Saturday, June 24, 2006

Earning Money Doing Online Surveys: Tips, Advice And A Realistic Overview

By David A Webb

The purpose of this article is to address what I consider to be one of the best way for students (or anybody else for that matter) to earn money online; namely getting paid to do online surveys.

Market research is big business and companies pay out millions each year to find out what consumers think.

There are literally hundreds of good, and not so good survey companies, offering a range of incentives to get hold of your opinions. What follows, therefore, is advice based on my own experience as to the best way to go about earning additional income in this way.

As a student, I spent well over 3 years earning money by filling out online surveys and questionnaires.

It's arguably not the most exciting way to spend your spare time, but if you get organised it can turn out to be the most valuable.

We are not talking thousands of dollars a month here, but you can earn enough to make a real difference.

Top Tips

Get yourself a new e-mail account to use exclusively for your survey work.

I call it survey work because you should treat this as a proper part time job.

You know your schedule better than anybody else, including the times when you could be doing something more productive! Set aside a regular amount of time each day or week and stick to it as best you can.

If you are a student, do not do survey work when you should be doing college work. This is particularly tempting when the money starts coming in, but don't lose track of the bigger picture. Your education takes priority; your survey work should simply viewed as a way of earning a bit of extra cash in your spare time.

When you register with a survey company Complete your registration details as fully as possible. Each time you register with a survey/market research/consumer opinion company you will be asked to provide information regarding your hobbies, interests, lifestyle, family etc.

This information is needed so that a relevant match can be made between you and the subject area of the survey.

With this in mind, the more background information you provide, the more likely it is that you will offered paid survey opportunities.

Complete your registration details honestly. Surveys are much quicker to complete when you actually know something about the subject matter.

To guarantee regular survey work Register with at least 5 survey companies.

It's easy to lose track of which companies you have joined, how many surveys you have completed and how much you have earned, so keep a written or electronic record (preferably both) of the company name, website address, your username and password.

About once a month quickly check each company, making a note of how many surveys you were offered and more importantly what you received in return.

You'll soon get a feel for the company or companies you like the best and conversely, whether you should consider dropping or replacing others.

Incentives vary, so make sure that some of the companies you register with pay cold hard cash for your time.

For more tips and advice visit http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/student-income-opportunity.html

Having worked as a lecturer in psychology in the UK, I recently moved to sunny Spain with my family, where I now work as a distance learning tutor and research dissertation supervisor.

Since 2000, I've been involved in collaborative research with teams of forensic scientists in the UK, US and Canada.

To find out more about the fascinating world of forensic psychology Visit my website http://www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_A_Webb

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