Do you want to know if you can make a full-time income with paid surveys? Then, this post is for you.
One of the simplest and easiest ways to make money online is to complete online surveys. Online surveys involve registering on a survey site, filling out your profile, and sharing your feedback on adverts, products, and services.
Many people have been wondering if they can make a living working on online survey sites. Lots of questions about how much money you can make on these platforms have also been flying around.
Although you cannot make a full-time income with paid surveys, however, you can take advantage of these platforms to make extra money in your spare time. You can also use survey sites to get free products and other perks.
In this article, I will talk more about online survey sites, how to get the best out of them, and why you cannot make a full-time income from these platforms.
Why Do Companies Pay For Surveys?
The idea of getting paid to complete surveys may sound ridiculous to you. I mean, why would anyone pay you just to have your opinion about their products or services?
Well, the fact is most companies depend on consumers’ feedbacks to know areas that need to be improved in their products and services. Companies usually hire survey companies if they don’t have a department that can handle consumer survey panels.
Companies use consumer feedback to improve their products and adverts before they release them to the public. That is why they pay people (like you) for their time when they complete online surveys. The information you provide them is important to the success of their businesses.
How Online Surveys Work
It is simple to complete online surveys, although you may need to spend some time if you are just getting started. Highlighted below are the steps that are involved in taking online surveys:
1. Find an online survey company to register with
The first step that you need to take when you want to work on survey sites is to find a legit survey site to work with. An example is Swagbucks. I have also included some survey companies in this article, you can check them out. Apart from these companies, there are lots of other legitimate companies that you can register on.
2. Create and fill your profile
You need to create a different profile for every company that you intend to do surveys for. Ensure you fill your profiles as completely as possible so that the companies can have all the details they need to send you the right offers.
Each survey is meant for a particular demographic; the company will not send you a survey if your profile does not align with the demographic they want.
3. Get surveys
Most survey companies will inform you whenever they have any available surveys. The notification is usually done via email. Some surveys are also available immediately. While for others, you may have to spend some minutes answering some pre-survey questions to ensure that your demographic aligns with what the companies want.
If you meet the companies’ target, you can go ahead and take the survey. In some cases, you may receive products in the mail that you need to review.
3. Complete surveys
To take surveys, all you need to do is to answer the questions in the surveys. In some cases, it is as simple as providing answers to some multiple-choice questions. Other times, you may be required to type out detailed answers to more specific survey questions.
4. Get rewards
The rewards process on survey sites differs from one company to the other. For instance, some companies reward you with points that you can redeem for cash or other rewards. Other companies transfer your earned money directly to your PayPal account. Some companies will still enroll you into sweepstakes drawing.
The steps highlighted above are not the same for all survey companies. So, ensure you understand how the process for the company you intend to join works.
How Much Can You Make From Survey Sites?
Like I said earlier, you cannot make a full-time income with paid surveys. However, you can use online surveys as opportunities to earn additional money for fun, settling debt, or for investment purposes.
Rewards from online survey sites usually vary between less than $1 and more than $20, although they are always on the lower end of that range, between $1 and $5. If you can complete many surveys in a day, you can end up making a reasonable amount of money in a month.
Some survey companies don’t pay in cash. They may, however, help you save money by giving you free products that you need to test to provide your feedback in the survey. This is a great way to get lots of free household products, diapers, personal care products, and other things that you use regularly at home.
Other companies will also enroll you into sweepstakes drawing when you complete a survey. Your chances of winning the sweepstakes will increase based on the number of surveys you complete. This is frustrating because you don’t get any reward immediately. But the sweepstakes can pay off with gift cards, cash, and products.
The amount you make from survey sites depends on the survey company that you join, the number of surveys you take, and the demographic in which you take surveys. If you are in a demographic that has many offers, you will have more opportunities to complete surveys. This will increase your chance of making more money; thereby increasing your earning potential.
Survey sites, such as Swagbucks, also reward their members with prizes, points, or cash for referring their friends and loved ones to their platforms. This is another opportunity that you can use to make money.
The most important thing is that you can use survey platforms to make money in your spare time. You are not compelled to take all surveys that land in your inbox. However, you can do so if you have the time instead of wasting much time on social media.
How To Know Bad Survey Sites
Although there are lots of legitimate survey sites on the internet, scammers also use this opportunity to dupe people. Some survey companies are fond of selling their members’ information for profit.
So before you join any survey company, ensure you read the company’s privacy policy in their contract. If there’s no privacy policy, or if the company states that they are free to share your information with others, stay away from such a company. Such a company will only keep spamming your inbox with unworthy offers.
Also, don’t pay a company for an opportunity to complete surveys on their platform. This form of scam is aimed at getting money from you without giving you anything in return.
