I’m sure quite a lot of folks, when first looking into online income, have their doubts about the amount of time spent versus the financial results.  While it’s been said that you’ll never quit your day job…the idea that online surveys are only for stay-at-home moms, retirees, students, or anyone else that only has a minimum of hours already demanded of them…is just plain false.

I’m a full-time employee and run my own part-time business as well.  But in the meantime, I’ve found that I can spend just a few hours a week in my downtime on surveys and other sources of online income, and still bring in a worthwhile paycheck in the process.

I had a coach tell me once, “if it’s no longer fun, than don’t do it.”  Might sound counterproductive to working hard, but the premise behind the sentiment is that you’re not going to do your best if you’re not enjoying it.  I’d say the key to online surveys is to treat it like a hobby, and not like a part-time job.  While it’s true that for many (including myself several months ago when I was out of work) that online income can be a viable part-time job, the most important aspect is to optimize your time to get the most bang for your buck.

Tip #1 – Find your niche.

Sites like GetPaidSurveys.com have done a lot of the heavy research for you and provided a great list of the most respectable online survey panels available.  At the same time, though, I think many would agree with me that some panels tend to work better for specific demographics.  As an individual, I spent a good amount of time with all of them (I would say at least 6 months) to test the waters, but don’t be afraid to drop (or de-prioritize) the ones that aren’t offering enough qualifying surveys for you.  I have a list of survey sites that usually offer me the best pay and/or the best ratio of completions, so I start with those first, and then only attempt the rest after I’ve gotten through those best companies.  Your list is going to be different depending on your age, your race, your gender, whether you own a home or have kids, etc. – so don’t be afraid to experiment and try them all, and then pare down your list as you see fit.

Tip #2 – Small and steady rewards do add up.

I find there are some days or weeks when I’m just swamped with ‘real life’ and can’t even think about taking a survey.  Don’t sweat it!  You don’t need to attempt every single survey you receive (though, of course, some panels tend to send you more invites if you have a good survey history).  However, don’t overlook the simple and quick daily point earners, either!  I’ve developed a routine where I’ll check my survey email account before I even get out of bed in the morning – this is when I usually do my quick point earners – I’ll vote on the Toluna quick polls, do any daily sweepstakes or contest entries that various sites may be offering at the time (for instance, the SurveySpot sport-related contests, or the MyPoints daily spins), and the “get paid to” click emails from various other sites (if that’s your thing).  I find that even those weeks when I’m too busy to take a single survey, I can still earn a few bucks in the background by just doing these quick point earners.

Tip #3 – Double dip.

I think it’s safe to say most of us have at least some downtime at work, where we’re sitting in the office and waiting for the next project.  Instead of aimlessly browsing the internet, chatting on Facebook,  or playing games – why not make some more money?  There have been days when I’ve made a serious chunk of spare change while ‘on the clock’ – so if you’re like me and have periods of inactivity in the office, use the time wisely!  There’s a certain satisfaction knowing you made enough extra money on online surveys that afternoon to pay for happy hour that night!

Do you have other tips and tricks to making money on online surveys while juggling your career, your family, and your free time?  We’d love to hear them!

According to the US Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2006 was 44.3 million, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 15% of the United States total population. Hispanic population in the United States is growing faster than any other minority and it is projected that by 2050 Hispanics will constitute 24% of the nation’s total population.

With numbers like these, it is no doubt that Hispanics in the US are having an increasing influence in U.S. consumer markets. In fact, Hispanic purchasing power is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2010 or 9.2 percent of all US buying power. This type of influence has led to the increased need for market research studies focused on US Hispanic residents, and their consumer preferences. This has resulted in the emergence of specialty Hispanic market research panels from companies dedicated to Hispanic research like Garcia Research Associates.

If you are of Hispanic Origin and a US resident, Garcia Research’s Cada Cabeza Panel can be a great way to help influence the direction of the research and development of products important to the Hispanic population. Plus, in exchange for sharing your opinions about the latest products and services, you will be compensated for your time. So, if you are interested in earning extra money taking paid surveys, please read the description below.

Cada Cabeza is a panel hosted by Garcia Research Associates.

• Like all true Market Research Panels, registration is free
• Open to US Hispanic residents 6 or older.
• Members are rewarded with 100 to 200 points for each survey they complete and 20 points for surveys they attempt but are not eligible for based on their demographics.
• Earned points are redeemable for cash, via a mailed check payment, once you’ve accumulated 1000 or more points in your account
• Each 1000 points is equal to $20 Cash, and you can earn your first $20 just by completing the 10 profile surveys in the member’s area.
• If you are interested in joining this panel, you can find more details by visiting Cada Cabeza

Perhaps the number one complaint that frustrates survey panelists is getting disqualified from a survey. I hear comments like:

“I answered several questions and then It tells me that I am not qualified. Are they just using my answers and not paying me.”

Since I hear so many comments similar to this, I thought it would be good to address this issue on the blog. First, let me start off by saying that GetPaidSurveys.com is a review site, and has no control or involvement in any of the surveys offered by the panels listed on our site. That being said, we feel that the survey panels listed on our site represent some of the best online paid market research panels available on the Internet. Some are better than others, and that is why all the panels have user ratings and reviews.

