Survey Panel Tips

What Is Your Ideal Survey Site Like?

by LapisLee on September 30, 2011

I think there are many factors that make a survey site ideal. I have outlined several things that I look for in a paid survey panel and included examples of online survey sites that embody these qualities. I am certain that I have left a few things out, so feel free to add your comments and your favorite survey sites that you feel belong under these 19 categories.

• Frequent paid surveys: GlobalTestMarket – IPSOS I-SAY – OnlyCashSurveys – Opinion Outpost – Surveyhead – SurveySpot – Toluna Valued Opinions

• Fair compensation for the amount of time spent ($1-$10 for 10 to 45 minutes): American Consumer Opinion – GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Opinion Outpost – Pinecone Research – Socratic Forum – SurveySpot – Valued Opinions

• Screeners that insure that you qualify for most of the surveys received (80-90%): GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – OnlyCashSurveys – Pinecone Research – Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – Valued Opinions

• Cash instead of points system: American Consumer Opinion – Mindfield Online – Pinecone Research – Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – Survey Savvy – Valued Opinions

• Offers Invoke Interactives for higher incentives: ($10-$150 for 45-120 minutes) 20/20 Research – American Consumer Opinion – SurveySpot

• Offers product testing: 20/20 Research – American Consumer Opinion – Global Opinion Panel/Synovate – IPSOS I-SAY – Mindfield – MySurvey – Pinecone Research – SurveySpot – Toluna – Valued Opinions

• Instant or quick confirmation of incentives: GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Socratic Forum – Toluna

• Surveys that disqualify you quickly: GlobalTestMarket – Opinion Outpost – Surveyhead – SurveySpot

• Low Cash-out Threshold ($1 to $10): Epoll – HCD Research – IPSOS I-SAY – Mindfield Online – MySurvey – Opinion Outpost – Socratic Forum – SurveySavvy – SurveySpot

• Pays via PayPal in a timely manner (3-4 days): Epoll – Pinecone – Surveyhead – SurveySpot

• Good customer service by email, phone and snail mail: American Consumer Opinion – GlobalTestMarket – Opinion Outpost – SurveySpot – Valued Opinions

• Surveys that don’t ask repetitive questions or too many specific product traits: HCD Research – Socratic Forum

• Well-organized easy-to-navigate website with payment and survey history: GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Mindfield Online – MySurvey – OnlyCashSurveys – Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – Valued Opinions

• Forum to air complaints with dedicated customer service representative: None really

• No sweepstakes, advertisements, spam or trial offers: GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Opinion Outpost – Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – Survey Savvy – Valued Opinions

• Few or no survey glitches: GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Opinion Outpost – Socratic Forum – Surveyhead – SurveySpot – Toluna

• Surveys that have progress-tracking-bars (varies widely)

• Surveys that have Next and Previous buttons so you can go back (varies widely)

• Surveys that have answer-bars instead of small circles for your answers (varies widely)

So that is my idea of the perfect ingredients for a great survey panel! Share your thoughts below!

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Product Test Paid Surveys – Fun and Lucrative

by LapisLee on August 29, 2011

in General,Survey Panel Tips

Product tests are another lucrative form of paid online surveys that not only pay you for using a product, but allow you to keep the extra product after the testing is over. Some of the items that are commonly sent for product tests are toilet paper, paper towels, frozen foods, cereal, breakfast bars, mixed nuts, powdered beverages, laundry detergent, laundry softener, dishwashing detergent, toothpaste, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and disposable/battery-operated razors. Most product tests pay you between $5 and $30, but some pay much more. Some of the more unusual product tests that I have seen include a $700 captioning phone for the deaf, which paid $30 and allowed me to keep the phone and $150 mystery shopping product test that required me to enter a cell phone store and pretend to be interested in buying a phone and phone service.

In most cases, the company will send you two different products, each labeled with a specific code, and ask you to test the first product first before trying the second. It is extremely important that you not only write down the code/s or not throw away the box, package or container that has the code written somewhere on it, but that you also not confuse the two products. After testing the first product for a week or so, you can put that one away for later use and move onto the second product. Usually, I have lots of both products left over after testing, especially lotions, shampoos and conditioners.

