How to Earn Real Cash Taking Surveys

Many market research studies are performed each day. These studies would be completely useless if there were no qualified participants. How do companies get participants to take their surveys? The answer is market research companies, also commonly referred to as survey panels or survey sites.

These survey companies recruit members just like you to participate in various market research studies and in most cases, you are rewarded for your time and opinions.

If you are wanting to make money taking surveys, you will need to become a member of survey panels that will send you paid surveys to take. Once you become a member of some survey panels, you can take simple surveys and get paid real cash.

Making money from taking surveys is fairly simple BUT....people new to the concept may run into some problems in the beginning - mainly when trying to find survey panels to sign up to.

See, there are several things that people may not be aware of when they start trying to make money taking surveys.

1. There are many paid survey scams out there.
2. There are many useless and often deceptive paid survey membership sites.
3. There are some survey sites out there that don't actually pay cash although they may be legitimate.

If you just start taking advantage of random paid survey opportunities you find on the Internet, there is a good chance that you would just waste time and maybe even money. If you don't want to waste your time and money, keep these things in mind:

1. There is no fee whatsoever to participate in paid surveys.
2. You do not need to invest any money in paid survey membership programs. They are basically unnecessary "middle men" who try to make themselves money by providing newbies with information that is freely available on the net.
3. If you want to make money taking surveys, only sign up to legitimate survey sites that pay you cash for taking surveys. There are many survey sites that don't actually reward you cash for surveys but rather chances at cash drawings or some other sweepstake. You want to earn cash not chances at it so you need to make sure that you will actually earn real cash for the surveys you take.

Here is a starter list of some reputable survey sites that will pay you cash for taking simple online surveys. Note: These sign up links are for US residents. If you do not reside in the United States, refer to the link at the end of this list.

MySurvey. Click here to Join
Ipsos
Global Test Market
Sign up today at YourFreeSurveys.com and get a $4 Sign up Bonus.
Toluna
Survey Savvy
Opinion Outpost

Tips For Success

If you are going to give this free opportunity to earn some cash a shot, here are some tips you will find useful:

Use a new email account dedicated specifically for surveys. This will help you stay organized and keep survey related emails out of your main email account.

Sign up to as many survey sites as your time allows. This will give you more opportunities to earn money.

Complete the short profile surveys on each panel you are a member of if they have them. These are the short surveys that ask you to provide information about yourself (interests, hobbies, occupation, etc.).

Be honest. When you fill out surveys, provide accurate information. Remember, these companies are paying for honest feedback. Your opinions can help influence and create new products so make sure that you answer all questions honestly and never speed through surveys.

Paid Surveys For Teenagers

Teens! Did you know that you can participate in online paid surveys for teens and earn gift certificates, prizes, and even cash? It's true. You can take surveys about technology products, video games, upcoming TV shows and movies, food you consume, and various other topics and earn rewards for your time and opinions.

See, big brand name corporations want to know what you think about their products. Your opinions and feedback can help them create better products that will make them a lot of money. They get valuable feedback that can help them bring in more profits and you get a chance to influence the creation of new products while earning rewards at the same time.

What You Need to Get Started 

• A Computer with Internet Access 
• A Fresh New Email Account (Gmail and Yahoo is free) 
• A PayPal Account (Optional but recommended. Get your parent to open up a free student account for you. More Details Here: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/student-accounts) 
• Your Parent’s Permission (Some sites won't ask for your parent’s permission but if they do, they will likely want your parent to call and verify your account, fill out a form online, or sign and mail in a form.) 

Top 5 Paid Survey Sites For Teens

Once you have everything you need, you can start signing up to free survey sites that allow teens to join. Here are the top 5 paid survey sites for teens. They are 100% free to join, legitimate, and they allow teens to take surveys for cash and rewards.

Global Test Market (14+) Get paid cash to take surveys. Earn MarketPoints and exchange them for a check. They have a decent amount of teen surveys.

MySurvey (14+) Earn points for taking surveys and exchange them for cash, gift cards, and merchandise.

ePoll (13+) Take entertainment related surveys and earn points that can be exchanged for PayPal cash, Amazon gift cards, ITunes gift cards, other great rewards. Fun surveys.