There are several reasons why you may not qualify for a survey, but the bottom line is that if the survey panel cannot use your answers, then they cannot compensate you the full amount for the survey. The good news is that most survey panels will offer you a small compensation for your time; some offer small cash amounts, others give sweepstakes entry. Here are several scenarios that may occur that would result in someone not qualifying for a survey.

Typical Survey Panel Scenarios that Result in Not Qualifying for the Survey

1. You get disqualified from the survey after spending up to five minutes answering questions. An example might be that the survey panel was looking for 26 year old single males from Michigan that go to the movies at least once a month, and saw Iron Man 2 in theater last week. You may be 26, you may be from Michigan, you might be single male, and you may go to the movies once a month, but you may not have seen Iron Man 2 (Good flick by the way). In this case you may spend several minutes answering background questions on the survey before you get disqualified. Final Verdict: You do not fit the specific qualifications for the survey study.
   
2. You immediately get disqualified from a survey after saying your age, race, marital status, etc. In this case there may have been lets say 100 slots for each age group, and while the study was still open, your particular age group slot was filled. Final Verdict: The survey study was filled for your particular demographic.
3. You spend over five minutes answering survey questions and then get disqualified. This is the scenario that can really frustrate individuals. This can happen for several reasons, but the usual verdict is that you were not really concentrating on the survey study. Many survey studies have special techniques to detect whether the survey panelist is really engaged and taking the survey study seriously. If they feel that you are not really taking it seriously, they may abruptly disqualify you, even after you have spent several minutes on the study. Here are a few examples of survey panel quality control scenarios.
   • Question number 50 stated “Answer C for this question for quality control purposes.” But you answer D. You are not reading the questions.
   • The survey should have taken 10 minutes for the average person to get to question 30, but you did it in 4 minutes. You were rushing.
   • The survey may asked you how you “Did you eat dinner at a fast food restaurant last week?” You answer yes. Then they ask how many fast food dinners did you have last week, and you answer none. Your answers are inconsistent

   Now these are just a few reasons why you may get screened out from a survey, but the bottom line is that not qualifying for every survey is normal and sometime a little frustrating, but hopefully it will not discourage you from taking more surveys. To better ensure that you are getting survey studies that are more in line with your background, it is important to fill out the profile surveys in the member’s area of the panel(s) you join, and of course take your time to answer all the questions carefully. This will increase your chances of getting survey studies that are more in line with your demographics.

   There may be times when you experience a technical glitch during the survey, and you may be unable to complete the survey or submit your answers. In this case it is important to record the time, information about the survey study, and what occurred. If you submit this information to the technical support staff of the survey panel, they can sometimes recover your answers or offer you some form of compensation.

   Of course there are some survey panels that are more efficient in their disqualification processes and ability to match their member’s profiles with appropriate survey studies. This is partly due to the fact that some survey panels redistribute surveys from third parties, which means that you may have to answer screener questions that sometimes duplicate information in your profile surveys. This can be a little frustrating, but using third parties allows survey panels to offer you more survey studies.

   Have you had good or bad experiences with qualify for specific survey panels? We would like to hear your feedback.

After receiving several negative reviews on our site concerning late payments from Surveyhead, we contacted United Sample (the owner of the Surveyhead Panel) for an explanation. We had so many positive reviews in the past for Surveyhead, that we felt that there must be an explanation for the late payments.

Here are a few words concerning late payments from Channing Saviour, a Customer Service Specialist with United Sample:

“United Sample would like to say a few words to those who are most important-Our panel. We have made some staffing changes as well as revamping customer service so conflict resolution and payments are expedited. We would like to apologize for the delay in recent payments due to the changes and are working hard to ensure your faith in us as we catch up! United Sample’s goal is to respond faster than any market research firm in the near future and we are placing the cogs in place to achieve this! Growth always takes time and we’re more than appreciative of your valued time and patience!”

We have already worked with United Sample to settle two payment issues from our site visitors and they were prompt and sincere in their response. For those that do not know you can contact their support team at: support@surveyhelpcenter.com.

It appears that they are going through a little rough patch right now on support, as their panel has grown so rapidly in the last year, but I trust that they value their members, and will work to resolve any unsettled issues.

The More Survey Panels I Join the Better Right? Wrong!

I see so many paid survey sites that boast large numbers of paid surveys in their directories, and recommend that you join as many paid survey panels as possible. While that might initially make sense, the more panels I join, the more I make, right? WRONG! The truth is that many of these paid survey sites that list hundreds of so called survey panels do not have your best interest in mind. In fact, many of the panels they list are not legitimate survey panels, but rather sites that offer you a “reward” for signing up for an offer that just results in a lot of spam in your email box. Of course the survey sites want you to join as many sites as possible, because that’s more referral income for them, but the reality is that you stand to earn more money by focusing on a handful of quality paid market research panels. That is why GetPaidSurveys.com keeps our list of panels low, and only post survey panels that offer cash rewards and respect your privacy.

Okay So How Many Panels Should I join?

