tips:

online surveys and your answers

If you want to get paid to take surveys and participate in consumer research, you should get used to answering lots of questions that may seem like an invasion of your privacy. Market researchers ask these questions to make sure the surveys you'll take are a proper fit demographically.

 

• age

• gender

• race

• relationship status

• education level attained

• occupation

• industry of employment

• status of employment

• income level

• owning or renting

• main grocery buyer

• which mobile network you use

• insurance

• banking

• hobbies

• medical conditions

• number of children

• pets, smoking habits

• drinking habits

• travel habits

• etc

 

Sometimes the answers are optional, sometimes not. Make sure you're comfortable answering some seemingly very personal questions. If you're gut tells you it's some kind of phony-baloney fly-by-night scams site then stop. If your browser tells you it's a known "phishing site," then stop. If your spy-ware software says the site is a "source for malicious content", then follow your instincts. There are plenty of paid surveys to choose from. You probably won't be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to make money online.

Look for the opt-out, or unsubscribe methods employed. Before you start a relationship, with any "free paid surveys" company! If none are shown or provided, use the contact information and find out how you do. If no contact information is given, that should tell you something. If no one gets back to you, that should tell you something as well.

Always read the "terms" and "privacy policy" before you join any survey panel.

If you're using a form-filler to speed up your survey registrations, get it set-up with your information.

Alright, you're ready to sign-up. Again, start slow! Just because you can sign-up with a few hundred surveys in a few days, doesn't mean you should.

Depending on the frequency of invitations, you may be quickly overwhelmed with more paid surveys than you can sort through and respond to in a timely manner. Get a grasp on how all of this works, then sign-up with more and more survey companies as your time allows.

If you really want to get paid to take surveys, then you MUST complete each companies "profile" surveys first, or at least enough of them to get you loosely categorized. If you start slow and follow the above mentioned tid-bit, you'll be much more likely to complete enough of these profiles to maximize your invitation rate. No market research is done without a "target" audience. You must completely and accurately complete your profile information to even be considered for taking a paid survey most of the time. These are essential to properly categorizing you into a demographic. In turn, this will ensure that you are selected for appropriate paid surveys online. You may get a few general study surveys anyway. If you want to truly maximize your earning potential and get the more specific and targeted surveys, do the profile questionnaires!

Important - keep an eye on your inbox. Most companies will send confirmation emails the same day, which you may or may not have to respond to complete your registration. Depending on the nature of that particular research firm, the surveys should be arriving very soon. Also, most of them will notify you to check your spam settings, as some survey invitations may end up there.

Always check the survey invitations for statements of potential reward or compensation and approximate effort required from you. Make sure of all the particulars before you agree to anything with anybody. Read all the words of the survey invitation, not only the subject line, very carefully. Find out exactly what is required, and what exactly the reward is for fulfilling that requirement. Make sure what their definitions of "cash" is, as sometimes it's a pre-paid debit card, not actual cash.

Complete the first paid surveys they send you. This stage is about building a relationship and a reputation as a timely surveys respondent. Just because you feel like getting paid for your opinion doesn't necessarily qualify you for top dollar surveys. You know you're a wealth of information, dependable, trustworthy, and should be considered for a Nobel Prize. But they don't. Yet. You must establish a track record and a reputation with these companies.

Do you know how many people sign-up, and never respond because anything less than the highest-paying surveys are deemed unworthy of their time? Does the rookie ever get the biggest-paycheck? They keep a database that tells them who is dependable, honest, and timely. If you're blowing off most of the first surveys because they don't pay enough, you may or may not get the most out that particular company.

 

 

Getting paid for surveys: user hints and tips

If you're a "mouse only" user you may want to practice using your "Tab" key to manage the registration forms quickly, and the "Tab" and "space" keys for the paid surveys. "Tab" generally advances through the form, and "space" will generally check or uncheck the answer box. Sometimes it helps your eyes not be focusing on your mouse pointer all the time. You'll see.

You'll have to enable cookies on your browser, which collect the information from the paid surveys. Some companies will tell you this before you start the survey, some won't. You can find instructions on how to do so in your browser's "Help" area.

You'll need to develop your own system of keeping track of all your paid survey and work from home earnings. It can be clipboard and pencil, a collection of favorites saved, a spreadsheet, or any other means you find convenient. Whichever way you choose, make sure you keep track of: 

 

• which companies you signed up with

• when you signed up

• the dates of the surveys you started

• the ones you didn't finish

• the dates and rewards of the paid surveys you completed.

Also, keep track of which survey companies email you every invitation, and which ones require you to visit their site, log-in to the "members area," and leave it up to you to check which paid surveys are available for you to take.

Check with your financial institution, and make sure they'll deposit the funds from your rewards. The name on the check they send you will be the one you gave them. If you're going to use your initials as your contact information, make sure that's acceptable to your bank in regards to depositing funds. Ask your bank if they accept funds from the other various banks and institutions the research companies may use to write checks from or deposit into your account from.  

tips for qualitative research / focus groups

There won't be any advice on how to get paid for showing up just in the nick of time. In fact, you know what's really funny? Seeing someone like that show up, expect to be dismissed and paid, then asked to sit in anyway. So basically, they're unprepared.

Be sure to pack a bag. Wear comfortable clothes, but bring some extra - you never know what the climate control is like in any focus group facility. Sure, the staff knows Meeting Room C is the chilly room, but you won't until you show up.

Most of the time, the facility will give you easy to follow instructions on everything that is expected from you. Where to go, what time, what to bring, what will be provided to you as far as meals and beverages and break-time accommodations. The first time you do it, it can be sort of overwhelming. But relax, it's just like going to someone else's office to talk about something you already know about - what you think. Think of it as a meeting amongst peers in which you have equal say about the topic.

When the facility recruiter calls, listen carefully, and answer questions clearly and honestly.

Don't prepare or think too much about the issues you were asked about when the facility called you. If there is homework to be done beforehand, they'll let you know. Your raw, everyday opinions are what they're looking for.

Arrive early to complete the necessary paperwork for your session, and follow any instructions you received during the initial recruit call—for example, the facility might ask you to bring your favorite canned-beverage or a label from a product you use.

Once you're in the interview room with the moderator, respond naturally (they're watching everything, including body language if they're good), and always ask for clarification if you don't understand a question or instruction.

If you really love something or really hate something, say so. Good consumer research is more interested in getting your honest opinion than getting what you think they want you to say. You're being paid to be completely honest, so don't worry about "hurting someone's feelings."

In a focus group, check in with yourself every now and then to gauge how much you are talking. If you haven't said much in a while, wake yourself up and start contributing (without being rude, manners never go out of style), even if it's just to ask a question or elaborate on another person's answer. They'll know you're paying attention and actually give a darn about the issue more than collecting your pot of gold.

Basically, that task at hand is, just be yourself and let them observe you. Not too hard, right?