Paid Survey FAQs - Why And How People Are Taking Surveys Online

Anywhere you go online nowadays, you will see an ad offering to pay you cash for your opinion. Whether it's a paid survey or focus group, the idea is the same - market research companies want your opinion and are willing to give you cash and free merchandise for you to spend your time filling out their surveys.

In this article, we will clear up the mystery surrounding "paid surveys".

What is a paid survey?

A paid survey, or "market research survey", is a series of questions that are presented to either an individual, or group of individuals, to see how they perceive and respond to certain products or services. Each and every person fits into some type of demographic (segments of human populations broken down by age, sex, income, etc.), that certain products or services are marketed to. For instance, athletic equipment may be marketed towards a younger, physically active demographic, while luxury cars might be marketed towards a higher income demographic. These online surveys are offered for free as a means to understand certain markets better.

What is a focus group?

A focus group is another type of survey where a group of individuals are invited to discuss a certain topic related to the company that sponsors the focus group. You may or may not know the point of the discussion and they are often hosted by a moderator that will guide the discussion. These focus groups can be held at a physical location or online and usually lasts between 30 minutes to 2 hours. The compensation can range from up to , depending on the topic and time involved.

Why is my opinion so important?

Companies spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars on advertising for new and/or existing products and services. These "advertising campaigns" can sometimes be a complete waste of time and money if the company does not research the market that they are trying to capture. So it makes sense for a company to see how it's products or services are received by the public, before it invests the money and time on advertising. This is where the market research survey comes in, and this is why your opinion is so important.

I understand all that, but why would they pay me money?

The answer to this question is very easy and boils down to one thing; Your time is worth their money! Think about it this way...if you are going to introduce a new type of tennis racket into the market, but you're unsure if it's needed or wanted, would you rather spend thousands of dollars on advertising, or simply pay 50 tennis players and find out their opinion about tennis rackets?

Okay, so how much can I really make taking paid surveys?

Compensation from survey companies can range from $1 up to $75 per survey, and most surveys take around 6-12 minutes to complete. There are some companies that offer points for completing a survey, and those points can then be redeemed for gift certificates, merchandise, cash and prizes. You can even be entered into raffles for prizes after completing certain surveys. No matter what the compensation, all legitimate survey companies will tell you up front, before you begin the survey, what the compensation will be. The more you take, the more you make.

How am I paid, and is that money taxed?

The market research company that sponsors the survey or focus group will send you your compensation, usually by mail. The money that they tell you the survey is worth is the amount you will receive by check. It is entirely possible to receive multiple checks from multiple research companies at various times of the month. Since you will be operating as an independent contractor, you are responsible for filing taxes on all the money earned you have earned.

Is there a limit to the number of paid surveys I can take?

There is no limit to the amount of surveys or focus groups you can participate in online. You can offer your opinion every day, all day and get paid for it.

Who is eligible to take a paid survey?

Almost anyone is eligible to sign up for and take online surveys, although some companies may have certain age restrictions. Some companies will allow surveys to be completed by people 13 years of age or older, while other survey companies require you to be 18 years of age or older.

Do I need to fit a certain profile to participate in a paid survey?

When you register with a market research company, you are asked a preliminary set of questions to figure out what type of profile you have. That profile will be used to determine what surveys and focus groups you will be invited to participate in. Since there are hundreds of research companies that sponsor surveys, the more you sign up with will increase the number of paid surveys are offered to you.

What kinds of questions are asked on paid surveys?

You are asked a wide range of questions, such as where you prefer to shop or what kind of shampoo you use. You will be asked about products that you have tried and what products you continue to buy. The questions on research surveys are given to better understand the different markets the company is trying to capture, which is why your answers are so valuable to them.

Will I be ever required to pay to take an online survey?

There are many paid survey opportunities on the internet, and they all are offered 100% free of charge. However, there are a few paid survey directory websites ("paid survey programs") that charge a fee to join. They have spent their time researching all the paid surveys online to find the legitimate ones, and have listed them all in one spot. The one time sign-up fee that is charged by these websites are to maintain their directory and keep their paid survey list up to date and accurate.

Are these paid survey programs worth the money?

