ALT-4 Legitimate Survey Websites that Pay Cash
There are legitimate websites where you can make money taking surveys online. Through conducting online surveys using the wide range of participants that the Internet offers, marketers are able to find the information they need to make decisions about their products, packaging, market strategies and advertising. Public policy makers also use online surveys to get a pulse on public opinion and promote programs that are designed to appeal to the public.
It is true that there are a lot of so-called survey sites that are little more than veiled adverting or pay-per-click campaigns. Often, you have to sign up for all kinds of "special offers" or newsletters to be eligible for the "great special prizes!" Signing up at the wrong sites can really leave you disappointed and flooded with spam.
However, several legitimate companies that conduct real surveys online and pay you or at least give you entries into contests that actually have winners. Generally, surveys will ask some preliminary questions to see if you qualify to take the survey. They may ask age, gender, profession, income or a few other questions to make sure you fit the profile of people that there clients want to target. Of course, you are only credited with your money or points if you qualify for the survey based on your answers to the preliminary questions. There are three sites that I have used quite a bit and that have paid me.
SURVEY SPOT
Survey Spot has a fun little gimmick to keep you doing surveys even when you don't get paid for every one of them: after every survey, whether you qualify to complete it or not, you are given a chance to see if you are entered into their quarterly contest. Guess what? You always win! You get five, twenty-five or one hundred entries into the contest each and every time. However, I still think its best to go for the surveys that pay cash, anywhere from two to five dollars if you qualify. Survey Spot will allow you to request your reward payments when you have accumulated as little as five dollars.
GREENFIELD ONLINE
Greenfield Online seems to have more surveys available at any given time than any of the other sites that I have visited. Like Survey Spot, they give away prizes but their contests are biweekly and you simply get one entry per survey. They also pay cash for selected surveys.
They have you fill out a number of profiles like Employment, Household Technology or Personal Finance, cutting down on some of the pre-qualifying questions you have to answer before each survey. Greenfield Online will allow you to request a check for as little as a dollar; I tend to let it accumulate to least five because I don't want to waste the gas to make a trip through the ATM drive for a buck.
OPINION OUTPOST
This site's payment program is fairly straight forward; you earn Opinion Points for each survey you complete. Each survey will offer a specific number of Opinion Points depending on how long or involved the survey is. You can check your point balance by logging into the members section of the website. The points are redeemable at the rate of $1 or every 10 Opinion Points. You can redeem your points when you reach a minimum of fifty (five dollars). As with the other sites, you simply have to click on a button on your account page to request payment. They all say you should expect your check within 6 - 8 weeks but I usually have received my checks in about 2 - 4 after making a request.
I suggest you sign up with all three if you want to regularly have paid surveys to take. Taking surveys can become quite habitual and make can make a regular side income of $50 - $200 month fairly easily once you get going. So sign up, log-on and get ready to start pointing and clicking your way to extra cash.