My recommendation is to start out by joining five to ten survey panels as a starting base. A good place to start is by choosing some panels from the current top ten survey panels featured on the GetPaidSurveys.com home page. This list represents the top panels as rated by other survey panel members, and is a good representation of some of the better survey panels available online. The key thing to remember is to take your time and not only join the survey panels, but also take the time to completely fill out the member profiles. This is key to getting future invitations from the survey panels. So depending on the time you have, that may mean only joining a few panels per day. Once you have joined five to ten panels, then I would recommend that you pause the joining process, and focus on actually taking surveys.

How much time should I spend every day taking paid surveys online and which panels should I join?

Once you have joined several panels, you will begin to receive survey invitations via email and via the member’s area in the panels that you join. One thing that you will notice is that some panels like GlobalTestMarket and Surveyhead will have many surveys for you to take, while others like HCD Research, Epoll, and American Consumer Opinion will have fewer survey invitations. My suggestion to at first try to take most of the survey invitations that you receive that offer a monetary value, and maybe participate in a few that just offer sweepstakes entries, especially if the survey topic interest you. Once you get a feel for which survey panels work best for you, you may want to change the amount of time you focus on each panel, and maybe dedicate a little time to exploring more of the panels on our site. Most surveys take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to complete, so if you have an hour a day to take surveys, maybe focus on taking your top three or four invitations per day.

Also, just because a panel does not send many invitations does not mean its a bad panel. For instance, HCD Surveys does not send many survey invitations, however the ones that they do send are very interesting and often offer a good reward for the time spent on the panel. So when I get an invite from HCD Research, I will often do that first, then go on to some of the other panels. With a little experimentation you will find which survey panels interest you most, and which ones are the best use of your time.

In conclusion

There is no magic number of survey panels you should join, or a set amount of time that you should spend on taking surveys. The bottom line is that you should participate in the panels that you enjoy and dedicate the time and effort you can spare to participating in these panels. If you follow these basic steps, taking survey online can be both rewarding and a fun activity. You will find that you qualifying for more surveys, and get invited to more follow up surveys that yield higher rewards and bigger prizes.

Opinion Outpost is my third best earning website over the last two years. I earned and received $391.80 since February 4, 2008 and here are a few tips that I have for achieving results comparable to mine.

• Tip #1 – Complete Your Profiles

The first tip after joining Opinion Outpost is to go to

Member’s Page and log in to the Dashboard.

Then click on the ‘My Profiles’ tab.

Here you will see nine Member Profiles, including General, Health, Household, Technology, Leisure & Activities, Personal Finance, Personal Vehicles, Professional, Shopping and Travel that take about five minutes each to complete. Make certain that you update these at least once per calendar year and more often if you experience a significant change such as moving, purchasing a new vehicle, being diagnosed with a new health condition, etc. that might affect the surveys that you qualify for.

• Tip #2 – Respond to Survey Invitations as Soon as Possible

Surveys don’t close quite as quickly as with SurveySpot and GTM because they tend to fill more slowly, but I have found that by going to the website daily and clicking on the ‘Available Surveys’ tab in the Opinion Outpost Member’s Area you will often find surveys that you have not yet attempted.

• Tip #3 – Check Your Rewards on Opinion Outpost’s Website

Also located under the ‘Survey History’ tab is a well-organized listing of all of the surveys you have taken with survey status, such as:

Surveys marked ‘Closed’ means that you did not click on them soon enough. Surveys that have the word ‘Started’ beside them may have been overlooked and can often be completed, but more often they will allow you to close out the survey and click on the instant $50 reward or $750 Sweepstakes buttons that usually appear after being disqualified from a survey.

• Tip # 4 – Add Survey Email Addresses to Your Allowed List

Add the email addresses of every survey panel, such as OpinionOutpost.com to your email allow list to make certain that you receive surveys. This goes for every survey panel, especially if you were receiving email invitations and they suddenly stopped. Always check your spam filter to make sure they are being allowed!

Opinion Outpost is one of the very best survey panels for me and has been for over two years. Many good things have come to me from answering their surveys honestly and accurately. Now, you can receive Amazon.com gift certificates instantly if you do not want to wait four to six weeks for a check. If you follow these simple tips, I think you will find they will also become one of your top earning survey panels.

One question that I get a lot is “which survey panels offer payments via PayPal?” Payments via PayPal often speed up the time for payment and make it easier for market research panels to send payments to panel members. So it is not surprising that it is becoming more popular with both survey panel members and the panels.

Here is the list of PayPal Survey Panels that we know about, have tried, and can recommend. Each entry also lists which countries can join. Just Click on the Link if you are interested in joining.

• AIP Online Surveys – US and UK
• American Consumer Opinion – Open to All Nations
• Brand Institute – Open to All Nations
• Daily Survey Panel – US, Canada, and UK
• Elite Opinion – United States
• E-Poll – United States
• LightSpeed Consumer Panel – International
• Mindfield Online – United States
• MySurvey – United States
• Netverdix – All English Speaking Welcome
• Surveyhead – International
• SurveySpot – United States
• Toluna – International