Yes. In our opinion, they are very worth the money. These paid survey programs have established relationships with hundreds of survey companies (more than we offer) and provide an invaluable resource for you to find quality paid surveys in one convenient location. For your initial sign-up fee, you get access to every paid survey company in their directory and save you time by weeding out the scams and fraudulent survey companies.

I heard that paid survey programs are a scam - Is it true?

The simple answer is no. But of course, nothing is that simple. A lot of people want things for free, and when they have to pay, they end up expecting the world. They want to sign up, pay the money and then go to their mailbox and start collecting checks. They don't realize that there still is work involved. But the underlying point is that these paid survey programs deliver on exactly what they advertise - access to their database listing 100's of market research companies. Remember, the bottom line is that if you don't like what they offer, you are entitled to your money back and they deliver on that, too.

In conclusion

It's very important to do all your research and find out all that you can about the paid survey you are going to take, and the market research company that you are signing up with. You can definitely make some good money online, so good luck and have fun!

This article was written by G. Garcia, owner of http://www.paidsurveychoices.com which lists top survey panels in their free paid surveys directory

Why Online Paid Surveys Work?

Hundreds of web surfers these days are subscribing to paid survey websites. Many of these are also making a few handy dollars every week or month. Paid Survey is now a big business and is getting bigger every day. So why would a company pay these dollars to the web surfers? Obvious they are getting money from somewhere. Paid Survey website owners are certainly not doing charity. So then by which way do these site owners pay their staff, pay the site members and still make a handsome profit. Lets try to demystify the mystery, which surrounds this business.

Paid Survey sites are primarily of two types - 1. Paid Survey site database 2. The actual Paid Survey site

The first type in itself does not conduct surveys. They are merely directories of the Paid Survey sites. Most of them would have links which when clicked, takes user to the actual paid survey pages of a different site. They make money by two ways; first is they get paid for keeping the reference and links to the actual Paid Survey site owners and secondly some of them charge a registration fee to access their directories. Hence if you are paying to register to these directories, remember that they are not going to pay you anything. They would simply help you to find and navigate to the actual Paid Survey sites. Ideally, if you are a new Pair Survey worker then you should start with searching Paid Survey sites on your own through one of the search engines or register at a free Paid Survey site directory.

The actual Paid Survey sites host surveys on various topics. They could be conducting survey on some newly launched product or an advertising promotion. Most of the times the surveys are carried out for some manufacturing or service company. They often want to know their customer preferences and behavior. The Paid Survey site does the job for them and gets paid in return. Some site owners also help the consumer companies in analyzing the data and generate statistical reports. Some of the returns they pass on to the survey takers. Some dubious survey site owners pass on their member contact information to other companies. These companies then send mail promoting their products. This is one of the channel by which spam reaches your mailbox. Well known Paid Survey sites also make money by advertising others products or services. Quiet a few Paid Survey sites, this days charge a small registration fee for the new members joining the site to take surveys. This too adds to their revenues.

All the above ensures that both the Paid Survey Directory sites and the actual Paid Survey sites thrive on the Wonderland of Internet.

Rob owns a blog and website helping people choose between paid surveys companies. Please visit the blog for more information on online paid surveys

Value Line Investment Survey - save 50% off your subscription.

Value Line Investment Survey

Value Line Investment Survey is one of the most trusted source of investment ratings for institutional and individual investors.

Value Line provides many measures for each stock but its flagship rating is the Timeliness. Timeliness ranks 1700 stocks based on a combined score of Earning growth, Earning surprise and price momentum. Stocks are given a Timeliness rank between 1 and 5 with 1 being best and 5 being worst. Stocks with Timeliness rank #1 are expected to outperform the market in the next 6 months to 1 year.

A portfolio made of stocks with Timeliness rank #1 (include 100 stocks) would have you earned 14.1% from 1965 to 2005 while the S&P500 earned 6.7% during the same period. No wonder Value Line is so popular.

Now, Value Line carries a hefty price: it costs almost 600$ per year and their service is therefore not accessible to many individual investors.

How to save 50% off the Value Line subscription.

