I've spent hours, upon hours and more hours trying to find good companies and sites that produce what I've heard about, making "extra money" or "lots of money" by taking online surveys. Yes, I have been ripped off. Not just in monetary means, but more importantly my time. However, you can really earn some easy money with these online paid survey programs. In fact, there are several ways to be rewarded by taking online surveys. Here are some simple steps in starting an online income:

1. Set up a separate email for this effort alone!

You will definitely get bombarded with unsolicited emails (spam). Once you enter your information to get access to even "explore" these sites they hit you with spam from their different email addresses, affiliate companies, different ISP's and the cookies that are place on your computer. Don't forget to set your spam filter at medium. You don't want opportunities to get dumped into your junk email folder. When you find a site you like, add it to your "Contact List". When you don't wish to receive any more emails, mark it as "Spam". I quickly run through my junk folder to make sure good email doesn't get dumped in there. This will become cumbersome after awhile (I receive hundreds a day), so make sure you place the good addresses in your contact list.

2. Sign up to multiple companies!

When it comes to trying to make money using online paid surveys, the key is to sign up for as many of these free programs as you can. Some programs offer cash, some cash and prizes, and many more for just prizes (i.e. sweepstakes, free laptop, free iPod, etc.) There are sites that offer a list of survey companies to join. Obviously, these companies need to make money. Some you pay a one time fee to access and the only email you receive from them may be to update you on their websites database. Other companies will spam you with every survey site they are affiliated with (meaning they get a commission when people sign up). The companies with a small fee save you a lot of time.

The companies that pay straight cash are my personal favorites. Each program may only offer you a few survey opportunities each month. However, if you have various companies offering you a few each month, you will have a better chance to actually earn extra cash for your efforts, spending little time. Sign up to as many as you can! You'll look forward to seeing an invitation.

There are many more companies that offer cash, cash and prizes, and sweepstakes (usually by earning "points"). Some of these surveys take just a couple of minutes, others take 20 to 30 minutes. Furthermore, you may spend 30 minutes on a survey just to find out you have earned a hand full of points to earn cash or prizes that require a gazillion of points to make it worthwhile. So, once you join a survey site, go through their web page to find out how they award you. Sometimes it takes you to take a survey, then go to their payout tab and find out how many points you have earned and what you can "cash out" for. I won't say much about "Sweepstakes" - it's a lottery.

3. Put in a thorough initial effort.

Thoroughly complete the profiles. Survey companies target their prospective surveyors to get a good samples of likes/dislikes for the target market they are trying to advertise products and services to. It is important to answer all their profiling questions. For some companies, this will be a bit time consuming. It makes sense that the more thorough profiling, the more serious the company may be. They may want your general information, as well as, financial tendencies, technology experience, shopping habits, food tastes, family habits, etc. Be as general as you can, be honest, DO NOT give them your telephone number (unless you have a comfortable relationship with them), and most important is to follow through. If you pass on too many of the surveys, it is logical that you will be taken off their lists and not offered any more surveys at all.


The bottom line is there is money to be made with online surveys. I hope these tips will save you time and make you some healthy income, free merchandise, and most of all, enjoyment. After all, if it weren't enjoyable you could be punching a clock for someone else. ©