Lessons of a Survey Addict

In my job in the advertising world, there are fast days, there are slow days, and there are days that seem to creep by as if time is stuck in quicksand and hasn't learned how to swim. To get through these days, and to get some extra cash so I can someday quit, I take online surveys about new products, my opinions on movies, books and cars, and sometimes any variety of random things.

The important thing to remember about nursing a survey habit is you should never EVER have to pay to sign up for a survey site. Don't fall for it. If you want to throw your money away, just go ahead and send me a check. The goal is to get paid to take surveys aftall.Some survey sites I have known fall in to two categories: those that give you prizes and those that give you money. Actually most of those that give you money actually give you points to redeem for money, but lets pretend they don't to avoid confusing you any further.

Surveys that pay cash:
•Global Test Market ($50 per 1,000 points)
•Survey Savvy
•Surveyspot (some of the surveys are only for contest entries)
•Synovate (some of the surveys are only for contest entries)
•Buzzback (sends you checks immediately)
•Mysurvey

Surveys that pay in prizes:
•Harris Polls
•Zoom Panel
•Testspin (Amazon Gift Cetificates only)
•One crazy hybrid
•Lightspeed (choose prizes or PayPal)

So PayPal you get your cash? Well, first go to the website of the survey panel and sign up. Do a google forgooglef these and the address should come up. (Trust me. I checked,) Then within a few days, or more depending on the panel, you should receive a survey in your email. (So yes, use your real email address). Most of these "invite" emails will tell you how much cash or points you'll get for completing the survey before you take it. You may have to qualify for the survey by answering a few questions.

Once you qualify and complete the survey, you should get credited for your reward. In most cases, in order to collect you'll have to log in to your account on the site and cash out. This usually is allowed when you have a balance of 5 dollars or more, which could take just one survey or may take a couple. Once you log in to your account, you should see a button that says "cash out," "pay me," "redeem points" or something similar.

If you have enough downtime to take all your surveys, the checks will start rolling into your mailbox. Though you won't get rich off this "job," you could get at least a few hundred dollars a year. Stick that in your IRA and it's hello retirement before you notice-not to mention the huge impact you will have on future products and services!