In the business landscape, sharing thoughts and experiences are imperative in curating excellent customer experiences. Every time you transact with a company, you’ll notice that they’ll ask you to answer a short survey concerning their products and services. Leaving a review on their website is also encouraged.
What makes your feedback essential as a consumer? Most companies even take the extra mile to reward individuals upon taking their surveys, which are known as paid online surveys, a pursuit that’s relatively popular today. In this article, you’ll explore everything you should know about paid surveys and if they’re worth your time and effort.
What Are Paid Surveys?
As their name implies, paid surveys are surveys that people can participate in to gain rewards and gifts. Paid surveys can either be accomplished face-to-face or online, and they both aim to gather quantitative or qualitative data depending on the surveyors’ needs.
In face-to-face surveys, survey takers are invited to an individual interview, in which they can be asked a variety of questions that are less conducive to be answered in an online setup.
Meanwhile, paid online surveys are more prominent today, thanks to their convenience and ease of earning rewards. In digital surveys, you simply have to sign up on survey platforms that host hundred to thousands of surveys daily. After verifying your personal and banking information, you can click here to start answering surveys and earning points.
How Do Paid Surveys Work?
Why do survey takers earn money by answering surveys on different topics? Where does the money come from?
The importance of surveys roots in market research. Before companies spend a great deal of time, money, and effort designing a new product or service, they have to know first if the consumers would want to try it out. After releasing their offers, businesses may also carry out surveys to gather feedback from their customers.
These companies allot huge budgets to market research, which fund the incentives and rewards that survey takers receive, among others. Survey platforms or websites serve as the middlemen for these companies, and they also earn money from featuring company surveys on their platforms.
Now, going onto your perspective, keep in mind that not all surveys may be available to you. Since market research is concentrated on specific audiences, surveys will only appear on your end if you’re qualified to take them.
Moreover, starting a survey doesn’t mean that you’ll be automatically rewarded. At the start of the survey, the company will collect your basic information, such as your demographics, and at this stage, you may or may not be allowed to proceed with the actual survey. Some surveys may give smaller rewards, while some don’t reward at all.
How Much Can You Earn From Paid Surveys?
Survey rewards vary immensely due to various factors: country or location, company’s market research budget, and survey difficulty, to name a few. Most paid surveys range from USD$1 to USD$5, and you’re lucky if you find one that offers USD$20. Some platforms also hold sweepstakes where you’ll have the chance to earn up to USD$200.
Aside from monetary rewards, companies shell out their free, full-sized products from their brand, while some may reward gift checks for different goods, such as groceries, travel. In a few survey platforms, you can also redeem your money through PayPal, then transfer it to your bank account or e-wallet.
Before starting any survey, the payout information is usually provided. Some survey websites even categorize rewards so you can easily choose which surveys to take. If you receive a gift check as a reward, make sure to check its validity date and terms as some may have limited redemption quantity or date.
As surveys appear only from time to time, take note that it’s impossible to earn from the big-time. However, you can choose to build your rewards up before withdrawing them. For some survey platforms, users have to reach a minimum amount first to get their payouts.
Differentiating Legitimate Surveys From Scams
How do you spot a fake survey from a legit one? Before signing up for any survey website or clicking survey links on the Internet, take note of the following tips to avoid getting scammed:
- Legitimate surveys never, ever collect money from their participants.
- Don’t give out your sensitive information, like account usernames and passwords, social security number, and credit card details. Survey sites asking for these details are typically phishing attempts, which are a common social networking scam today.
- Always read the privacy policy of survey websites you sign up for.
- Look for survey websites that genuinely pay by reading online reviews and discussions.
- If the survey is too good to be true, then it probably is.
A substantial problem that most survey participants ignore is that they don’t have to pay for the survey so they’re just going for it. While fake surveys may not explicitly take your money away, the aftermaths of these scam surveys are far more debilitating as they steal your personal information, run off with your money from bank accounts, damage a company’s reputation, and more.
Tips In Answering Paid Surveys
Answering paid online surveys is truly fun and rewarding, but you can make so much more by exerting more effort and strategy to answer surveys. While this activity is only a sideline for you, many people earn more from answering surveys, making USD$8 to USD$23 per hour.
Here are some tips to make the most from filling out paid online surveys:
- Always be honest and consistent with your answers as websites can detect if you’re providing inconsistent information in each survey.
- Complete all information fields on your profile.
- Participate in the top, legitimate survey websites that many users vouch for.
- Open qualifications immediately before their expiration.
- Join referral programs and invite your friends for additional rewards.
- Answer surveys regularly and set an appropriate schedule when taking them.
Take-Home Message: Are Paid Surveys Worth It?
Paid online surveys are, no doubt, an excellent online side hustle. If you don’t have anything else to do on your idle time, taking these paid surveys is worthwhile. However, it’s still paramount to determine your priorities, and side hustles like these paid surveys don’t belong on this list.
While paid surveys allow you to earn extra money, make sure that they’re not taking your time and attention away from more important commitments, such as your career, quality time with family and friends, and most importantly, time for yourself.
