My Survey Experience and Top Pick…so far…

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Most reputable sources caution that you won’t get rich filling out surveys online. There is no guarantee as to how many surveys you will qualify for or how much they will pay. However, if you have internet access, a little free time, and enjoy giving your opinion, it can be an easy way to make a little money on the side.

In the past few weeks, I’ve signed up for the following paid survey sites:

• Greenfield Online
• Lightspeed Consumer Panel

My wife is a member of:

• SurveySavvy.com
• NFO My Survey
• American Consumer Opinion
• Global Test Market

Greenfield Online and Lightspeed have sent more survey opportunities than anyone else, but I am not impressed with their rewards structure. Most of the surveys from Greenfield offered nothing more than a sweepstakes entry. A few more offered one or two dollars if the survey was completed (20-30 minutes), and I was once offered a seven dollar, 15 minute survey that I didn’t qualify for.

Lightspeed uses a points system. Each survey you complete earns you points which you can redeem for cash, merchandise, or gift certificates. For example, you can redeem 575 points for five dollars in cash through Paypal, or 550 points for a five dollar Amazon.com gift certificate. So far, the opportunities Lightspeed has sent me have been worth 75-150 points each, with a sweepstakes entry if I don’t qualify.

We have not received any surveys from Survey Savvy, My Survey, and ACOP yet.

Top Pick (so far):

Although Global Test Market does not send as many surveys as some of the others, I am very impressed with their reward structure. For starters, they give you points even if you don’t qualify, just for answering the qualifying questions. Also, the surveys they have sent have been worth more than those from other companies.

Referral Programs

Some survey companies allow you to make money by referring your friends. In most cases, you have to give the company your friends’ names and email addresses to get credit. I think that method is too intrusive. As a rule, I never enter someone else’s email address into a third-party email form.

What’s Next?

I still have several more companies on my list to check out and possibly sign up for. Stay tuned; I’ll report on them as soon as I know something. I will also describe the “due diligence” process I’m using to avoid scams. In the meantime, I have a midterm exam to prepare for and taxes to file.

Until next time…

Jon

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© 2008, Jonathan Johnson. All rights reserved.