This post talks about opportunity #2...online surveys! Online surveys are a great way to make some extra cash. I've been doing online surveys for about a year now and how made nice pocket change (I promise to post proof of payment as soon as I get my next check!)
Here are my online survey tips:
1. Never pay to take a survey or for a list of survey sites. This information is free all over the internet, as well as on this blog and many others. There is no reason to pay to work, remember the last post...why would you walk into McDonald's and pay the manager $20 for a job?!
2. Sign up with as many survey sites as you can handle. If you have all the time in the world to do surveys, sign up with a bunch. If you only have an hour or so, sign up with a few.
3. Don't sign up with just one though! If you sign up with a few, you'll at least have a few surveys everyday to do. One company may not have a survey opportunity everyday to complete.
4. Once you sign up with a company, fill out your "profile". This will help the company match you to surveys that you will qualify for. There is nothing more frustrating then getting 30 minutes into a survey to find out you don't qualify for it. 30 minutes wasted, and no cash.
5. Don't disregard a company that pays you to complete a survey with points or sweepstake entries. Or even no money to complete. The no money surveys are usually just qualifiers and the ones with points usually add up to get money, gift cards, or rewards. And as far as sweepstakes, most companies usually have a set number of people included in the sweepstakes, so the odds aren't always that bad.
6. When filling out a survey, sometimes you will be given a list of choosing everything you purchased in the last month. It will generally be a long list, so only pick two or three things. Each thing you pick will require you to answer additional questions regarding that item. This can be extremely time consuming.
7. Always read the fine print...you will want to know when you get paid, how you get paid, and minimum payout.
8. Stay on top of your account. Alot of survey companies will cancel your membership if you have been inactive for 60 days, 90 days, etc. If you are taking a break from surveys for awhile, at least be sure to sign in once a week so you don't lose the money you have made. I have had this happen, almost at a payont level because I forgot about the site...very frustrating!
Good luck with surveys if this is the way you choose to go! Here is one of the survey companies that I work with:
