Paid Surveys

From the point of view of the consumer there is the incentive of being rewarded for simply responding to questions or giving detailed opinions. Rewards vary from money to vouchers, discounts, products or points that can be redeemed for cash or other items. The convenience and flexibility factor for participating in online paid surveys is extremely high without the need to leave your home. There are no overheads other then a computer and internet which if you're reading this, you already have!

It is best if you have about an hour to put aside each day but you can easily be involved in other household tasks. Not watching an hour of television each day isn't a huge sacrifice to make towards something that can generate extra income and besides, you could have the television on in the background if need be. The task of being involved in surveys isn't mentally or physically demanding and some people are happy to be involved particularly when it can sometimes mean being the first to know about products and being asked to test them. So surveys for money can be attractive to some.

Online surveys can be conducted in a few different ways.

• Surveys can be periodically delivered to email addresses, they usually indicate to the consumer how long the survey should take and how much will be awarded for completing the survey.
• Focus groups are more involved but will generally involve a larger reward. Focus groups are discussions amongst a group of people, each coming from a different demographic e.g. a group could consist of a housewife, student, retiree, single professional, immigrant, blue collar worker etc. You will be chosen as to whether you represent the chosen demographic to be a participant of detailed discussions that market researches can gather detailed information from.
• Sometimes you may actually be sent sample products then prompted to comment and/or respond to questioning.
• Some surveys allow you a certain amount of entries into sweepstakes for ever survey that you partake in.

Many paid survey companies share similar characteristics

• They require you to sign up as a member: This is important because as a member you will be asked to build a profile. Provided you fill them out correctly, your profiles will enable the research companies to target you. The more detailed your profile, the greater the ability to include you in the survey demographic.
• Usually, there is a limit on the survey such as the amount of time that is available to the number of people it allows to participate. Therefore, it's important to respond promptly and regularly to survey correspondence as it will increase the chances of survey participation.

There are hundreds of online survey companies but not all of them are Australian. This is okay, you can still be apart of those international survey sites who require international opinions. Choosing which survey companies to enlist with is another task that can seem overwhelming with so many to choose from. With so many companies out there, you should be careful not to get scammed. The most obvious sign is that you are required to pay a fee before you can do the surveys.

Some of the more popular and legitimate paid surveys sites in Australia are:

• The Great Australian Survey
• Lightspeed Research Australia
• Valued Opinions

Online surveys may not become your primary source of income but if done correctly you can certainly use them to pay utility bills or put cash towards luxury funds like holidays. It's very common for people to sign up to survey sites then neglect emails or check them sporadically. If you are more diligent about putting time aside each day and quick to respond to surveys then you will receive surveys more consistently and have a much better chance of making good money from them.