Setting the paid survey world straight

Lately I am learning that the survey world is a lot like the data entry world.   For most of us data entry means we will get a job with a company and that company will ask us to, let's say, enter the data from their invoices into a computer.  We send the invoices back and get paid.  Simple enough right?  In the internet world of working at home data entry means you start your own little business entering ads for ebooks and other products at Clickbank.  This can be pretty devastating to someone who was hopeful and paid their $40 to find this out!

The survey world is getting pretty close to that fine line.  A true survey company will ask you to sign up and you will be asked a lot of questions to define your personal demographics.  The questions are typically things along the lines of whether or not you live in a city or a rural area, how old you are, how many kids you have and their ages.  Your age, whether or not you are married and other typical and standard questions.  Once you are signed up you will start recieving screeners in your mail.  Typically the screener will only offer you the chance to be entered in a drawing.  The screener is just that.  Your answers will determine whether or not you make it into the actual study.   When you are invited into a study this is when you find out what the study is about and what it pays.  Some studies will just give you a product to test and take a survey about, other studies will give you a product to test as well as payment for completing the study.  Some studies will be online bulletin board discussions that pay very well and others will ask you to test well known websites and get paid for it.  The possibilities are endless but you have to choose the right companies to sign up with.

 I hear over and over from people that they were told Panda Research was legitimate but they haven't gotten anything for their time yet.  The same thing with TreasureTroopers and other similar places.  These places often will advertise that you can get a $500 gift card to The Gap just for completing a survey.  This would be so great!  The bottom line is that this can happen but they also want you to sign up for special offers like a 30 day trial to AOL or an online book club.  To "complete" some of these offers you also usually need to spend a certain amount of money.   These places are NOT scams as they often get called but they also are not your typical survey companies. 

Use a good free list to sign up with the survey companies and be aware that you will not get into every study.  Some people get into ten a month and other people get only get in on one every couple of months.  You won't make a steady income but if you go into it with the attitude that you are going to have fun and make a difference in the products you will be buying you will really enjoy the real survey world. 

McAffee Siteadvisor reccomends the free list at www.freefromscams.com

 

This article may be reprinted as long as the author box remains intact:

Article written by Connie Hazen website owner of www.freesurveyplace.com  and www.freefromscams.com She has been taking surveys for more than three years and helping others get started and enjoy the world of free surveys.

 

Technorati Tags : make, money, take, surveys, paid, survey, free, scam, wahm, wah, parents