Making Money Online: Surveys

I had written that one of my 2013 goals (you can find them here) was to increase the money that I make taking online surveys.   I started venturing into online surveys about 3 years ago and have made some good fun money, but want to stress you can't depend on survey money.


Some Tips Before We Start:

1) Have a separate email account.  Depending on the number of survey sites you join depend on the number of emails you will receive.  Believe me, you are going to get more emails than you know what to do with so having a separate email addy is helpful.

2) Have a Paypal account.  This isn't a must since most survey sites will cut you a check, but you get paid a lot quicker if you go through Paypal.

3) Complete surveys as soon as  you get the email.  This may be hard to do if you work full time, but you want to try to complete surveys as you receive them.  Most surveys are looking for several specific demographics. 

For example, I am a white, female in my 30's.  Once they have reached the number of participants they need for that demographic they will say you don't qualify for the survey.  The sooner you take the survey the better your chances for qualifying are.

4) Don't take surveys for sweeps.  It's actually up to you if you want to, but I have found that the surveys are just as long as the ones you get paid for with absolutely no guarantee of payment.

5) Have realistic expectations.  As I have mentioned before, taking online surveys is not going to yield you a lot of money.  In 2011, I made about $600.00 from various survey sites and another $200 in gift cards.  Last year, I put in a lot less effort and I made a lot less money.  I actually slacked on tracking it, but I think it was about $300.00 in cash and maybe $80.00 in gift cards.

6) Payments are made when you reach a minimum. - It is rare a survey site will pay you by check or paypal after you complete each survey.  Many have minimum's you need to reach before you can cash out.  Some are $10.00 and I have one survey site that is $50.00 before they will cut you a check.  This means it might be two or three months before you get paid for your survey work.

Survey Sites I Love

1) Pinecone Research.  They only open membership sign up a couple of times a year.  It's a great survey company.  They pay $3.00 per survey with most surveys taking 15 minutes.  They actually pay you via paypal after each survey and typically within 3 days of taking the surveys.  I can count on taking 1-2 surveys from them a month. 

2) Opinion Outpost.   I did very well with them in 2011and made $165.00.  The key with them is you need to take the survey right away.  If I wait a day to respond to the email the survey has been filled with my demographic.

3) GlobalTest Market- They have some interesting surveys and I even got a few products test with them including testing frozen waffles.  This is the survey site you need to have $50.00 in your account before you can cash out so it may take a couple of months to see some money.  If you want to help me get some referral points by signing up just leave a comment and I will send you an invite.

4) IPOS  I Say-  They have quite a few survey invites a month though I don't always qualify for them.   What I like is that these surveys are on a points system.  You can cash in the points for a Paypal deposit or a gift card.

5) MyView-  I have been using this survey site for less than a year, but find I qualify for many of the surveys.  If you don't qualify for the survey they still deposit points into your account for taking the screener.  You can redeem points for some great gift cards.

If you take surveys, what are some of your fav sites? Pin It Now!