Companies are looking for an in-depth, honest, objective opinion concerning their products and the more attention you put into observing, analyzing and comparing the two products, the better they like it and the more likely you are to receive additional product tests from that company, Vague, obvious and indifferent opinions are not as useful. Some of the best survey sites for product tests are: MySurvey, Toluna, SurveySpot, IPSOS I-SAY, Valued Opinions, Pinecone Research, Mindfield Online, Global Opinion Panel/Synovate and 20/20 Research. My singular mystery shopping experience came through ShopTalk and I have yet to earn another dollar with them since November of last year. One last hint: if a survey appears to be a rather short one and asks about food allergies, then it’s a safe bet that it will be a product test.

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Earn Higher Payouts with Invoke Interactive Surveys

by LapisLee on July 25, 2011

in Survey Panel Tips

Invoke Interactive surveys are a very important part of taking paid surveys online because they are usually the highest paid form of survey you will encounter. Invoke Solutions is one of the companies that allow for live, real-time chat where multiple persons are shown pictures of products, asked questions and everyone gives their answers simultaneously over the course of 60 minutes up to a couple hours. It is similar to being in a chat room only you get paid from $10 up to $200, with the average incentive being $35. A typical Invoke Interactive survey email invitation will look like this:

Dear LapisLee,

Thank you for agreeing to participate in our online interactive survey. This survey will be hosted by our research partner for this project, Invoke Solutions. In order to participate in the survey, you will need to follow the instructions below. SPACES ARE LIMITED! Please remember that by logging in early or on time and completing the entire survey, you will be entitled to a $20 incentive.

ONLINE INTERACTIVE SURVEY DETAILS

Your session is scheduled for Thursday July 17th 2008, at 5:00 pm EST/ 4:00 pm CST/ 3:00 pm MST/ 2:00 pm PST. Duration: Approximately 75 minutes.

The single most important thing is to click on the email invitation and complete the screener IMMEDIATELY because these high-paying surveys DO fill up within a matter of minutes. The second most important thing is, after having received the email above, or something similar, make certain that you log in to the survey site at least 30 minutes early because they do qualify more persons than they have available spots and the first ones logged in will get those spots.

Once you have qualified and logged-in, the Moderator will explain the rules of that particular session and ask everyone to give their name, where they are from and something they enjoy doing. This is just to test that everyone is properly set up for the session. Sometimes there will be a webcam and microphone involved which can make for technical problems.

Once you have been shown the product, the Moderator will ask you questions, some of which will be multiple-choice, but others will be open-ended, meaning you have to type your thoughts, feelings, impressions, etc. I always try to give the best possible information concerning the product, something unique that I like or dislike about it. The Moderator may ask for you to elaborate further on your opinions, either publicly or privately. Try to stay on topic as I have been dismissed for making comments unrelated to the topic on hand, such as political comments when the topic is healthcare.

You must complete approximately 65% or more of the questions to qualify for the incentive. This figure may vary depending on the survey company. I have encountered Invoke Interactives from SurveySpot, Toluna, IPSOS I-SAY, HCD, SurveySavvy, USA Talk Now, Datatelligence, 20/20 Research and Opinion Place. Invoke Interactives are so lucrative that a single incentive of $100 or $200 can make a survey company shoot up to #1 in your survey list overnight, which is why you must always be on the look-out for them in your inbox!

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How Much Is a Point Worth?

June 21, 2011

Here is a short guide to the point values of various survey sites that I like. While most people prefer survey sites that give you a dollar value for their surveys, such as Surveyhead, Valued Opinions, Pinecone Research, Survey Savvy, Socratic Forum, Mindfield Online, ACOP, Clear Voice, Brand Institute and others, the sad reality is [...]

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Survey-Taking Tips for College Students

April 7, 2011

Taking paid surveys is a great way to earn some extra cash while studying at college. I’ve been taking surveys for a few years now while doing my studies and that extra cash really comes in handy to help pay for expensive textbooks and other school supplies. It’s also great to having some extra spending [...]

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