Valuable Opinions

Review Backs Express Paid Surveys for Paid Online Survey Opportunities

2008-05-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

A review of Express Paid Surveys gives them positive marks.

From Top Paid Survey Sites & More:

EXPRESS PAID SURVEYS

Get paid to try new products (and keep the goodies, too).

Updated database leads to fresh, new survey-taking opportunities.

Six-year performance track record.

Funny Paid Survey Column Pokes Fun at Crazed Expectations...

2008-05-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a winner.

This article takes a few shots at the people who'd like to suddenly become rich overnight by taking paid surveys.

It's refreshing to see someone who actually advocates paid surveys as a good way to make extra money online offer an honest assessment of what it's all about.

You can make money with online surveys, but don't expect them to "Give You a Massage While Making Your Favorite Dinner".

Paid Surveys that are FREE. The ONLY way to Fly.

2008-05-26T01:22:00.000-07:00

If I had two pieces of advice to give newbies in the paid survey completion field, the first one would be to stop goofing around and to connect with a quality source of leads and market research contacts so that you can make more money.

The second?

I would advise any and all survey takers to immediately reject any survey opportunity that required payment for access.

It's ridiculous, really. Why should you pay someone so that they can pay you later? Why should you pay someone when you are already giving them something of value (your thoughts and opinions)?

Those aren't unanswerable questions. It's just that the answers aren't so hot. The reason why these things happen is because the people running the surveys don't really care about the data. They just want the money. You won't get paid when it's all over. If you do, it will only be because you are one of the few people to win the scam lottery and secure a prize. Oh, the few "prizes" rewarded will undoubtedly come to less than what the "market researcher" brought in.

These things are little mini-lotteries designed to make site operators a few bucks. They are not legitimate surveys.

Which brings me back to my first recommendation. If you are being led in the right direction by the right people, you don't have too much to worry about and you're unlikely to ever encounter one of those bogus operations.

Should you Bother with Free Directories of Online Paid Surveys?

2008-05-26T01:18:00.000-07:00

Should you bother with free directories of online paid surveys?

Not necessarily.

Sure, you might as well scan what you can find just to make sure you're not missing out on anything spectacular.

Overall, though, I have found the free lists lacking in a couple of departments.

They tend to be outdated, which isn't a big surprise. Most of the free goodies on the web tend to be well past their primes, it seems.

They also aren't well-vetted or comprehensive. You'll find some really weak offers listed and a man of the best ones don't even make the free paid survey lists.

That's why I work with sites that connect me with "the good stuff".

The free lists floating around everywhere are okay, but if you want to make any real gains with paid surveys, you have to go to the next level.

Taking Surveys for Money: Online Success Story

2008-05-26T01:13:00.000-07:00

I read this a few minutes ago and thought I should share.

I think it is a really interesting exposition of why paid survey opportunities can be such a good thing for people.

Earning the money is great. So is getting your feet wet in the online entrepreneurial pond. It's a great standalone thing, but it is also a good way to create a foothold in Internet moneymaking.

Check out this insightful and sort of inspirational look at paid surveys.

Surveys4Checks is Giving Away Moneymaking Tips -- FREE

2008-05-24T00:31:00.000-07:00

Surveys4Checks, a well-known paid survey site, is giving away free tips and hints on how you can maximize your survey earnings.

There's no obligation. They don't want your credit card, your firstborn child or the title on our car. You just sign up and they'll email you with some great ideas for making more money. Absolutely free, of course.

So, if you aren't doing anything incredibly important in the next ten seconds, hustle on over to Surveys4Checks and request your goodies.

Free Online Paid Surveys -- Cash Money Available NOW

2008-05-24T00:22:00.001-07:00

Right now, a market research firm is desperately trying to determine whether the public will like a new product. They want to know how people feel about the product and its existing competitors. They want to know what people are looking for. They want reactions to prices. They want reflections on the planned marketing strategy.

They want information.

So, they're willing to compensate people in exchange for quizzing them. The information is so valuable that they are perfectly happy to fork over cash, gifts or other inducements to acquire the data.

That's where you enter the picture.

Instead of spending your online time sort of aimlessly, you can participate in paid surveys. The business gets its data. You get your goodies. Everything is perfect.

While you were reading this blog post, someone probably just wrapped up a good-paying survey. Those researchers are spending their budgets right now. Shouldn't you get your cut? Your opinions matter, too, after all.

You can Participate! Online Paid Surveys are for Everyone

2008-05-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, before I address the issue at home, let me bust out a couple of caveats right off the top. If you want to make money with paid surveys it is a bit easier if you live in the USA. There are more opportunities for Americans. Oh, and it pays to be over eighteen. If you're a younger person, you won't qualify for many surveys.