The stock market has generally performed much better during the 2nd part of the US presidential election cycle that spans over 4 years (the election taking place at the end of year 4). Here are the average returns of a portfolio made of stocks with Value Line Timeliness rank #1 over the 4 years of the presidential cycle:

Value Line Timeliness Rank #1 performances during the presidential cycle:

- Year 1: 11.7% (standard deviation: 21.1%)
- Year 2: 03.4% (standard deviation: 18.1%)
- Year 3: 31.9% (standard deviation: 16.3%)
- Year 4: 17.2% (standard deviation: 19.3%)

As you can see, it is not worth investing in Value Line in years 1 and 2 of the presidential election cycle. The reward to risk ratio is very low: risk (standard deviation) is high compared to the return. You'll perform as well by simply investing in an index fund mirroring the market during this period, or even just going to Money Markets or Bonds. However, in years 3 and 4, then Value Line Timeliness really stands out.

Here you go: you can slash 50% off your Value Line subscription by just subscribing in years 3 and 4 of the presidential election cycle. The next year 3 is 2007.

One more tip: many stock market strategies are highly correlated. Investing in a portfolio of stocks with Value Line Timeliness rank 1 has a correlation of 85% with the S&P500. Therefore combining Value Line strategy with most successful Market Timing systems - such as the presidential cycle - will work.

To learn how to effectively reduce the Value Line Timeliness rank 1 Investing Universe of 100 stocks to a more practical number, visit Stock Screening

Jacky Pandion is a DIY Investor. He advocates a disciplined way to invest in the stock market. Visit www.mechanical-investing.com for Disicplined Stock Investing strategies.

Paid Surveys - Interview with a Legend!

Josh: I'm here with Rob Davis today and he's going to tell us a little bit about his success with Paid Online Surveys.

So Rob, when was it that you first decided to start taking part in Paid Surveys and Focus Groups?

Rob: I've been doing Paid Surveys for about 4 years now. When I first started back in 2001, there were only a handful of Market Research Companies - who provide you with the surveys - listed on the internet. I signed up for I think 5 of them. I didnt want to turn it into a full time job because I was already working 40 hours a week down at the factory and didnt really think it would be suitable to have to complete a whole lot of surveys as I wanted to have some spare time for myself too!

Josh: Ok, yes I can imagine! So you signed up for 5 Market Research Companies(MRC's) How did that go?

Rob: It took I think 3 days before one of them replied and asked me if I wanted to take part in a survey about home appliances. I accepted and filled out their survey, which was 60 questions long and it took about 10 minutes of my time overall. Next minute I checked my account and found out that there was $50 in it! I was dumbfounded. It was at that moment I decided to start taking it seriously and have never looked back since.

Josh: Wow! So how many MRC's have you joined so far?

Rob: I'm currently a member of over 300 MRC's. There was a time where I had joined over 400 and I was making on average $6000 a month, but it was taking up too much time and I'd rather be playing golf or going on holidays with my family, so I decided to cut back a little.

Josh: Now there's probably people out there who are wondering how you came to sign up for 400 MRC's. Can you offer them some advice about; firstly how to find them and secondly which ones to go for and ones to stay away from?

Rob: Sure. Firstly it's imperative that you sign up for a Paid Survey Database, that lists all the immediate MRC's on the internet. They are usually quite cheap - about $60 for a year membership plus they also give you some free bonuses aswell. They always update their site with new information on what's going on with with all the MRC's on the internet. I'm a member of Paid Surveys Free and I believe you are aswell Josh?

Josh: Yes, yes I am.

Rob: Yes, well they provide you with more than enough MRC's to sign up for. Also they rate which ones are the best with a little information about who they provide surveys for, so you know if they're worth your time or not. I suggest you sign up for 20 of the top MRC's to begin with. Now remember MRC's are free to sign up with, so you've got nothing to lose. Within a couple of days you should get some responses for some survey invitations. If not then go and sign up for more! It's that simple. If you're looking to take it a step further and turn Paid-Survey-taking into a profitable home business like I have, then get out there and sign up for as many as possible. Don't be lazy! Make a real effort to get your name out into the world of Market Research. I didn't get to where I am today by filling out the occasional survey here and there. I spend a great deal of my day partaking in surveys and focus groups, aswell as researching new companies on the horizon. It's very important to keep up-to-date with all the new MRC's flooding the market. Infact I find that the new ones are usually potential goldmines! Sign up for them straight away and as the saying goes - "First in best dressed!"

Josh: Great. Just one final question before I let you go Rob. Can you give people, who are looking to get started, some tips about how they can maximise the number of invitations they can recieve?

