answers from busy businesspeople, or from any other niche of the population, you're going to have to offer some type of incentive. But that incentive alone is cause enough for the type of intelligent people that these survey panels value to falsify answers in order to receive the reward.

One research company that uses data from e-Rewards' surveys talked about how they "scrub" data in the hopes of eliminating bogus responses, like those from people who didn't spend enough time on the question, or those, for example, who answered "Excellent" for all questions. And maybe that's all the researchers can do, because after all, they're not omniscient and can't discern the truthfulness behind each individual response. But is that enough? Do survey findings really mean anything?

Whether the survey results are misleading because of the wording of their conclusions, or because of the proportion of fabricated responses, it's best to take all of these survey findings with a grain of salt. Perhaps Mark Twain said it best: "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."

[LapisLee]

Although not as well-organized, not nearly as concise and with a flavor all of her own Annika's (http://groups.msn.com/Annikas/welcome.msnw) is nonetheless a well-respected source for up-to-the-minute news on all ways of making money online. I have not been an active contributor, but I have been reading the forum and gleaning bits and pieces of information that might be of value for our members who may prefer a more relaxed, more paid-survey-focussed forum environment. Annika's currently has 1906 members. An active email address, not from AOL or AIM, is the only requirement for membership.

Here is the Welcome page along with some other information. Needless to say, the list of 800+ paid surveys is more comprehensive than the average person will need. I personally think it is a waste of time to sign up for 100 paid survey sites and I have only signed up with 30-40 and have unsubscribed to some of those as I found them to not be worth my time.

Working together we can make a difference!

Our staff is diverse, we have many different religious beliefs, please don't email the whole staff and attempt to attack us for ONE person's beliefs.

Greetings and welcome to Annika's. I made this web page because I enjoy helping others so much. Here, we ALL SHINE. We hope you find this site to not only be inspirational but friendly. Thank you for checking out this group. We hope you decide to join if you haven't already. All are welcome here. When you join you get 3mbs of space, feel free to post anything you wish. We update often and expand monthly.

The heart of this site is our Message Boards Please take a moment and visit us there. We believe you will find some of the most friendly and talented people on the web. If you are a newbie, we want you to feel comfortable to ask questions or to "do your own thing". Please don't be shy ~ we all had to start at the beginning and all the members of this site are more than happy to help! If you have never been a member of an MSN group, it may take a little getting used to. We are happy to answer any questions regarding how to post pictures, attach documents, etc..

Please note that we are a PG rated site, which means we allow people of any age to become members of this site. Remember that what you post could be viewed by someone of an impressionable age. We hope we can all get along, or at least have civilized discussions. We must remember to be respectful of others opinions, no matter what they are. We can learn from each other's experiences, good and bad. Thank you for contributing and expanding our group. Thank you so very much! Please keep in mind this is not a sim site, please don't sim on our message board.

All the Managers at Annika's

Focus groups, Saving Money, Making Money, and more.

The Net's Oldest legitimate Free Survey Listing!! Over 800 paid survey links, free to join!

Annika's is the most up-to-date free survey directory anywhere!

These pages are best viewed in 32 bit color.

* The old times were the best but new times can be even better. *

http://i27.tinypic.com/20hokrm.gif

81,292 Visitors since April 23, 2000

[maplaver]

I agree with you. That site overwhelms me :confused:
I get ALL their post but only read the ones from Annika herself and not the ones from the members... those stay in my junk mail.
I'm not active either!

[LapisLee]

Dollar Value of a "Point" (http://www.comparerewards.com/archives/000047.html#000047)
October 19, 2001 2:09 PM
Updated, 11/06.

Why, oh, why, do some rewards programs pay in points? How do I know what the points are worth? How do I know how the points rebates compare to the percentage rebates?

Rebate programs that use points do so for a couple of reasons. First off, they LIKE that they're confusing. They COUNT ON you not knowing what you're really earning when you shop. Your ignorance is their bliss!

