What do you get in return by taking online paid surveys?

What do you get in return by taking online surveys? By Coara Andrei
It’s like Christmas time year round for those who participate in these surveys since the goodies keep coming in! As mentioned earlier, Companies today attach a great deal of importance to understanding the consumer and when they use online surveys as a non-intrusive way to get their answers, they are willing to pay for it in either cash or kind.

Even prizes or discounted products are useful and when you get something free or at a discount you save money that you would otherwise have spent on that item. As we all know, money saved is money earned. Especially during times when there is an economic slow down and job creation is slow, any opportunity that brings in some additional money gives a person a breather.

The incentive is something that varies across companies and websites. Online surveys have been around for a while now and a few patterns have emerged. They usually have a reward system designed to create excitement and enthusiasm among potential candidates.

Incentives

Cash and prizes are most common form of incentive you see on the net. But there are several variations and other forms of reward that are also used to entice people to participate in online surveys.

Given next is a run down on the kind of enticers that are used to get people of all walks of life to come on board and participate in the surveys. These are the incentives offered by online researchers to get people to answer their opinion polls or consumer insights surveys

The list of ‘enticers’:

1. Money for every survey you qualify for and complete

2. Entry into a draw/sweepstakes- for cash or prizes

3. Cash and Free products - Product trials/free samples

4. Coupons/electronic coupons

5. One-stop listing sites

6. Joining incentive

7. Discounts

8. Free movie tickets

9. Gift certificates

10. Earning points

Each of these enticers has a particular attractiveness for people. Let’s look at each
of these in turn -

1. Money for every survey you qualify for and complete

Some extra money is always welcome and comes in useful for various things in a home-

– If you are a homemaker it supplements your household income by contributing towards monthly expenses and bills

– If you are a student, you can make money in this new way, while most of your predecessors may have washed dishes in a local restaurant to make some extra cash!

– If you are a senior citizen, the amount of money you take out of your savings for your expenses can be reduced. There’s a little more to stash away for any genuine expenses that may come up.

As a pensioner, it gives you something interesting to do with your time as well. Opinion polls are especially pertinent given the experience and knowledge (about the economy, social issues,
health or global concerns) built up over the years.

– If you are a young executive, you have a little more money on hand to spend on your dates.

– If you are a young mom, an easy way to supplement your income in the comfort of your home can go a long way with the expenses that come with babies

– If you have credit card debt that you’ve consolidated and have to pay off every month, then it’s certainly additional funds towards that payment

Well, extra money is always useful no matter what you do, what kind of occupation or stage of life you happen to be in. It can certainly supplement your income and is a bonus that everyone finds use for from time to time.

If you belong to a middle-income group (where a bulk of American homes are concentrated), then even a $100 extra in a month does make a difference and can contribute in part to a week’s grocery bill. Quoting from realsimple.com- ‘The estimated average weekly grocery bill for an American household is $90, according to the Food Marketing Institute, a food retailer and wholesaler trade association in Washington, D.C.’

If you are serious about using paid surveys to advantage then you can certainly make a few hundred dollars every month and that’s something that’s achievable by the average person.

It’s well within your reach provided you visit the right websites.

Here’s what a ‘work at home’ mom said in an article that she wrote published online on March 14, 2005 .

‘I currently am making an average of $100 to $200 per month, not including any prizes won’

Read this full article in Chapter II where we address the issue of how to go about process of online surveys

Filling in online surveys is a lot of fun as well and takes your mind off your worries or stress. Some surveys are pretty light – You could be asked about the type of audio systems you own or your vacation plan for the season. You get to do something enjoyable in your spare time and you get something in return.

2. Entry into a draw/sweepstakes- for cash or prizes

There are several types of products that make their way to the sweepstakes or drawings and various ways in which you can get entered into drawings.

So, lets’ study the types of sweepstake prizes and then look at the ways in which you can get entry into the sweepstakes

Sweepstake prizes:

– You can win school supplies, baby products, cosmetics, and even
cash

– Cash incentives are also offered if you successfully complete the
survey. Your name will be entered into a drawing.

– There are drawings where the gifts are high value items such as
DVD players or even cars.

For instance, this is what the ad of Internet Survey Panel

The Internet Survey Panel gives members entries into drawings for a wide variety of prizes when they take surveys online. Prizes include cash, cars, gift certificates, electronics and more. $100©s of $1000©s in prizes are awarded each year.

If you want to visit the Internet Survey Panel website go ahead but I recommend that you that after you finished reading this e-book.

Don’t worry about loosing the link because in order to save you valuable time I compiled o list of the best free surveys companies and surveys databases that you can join with confidence , at the end of this e-book.

Sweepstake entry:

Some surveys don’t pay cash or give prizes to all their participants but have drawings in which all participants are entered. They reward only a set number of participants for each survey. This apart, it is actually fairly easy to gain entry into sweepstakes and by and large if you look around, you will find that this is an incentive that is readily offered for just about anything!

a) Even if you complete a screening questionnaire (a short questionnaire designed to identify those who are suitable for a particular survey issue or topic), your name will be entered into a drawing where cash is awarded at some surveys.

