If you surf the Internet for any length of time, sooner or later you will be asked to take some kind of free survey. Usually just a few questions that you can answer in 5 minutes or so. It's not difficult and many times we go ahead and take the survey just to help someone out.
On a larger scale, consumer opinion surveys are actually a big, well-organized business. Big companies spend billions of dollars a year on promotion and advertising. They allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to market research that helps them understand consumer preferences.
One of the primary tools used to measure consumer preferences and opinions is online surveys. And since they are doing thousands of surveys a week, they must provide rewards to the survey participants to get them to take the time to participate. So you can get paid to take free surveys online.
Sometimes the payment is in the form of free sample merchandise, sometimes it is in cash. Many thousands of consumers like you and me are getting checks in the mail for their participation in paid surveys.
If you are interested, here is how you can participate:
1. Select a good paid survey guide company to help you get started off right. Yes, you can just Google "paid surveys" and start signing up, but most of the survey makers that advertise are more trouble than they are worth. Less than half of the 3,000 or so survey makers worldwide even pay in cash. You just want the good ones.
Paid survey guide companies maintain current lists of preferred survey makers; those that really pay, pay in cash and will respect your privacy and not sell your info to sales companies who will spam you half to death! For a small one-time fee, a guide company will let you use a copy of their list of good survey makers.
To pick a good one, look for a strong 60-90 day money-back guarantee backed up by a bank or financial company like PayPal or ClickBank.
Most importantly, look for a low (3-6%) refund rate. Low refund rates mean happy clients. High refund rates mean many unhappy clients. Avoid any paid survey site with a refund rate that is unknown or that is 9-10% or more.
2. When you get your copy of the list of preferred survey makers, apply to each one as a future survey taker. This is very important. These survey makers are the ones who will send you invitations to take surveys and will send you checks for doing so IF they have your application on file.
3. Open a separate free e-mail account for your paid survey business. Check your in-box at least once daily. Answer all correspondence promptly. When you receive invitations to take surveys, respond quickly, fill out the questionnaires completely.
4. Be diligent in yout attention to business and be patient. Survey makers will test you to see if you are real and serious. Then they will gradually send you more surveys to take. Your income from a given survey maker will generally peak about 3-6 months after you file your application with them.
How much will you get paid to take free surveys online? The answer depends on the number of good survey makers that have your application on file, as well as on your diligence and your demographics. Most serious survey takers report incomes of $200 to $600 a month. Some report incomes of $1,000 a month and more.
