Tips on taking surveys.
Taking surveys a nice way to earn extra income. But I want to define “extra” income before I get into the nuts and bolts. Some folks are earning an extra few hundred monthly with the right survey sites and apps – and this is how I define “extra” income from surveys. These people have mastered the art of doing paid surveys. Survey platforms are just one facet to earning money with the methods we will show you. Other methods to be covered later on are:
- User Testing with Apps and Websites
- Data Entry & AI Training Tasks
- Cash Back Sites
- Earning With Survey Referrals (without bugging your friends and family)
- Pocket Change Methods
- Blogging (this can amount to some fairly serious income!)
- Freelancing
- Driving & Delivery stacking (using multiple apps at the same time to maximize time and earnings
- Making extra money referring people to apps and survey platforms
For now, so as not to overwhelm you with information, we will focus on Survey Platforms in this article.
What to expect with Survey Sites.
This is important. You must know up front that taking surveys may take you a few weeks to learn each platform. Each survey site has its own learning curve and personality. And you will get a lot of email. I have written an in depth article on if and when you should just create a new email for survey taking.
Often times when you sign up for a survey platform it may take anywhere from an hour to several days before they begin sending you surveys. You must be patient. 90% of people quit too soon. Remember, while you're clicking and investigating survey requests and applying for them, you might be doing other things at the same time, like watching TV, at a doctors office, etc. I have taken surveys while sitting in a dentist chair and in other situations where my time is “free”, like long drive-through lines, in between job searches, etc. Take surveys not as a "job" that you have to do, but as a task that you do while you have down time. Again, this is an art form with a small but not insurmountable learning curve.
Take some time to learn the art of taking surveys before you give up!
Survey Scams
They exist in several forms, from people over promising the gains you can get from legitimate survey sites, EXAMPLE of that: (Earn $5000 a week with surveys. Yeah right) to landing on survey sites that are just plain scams – I will go over what these sites look like and how to spot them, in a bit – but for starters, sometimes a new survey site will demand that you make $100 dollars before cashing out. That is one such example of AVOID THIS. Do not use such a website. Most survey taking platforms will let you cash out from $5.00 to $15.00.
Never pay to join a survey site. All legitimate survey platforms are always free to join.
For now, we only link to the tried and true survey companies that have stood the test of time. You can find those links at the end of this article.
How survey sites actually work. And why it is you can get paid.
The way a legitimate survey website works is... they, the website (research company, example Branded Surveys, InboxDollars, etc) is hired by major brands and services (example, Samsung, Apple, US Government, Political candidates, etc). These major brands and services contract with the survey site (example, Branded Surveys). The major brands and service company will contract with the survey site to get, for example, 5000 people's opinions on whatever brand or service they need data for. They are willing to pay those 5000 people a commission for a completed survey. Payment typically comes in the form of direct pay through:
- PayPal
- Points that are converted into payable cash via PayPal
- Venmo, and other cash apps and payment sites.
- They may also offer gift cards.
While gift cards are not cash, per se, they are very fun to get and use. I love gift cards.
Each survey platform has their own method of payment. Once you sign up you'll see each platform's offerings.
A bit of history
Now back in the day, major companies would pay people to call “survey takers” on the phone. I made great money doing this, but this method is mostly outdated. It has been replaced by legitimate survey platforms like Branded, SwagBucks, FreeCash, YouGov, and the list goes on. I will link below to the safe survey sites.
Nowadays most survey taking is conducted online.
In the next article we will discuss:
- How to take surveys efficiently
- How to take surveys super fast
- Overall best practices.
And in the coming weeks we will cover the other listed methods to earn extra income.
Remember:
You can learn some very useful skills that will make really good income but only if you put the time and effort in. There are no "get rich quick" methods on our site because most of them don't work. Lastly, it's okay if you determine that survey taking is just not for you. If that turns out to the best case, we are covering enough methods that you can simply move on. But do give it a fair shot.
Recommended Survey Platforms:
Branded has a low payout threshhold of $5.00. They are mostly for USA residents. They do have quite a bit of decent surveys. Very easy to sign up. As with all survey platforms, make sure to log in to your email and confirm that you want to receive surveys.
Branded offers the following methods to earn extra cash
- Daily Polls
- Paid offers (offers that pay you, not that you pay for)
- Surveys
They offer the following payment options:
- PayPal
- Gift Cards
- Bank Transfer
Sign up for Branded, test out their platform and find out if it's right for you.
FreeCash has a low payout threshold of a mere 50 cents, making it easy for you to get your cash quickly. They also, if you choose, pay in crypto like Bitcoin. They are a fast paying survey platform so you won't be frustrated by slow pays.
Methods of payout include, PayPal, gift cards and a variety of crypto. They also have very good customer support, which is a huge bonus.