Making Money with Surveys
BACKGROUND:
With so many online survey companies, it’s hard to know where to even begin, nevermind trying to sort the legit companies from the scam companies.I say the prior statement, because I have been there. I have sat for hours doing surveys for absolutely nothing at all. And it sucks. I thought to myself, “Self, I am going to put an end to this madness once and for all!!” and so, in January 2009, I started WebFloss.com on a crusade to pursue survey justice for all!
What are surveys and where is this money coming from??!
Surveys serve many purposes. Some surveys are to evaluate current products because a company may want to reach more consumers or some could be about new product concepts and the company wants to evaluate people in select demographics and their reactions to the new product. Some surveys ask about current issues, entertainment, or want your reactions to new clips. The bottom line, is that companies need consumers feedback and surveys are the easiest way to obtain them.
Now, the reason why you came here: The Money. Basically, companies pay the survey companies big bucks (sometimes in the 6 DIGITS) to host a survey for them and to reach targeted consumers. The survey companies take their share and then pass the rest of the money out to the survey takers. So, in turn, the survey companies need us to make their money. This is why, I REFUSE* do surveys that do not offer an cash incentive. If you do a survey for a chance at “insert$amountORprize” you are working for that survey company for free.
How to start?
Find a legit company.
If you only join 3 companies I suggest the following. Click on the name to read our reviews:
Those survey companies seem to be the best fit for a wide range of people. We also have other survey companies reviewed that you can browse through.
After you find the survey company you want to join, there are a few basic things to do.
Make sure the company is on your email safe list.
After signing up or perhaps, in the welcome email, the company usually will ask you to “please make sure (such and such) email is on your safe list. If for some reason, you do not get a welcome email, check your spam box and make sure to mark it as safe if it’s in there.
Fill out the demographic profiles.
The profiles are mega important and even though after awhile of telling a company ‘how many dogs you have’ can get monotonous, it’s key in getting new surveys because most surveys are targeted based on these profiles. Also, be honest in these profiles because they will usually confirm the details in your profiles in the first few questions of a new survey and if you forget what you wrote, you lose out. Another hint: the first things people want to fib about are usually things that will hurt your chances of getting surveys. Be honest, fill those profiles out completely, and don’t forget to update them periodically!
What to look out for?
So-called survey review sites that just have a top ten list that don’t really offer any insight on on the survey site. Those review sites usually just link to the most spammy, yet highest paying referral survey companies.
Any website that wants you to register because they have “THE BEST PAYING SURVEYS” if you just signup! Lies, lies, lies. Latest example of a site trying to pull that crap: BigSpot.com
Survey information sites that want you to pay money to get a list of “THE BEST PAYING SURVEYS”. Never, ever, pay anyone anything to get information on survey sites. EVER.
Research. We don’t expect you to just take our word for it. Do some finger-work at Google! I suggest typing the following in the search box:
is “insert survey name BETWEEN quotes” a scam
Is that it?
Well, no. We have a more comprehensive guide that goes into organizing bookmarks, email and what information should never be given out on our Getting Started page.
*There is one exception. Many Universities run online studies through their Psychology department and offer a chance at gift card or cash incentive. The reason the studies at the Universities are my exception is because the surveys they send are for educational purposes and they are very fun!