After that, though, it's a wide open field.

Think about the way market research works. Companies want to know how the people they'll be targeting with a new product, service or marketing strategy feels. They want to understand that in a general sense, but they also want to here from all segments of the greater targeted population.

That translates into opportunities for everyone.

If you're poor, your opinion is valuable. If you're wealthy, you'll be in demand, too. Black, white, or purple with green spots--companies will be interested in your take on their ideas.

Some surveys opportunities won't fit everyone. Men, for instance, may not be eligible to participate in a survey about birth control pills. However, there will be plenty of other opportunities for guys, including a few that won't take women. It all averages out and it inevitably results in opportunity for all.

If you are interested in trying the paid survey thing, don't let your personal situation deter you. You're a person. You belong to recognized age groups, genders, income levels, etc. If you're breathing, someone will want to know that you think about something.

You CAN participate. Online paid surveys are for everyone.

How Many Online Surveys and Focus Groups that Pay are Really Available?

2008-05-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

Just in case you have some really wild dreams, let me share a bit of Truth (notice the capital "T") with you.

Doing paid surveys online can make your pocketbook thicker. They will not, however, make you wildly rich overnight.

If you're looking to challenge Bill & Melinda Gates in the personal fortune department, don't spend your time doing paid surveys. That's a fact.

However, if you are interested in doing something fun and enjoyable that can bring some much-needed extra dough into the house, paid surveys might be just what you're looking for...

People always want to know how many online surveys and focus groups that pay are really out there. It's a tough question to answer. Although I'm sure you'd prefer a number, I'm going to answer the query like this:

There are enough paid survey and focus group opportunities to allow you to make the process into a great and profitable hobby. There are enough of them out there to keep you busy if you get your hands on the leads. There are enough paying opps that it's worth trying paid surveys if the concept interests you.

There aren't enough of them, however, to get you a visit from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Even if there were, you wouldn't have enough time to generate a massive personal fortune from them.

Paid surveys are what they are--a fantastic and fun opportunity to make money. If you'd like some extra cash for doing nothing more than sharing your opinion, they are nothing short of perfect.

Get Paid: Take Short Online Surveys

2008-05-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

There's nothing wrong with going after the biggest fish in the survey pond. If you prefer to rake in a bigger stack of dough by participating in an involved focus group or by completing a very long and detailed survey, that's your decision.

To tell you the truth, I think there's a lot of validity in that perspective, too.

However, there's nothing wrong with looking a different direction to get paid--take short online surveys.

Shorter surveys may pay less, but you can complete them very quickly. Shorter surveys are a fantastic way to ramp up your online income.

Hey, it's fine and dandy to go after the big fish. Just realize that there's money to be had by bringing in nets full of the smaller ones, too.

Now, a word on behalf of Paid Surveys, Etc. If you aren't familiar with this bunch, today must be the first day you've ever investigated online survey taking.

If there's a giant in the lead procurement field for paid surveys, it is Paid Surveys, Etc. You haven't come close to researching your options until you've checked out their site.

Why I Fill Out Online Surveys for Money

2008-05-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

Just in case you're wondering why I do paid surveys, I thought I'd run down a quick list...

1. $$$. That's obvious, right? I like doing paid surveys because they're paid. Just like everyone else, I appreciate more money in my household. I've found that completing online surveys is a fantabulous way to make extra cash.

2. It's fun. I don't know if everyone feels this way, but I actually have a blast completing the surveys. It's neat to see what companies want to know from the public and it gives me a cool feeling, knowing that my $.02 worth will have a real influence on how companies decide to act.

3. It's efficient. I do a lot of different things. Online surveys are an area of expertise and great experience, but I don't have any plans to start spending every minute of the day completing surveys. That's great, though, because I can complete small surveys in a matter of minutes. Even the bigger projects aren't that time-consuming.

4. It works. That should be obvious based on 1-3, but I feel like repeating it every chance I get because there are so many people out there making WRONG and FALSE accusations about the nature of online surveys. This stuff really does put money in your pockets, folks.

Free Online Surveys and Scams: The REAL Story

2008-05-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing that I'm downright sick of, it's the growing army of blowhards who argue that free online surveys and scams go hand in hand.

Oh, I'm sure that some surveys never get around to paying survey takers. I can also imagine that some of the lead depository sites that one can pay to get his or her hands on survey opportunities are weak.

Big deal. A handful of rotten apples in a very big barrel.

The most annoying part of the silly anti-survey rants is this idea that it's a rip-off to pay someone for good survey leads. "You're just paying them for something you can do yourself", they argue.

