Online surveys for cash are a very popular means of making money online, although getting paid for online surveys has to be carefully planned and organized.
Getting paid for online surveys seems like an easy way to make money, and getting paid money for surveys has indeed become a popular means of making money online. However, there are one or two truths you need to know, and also some tips to help you earn money taking online surveys to maximum effect. You will be able to make money taking surveys, but keep these factors in mind:
1. WHAT TO EXPECT.
Don't expect to make a fortune from paid online surveys. This will not be the basis of anybody's online home business, but more of a means of making a reasonable amount of pocket money. Yoiu can earn money taking online surveys, and you will hear of people making up to $200 an hour or more, but ignore that. No doubt somebody might make that with a unique survey program that they found, but your average will be nearer $2 - $5 a survey.
You can work it out yourself from there. Each survey takes on average around 10 minutes to complete, so if you work for a morning a day, say 8 till midday, then you can complete 5 surveys and hour, earning you an average of $17.50 an hour so each morning you will earn four times that, or $70. If you do that 6 days a week, then you can earn around $1700 monthly. With a little experience, that 10 minutes can often be cut to 5.
It's not a fortune, but that's for only 4 hours a day, six days a week. If you work 8 hours, that comes to $3400. Many earn more than that average figure, by using a number of paid survey programs through online survey directories. If you take it really seriously, and seek out the best paying surveys, it is possible to make a lot more than that, and the $200 an hour advertised could possibly become a reality ($288,000 monthly), but that's for the experienced!
However, it shows what can be done by some and with the right programs. I haven't done it, but I have read about it online. Don't get your head turned because you will not earn that - not until you have spent a while learning the basics, and that will take a year or two.
2. HOW TO START
To start to earn money taking online surveys for cash, you have to find a good paid survey directory. These will offer a variety of paid online surveys, and while some will pay cash for surveys, others will offer you free goods for surveys. Don't be upset if you are offered free goods, because these can be sold on eBay at a good profit, and often earn you mire than if yoru were paid for a cash survey.
Therfore, you should register with a respected survey directory first: that could cost you anything up to $50, but if you pay then you are being taken to the cleaners! There are sites that offer you surveys without you having to pay. You can then choose the surveys you want to take from these. They are not over-advertised because those promoting them have little to gain. However, free paid online survey directories are available if you know where to look for them, and don't expect an online search engine search to find them for you, because 'free' isn't always free!
3. PAID ONLINE SURVEYS ADVICE
a) Never use your regular email address for your surveys. Open up a new address with Yahoo, Techemail or Gmail. You could receive a lot of emails when you get really deeply into this, and you want to keep your personal email address for personal emails. You can even set up a new email address for each survey group with which you register. It is free to open up these email addresses for your cash surveys. When you start to make money taking surveys, you will get a lot of emails (hopefully telling you how much you are making from your paid surveys).
b) Some will be cash surveys, and some for prize draws. Make sure that you register for a directory that offers mainly paid surveys, and the occasional prize draw, because you could get lucky. However, you still need the cash survey for a regular income. Nevertheless, it's fun to enter a draw survey now and again, so go for a mix.
c) You will come across the message "You do not Qualify for this Survey" now and again. It happens to everybody. Take a note of the survey site and don't use it again. It is due either to your post code, country, age, sex or some other information you provided at the start of the survey, so don't take it personally.
d)Never lie in any porfile you are required to provide because you might then be given a paid survey that is irrelevant to you.
e) You will need some form of password maintenance, since you could be registering for 50+ online cash survey sites eventually. If you want to earn money taking online paid surveys seriously, than a few dollars for password and login protection, security and maintenance is well worth the $20 or less it will cost.
FINALLY
A lot of people earn money taking online surveys, but be careful about free online paid surveys; because if they are free surveys then your payment will be either small or it will involve a draw for a gift. It can be very profitable to be paid for online surveys once you have learned how to go about it correctly, although you should go for the cash surveys and use the free draws as a side amusement just for fun to find out your luck.
Draws for gifts are OK as a sideline, but your main focus, if you want to earn money taking online surveys, must be on paid surveys, or cash surveys. These are what will be earning you the bulk of your income, and if you are getting paid for online surveys then you want it to be in cash and not in the chance of winning draw for a vacation. Good luck!
About the Author
Earn money taking online surveys by using a good paid survey directory, such as http://howdoiwin.com/recommends/YourFreeSurveys in the USA: this ticks all of the above boxes and even pays you to join. UK visitors check out http://howdoiwin.com/recommends/ValuedOpinion which is also free to join.