When you do the math and calculate what a point's really worth, it becomes obvious really fast that point rebate programs in general just can't compete with cash rebate programs. In my 2006 Shopping Rebate Comparison Chart analysis (http://www.comparerewards.com/archives/002940.html), I found that the four lowest paying rebate sites of the 17 I compared were POINTS sites, not percentage rebate sites! Could they get away with it if it was more obvious that they're paying so much less? Heck, no! People would go elsewhere!

Another reason some sites pay in points is that it gives THEM the control over what YOU are really earning. You think: "Hey! I almost have the 1000 points it costs to get a $10 Walmart gift card!" They think: "Hey, business isn't that great...why don't we increase the cost of that $10 Walmart gift card to 1200 points, make 'em earn us some more money before we pay them?!" BOOM! They just made your points (that's your rebate!) worth less. Cash rebate sites can't do that.

One other reason some sites pay in points is that they can give out free, non-spending points to members for things like reading their emails or visiting links on their site. The member thinks they're getting something for nothing -- free points without spending a dime! But they may not realize the true value of those points (anywhere between 1/2 and 1/20th of a cent).

Finding out the real dollar value of a point can be useful in many ways.

The Usefulness of Knowing Point Value
Let's say you want to figure out what's the better deal, for example, 3% at Ebates or 20 Greenpoints per dollar. Or, you want to figure out how a 250 point Milesource signup bonus translates into dollars. Or maybe you're curious, is 10 points per dollar at one program the same as 10 points per dollar at another site?

To do these kinds of comparisons, you have to know how much ONE point is worth at each site. That way, you can figure out how much 20 points per dollar is, THEN you can convert that to percent. (Just multiply the value of one point by 20...and move the decimal over two places.) You can figure out how much that 250 point signup bonus is. (Multiply the value of one point by 250.) And you can figure out how much 10 points per dollar is worth. (Multiply the value of one point by 10...and if you want to convert it to percent, move the decimal over two places.)

Once you know the dollar value of a point, the math isn't very hard. But you need a strategy for how to go about calculating the value -- and that can get complicated. Here's why.

Deciding How to Calculate Point Value
The difficulty in calculating the dollar value of a point comes from the fact that rewards programs aren't consistent with their own dollar value. If a $25 GC costs 1500 points, you'd think a $50 GC would cost twice that or 3000 points, right? Not necessarily... it might cost 2850. And a $25 department store GC may cost fewer points than a $25 Webcertificate. There could potentially be a different point value for every single redemption on a rewards program's website! So how do you come up with a quick estimate for comparison's sake?

The way I do it is, I calculate the dollar value based on a $25 GC when it is available, or the next closest denomination if $25 isn't available (maybe they offer $20 GCs instead). This is just to be consistent across the board, so all programs are "judged" by the same dollar value redemption.

The calculation itself is simple: Take the best $25 redemption (the one that costs the fewest points). Divide 25 by the number of points it costs. Voila! You've got the dollar value of a point at that program.

There's nothing magical about using the $25 redemption; I just use it for consistency. I didn't want to use the cheapest redemption (at most sites, $5 or $10) because there is usually a cost savings in points for holding out for a higher value redemption... but I didn't want to choose an unrealistically high value redemption, because most of us probably won't wait until we have $100 in our accounts to cash out. If you want to re-work the numbers on your own at the $10 level or the $100 level, be my guest, just be sure to be consistent and use the same dollar value redemption for each program you compare.

As you read through each rewards program's review on CompareRewards, you'll see the dollar value of a point that I've calculated for that program. Remember that it is based on the best-value $25 redemption. If you traditionally cash out at a lower level, your points may be worth less...and if you usually cash out at a higher level, your points could be worth more. And remember, the calculation was valid as of the last date I reviewed the site... if the best $25 redemption's point cost changed since then, the calculation won't be accurate.

Stop the Insanity!:
"Site X pays 20 points per dollar for shopping at Target. Site Y pays 30 points per dollar. Site Y is the best!" NO! Well, maybe! How do you figure out if that's true? Calculate the value of a point at Site X, multiply by 20, move the decimal over two places. Calculate the value of a point at Site Y, multiply by 30, move the decimal over two places. Compare. Site Y could be better...but comparing the number of points between the sites tells you absolutely nothing; you won't know until you do the math!

