Can I Really Get Paid For Survey Participation?

I was analysing the pros and cons of participating in paid surveys recently and came to the conclusion that really, everyone wins. This is provided of course, you are with a reputable survey company and not some "fly by night" organisation who are here today and gone tomorrow.

Yes, you can get paid for survey participation and it's easy to get involved. So who wins? Well, the companies who provide the products, the consumers, you, the survey taker and the survey company. Hey, it's drinks all round!

How do you get started? Well, first you need to join a survey site. There are survey sites all over the web and their aim is to build a list of survey takers who can answer a list of questions about products or, test products. How do you get paid for survey participation? Two ways; either monetary reward or product reward.

The first survey may come on the same day you join or within the first couple of weeks. How soon this will occur and what amount of surveys you will be receiving per day or per month depends on your profile – if you are a male or a female, your age and interests. This is because each survey company is holding researches within specific target groups – for example, consumer reviews for a new lipstick will be assigned to females, age 25 to 47, of certain income level and even social status; new sports equipment surveys could be forwarded to either male or female who have indicated that they are interested in sports.

If you have plenty of spare time, you can join several marketing agencies. Thus, you are increasing your opportunity to receive surveys more often and earning more money.

Keep in mind that some surveys do not offer money rewards. In this case, to get paid for survey participation, you may receive a product or a service as a gift. For example you could receive a discount on some of the products from the company that ordered the survey, free trials, coupons, samples or you may be put in a price draw.

It sounds so easy to get paid for survey participation. However, you still need to do your due diligence before joining any paid survey programs. Here are a few things to watch out for:

What are the application terms especially if a membership fee is required;
Is the site legal;
Is it a real marketing company or a pyramid company;
In case you are offered paid access to a database of companies looking for people to participate in their surveys – try to find the same lists for free (there are so many web sits that will offer you the same information for free)
Be very careful about privacy issues.

There you have it. You can get paid for survey participation but it's not as cut and dried as some people make it out to be. It just doesn't "fall into your lap" and those who earn decent money have more than likely been participating in surveys for some extended period of time. Give it time and yes, the reward for little effort will eventually come but it won't be a monetary avalanche.