Rob: Sure. Every MRC requires you to submit a small amount of information about yourself so they can find out which surveys will best suit your personality. The most important thing to remember when submitting your information is to not lie about yourself! I made that mistake once, thinking that if I made myself out to be this great person who knows pretty much everything about anything, then I might just get more responses than if I just sent them the truth. Not true. Infact some MRC's responded to me, saying that they decided to decline my membership. I was shocked and replied by asking why they would not let me join and they said that "due to my unbelievable portfolio, they were unable to find suitable surveys or focus groups for me to take part in." Which pretty much meant - "We know you're lying!"

Josh: Interesting. Anything else you'd like to add?

Rob: Create a separate email account that you will make only for your paid survey business. Turn off all the span blockers that your email provider offers as some reponses may show up in your junk mail or bulk mail. Make sure you check your email at least twice a day. You want to make sure you accept invitations straight away as they may only be offered for a short time only. Treat it like a real job! Because in theory, that's what it is. If you want to become as successful as me and many others alike, start taking it seriously, focussing as much time and energy towards building your Paid Survey business.

Josh: Thanks for your time Rob. let's just run through it again quickly. First of all, sign up for a Paid Survey Database like Paid Surveys Free. Secondly, create a separate email address just for your paid survey business, turning off your email provider's span blocker. Thirdly, join the top 20 MRC's using good truthful information about yourself. Last of all, wait a couple of days for responses and if none come, try signing up for more. If you would like to turn it into a highly profitable business, then sign up for as many MRC's as possible!

Rob: You got it!

Josh: Thanks for your time Rob. I'm sure you've helped alot of people out there looking to get started with Paid Surveys.

Rob: No worries Josh. Glad to be of service.

If you would like to find out more about Paid Surveys, visit my site with free information - Infotrate.com - and get the latest reviews for the top Paid Survey sites on the Internet, plus you can read some more articles just like the one above! http://www.infotrate.com

Josh Stanton is the Owner of infotrate.com, which provides free information all about Paid Surveys. Visit his site to find out what the Top Ten Paid Surveys are. You can also view infotrate.com's free list of Paid Survey articles - nfotrate.com/articles

 

Survey Your Site Visitors!

The Internet is changing the face of marketing research. Time was when research involved among other things, printing and mailing surveys, data entry, and long distance telephone calls. Because of the time, effort, and expense involved, surveys were done infrequently or not at all. Without valuable information collected from surveys, marketing opportunities and client feedback were often missed. The Internet is changing all of that.

Online surveys provide a fast, efficient, and flexible way to learn more about your customers and prospects. The speed of response and the flexibility of online surveys can provide an organization with critical information quickly. A product concept developed in the morning can be tested and results received the next day! Strategic decisions can be made in a fraction of the time.

Online surveys can take different forms. Below are examples:

General Website Survey - This survey is placed on a website and is open for all site visitors to take. Because the survey is open to all, the sampling cannot be controlled or considered a statistically valid poll. However, general website surveys can be significant for two reasons:
oWhile not scientific, the information collected can provide an organization with valuable information. For example, a professional baseball team asked the following question on their website, "What item would you most like to see offered at the concession stands next season?" Following this question, several food items were listed. The number one response was, cheese curds(of all things!). Although this cannot be considered the definitive answer to proceed with cheese curds next year it does give the team reason to test market the product next season. Without this information, the team would have missed a potential opportunity to provide their fans with the food they desire and additional revenue from concession sales.
oWebsite surveys can also increase repeat visits to the website. A well done, fun survey that changes frequently can provide the motivation for site visitors to return to the website repeatedly. It is also important to provide the respondent with the real time results of the survey once they have submitted their responses. This provides the satisfaction of seeing how their responses stack up with other respondents.

Market Research Survey - The market research survey involves developing a survey for a targeted population. If you are a diaper manufacturer you may want to purchase a list of women between 20 and 35 with children under 3 years old in the home, for example. The difference between purchasing a list for a standard survey and a list for an online survey is that you are buying their e-mail addresses rather than their home address or phone number. A market research survey involves the following steps:

oThe development of a survey in a password-protected area of your website.
oPurchase of an opt-in e-mail respondent list. (Opt-in lists are available from companies like Survey Sampling, Inc.) Make sure sample size is proportionally related to the size of the population you are targeting.
oSend broadcast e-mails to members of the list. The e-mail will instruct recipients to click on the link to take them to the password-protected survey. An incentive will help boost the response rate.
oUpon completion of the survey, the database of answers can be queried to pull information based on selected variables. The data can also be exported to a statistical software application for further analysis.
oUpon completion of the survey, a new survey can be developed using the online administrative screens provided by high-end survey developers and the process starts over again.

