Today, the internet has presented numerous opportunities for some to earn an extra buck and for many, a decent living. One of the online activities that you should most definitely be part of your side hustle is taking online surveys. Have you tried signing up on online survey platforms? If not, you are missing out on a money-making opportunity.
Below are several ways to guarantee success with online surveys.
1. Know how to identify scams
Succeeding at online surveys and getting a decent amount of survey payouts may not be a smooth ride. One of the challenges of online surveys is that it can be difficult to tell if they are legit. It is important to know the difference between real survey sites and scams. Fake surveys will ask you to pay money to get access to top-paying surveys. Unfortunately, many people are falling prey to these scams.
Here are some of the characteristics of such scams:
Spammers collecting private information
You may also find ads on Craigslist and other places asking you to give your email address or other private information so that you can receive surveys. Many of these spammers are looking for easy ways to collect email addresses so that they can spam your email.
Lengthy pre-qualification procedure
Another trick that fake survey sites use is to ask you numerous questions which you will answer for free in the name of pre-qualification. A survey pre-qualification needs not to take more than a minute because you are only responding to a few basic questions about yourself for the site to determine if you are a good fit for a particular survey.
The minimum you require to earn your money is too high
Before you join a survey site or start taking surveys, find out how much you need to earn before you can receive a paycheck. Some sites have very high minimums for withdrawal that are difficult to achieve. You have to take numerous to reach the payout threshold, if you give up along the way before achieving your minimum payout, you will not be getting paid. Survey sites know that very few people will stick around a site to get their earnings, so in the end, they succeed in making people work for free.
2. Read the privacy policy—if there is one
Before signing up for a survey site, check to see that there is a privacy policy in place. Privacy policies protect your contact information and other personal details that you may share with the survey site. Scammer sites with no privacy policy will sell your info to other companies who will start filing your email with spam.
3. Apply to different legit companies
You cannot rely on one company if you want to make good money using surveys. The number of surveys which are available or which may be a great fit for you vary from site to site. Signing up on different sites will ensure that you get access to as many surveys as possible which increases your chances of earning more.
4. Keep checking your email
If you have done a lot of signups, expect to get lots of emails offering surveys. You have to be very prompt in taking up your survey as soon as it is made available because some surveys expire as soon as the required number of people has taken them. Click on links immediately and most importantly, finish your survey by accurately answering all the questions. You should receive a notification that you have completed your survey and received your credit. Additionally, know the payment milestone so that you can ask for payment.
5. Take what is available
Some surveys pay more than others. You might find a survey that pays $1 and another $0.5. Do not ignore low-paying surveys as you wait for high-paying. Those small earnings will add up in the long run. The low paying surveys may also be tests that the survey site uses to qualify you for higher-paying gigs.
As a bonus, make a habit of reading widely and developing an interest in a wide range of issues so that you can be a good fit for most surveys.