And Don't Go HERE, Either:
"Hey, a point is worth more at Program X than at Program Y. Program X must be better then, right?" NO! There are two sides to the point analysis: one is backing out the value of a point from the cost of the best $25 redemption. The other is taking that value forward to calculate what the site pays for its offers, including shopping. Program X may only charge 25 points for a $25 GC...that would make each point there worth $1. Sounds great, huh? More than what a point is worth at Program Y, for sure! But what if Program X only pays 1/1000th of a point per dollar for shopping? It's an extreme example, but it's meant to illustrate that the dollar value of a point is only one calculation that allows you to figure out what a points program pays. It's not THE calculation that tells you if a program is good or not.

I'm So Confused!:
Don't worry, you have a friend with an MBA and too much time on her hands. Just send me an email and I'll be more than happy to do the math for you, or to explain it in a different way that might make more sense to you.

Congratulations! You've just completed the last section of Rewards Program Basics! You have MORE than enough information to make the most of rewards programs!

[LapisLee]

Everything you need to know about doing paid surveys (http://www.helium.com/items/25884-everything-you-need-to-know-about-doing-paid-surveys)
by Rhonda M.

Paid surveys have attracted many online users with their promise to pay good amounts of cash for a few minutes of your time. It sounds really great I know but the truth is it is often not as great as it sounds. Before you take the leap to commit to taking paid surveys for all those companies that promise to pay you for your time there are a few things you need to know.

Paid surveys are a way to make a few extra bucks. You are never going to get rich from paid surveys. Most surveys pay very little if anything at all once all is said and done. Many companies have tricky ways of getting out of paying you anything once you take some of your precious time to answer their questions. Some companies do this by screening you out of the survey after much of your time. If you do not complete the full survey you do not get paid the incentive. Make sure to always read the email or survey description before you being. Sometimes the incentive you get upon completion is not what you thought you would receive. Companies that do not pay what they promise or screen you out after more than a few minutes of your time are not where you want to be taking surveys. You will waste time and never receive the payment you are due.

There are hundreds of survey companies out there that will promise you payment for joining their panel and taking their surveys. Very few of these companies are worth the time it takes to fill out the application to join their panel. Many companies you sign up for will never send you any surveys; some will send a few each month, while others will only send a few each year. I at one point in time was a member to well over 200 survey companies and less than 10 of those companies was ever worth my time. You must sign up with more than one company to make any money but signing up for hundreds is not going to fix the problem either. The important thing is to sign up for companies with a good track record of paying their members. These panels are generally difficult to join but will be worth your time if you can. The best ways to find these panels are online forums, friends, etc.

You will also need to know that you will not qualify for every survey you are sent. You screen out of surveys based on demographics, age, gender, etc. Most companies pay or give nothing if you screen out. There are a few that will pay a fraction of the full incentive, enter you in a sweepstakes, etc. Also understand that the more surveys you take for a company a better member you become. Many companies will only send sweepstake surveys to begin with and once you have taken a few will move you up to an earned incentive. Take note if companies only offer sweepstakes or if these are the only surveys you ever receive after you have been a member for a few months this may indicate that these companies want your opinion but never intend to pay you for your time. Keep the company if you like but put them on the bottom of your surveys to do list.

One of the most important lessons I learned while signing up for survey companies was to never pay for a list of survey companies. The list I received contained information that I had already found online free of charge. Even more upsetting than the information they sent me being available for free was the realization that I was already a member of at least 50% of the companies they sent in their list. Luckily I got a refund of my money but many times this is not the case. If you want to participate in paid surveys do online research and do not pay anyone for a list of companies.

As I mentioned before I am involved in a few good survey sites. Many of these sites took me years to find. Your patience in reading my article has earned you my knowledge of the few best survey sites I am aware of. Below are the best companies I have found to be honest, legit, and pay their members as they promise.

* NFO - This site sends surveys at random. I get quite a few from them but have been a member for some time now. When you take a survey for this company you are paid by points that can be redeemed for cash and prizes. This is one of the few companies that pay you a few points even if you screen out. Invitations to surveys are sent by email and will tell you a bit about the survey before you agree to take it or not. The incentive for the survey is posted in the email and is the amount you will receive if you screen out if you qualify you will receive more points that will be stated upon successful completion of the screening questions. You are not made continue with the survey at that point but are told what you can earn if you complete the full survey, how long it is expected to take, and then asked if you want to continue. You can choose no and still earn the screening question points.