Well, that's true. It's also true that you could skip hiring a lawyer and represent yourself in court pro bono. It's also true that you could learn how to put new siding on your own house instead of calling a contractor. You can cook, right? So why ever go to a restaurant?

See what I'm saying here? Those "middlemen" make life easier. You toss them a little cash and they give you a ton of leads. You COULD generate those leads yourself, but it would take COUNTLESS hours and TONS of effort.

Most of the good paid survey sites cost less than $40 to join. They call that a rip-off? If you value your time at all, it's a cheap investment. You won't need to search for opportunities. You could use that extra time to earn more money or to do whatever else your heart might desire.

Bottom line: Surveys pay.
Second bottom line: Paying someone for a lot of research, legwork and expertise is the opposite of a scam--it's just good business.

Get Money with Online Surveys in Record Time

2008-05-23T23:29:00.000-07:00

The only tough part about earning via survey taking is creating a big enough stockpile of solid leads to keep you busy, right?

I know that some people become forum rats, poring over hundreds of comments and posts to find a handful of decent surveys to take. I know that others become Master Googlers, working the search engines to find opportunities day and night.

Me? I'd prefer to spend my time making money instead of spending it looking for ways to make money. That's why I tossed a few bucks to "middlemen". Basically, I've signed up for a handful of those paid survey sites that offer you a nice fat list of the best-paying market research firms.

Instead of whiling away the hours looking for something to do, I have a massive head-start. That pays massive dividends, in my estimation.

I'll never understand the survey-takers who are obsessively stuck in "do it yourself" mode. If they valued their time, they'd quickly understand that it's well worth the tiny sum necessary to join a good paid survey lead site.

Take Online Surveys -- Join for Free and Prepare for Pure Profit

2008-05-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

Talk about a low overhead way to make money online. There's nothing quite like spending a little bit of your spare time to take online surveys. Join for free every time and the profit margin is through the roof!

Note that I said "join for free". That's an important part of making the survey biz work and it also requires a little explanation.

You should only hook up with usrvey opportunities that ask nothing from you other than your opinions. Don't get fooled into giving your money away in exchange for the privilege of participating in the survey.

HOWEVER (notice how I capitalized that), you can--and probably should--pay a little more to secure tose great survey leads in the first place. Don't pay the person running the survey, but do pay a professional paid survey site to enable you to make connections with major players in the paid opinion business.

Partnering with a good source of leads for those fantastic free online surveys is the BEST way to go if you want to start earning checks right away

Trading Something Free for Money? Interesting Post...

2008-05-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

There's an interesting post at Top Paid Surveys & More. It's entitled "Trading Something Free for Money: Online Survey Cash" and it makes a really good point about the paid survey business.

Can you think of any other moneymaking opportunities where the product you're selling doesn't cost you one red cent?

We're in the biz of selling our opinions. Talk about a great product. It's free and we all have an infinite supply of it, too!

And now, a brief commercial interruption...

Classified Surveys hasn't been around as long as some other survey sites, but they do have a lot to offer. If you're on the lookout for another (or your first) great lead source for making survey cash, you might want to take a look at Classified Surveys.

Get Paid to Participate in Surveys and Focus Groups More Often

2008-05-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

If there's one complaint from those who make money doing online paid surveys, it's that they can't count on tons of opportunities every single day. Sure, they might land a few big-money focus groups that pay them the equivalent of what a lot of people make in a full week in a traditional job, but they don't always wake up to a long list of available survey gigs.

So, how do you get paid to participate in surveys and focus groups more often? There are a couple of tricks to the trade...

First, you need to check for new opportunities consistently and follow up with potential winners as soon as you can. This will significantly improve your odds of landing the highest-paying opportunities.

Second, you can opt to secure opportunity leads from more than one source. Obviously, you need to join up with a reputable online paid survey site to begin with, but some people might find that it makes sense to sign on with a second site, too. There might be some overlap between the two, but there will probably be unique opportunities on each, too.

Third, you should expand your horizons. Some people will only work with cash-paying surveys. That's fine and there are plenty of those to go around. However, limiting yourself to those cuts out a lot of great surveys that pay with free merchandise, coupons, prizes, etc. Sure, cash is king and it always will be, but there's nothing wrong with winning a TV or saving big money on the ol' grocery bill on a day when you don't have a long list of cash surveys!

Survey Scout Rated #1 Paid Survey Site

2008-05-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

Top Rated Survey Sites & More recommends 3 different survey sites for those of us interested in making money with online surveys. Their #1 recommendation goes to Survey Scout.

Survey Scout has been around for a long time, offers quite a few bonuses to its membership and is recognized for hooking users up with great paid survey leads.

Not shocking that they'd get an endorsement.