So, you are entered into the drawings just for filling in the preliminary questionnaire and you could potentially win cash! That’s irrespective of whether you qualify for the survey or not.

b) At times, as a member at the site you are entered into sweepstakes as a kind of consolation prize when you don’t qualify for a survey!

To cite an example, members at gozing.com receive this message. It’s incorporated in the email invitation -
NEW INCREASED SWEEPSTAKES CHANCES!

If you don©t qualify for this survey, you©ll be entered into our $5,000 USD Sweepstakes.
100 members will be randomly chosen to receive a $50 USD reward!

c) At times, when you become a member at a website or join the survey panel of a market research firm, you are entered into the sweepstakes So, the sweepstakes are basically a kind of carrot that is dangled to keep the interest level of visitors and members going.

But it goes without saying that winning in the sweepstakes or drawings is a matter of chance and anyone who knows anything about ‘probabilities’ knows that you cannot hope to win every time. But it’s a gesture on the part of the survey to motivate people to do their questionnaires and it works to an extent.

But the best-paid surveys are the ones where cash is a definite thing if you are a qualified respondent who completes the survey. Sweepstakes are merely a supplemental form of earning money from online surveys. Your main stay has to be the paid surveys, free products, discounts or free coupons.

3. Cash and Free products -Product trials and free samples

Paid online surveys are conducted by market research firms for companies that sell household products or personal products. You will be sent free samples of detergent, soaps, cosmetics; perfume or fabric softener and you do a kind of in-home product testing and then give your opinion online by answering their questionnaire.

You get to keep the products and the company gets your valuable feedback on your likes and dislikes regarding their product and based on the opinions of several respondents like you in their sample they get a feel for whether the product will work or not in the market place or if they need to fine tune it in some way. They will also pay you for your feedback and you get to try the
free items as well

4. Coupons/ electronic coupons

You are enticed to fill out an online survey in return for coupons.

Some surveys give you electronic coupon that can be redeemed at amazon.com or some such online shopping mall. Discount coupons are a worthwhile prize too because they save you money.

5. One-stop listing sites

Pay the company an initial subscription fee to get access to their extensive list of online surveys that will in turn pay you for taking their surveys.

The web site where you become a member brings you several opportunities at one venue - their website. You don’t have to search through innumerable sites. Besides, there are tips, FAQs and a lot of advice thrown in to help you maximize your returns from the online survey phenomenon.

For instance, SurveyScout

is a website where members can access hundreds of surveys. They will also guide you on how to pick out the best from the list in terms of ‘Best money making opportunities’ that are highly recommended by them.

You will have access to their online resources, freebies offers and other special offers that a casual visitor to the website cannot access because these are meant for their members only.

Most such one-stop websites also have a ‘bonus’ section, which is a private area accessible only to members. In this section, they have an additional compilation of a few more routes to getting paid online besides answering surveys. Basically, members are shown many avenues to make money.

The lists at such sites also tell you the kind of incentive you can expect from a particular survey- cash, prizes, merchandise, discount coupons, etc. And, they constantly add on new sites to their site.

So, these subscription sites do work hard for the money you pay them. You do benefit when you have another party do the search for you and give you a ready-to-use database of offers and surveys to access.

Since the lists also provide information on the type of incentive or reward that you can expect, you can easily do a cross-comparison before you narrow down your search.

By and large the subscription fee can be easily recovered well within a month if you pursue online surveys with single-mindedness. But please do explore sites where you can also get lists without having to pay subscriptions. If the list does not get you adequate returns only then should you explore the paid one-stop sites.

The reason why a firm recommendation cannot be given here on which free or paid one-stop listing sites work best is because the lucrative-ness or returns also depend on an individual’s profile.

While one person may find adequate number of surveys in the listings of a particular site, another may find the same list unproductive not only for his or her profile but also for the monthly cash targets one hopes to achieve.

6. Joining incentive:

The joining incentive goes something like the examples given below –

When you complete our Membership survey we will automatically enter you into our sweepstakes for $500.

As a new member on our online panel, you will be entered into our monthly draw where 10 members get picked for a check for $50 each.

Get cash and product incentives when you take our paid surveys online. New members will be entered into a draw where you can win a $500 shopping spree for joining us.

7. Discounts

This is pretty straightforward. You are given discounts on merchandise in return for your opinion.

8. Movie tickets

You usually get movie tickets for taking entertainment-based surveys regarding your opinion on TV shows or for rating Hollywood movies.

9. Gift certificates

Gift certificates are at times given for paid surveys. Instead of paying into your paypal account you will be given buy.com gift certificates, which can be used for online purchases.

10. Earning points

Companies looking to create a database of users and potential buyers of their products usually use this form of incentive. You accumulate points, which can be used when you purchase the company’s products.

For instance Sony has such a scheme for their products for members who fill in an online information form. Here’s a small piece from Sony’s America website-

‘Get ready to get the inside information you want on the world of Sony. Just complete the following information. We©ll send you the My Sony™ e-newsletter — and you©ll be on your way to earning points toward great Sony rewards. In appreciation of your joining we are giving you 1000 My Sony bonus points.’

These points can be redeemed against products at Sony’s Rewards
Central where special offers and discounts are given on the list price.

For more information on paid surveys, please visit:
http://CBHelper.net/PaidSurveyEtc