PanelPolls (6-17 yrs old) Earn points for taking surveys about video games, TV shows, and other fun topics. Redeem those points for cash via check.

Toluna (16+) Participate at Toluna and earn rewards for taking surveys. Points can be exchanged for cash payable by check. 

Helpful Tips 

• Check your email frequently for new survey invitations. 
• Read the survey questions carefully and answer all questions truthfully. 
• Try to take surveys as often as you can for better results. 
• Complete profile surveys on each survey site you join to open up more paid survey opportunities. 

Reminders 

You will not get rich taking surveys.

Most surveys pay $1-$5 dollars each and they may not come that frequently. Therefore, don't expect to make a lot of money taking surveys. You can make extra money but not enough to substitute a day job. You will not qualify for every survey you are invited to take.

Disqualification is normal so don't let it discourage you.

Warnings

Never sign up to a survey site that asks for any type of fee. Taking surveys doesn't cost any money whatsoever.

Never give out information such as your social security number or bank account information.

Don't try to beat the system. Speeding through surveys and providing bogus information in your surveys will not get you anywhere. You won't get paid and your account may be deactivated.

Best Paid Survey Sites – Top Survey Sites That Pay Cash

One question that gets asked a lot when it comes to taking online surveys for money is this: "What are the best paid survey sites?” To be honest, there is no solid answer to this question.

People have different experiences with different survey sites. For example, one person may get a ton of surveys from one panel while another may only get a few surveys from this same panel.

The only way to know which survey sites are best for YOU is to join several different survey panels and then determine, based on your own experiences, which ones work the best for you.

But you have to start somewhere and you don’t want to start by joining lackluster sites. Therefore, I have compiled a list of some of the most positively reviewed and highly recommended survey sites on the web. They may not be perfect but they have been around for ages, are legitimate, offer free registration, and pay you cash for taking surveys.

Best Paid Survey Sites That Pay Cash

MySurvey

At MySurvey, you can earn points for taking surveys and redeem them for cash (PayPal), gift cards and various other rewards. I haven’t had any problems with this site and have always gotten paid.

Global Test Market

Global Test Market lets you participate in market research studies and earn cash. You will earn points for most surveys you take. Once you have reached 1000 points, or $50, you can request a check.

It seems like it would take forever to reach that amount but Global Test Market surveys usually pay fairly decent. This month, I took a $20 survey and have been invited to take quite a few surveys paying $4-$5. It’s definitely a great survey panel that sends out surveys frequently.

Opinion Outpost

At Opinion Outpost, you get to take online surveys and earn points redeemable for cash, Amazon gift cards, and a few other rewards. Once you have earned 100 points, $10, you can get paid instantly to your PayPal account.

I usually earn $4-$5 each day I take surveys on this panel (I only take surveys on this panel every now and then when I have spare time). So, in a couple of days, I can usually earn enough points to get a payment. And they have always paid me when I requested payment. Another thing I like about Opinion Outpost is that they send out survey invitations frequently.

Ipsos

Ipsos is one of the oldest survey panels around. Like the others, they will pay you for participating in market research studies. You will earn points which can be redeemed for cash. Surveys come pretty frequently and they also have some high paying surveys.

Survey Savvy

Survey Savvy also pays you cash for taking surveys - no points, just cash. They will also pay you cash for referring new members to their site - something other sites don’t pay you to do. It’s a great way to boost your earnings on the site.

Survey Savvy also lets you withdraw your earnings once you have earned $1. You don’t have to wait to earn a bunch of money to request a payment. But you do have to wait to get paid.

Survey Savvy will pay you but you have to be very patient with this particular site because it can take up to 12 weeks to get paid. My last payment came within 6 weeks so that’s an improvement considering I was waiting 8-10 weeks average for previous checks I had requested.

