Survey Sites that Shine, and Otherwise
This article is my swan song. You might notice in the sixteen articles I have written since May last year, the names of some companies appear repeatedly. I feel like I'm mentioning them over and over, almost at the expense of reader interest. If they've been mentioned, though, there has been good reason. In this, my final article, (as I am pursuing studies this year), I'd like to tell you why some survey sites just shine, and how to avoid those that don't.
Take hype with a grain of salt.
Of course you can always find out what sites are like, by joining those you hear of. That's my method, but I'm left being a member of some 'eldudderamo' sites, if I may invent a word! There is also the obvious method of finding out what sites are good, by asking around at message boards or joining things you hear are known to pay.
Read recommendations with a dose of wisdom, though. "There is a great new site with 4 levels of referrals! Wow! It's "way cool" and please join under me!" types of posts tend to be found on message boards or even on 'get paid to' mailing lists. Enthusasm for the sites in question isn't really an indication that you will earn a cent, or will enjoy participating at these sites. They just mean that the poster in question is hopeful of earning something when you join under them. I've seen some sites I'd view as somewhat, well, "crummy", reviewed with equal enthusiasm to the above. By all means join them or spread the word, too. Just see hype for what it is. It's based on dreams of earning rather than a solid indication one actually can.
Be realistic. You Won't be Quitting your Day Job
Just this evening I went to a survey site claiming to pay one dollar a minute. That's a good rate, true, but I've had less than one minute's surveys in one year. A pop up greeted me. Sure enough, it's about marketing, more so than market research- not a good sign. I have almost three thousand referrals, all up, and I have one dollar twenty seven in my account. I'm sure they do conduct research, and I am thankful for my dollar plus. I'm pointing all this out just to highlight that it's a myth that you will earn millions from surveys. Instead of looking for hype, look, and even at the same message boards, for genuine personal experiences. At the actual survey sites, look for links to their research; for sites that focus on that in some way, and not just on how rich you can get. That's what people planning on paying these companies to do research, will be looking for.
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