The primary reason I take surveys online is the cash. Getting paid for my opinion on anything is great, and it is often pretty fun. But besides the payments, there are a few other fun fringe benefits that you can get from taking paid surveys.
1.) Getting free stuff – There are a lot of companies that want your opinion on their new product that is about to be released. They want to know if you like the packaging, if you find the directions for assembly easy to understand, and if you enjoy using the product. Because the product hasn’t been released yet, they have to send you the product for testing. This results in getting quite a bit of free stuff. By participating in surveys and focus groups I have received a ton of free software (worth, no kidding, $10,000.00), food, drinks, household products, electronics, and even furniture. Many of these things were brand new unreleased products that I got to try before anyone else. Pretty neat.
2.) Insider info – Many surveys require you accept a non-disclosure agreement prior to taking the survey. This is because they want to run some ideas by you and see what you think. Sometimes this allows you to see the future of what a company is going to do next. While this information isn’t practically useful for anything (especially after you sign the NDA), it is fun to know how a major restaurant is going to change their menus, or how a company is going to change their marketing.
3.) Other invitations – If you are a great survey taker and provide thoughtful feedback and good ideas about the products and services you take surveys on, you may be invited to other types of research. This can include online chats about products, focus groups, and a few times I have even been invited to travel to participate in a live focus group, all expenses paid. This only starts happening after you build a rapport with a business, but over time can be very rewarding.
These are all real benefits that I have received from participating in online surveys and focus groups, and is in addition to the cash payments. If you’d like more info on paid surveys sites where you can start earning rewards like these, check out my list of paid survey sites.
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