Paid Online Survey Tips and Recommended Resources
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Get started with our Top Ten User Rated Survey Panels
The Top Ten recommended paid survey panel list is a good place to start if you are new to paid surveys. These panels have been highly rated by our readers, and have been chosen based on their quality of surveys, compensation, timeliness of payment, and member support. Also these panels generally offer more surveys and higher rewards than some of the other sites. -
Profile surveys are very important.
Market research panels need to learn more about you, so that they can match you up with the proper surveys studies. To do this many of the survey sites request that you fill out profile surveys. While some panels like GlobalTestmarket will offer you incentives to complete profile surveys, they are not always compensated; however, they increase your chances of getting the higher paid surveys in the future and let the survey panels know that you are committed to taking online surveys. -
Set up a separate Email account for your paid surveys panels.
Once you sign up with the market research firms, you will begin to receive a steady stream of survey request. We recommend that you set up a separate email address so that all of your survey emails are in one location and do not get mixed up with your personal email. You don't want to miss any important survey offers. There are several free email sites out there (yahoo, hotmail, etc.)Remember to check your email often so you don't miss any survey invitations. -
Take advantage of free software.
Several software packages can store personal information to automate filling out forms. This will speed up the process of filling out common information like name, address, etc. We recommend RoboForm or the the Autofill feature in the Google Toolbar. -
You need to establish yourself as a reliable survey taker.
Take all of the survey offers that offered at first, even if they are only rewarded with sweepstakes entries. This will allow you to build up a strong track record with the individual survey panel sites. Soon you will start receiving more survey offers than you can handle. Once you are satisfied with the volume of survey invitations you are receiving, you can then focus on the more lucrative surveys that interest you. -
Create Bookmarks for the Login locations for your sites.
Many of the sites have a login for members that allows you to change/update your profile information, review the surveys you have taken, redeem your rewards, etc. Be sure to bookmark these locations and organize them in you browser so that you have easy access to them. - Check your paid survey panel accounts. You should check your accounts from time to time. It is important to check on the number of points or cash level you have accumulated and whether or not you have reached the requirements necessary to cash out. Also, some of these sites occasionally add more profile surveys, so it is important to fill these out, and update any changes to your existing profile information so that you get the appropriate survey invitations. In addition some of these sites offer bonuses just for logging into the site. For example, MySurvey.com gives you an entry into their $10,000 sweepstakes for every day you log in, and LightSpeed offers mini polls on their site that will reward you with an entry into their $5,000 quarterly drawing.
Also be sure to check out our Paid Surveys Knowledgebase for answers to common questions and more tips for taking online surveys.
Recommended Resources
Market Research Portal - offers online resources and research related articles that are highly relevant to market research buyers, researchers, newcomers to the industry, students and individuals with an interest in the market research industry.
Council of American Survey Research Orginizations (CASRO) - represents over 300 companies and research operations in the United States and abroad. This a good resource to research survey panels and to obtain guidelines for good market research practices.