Don’t forget, companies need the information you provide them during surveys. Thus, they are willing to pay you for it. So legit survey companies share wealth pay paying you while the scams will ask for money.
SEE: Dangers of Online Surveys
My Top 5 Sites For Making Money Doing Surveys
If you are interested in completing online surveys, I’m glad to tell you that there are lots of platforms that you can join. You can start with any or all of the sites here:
1. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is more than a survey site. When you register on the site, you can choose the option that you want to use to earn from Swagbucks. You can then use this option to redeem your earnings for coupons, discounts, and Amazon gift cards.
Also, you can install the Swagbucks browser extension to earn rewards for browsing the internet.
A challenge that you can encounter on Swagbucks is meeting the platform’s demographic requirements. Also, Swagbucks will redirect you to third-party websites where you will have to fill out another profile before you can start the survey.
2. InboxDollars
Inbox Dollars has lots of surveys that you can take for rewards. The rewards on this platform are impressive. For instance, you can earn $1.00 for a 6-minute survey.
However, you may not qualify to take all the surveys on Inbox Dollars and they may not inform you until you answer the first two or three questions of the survey. This may be painful. Their surveys are, however, very fast for the money paid.
3. Toluna
Toluna is slightly different from the other survey platforms because it gives users the freedom to complete the type of surveys they want. For instance, if you are tech-savvy, you can focus on surveys that cater to electronics or digital products.
You can also earn points that you can redeem for cash or rewards. You can make about $1 per 3000 points.
4. LifePoints
LifePoints, formerly known as MySurvey, is a survey platform that allows you to earn points by completing surveys, tracking your experiences with a specific product, or testing products and then sharing your feedback.
Unlike other survey sites, it can be difficult to understand the value of a point on this platform. For instance, one survey may decide to pay 2,500 LifePoints for a $25 PayPal payment while another may pay you $4 for 4,400 points.
5. Survey Junkie
Survey Junkie allows its members to be influencers by taking part in online surveys. You will earn points for taking these surveys.
The points system that Survey Junkie uses is straightforward. Each point is equivalent to one cent. The minimum withdrawal threshold is 1,000 cents.
Also, points on Survey Junkie have an expiration date. So you need to pay attention to this so that you will not end up losing your points if your account has been dormant for long.
How To Get The Best From Doing Surveys
Now that we’ve established the fact that you cannot make a full-time income with paid surveys, and that surveys are good for making money in your spare time, how can you maximize your result on survey sites?
The next section will take care of this.
1. Create time for surveys
The best way to increase your earning potential on online survey sites is to create time for surveys.
You will earn more money from survey sites if you create time for completing online surveys. Most survey platforms don’t pay much; that implies that you need to complete lots of surveys to earn a tangible amount of money.
Setting aside time for surveys will also stop you from wasting time staring at a screen and doing other unnecessary things online. For instance, if you set aside two hours for surveys, you can speed up to see how many surveys you can complete within this duration. Once the time is up, you are done for the day and can then proceed to get other things done.
2. Do surveys that pay cash
Although it sounds simple, however, you need to spend a lot of time to find websites that are legit and pay.
Survey Junkie is one of the survey sites that pay cash.
If you want to earn cash from Survey Junkie, go to the website. It is free to complete surveys on the platform. The signup process is also hassle-free.
Once you’re on the website, click the JOIN NOW button to register.
Answer a few questions that you’re asked and create your password.
After the registration process, log in to your account and click the LET’S GET STARTED button. You will be given the option to do a few focus group panels (an offer that you’re free to accept or ignore).
Getting started on Survey Junkie will earn you 25 points.
You need to complete your profile so that you can earn more points. The more complete your profile is, the more opportunities you will have to complete surveys. The questions asked on your profile will focus on your household, general habits, and family. However, you can choose not to answer the questions.
You can earn up to 75 points just for signing up and filling out your profile.
FAQs
Is making money doing surveys legit?
Yes. There are lots of legitimate survey websites. The only downside is that you will not make a full-time income.
Which survey sites pay the most?
From my findings, Swagbucks, Inbox Dollars, Toluna, LifePoints, and Survey Junkie are the top websites for those that want to make money doing surveys.
How do you make money doing surveys?
Answer few questions (the nature of the questions will be determined by the company you joined), and you will earn some points that you can redeem for cash. It is not possible to know the survey site that pays the most.
Conclusion
While online paid surveys are one of the simplest ways to make it online from home, they can replace a full-time job. They can only be a supplement to your income. Don’t rely on them to make you rich.
Even though the five websites listed earlier pays well, they can’t make you rich if you take surveys on them every day. If you’re looking for more ways to make money online, click here.
