How to Legitimately Make Money Taking Online Surveys

This is the third article in a series of three related to market research paid survey sites and how to legitimately make a few bucks for filling out questionnaires. If you are new to the world of the top paid survey sites, if this is a fairly new concept for you, it might suit you best to first read my other two articles on the matter. On the Associated Content Website, they are titled, “Top Paid Survey Sites That Really Pay- A comprehensive list of online survey panels that are worth your time and opinions” and “An Explanation of the infamous ‘Get Paid For Your Opinion’ Sites- And Why You Never Received That IPod!” This article is designed as a more in depth look into the art of the top paid survey sites world and contains little tips and tactics to help you get the most from them while at the same time, assisting the individual companies with their own market research needs. This guide should be read ideally before new top paid survey sites fans go on to sign up or all of the online survey panels as listed in the “Top Paid Survey Sites That Really Pay” article. It will save you time and effort so you don’t have to go back and redo anything.

First and most helpful is someone’s brilliant invention that works along with your browser and is called Roboform. Roboform was designed to allow for quick and easy filling out of forms. All you do is download the Roboform application, edit your personal “identity’ with information that is commonly found on standard registration forms (name, contact info, age, income, date of birth), and it’s ready to go. Next time you come across a blank form you are dreading to take the time to fill out, you need not worry any further. For right as the form page is done loading, a very small and unobtrusive green and gray Roboform window will pop up in the upper right corner of your screen. Simply click the button that says, “Fill forms” and watch as your entire form (minus a few slots) is magically filled out with your information. It’s beautiful and if you are planning to sign up for a bunch of online survey panels you will literally fly through the otherwise tedious process.

The next thing to be prepared for in your new make money taking online surveys adventure is the set of question that are typically asked. Certain answers to specific questions will invite more survey opportunities than others. And while I do not believe in lying on these questionnaires just to make an extra couple of bucks, I do, sometimes, myself, call up a friend who might fit the profile that I don’t and have them dictate their responses to me. This way the survey company is still getting genuine answers to fulfill their market research needs and at the same time, you don’t miss out on a good opportunity to get paid.

Some of the questions that you might want to leave your options open around are those regarding your occupation and industry. While the companies are always looking for diverse respondents, it is almost a fact across the board that people involved in Marketing, PR, Advertising or Newspaper/Media will be slightly biased in their answers. If any of these happen to be your specialty field of work, this “make money taking online surveys” gig might not be for you. Answering yes to being affiliated in any way to these career fields (including having friends or family who work in them o) or any fields that deal with the same topic being studied will almost always immediately disqualify you. So when you are initially registering for the online survey panels memberships it is best to keep the occupational specific s general and open. This way, you will at least be allowed ton the panel in the first place and once a member, will receive plenty of opportunities. Whether you have to get help from the unbiased friend or not- this way at least you have a choice.

And speaking of profiles, many of the top paid survey sites have optional profile surveys that you may, and should, fill out to tell them more about yourself and increase your chances of being invited to make money taking online surveys. Aside from the basic, standard profile you give upon membership registration, these questionnaires tend to target more specific demographic facts about you, your history and your present lifestyle. Profile themes that seem the most popular for the top paid survey sites pertain to information regarding your health, car ownership, business and career industry and company stats, shopping habits, and general interests. The profile surveys covering your general interests almost always are used less as a tool to screen you out of surveys and more of a way to ensure that you enjoy your online survey panel membership with survey types that are narrowed down to only what you are interested in discussing.

These profile surveys are a really good way to show a company that you are still an interested, active member, even when there has been a lull in survey invite activity. Note though that almost all the top paid survey sites that have extra optional member profiles, as these require you to pretty much log in frequently to look for the latest ones available. Since these are not crucial to their selection of respondents they do not take the time to invite you to fill out your profiles. However, if you do check in with the online survey panels about the profile surveys, you will likely find that many of the sites offer some kind of minor incentive for the effort. Be it an extra sweepstakes entry for the monthly cash award, info on survey results, or in the case of some, another dollar or two added on to the next survey award, the top paid survey sites do try to give back for your time.