* PineCone Research - This is the best panel I have ever found. This is also the hardest to join panel I have ever found. This company pays you five dollars for each survey you take for them. Their screening questions known as Household questions are short and do not pay but may qualify you for an upcoming paid survey. Each email will tell you if the survey is Household questions or a paid survey. I receive one or two paid surveys from this company most months of the year. The trick to this panel is the only way to join is you must find their link some where on the Internet. You cannot join by going to their homepage, referral, etc. The best place to learn of a link is by online forums but you better act quick once the company knows their link has been compromised they move it!

* View Point Forum - This panel is another good one that is difficult to join. The company does not send many surveys but the ones they send do pay in cash form. This is another company that you are paid a fraction of the incentive even if you screen out of the survey. The problem with this panel is they are very difficult to join. You have to find them in need of new members in order to sign up.

* Global Testmarket - This panel sends quite a few surveys that pay you in points. The points can later be redeemed for cash and prizes. The panel can be joined by going to their website at globaltestmarket.com. You will be invited to surveys by email. Each email will tell you the points that will be awarded upon completion of the survey.

These sites are just a few to get you started in your quest for paid surveys. These are some of the best survey sites that I have located in my many years of research and joining panels. You will not get rich by being a member of these sites but may earn a little bit of extra spending cash. There are hundreds maybe even thousands more companies available to sign up with but many of them may not be worth your time. Look for useful information to steer you in the right direction with survey companies so that you do not end up wasting your time.

All you need to know about paid surveys is right here in this article. Do your research to avoid wasting time with scams. When you sign up for a panel understand how members are paid and how you will be invited to surveys. Most companies will send emails but some will require you to check their site for available surveys. You are one among hundreds of other people that has likely been invited to take the survey you have received so respond in a timely manner if you hope to qualify. Most all surveys come with a deadline and set amount of people who can participate. Be prepared to screen out of some surveys and not receive a dime for your effort. You are not going to get rich but you do have the ability to have your opinion heard by manufactures, the media, consumers, etc.

[paddysmum]

I agree with you. That site overwhelms me :confused:
I get ALL their post but only read the ones from Annika herself and not the ones from the members... those stay in my junk mail.
I'm not active either!

I manage the information in Annikas Forums by creating RSS feeds for a few select threads.
I keep up-to-date with Annika's "Limited Local" and "Limited Offer" threads by using Page2RSS to create feeds for my RSS aggregator, Google Reader. That way I can track focus group opportunities.

[eddieMX07]

I use MyYahoo as my RSS Reader. Here is the definition of RSS from Wikipedia:

RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or filtered displays.

What that means is that an RSS Feed a tool to get an update on topics that interest you. RSS Feeds are updated automatically so you always know what is new with that topic.

[paddysmum]

Could you break that down for dummies, like me? What is an RSS feed? Also, can you provide links to some of Annika's better threads on paid online surveys? Her MSN forum is really good, but somewhat overwhelming as might be expected after so many years of being online. By the way, welcome aboard to our little forum! :D

RSS - stands for Really Simple Syndication. It's a way of bringing the web to your desktop, instead of you searching the web. It's great for sites that are constantly updating their info - like news sites, job listings, or blogs. The updated information is downloaded to an aggregator site like My Yahoo!, Google Reader, or Bloglines. Registration is free and easy. Those aggregators offer toolbar buttons for easy access.

I like Google Reader because it allows me to "star" interesting posts for later reading, and I already have a Gmail account. As a job-hunting mom who likes to find deals, I keep job-listing feeds from Simply Hired or Craig's list, and feeds from deal sites like Fat Wallet , Bargainist, and Consumerist
.
Look for this iconhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Feed-icon.svg/48px-Feed-icon.svg.png on your favorite blog page like the "Survival Guide to Online Surveys" blog, and start receiving its updates as an RSS feed. Atom Feeds or XML feeds are also popular, and may also be added to your feed aggregator.