The advantages of the online market research survey are numerous. From the development time to the delivery of results, these surveys present distinct advantages over traditional research methodologies.

Online surveys can also be designed to appear in a pop-up box at specified locations on a website. Such surveys will ask the visitor if they have a few seconds to take the survey and then proceed to ask them a few questions about their site experience to that point. By asking a series of questions the company can ascertain if the site is well received by the visitor. If not, the survey should provide specific clues to improve your site.

To summarize, online surveys offer the following benefits over standard surveys:

Speed of set up - using web-based administrative screens, online surveys can be set up and delivered quickly.
Data entry - Respondents do the data entry, so no data entry staff is required. Additionally, accuracy is greatly improved since no data is being rekeyed.
New designs and concepts can be presented online. Respondents can view new products, packaging and other offerings online while they are responding to the survey. Standard surveys required mailing package concepts to the respondent in advance. The costs associated with printing, postage and data entry, combined with the time inefficiencies, make online surveys far superior in most instances.
Results are tabulated quickly for fast analysis.
Early results are showing better response rates. One company that has typically surveyed their employees in the past by traditional means has seen a response rate improvement from 25 to 50% since moving their surveys online.

The opportunities to learn from your customers using the Internet are enormous. By surveying your customers, prospects, and employees online you can uncover opportunities and address issues faster, more accurately and at greatly reduced expense.

Brent Niland
Spindustry Systems, Inc.
ph. 515-225-0920
bniland@spindustry.com
www.spindustrysystems.com

Why Passenger Surveys Are A Transport Operators Best Friend

Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service.

Public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

allow the proper targeting of investment
allow measurement of the effect of change
assist in the moral of those implementing change
ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

- safety and security
- punctuality
- fares and ticket types
- capacity and overcrowding
- quality and design of vehicle
- cleanliness
- facilities at stations and terminals
- facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

Passenger surveys allow operators to identify those areas that are of most concern to their customers. Through the analysis of passenger feedback the operator will be able to ensure that their improvement and investment plans are inline with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into high and low priority, as well as long and short term plans.

Some capital investment such as the building of new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take years to implement. However, the initial survey is also likely to identify some high profile areas that can be implemented almost immediately at a relative low cost.

Measuring Change


From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.


One objective will be to ensure that the changes and initiatives that are implemented have been effective in addressing passenger issues. A second objective will be to promote and advertise the initiatives that have been implemented and also inform and educate passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.


Passengers will always be more positive if they can see that improvements have been made and more accepting of outstanding problems if they know that those problems are being addressed.

Keeping Moral


Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. Change can take time to take effect and for the passengers to appreciate any improvement.

By monitoring passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

Passengers will take time to appreciate progress and often those working on a change project will be demoralised with constant criticism from what is often a negative public. It is important that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. Events can happen that make what was important, no longer important and what wasnt an issue, an issue.

The baseline survey will ensure that the passengers concerns are chronologically documented. Passengers are themselves an evolving group, individual travel arrangements change, fashion changes, life styles develop along with technology. Periodic surveys will allow changes in passenger attitudes to be monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. The low cost and flexibility of online surveys allows passenger concern to be targeted at specific groups and particular concerns.

Online surveys provide operators with important market research data as well as a platform to promote and advertise their commitment to passenger satisfaction.

Passengers benefit by having an effective channel to raise issues and through periodic surveys will begin to appreciate that the operator is continually investing and improving the service.The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline
http://www.surveygalaxy.com/surPublishes.asp?survey_id=1166

Sample Passenger Survey for a Train Operator
http://www.surveygalaxy.com/surPublishes.asp?survey_id=1170

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator
http://www.surveygalaxy.com/surPublishes.asp?survey_id=1167

 Martin Day is a Director of Survey Galaxy Ltd a web site that allows anyone to create, design and publish online surveys. For more information please visit http://www.surveygalaxy.com