Brand Institute

Brand Institute does not send surveys frequently but when you do get surveys, they usually pay pretty well. The average survey I get from Brand Institute is $5. This is one of the survey companies that have high paying surveys. They pay after the survey closes and your responses are processed; so there is no minimum payout. They will send your money to your PayPal account or send you a check. I’d say the process takes 2-6 weeks according to my experience.

These are some of the best survey sites to start off with if you want to make money taking surveys. Before you start though, I’d recommend doing the following:

- Create a new email account and use the new email address to sign up to these sites.

- Download Roboform (it’s free) and use it speed up the time it takes to fill out registration forms. Roboform will fill in most of the information survey sites ask for when you join so that you don't have to manually type it in - saving you time.

- Join the survey sites mentioned above and verify your email address.

- Fill out your profile surveys so that the sites can send you more surveys that are relevant to you.

- Take surveys consistently. The more surveys you take, the more you will make.

- Try to join other surveys panels. If you want to find the best paid survey sites for you, try to join at least 5-20 different survey panels and try them out for a month or two. After a while, you will be able to tell which survey sites are worth your time and which ones aren’t. For a complete list of legitimate survey sites, click here.

Taking Online Surveys For Money - So Easy an 8 Year Old Can Do it

One day, I was at the computer listening to some music while taking a survey. My 8 year old daughter came up to me and asked: "Mommy what are doing?". I told I her that I was taking surveys. She said that she wanted to do it too.

Then I started thinking about how she would always ask me for $1 every morning before school and figured that this would be a nice way for her to earn her own money for treats at school. It would save me a few dollars a month and teach her something new.

I told her that she could actually make a little money for taking surveys and she got very excited and wanted to take a survey right away. I told her to hold on until I found an appropriate site that she could use to earn herself some pocket change.

I did some research and came across a site called PanelPolls that allowed kids to take surveys for cash - with their parents permission of course. I did a bit more research and concluded that it was a legitimate site. I signed up, added her onto the account, and waited until she got her first survey invitation.

A few days later, I got an email from the site that said that there was a survey she could take. When she got home from school that day, I told her that she could take a survey. She hopped onto the computer and took the survey, while I was sitting there making sure she understood what she was doing.

She's a smart girl so she didn't have trouble reading and understanding the questions. She did get a bit "click happy" and kept double clicking the "next" button, not giving the pages enough time to load, but after I told her to wait a bit after she clicked the button to be taken to the next page of the survey, she understood and didn't have many other problems.

The survey was actually enjoyable for her since it was about one of her favorite shows. Anyway, she completed the survey in about ten minutes and earned herself $1. 

Surveys kept coming after that and before she knew it, she had made enough money to get a $10 check. That's not a lot of money to a lot of people but for a kid, that's a weeks worth of treats. I told her that she made enough to get paid and she was very excited.

Two weeks went by and her check was in the mail. I was quite surprised since my survey checks usually take longer to get to me. Anyway, we both went up to the check cashing place and cashed the check. When the lady heard my daughter say that it was her money, she grinned and probably started thinking: "Whats that about?"

But my daughter was right. As soon as the check was cashed, I handed the money over to her and she took it with a big smile on her face. I told her that she earned it and could spend it how she wanted. She was a very happy girl that day.

Until this day, she still takes surveys and looks forward to the money she earns from them. What's the point of this story? Taking online surveys for money isn't as bad as many people think it is.

It may be a waste of time for people looking to replace their day job but for those who could use a few extra bucks a month, it is one of the easiest ways to do just that. Although scams do exist, I just proved that there are survey companies out there that do pay people real cash to take surveys. You just have to do a bit of homework like I did for my daughter.

And it's something you don't need a degree to do. Actually, if you know how to use a computer, then you should have no problem taking surveys. Filling out surveys is easy.

So, if you are interested in taking surveys for money, know that it is possible to earn cash for taking surveys. My daughter did it, I did it, and so can you. As an adult, there will be more opportunities open to you and you could probably handle working with different survey sites to increase your earnings.

Don't think that you will only earn pennies from doing this. There are plenty of things you can do to increase your earning potential, many which are stated right on this blog. If you want to give this a try or learn more about this opportunity, check out the rest of this blog where I go into more details about how to make money taking surveys.