Sometimes when my most frequently-visited sites don't have an RSS feed available, I create a feed using Page2RSS. Results are not perfect: columns wrap, blocks of text flow together, but the Annika's feeds look pretty clean. If any tech-savvy souls out there have a better solution than Page2RSS, please let me know.

The two Annika's threads I track using RSS:
http://groups.msn.com/Annikas/limitedoffers.msnw - limited offer focus groups

http://groups.msn.com/Annikas/limitedlocal.msnw - limited local focus groups

I haven't created a feed from her "Paid Q& A" forum yet.

Good Luck with RSS!

[Sagie58]

Hello,
I have been involved in doing surveys since Nov. 09 and through trial and error have been learning. I was working online but not anymore so I have more time to dedicate my time and my energies towords learning all I can. Your tips are very helpful and after this post I'm going to read read read;)
In the time I've been doing surveys I have read be patient and you will get the better paying surveys. That took some effort for I'm not really the patient type but can be if needed and I was rewarded by getting a $10 survey and a $20 survey and was thrilled to no end. But one of your tips is to record your sites and winnings which I did'nt do but will from now on.
Thanks for the wealth of information;)
Sheryl

[Heath]

Welcome, Sheryl! I'm glad you found the forum! You may also want to check out the blog if you haven't already done so. www.yourfreesurveys.com/wordpress Heath

[Sagie58]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I am exploring and learning as much as I can before my brain starts to sizzle lol I'm slowly getting organized for in my usual gun ho way I got alot of ground to cover! But I know what I want so I'm doing my best to focus. I'm happy to be here for normally I don't post on blogs but I really like this site. Take care.

[LapisLee]

My name is LapisLee and I have been taking paid online surveys for the past 15 months. This article, based on my own experience is to help newcomers and more experienced survey takers improve their earnings, while minimizing the time spent in front of the computer. I started keeping records of my paid online surveys on January 31, 2008. I spend an average of one to three hours per day taking surveys. I have earned $2570.74 in 15 months from 32 survey sites, which is $171.38 per month. My actual receipts are $2422.79, which is $161.52 per month. The average survey site earned $5.36 per month, but that does not take into account how recently I have joined some sites, so I predict that this number will go up dramatically. I also won a $1200 Apple MacBook and $200 Apple iPod Touch from being a member of an online forum. The number of products, such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, chewing gum, mints, pasta sauce, salty snacks, etc. are far too numerous to mention; however, they are a also a large part of why taking paid online surveys is lucrative for me.

In addition to products and monetary incentives, I also enjoy being the first to view new movie trailers, television shows, commercials and products. Expressing my opinion and influencing new product concepts is also another enticing part of taking surveys. I always try my best to give honest, thoughtful opinions because not only does this preserve my own integrity, but survey companies often recognize and reward the respondents who give the most in-depth, insightful and honest answers. They will also disqualify those whose answers are not consistent over time.

10 Good Tips for Taking Paid Online Surveys

Everyone wants to know which surveys pay, but there are a few other things that you need to know before you even sign up for your first paid survey site. Here are ten tips, tricks and techniques that I have learned and I will add others as they occur to me. I am sure other members will add their own as well.


