Paid Online Survey Sites

Susan Bywater

Unemployed? Stay at home mom? College student? Any other person who wants to make a little bit of extra money online in their spare time? These days we all would like to make a little extra money, but how many of us really have the time to go out and get a second job? Between work, family, running a household, and everything else that we have to do, getting a second job often just isn't feasible.

1. Don't pay money to a company promising to pay you for filling out surveys, or get a list of legitimate online survey companies. There are people out there who will sell you pretty much anything, even if you can get it free somewhere else. Want to get a list of paying online survey sites? You can find it online with just a little time and effort.

2. Look for forums, articles, and blogs that talk about paid online surveys. You can find forums where people talk about their experiences with survey sites, to make sure you sign up with reputable ones. A simple google search can tell you a whole lot about a company.

3. Be realistic. You aren't going to get rich from filling out surveys, look into what you can expect to get paid and figure out if it's worth it to you.

4. Make sure that the survey company is sending you valid surveys and not just trying to sell you something. If you are asked to complete any offers or buy anything, it's not a real survey company! Not to say that it's not legit, it might be an incentivized freebie site, or a get paid to site, but it is not a survey site.

5. Check out very carefully what kinds of rewards you will get from a site. Will you get a check? Paypal payment? Gift card? Sweepstakes entry? Also, check out the minimum payout amount, if you will be getting $2 per survey, and the minimum cash-out is $50, it will take you a very long time to reach that minimum payout and actually get paid. If you can cash out at $5 and earn $1-3 per survey, it won't take you long to actually see your rewards. Make sure you know if a survey company will only reward you with sweepstakes entries. Don't necessarily rule these companies out, especially if you really like doing the surveys, but know that you may not see any actual rewards from them if you don't win one of their contests.

6. Make sure you enjoy filling out surveys. This sounds like a no-brainer, but if you don't enjoy them, don't do them. These are real companies looking for your opinions on their products and advertising, and if you aren't willing to truly give them your honest opinion, online surveys are not for you. The survey companies check out your answers to make sure that they seem legitimate, and sometimes if you go through a survey too fast (indicating that you didn't even really read it or think about it), you will not receive credit for it, and may be banned from the company. Make sure you truly have a desire to make a difference and voice your opinion, take your time, and really think about your answers.