If you have been searching for ways to make money online, you’ve undoubtedly noticed ads for paid surveys. Such sites frequently pop up in work-from-home searches, and many people dismiss them as just another money-making scam. The truth is that some paid survey sites are nothing more than phishing scams to steal your information. But there are also many totally legitimate survey sites where you can make money taking surveys online for free.
This post will talk about how paid surveys work and how much you can earn. But more importantly, we are going to show you how you can find the best surveys sites and how to distinguish a scam site from a legit survey site. If you’re ready to start making money online with surveys, read on for all the details.
How Do Paid Surveys Work?
Paid surveys work similarly to regular surveys you might come across each day. But unfortunately, most of us have become immune to such surveys. They are on the bottom of nearly every cash register receipt, in our emails, and on the websites we visit every day. In short, we are inundated with surveys.
What makes one company’s surveys stand out from the rest? What motivates people to respond, and, more importantly, what’s in it for them? With so many businesses asking for consumers’ opinions on their products, it’s no wonder people are suffering from “survey burnout.” Who even has the time to fill them all out?
Incentivized Surveys
Survey fatigue presents a problem for market researchers who depend on surveys to get the data they want. They need critical information that only customers can provide, but getting people to complete surveys is nearly impossible these days. So they decided to incentivize them.
What does that mean? In exchange for completing a survey (either by email, phone, mail, or directly on a website), brands offer some type of incentive. The incentive might be an entry into a drawing, a coupon, or even a token of appreciation.
Paid survey sites take this concept further, offering their users actual cash to complete surveys online. Even better, they have managed to organize dozens of paid surveys all in one place. This means that you don’t have to visit multiple sources to fill out surveys. Instead, you can log in to your favorite survey platform and complete multiple surveys per session. The best part? You can earn free gift cards or cash just for doing it.
But How Can You Get Cash From an Online Survey Company?
Survey sites partner with payment processors like Paypal, Payoneer, and other companies to get users paid quickly for their effort. Some sites even have their own payment platforms that allow users to deposit their earnings directly into a bank account.
And if you don’t feel like dealing with cash online, the best sites also let you turn your earnings into free gift cards, which we’ll discuss briefly in a few moments.
How Much Can You Earn From Surveys?
So, just how much can you earn from surveys? That depends a lot on how much time you spend completing them. But in general, each survey pays between $0.50 to $3.00. Some participants do just a few each week, while others work on filling them out every day.
If you answer surveys for 30 minutes each morning, you could easily earn an extra $150 a month with minimal effort. And if you spend more time completing questionnaires, obviously, that figure increases.
Additionally, the best survey sites offer users bonuses for completing a certain amount of surveys within a specific time frame, thus adding to your earnings. And if you invite other participants to join, you’ll also earn referral bonuses, which means more money for you.
Will you be able to quit your full-time job to do surveys each week? Probably not. Paid online surveys are not a get-rich-quick idea. But you can earn enough to save for something special, pay off a few bills, or buy household necessities.
Another perk offered by the best survey platforms is the ability to cash out your earnings in gift cards instead of cash. Unfortunately, not every site provides this feature, so if you want to earn gift cards in lieu of money, find a survey platform that has this option.
For example, Branded Surveys (one of the most reliable and popular survey sites) has dozens of gift cards for users to choose from, from restaurants to travel services to the most well-known retailers. You can even cash out your earnings for an Amazon gift card and purchase just about anything you can imagine on the world’s largest online store.
How To Find Free Paid Surveys
Because there are so many survey sites out there, it can be hard to know which one is the best. One important thing to remember is that many survey sites offer surveys from the same brands. However, you can only complete each survey once per person in most cases. While many participants try to cheat the system and fill out the same surveys on several different sites, this will quickly get your account flagged for fraud, and you will be subsequently banned from all of them.
So you’ll want to work on only one survey site to avoid this scenario. And that means you’ll want to find a paid survey platform with these features:
- The highest payouts per survey
- The wide range of surveys to complete
- Responsive and helpful customer care
- Excellent reviews
- A user-friendly platform
- Low payout threshold
- Multiple payout options
You’ll also want to make sure the site you choose is legit and has an excellent reputation. Otherwise, you’ll just be wasting time and effort for nothing. So next, let’s discuss how to distinguish between a legit survey site and a scam.
Scam vs. Legit Survey Site
If you want to avoid scammers in the survey industry, follow these guidelines:
1. Look for Genuine User Reviews
By now, we’re all accustomed to reading reviews before deciding on a purchase, especially online. We check the reviews on just about everything from dentists to buying new socks. But as you already know, any site can put up a bunch of fake reviews, so ironically, you’ll also need to find a legit review site to acquire this information.
Trustpilot is an excellent place to begin. It’s one of the most trusted review platforms in the world, and within its pages, you can find any survey site you might be considering. Branded Surveys has over 47,000 honest user reviews and a rating of excellent on Trustpilot. This is a perfect example of what you should be looking for when choosing a survey site.
2. Look for Online safety and Transparency within the company
Can you find the site’s privacy policy? Is there a way to contact them if something goes wrong? Do you know how they plan to use your information? You’ll want to ask yourself these questions before joining, and the only way to find the answers is to visit the site itself.
Have a look around and read the fine print. Do a little Googling and see if there is any information out there about the site. You can even try using the support ticket system to make sure it’s easy to contact someone with questions. But, don’t just go in blindly.
3. Look at What Has Been Written About the Site
Similar to finding genuine reviews about the survey site, you should also be able to find a few articles or publications. For example, when you look for articles about branded surveys, you can find stories written by publishers such as Millenial Money, Investing Daily, and other well-known personal finance sites.
4. Look Carefully at the Compensation That Is Offered
You obviously want to make enough cash with paid surveys to make it worth your time. Every little bit counts, especially when you’re on a budget. So, in addition to picking a reputable site, find one that pays well. If the site is only paying five or ten cents per survey, it will take a long time to add up. Instead, look for sites like Branded Surveys, where you can find plenty of opportunities to share your opinion and get paid for surveys fairly.
5. Don’t Fall For Hype About Earning Potential
As we discussed, you’re not going to quit your day job and get rich with paid online surveys, and any site that implies you can is lying. A legit site will not make overinflated claims or promise earnings that sound too good to be true. Think realistically. If you could actually make $100 an hour doing surveys, many more people would be participating.
Branded Surveys Is the Best Paid Survey Site
You’ve probably guessed we’re a little partial to Branded Surveys and with good reason. This iconic survey site has been around for about a decade, and they are still going strong. They have excellent write-ups and reviews, and users report fair and consistent earnings.
Remember how we discussed getting banned as a fraudulent user by joining multiple sites? You can avoid this by signing up with only one excellent survey company like Branded Surveys. It’s easy to get started with Branded. All you need to do is navigate to the signup page, input your information, confirm your email, and you’re in.
With Branded Surveys, you can begin taking paid surveys immediately, with no experience or special skills needed. And since the payout threshold is only $5.00, you could even request your first payout today!
Check them out if you consider taking surveys to earn extra money. You won’t lose anything by trying out paid surveys, but you could be leaving free cash on the table if you don’t!
