Online Surveys for Extra Income

Earn Money: Paid surveys

Participating in paid surveys is an easy way to make a little extra money online.  There may be a large number of scams out there that give online surveys a bad name, but really there are a plenty of legitimate market research companies out there that run online survey panels.

After signing up to an online survey panel, you will be emailed survey invitations and you can choose whether or not to participate in the survey. Each survey is usually worth either a certain number of "points", or some survey panels reward panellists in dollar value per survey. Once you reach a certain number of points or dollar amount in your account, you can then redeem your points for cash, vouchers or PayPal payments (these are the most common forms of "payment"). It really is that simple. 

Obviously the more surveys you participate in and qualify for, the faster you collect points and the sooner you will "get paid".  If you don't like sharing personal information though paid surveys probably aren't for you, as market research companies need to know about you and your habits so they know what survey invitations to send you.  Also don't think you can get away with just filling in a survey without reading the questions, market research is a serious business that costs money (hence why they have these online panels that pay people to participate) so you will need to be prepared to spend a reasonable amount of time doing the surveys.

TIPS

• The more panels you sign up for, the more earning opportunities you will have as different market research companies use different panels.
• If you are under 18, check the minimum sign up age. Don't lie, because one of the first questions they ask in surveys is how old you are. Market research is expensive, so they have ways to detect people who are lying/cheating with their answers!
• Look at the types of rewards offered. If you are not interested in the vouchers from the companies available, don't waste your time doing surveys to earn points to get rewards you don't want to use.
• Fill out your profile in as much detail as possible. The more information there is available, the easier it is for researchers to send you surveys where you may fit the criteria, and then upon completion of the survey you get the rewards :)
• At first it's hard to know if a panel would be worthwhile joining. I would say join a panel and then give it 3-4 months and try to complete as many surveys as possible that get sent to you. If you are no where near redeeming a reward in this time, don't bother, delete your account and spend time on other panels instead.

Paid Survey Sites for Australians

If you go on to Google and search for "paid online surveys" you will get millions of results. Some of the sites will just send you spam emails and never reward you with anything, others will be for U.S. residents only. Here is a list of some of the best paid survey sites for Australians. 

PureProfile
If you only join one survey panel, in my opinion PureProfile would be the most worthwhile one to join. This site pays in cash straight in to your bank account after reaching a minimum balance of $25. You get paid to view websites, view YouTube videos and complete surveys Overall it's a great site, easy to use and it doesn't take very long to earn money. I regularly reach the $25 limit and cash out every 2-3 months.

Valued Opinions
This survey site rewards you with your choice of voucher after reaching the minimum redeeming amount ($20). Offers vouchers from a range of retailers including Coles, Woolworths and iTunes. Surveys range in length from 1-40 minutes and pay $0.50-$3 on average each. I would easily earn a voucher roughly every 3 months.

My Survey
Another site that rewards you with vouchers and there are a range of redeeming amounts (rewards start at $5 vouchers). Has a range of rewards from a variety of retailers, or you can chose to donate your points to charity. Depending on what voucher amount you are aiming for, it may take a little longer to earn a voucher on MySurvey compared to other panels, but it's definitely a good panel to be on. 

My View

This is another good survey panel to be on, and they always seem to be on the search for mums with young children (I keep being asked to refer anyone I know who fits this criteria for extra points!). The surveys aren't as frequent as other panels, however they still have a good range of retailers to choose from in their rewards catalogue.