Let me reveal an easy way for you to make money, it’s something anyone can do, and while it won’t make you rich it should definitely pay for a nice holiday each year and maybe cover all your Christmas presents too.

This opportunity involves answering questions and giving your opinions on specific subjects, like travelling and watching television, eating good food and drinking fine wine, and many thousands of other topics besides.

If you haven’t guessed it already we’re talking about paid surveys and, in particular, helping our readers differentiate between opportunities that will make them money and those that definitely won’t.

Why there’s an opportunity in paid surveys

Surveys are used to tell commercial and industrial giants what we, as consumers, like about their products (and what we don’t like) while also revealing individual personal and economic characteristics to help survey organisers identify and grow their market share and profits.

So, drinks’ companies want to know about your favourite soft drink, how much you’re willing to pay for it, where you buy it and how often you drink it.

A tour operator might ask about your favourite holiday destination, and where you’d least like to travel, how much you earn and how much of that goes into your holiday fund.

In both cases the survey organiser will use your responses to plan improvements to their own goods and services and ascertain customer views about rival companies.

Today most surveys are completed online with a small fee, gift voucher or sometimes product samples offered to encourage the right people to respond. The “right” people are those whose interests and passions match the purpose of the survey, and whose views are worth paying for. This explains why all survey organisers and their agents ask potential respondents to provide a personal profile, highlighting gender and age, along with employment and social characteristics. Then when a new survey appears the organiser or agent scans profiles for respondents likely to benefit their research and weed out others that won’t.

When you’re chosen you’ll usually receive an email telling you about the survey and inviting you to participate. You’ll be given the website address for the survey and told how much you’ll be paid and when. And that’s it, you do the survey by choosing from a range of possible answers or by keying in your comments, wait to be paid, and while you’re waiting, you do other surveys and build a nice pot of cash for the future.

And that’s where the only real downside to this easy and enjoyable opportunity presents itself, because sometimes you’ll have to wait weeks or months before your pot is big enough to warrant a payout.

That’s because most surveys offer a few pounds maximum, which if paid after each assignment, would see survey organisers facing huge transaction fees.

As an example, most survey companies use PayPal where each transaction incurs a standard charge plus a percentage of the overall sum being paid. Over hundreds and thousands of individual respondents that standard charge on small payments represents a major overhead and eats heavily into organisers’ profits, unlike paying the same transaction fee on bigger accumulated payouts.

This is why you need to consider surveys as a long-term proposition; not to fund the Christmas 2011 festivities, but to potentially pay for a few festive luxuries next time round.

Regular participants tell me surveys can generate £50 or £60 a week part-time, sometimes more, and they’re a good way to make money during a lunch break or travelling on the train back home, and you should never run out of surveys to complete.

So rule number one for success is to treat paid surveys as a business, where you’re continually seeking new opportunities and answering questions truthfully and on time, and so encouraging survey organisers to send more paid opportunities your way.

Genuine survey organisers that is, because, as with any easy way to make money from home, you will encounter scam companies promising well paid work in return for payment to join their membership sites for all the surveys you can handle each day!

Not a problem, because rule number two is never pay to locate survey organisers, real or bogus. Instead, rely on several quick and cost-free ways to find genuine surveys recommended by people already working in the field. To begin with go to http://tinyurl.com/6hrpeeo where you’ll read recommendations and comments on genuine survey companies along- side notes on others to avoid.

Additionally, try hanging out in work-from-home and money-making forums looking for comments about paid surveys where members share their experiences, good and bad, and usually mention companies by name. But don’t take one or two derogatory reports as factual, because people making those comments may not have completed their surveys correctly and that’s why they haven’t been paid, or otherwise they haven’t reached the agreed payment level.

Other ways to spot genuine companies

– Key the name of the survey website or organising company into the search box at www.google.com, along with the word “scam”, and if the opportunity is well known for not paying up or for taking member- ship fees without providing work you’ll find enough comments to prove it.

– As with all opportunities you find and join, do the minimum work needed to warrant your first payment and, if your money arrives on time, continue with the company or website concerned but always make regular checks to spot potential problems before you fall victim to a scam.

How to get started

Start this easy opportunity right away by setting up a dedicated email address and, if you don’t already have one, sign up for a PayPal account, which is how you’ll usually be paid.

The dedicated email address will guarantee you see new surveys in your inbox immediately they arrive without being hindered by “non survey” messages.

When you find survey sites – through forums or from resources listed later – make sure you qualify to take part (based on age, location, etc.) and do another quick search for scam potential. If all goes well complete the profile and wait for further details and hopefully regular paid surveys too.

Once you feel comfortable completing surveys with a chosen outlet, sign up for more providers and, as each new contact builds its trust in you they’ll send more online surveys and help you move closer and faster to a major payout.

Maximise your income from paid surveys

Once you start looking you’ll find literally thousands of genuine opportunities, some better paid than others, and some easier, faster and also more enjoyable to complete.

Naturally, the perfect scenario is to focus on tasks that are enjoyable and take little time to complete, while also attracting the highest rewards. You do that by choosing tasks carefully and organising your time to complete as many high-paying assignments as possible.

These tips will help:

» Focus on two or three reliable companies, or sites, and spend most of your time completing assignments instead of constantly seeking new opportunities: Some surveys are promoted by several companies and survey sites, and registering with too many providers means you could end up completing the same survey several times and only being paid once.

» Work as quickly as possible without becoming stressed or making mistakes. Mistakes will lose you work with high-paying companies, stress can make you ill, and neither will benefit you financially. So work to a speed that suits you best and don’t force yourself to work when you’re tired or ill. Take constant breaks between surveys, a few minutes will do, and that way you’ll always feel fresh and provide a good service.

» Do most of your work when it’s quiet and you won’t be distracted by children and telephone calls, for example, or your work will definitely suffer and you could lose assignments. Early morning when the rest of the family is asleep, or late at night when they’ve all gone to bed could be the perfect time to carry out your surveys.

» Be honest in your answers and opinions because lies and false entries will be detected and lose you work. That’s because some surveys use software that can identify ambiguities and inappropriate answers.

» Some providers email offers to participants, others expect you to visit their site and apply to take a specific survey. Be sure you know how your chosen companies operate and look for emails from those who provide work that way, and apply for surveys where appropriate.

» Keep a note of surveys you’ve completed, who they were for, what incentives were promised and when those rewards should arrive. This will help you plan your finances and be useful for chasing late payments.

Summary

All in all, a very easy money-maker although unlikely to make you rich. But, by being organised you can easily find and carry out enough surveys to pay for some of life’s little niceties you might other- wise be unable to afford.

Specific providers

Important: although we have carried out a partial check on sites listed below and found no particular problems, you must still do your own due diligence before carrying out paid work for any company. All details are up to date at the time of going to press but remember, the Internet is a fast-moving entity and URLs and advice can change without notice.

Resources – UK

www.myvoice.co.uk

www.ciao.co.uk

www.opinionoutpost.co.uk

Resources – International

www.surveys.com