A consistently popular way to earn extra income in the years since the internet usage exploded on the global scene is to get paid to take surveys online. Online surveys have been utilized by millions as an extra income source for many reasons. They are easy to get started with since they don't require a huge financial investment.  They are easy to do and don't require any special training or educational courses.  Availability of the surveys is fairly widespread, so there is the opportunity to pick and choose those which are of interest to you. There is a variety of ways in which income for surveys can come to you, so you can select the ones that best meet your needs.

Cash

Many large businesses will pay to have respondents willing to answer specific and general questions about their products, presence in the marketplace or other questions such as about health issues. These companies are willing to pay for people to complete questionnaires or surveys from the comfort of their own home about the product or service. You can often get paid to take surveys online in cash.  It is the popular way to be paid for the service performed.  Actual transfer of cash may be by paper check, electronic check, or through a third party payment site such as PayPal or MoneyBookers.

Coupons and Discounts

You can get paid to take surveys online through the issuance of coupons or discounts on the sponsor's products. This may be an integral part of the payment process, or it may be given to survey recipients as a sort of 'after the fact' reward.  You may receive these coupons through the mail or by printing them out from an online location.  The coupons or discounts can be redeemed online, by using the mails, or by submitting them at a local retailer.  Any of these methods allow the business to determine what types of marketing campaigns are most effective in a particular geographical area.

Merchandise

Some businesses pay by sending you merchandise to use and review, which is another way to get paid to take surveys online.  These products are often an item that is in pre-launch stage.  It is to the manufacturer's benefit to try out their product on people who will actually be using it.  This is where the kinks can be worked out, especially those that simply don't show up in a testing facility environment. Issues with packaging and appearance can also be noted and corrected before the product is released to the general public.

Sweepstakes entries

Some workers get paid to take surveys online by the use of entries into nice sweepstakes and similar promotions. Of course, it could be argued that you usually won't get any monetary rewards for your efforts, but the surveys involved in this type of payment often are very simple with only one or two questions and no research.  In fact, the survey may only be for the purpose of determining if you are still actively pursuing survey opportunities.