Use a brand new email address that is dedicated solely to surveys, because you will want to ensure that you have a dedicated email account to store and organize your survey invitations. This ensures that you do not get email invitations mixed up with your personal email, and it makes it easier to track individual survey panel invites. A good one to use is Gmail, because it has color-coded labels for labeling different surveys from different panels. You can also use Hotmail.com, Yahoo.com, AOL.com, etc.
NEVER pay for a list of paid online surveys because we will provide that list to you freely. You do not need to pay anyone for anything. All you will need is a list of 20-30 good legitimate paid online surveys. You also do not need to sign up for 100-200 surveys. A basic list of 10 legitimate survey sites is enough to get anyone started and 30 survey sites is enough to make over $200 per month within six months time.
Get Roboform in order to save all of your passwords and personal information. Roboform will fill out online forms at the click of a button saving you time and effort. In addition, it can also be used to safely store passwords and enter those at a click of a button as well so you’ll never forget a password again. Roboform is 100% free for the shareware version. You can download it here: Roboform (http://www.roboform.com/)
Get a PayPal account so you can get paid FAST. Checks often take six to eight weeks to arrive and most of the larger legitimate survey sites are now implementing PayPal into their payment systems.
AVOID all Get Paid to Try (GPT) offer sites that tell you to sign up for Silver, Gold and Platinum offers. These never lead to legitimate paid survey sites.
NEVER give out your Social Security number or credit card information. Legitimate survey companies will not ask for either of these numbers except for tax purposes if you earn more than $600 with them during the course of the tax year, in which case you will receive an IRS W-2 form from the company at the end of the year.
ONLY give out your cell phone number for text-based surveys that you opt-in to; otherwise, I would avoid it.
When you complete a paid survey, ALWAYS save the email invitation and keep an accurate record of every survey that you complete, particularly surveys of $5 and above. If there is a discrepancy and you do not receive credit for a survey it is very important that you have the survey number to reference in order to collect your incentive. Also, save the original email invitation for each survey company that has the link to the home site and the support email, as well as create a link in your browser favorites for quick access. Browser links are particularly important for daily survey panels that you will access first thing every morning after completing higher paying surveys from your email inbox.
ALWAYS fill in all of the profiles when you sign up for each paid survey site. This will insure that you receive the maximum number of surveys that you qualify for and allow the survey company to target you more accurately so you disqualify less often. Also keep them updated.
Check your email FREQUENTLY as the highest paying survey invitations and, especially the lucrative panel forums, often fill up within a few hours or even sooner of the email invitation arriving in your inbox.

[Sagie58]

I actually gave up on surveys for I made nothing lol. I guess I just wasnt doing this survey thing correctly so I have given up to what I concider a waste of time,no offense lol. I'm happy for the people that can though:)

[karenlou]

I didn't really know where else to post this..Hope this is OK.

There is a new survey question I have been seeing that I don't understand. I think this replaces the question that has you pick the picture of the emotion you're feeling after viewing a concept.

We'd like you to use the colors below to pick the one box that best represents the feelings you experienced after seeing the ad. The two rows of colors represent the strength of your feelings. The top row represents very strong feelings, the bottom row less strong feelings.
Please remember to choose the one box that best represents your feelings and strength of those feelings.
Please review the example below before moving to the next question.
Example
In this example, the color purple in the top row was selected to represent their feelings after seeing the ad AND to show they strongly experienced those feelings. :confused:

How the heck do you assign a color to a feeling? I can understand maybe blue as being sad, but I don't get it beyond that? What do you think they're looking for? How do you answer this question if you have seen it? Any psychology majors here?

Karen

[LapisLee]

I didn't really know where else to post this..Hope this is OK.

There is a new survey question I have been seeing that I don't understand. I think this replaces the question that has you pick the picture of the emotion you're feeling after viewing a concept.

How the heck do you assign a color to a feeling? I can understand maybe blue as being sad, but I don't get it beyond that? What do you think they're looking for? How do you answer this question if you have seen it? Any psychology majors here?

Karen
Emotions are affected by the mind, the mind is affected by the brain, the brain is affected by what it sees, and what we see are colors.

Look below for a list of what colors equal what feelings/emotions/general thoughts, generally.

Red: urgency, passion, heat, love, blood, excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger
Yellow: warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness, cowardice, brightness
Blue: truth, dignity, power, coolness, melancholy, heaviness, trust, reliability, belonging, coolness
Orange: playfulness, warmth, vibrant
Green: nature, health, cheerfulness, environment, money, vegetation, nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance
Purple: wealth, royalty, sophistication, intelligence, royal, spirituality, dignity
Pink: soft, sweet, nurture, security
Black: sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery, death, rebellion, strength, evil
White: purity, cleanliness, lightness, emptiness, pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild
Gold: prestige, expensive
Silver: prestige, cold, scientific

[karenlou]

Thanks Lee. I'm going to save this post for the next time I'm asked that question in a survey. At least I won't just be randomly picking a color.

Karen