Paid Survey Articles

Top 20 Paid Survey Panels

If you’ve tried to find a paid survey panel or focus group on the internet, you know that there are hundreds of sites that claim to have the "top paid survey panels", or even worse, pretend to be a paid survey panel.

Most of these companies have a top list, true, but it's of bogus "email collection" sites, and some are actually "phising" sites that want all of your personal information.

So, how do you find real information and true market research companies? Easy. Just keep reading.

We've been in the paid survey industry providing information to consumers for over 5 years now, and have amassed a great list of market research companies.

There are currently about 250 companies that conduct market research surveys and focus groups, but of these, there are only about 20 that are aggressive in their panel recruitment.

They are also (incidentally) the most popular survey panels and get hired by big names such as Jack-In-The-Box, McDonalds, 24-Hour Fitness, Souplantation, Olive Garden and Footlocker.

Here's how it works:

A company will hire a market research company to bring them a certain type of person (also called a "demographic"). The market research company then hires an advertising network that deals with paid survey information sites (like this one) to bring them participants. This type of arrangement has been going on for years, and they've gotten really good at weeding out the bogus paid survey information sites. So, the fact that you are reading this on our site is a true testament to the validity and quality of the information we provide.

This is also why you see the same 20 panels on a few websites online, (like this one). We are the only sites that actually provide what we say we provide: true free paid survey information. And there are only a handful of us that are allowed to continue recruiting participants.

So, what are the top 20 paid survey panels online?

Well, here they are! (drumroll, please)

These 20 market research companies are truly the best survey panels to be on. They all compensate you for your time and opinion, they are all free to join, they don't spam you email inbox and they don't share your personal information.

If you are serious about taking surveys online, and you are willing to spend the next 30 minutes registering as a participant, then these are truly the best paid survey panels to be on. Even if it takes you more than a half an hour, it's well worth it.

Get Paid Taking Surveys Online

A lot of people are taking paid surveys online, and the reason is because you can make money working from home, whenever you want. It's also one of the only 'work at home' opportunities that has no out of pocket costs.

The biggest misconception is that you can make hundreds of dollars a day with little to no effort. This couldn't be further from the truth. First of all, you're not going to get rich and retire off taking paid surveys. Secondly, if you were to ask anyone who makes money taking surveys online how they do it, they would all have the same answer - register with as many panels as you can. This is where a lot of people fail in this industry. You can realistically make a part-time income from this, but it does requires some commitment. If you can't take the time to register for more than a couple survey panels, this probably isn't the deal for you.

Still here? Okay. Let's break down the paid survey industry. There are a lot of market research companies online that conduct surveys. The information they gather is used to shape the development and advertising of new and existing products. You may be asked to take a toothpaste survey that asks what type you usually buy, or maybe you'll take a survey about the type of car you drive and gas you buy. The bottom line is your opinion is important enough to pay for it.

Ready to get started? The first thing you'll need is a valid email account. Most survey panels will require you to confirm your registration by sending you an email with a confirmation link. This is also how you will get your survey invitations. An invitation is an email sent by a research company letting you know they have a survey waiting for you.

Now you're ready to join the different survey panels. Here is a list of the top 20 survey panels (below) that you should sign up with. They are all free to join. After you register with all of these panels, you'll get at least 1 survey invite a day. Don't worry...there are literally hundreds of survey panels online if and when you want to up the pace. These are the most popular paid survey panels and will be a good base for you to start from.

Click on the first panel link and go through the registration process completely, then return to this site and click the next panel on the list. Some panels will have a simple 1-page registration, while others may have several questions that you must answer. It should take about 20 minutes to sign up with all of these panels.

The last step is to check your email account for the confirmations. Normally, each panel will have a welcome survey waiting for you to take. Within a couple of days you'll start seeing survey invitations coming into your email account, so make sure to check it often. There is no obligation to take any of the surveys you are sent, but it's worth it to at least look at what each one is about and what type of compensation they're offering.

Paid Surveys and Market Research

Taking paid surveys online is a very hot "work at home" opportunity. The main reason is because you really can make money for a few minutes of work, whenever you want with no limitations. Sound intriguing? It is. That's why so many people are learning how to take paid surveys online. The best part is that all you need is a valid email address.

So how do you get started in this "get rich quick" deal? Well, the first thing to do is understand it's not a "get rich quick" deal. Being successful with paid surveys requires 3 key factors:

Patience: A majority of the work will be data entry, such as filling out forms and/or writing short essays or commentary.

Attention to Detail: The research company is relying on your using survey answers for their studies and typos will lead to misinterpretations and unusable data.

Organization: Since you will be working for yourself, you'll be responsible for keeping track of what companies you've registered with and accurate record of money earned.

If you can handle these 3 things, you're ready to start getting paid for what you think.

It's also important to understand something else. You are a very vital resource for a marketing company because you have certain preferences, tastes, likes and dislikes that are specific to you and in many cases, specific to your age group, ethnicity, race, gender, etc. This information is helped to shape the development, advertising and distribution of new and existing products. With so much involved in getting a product to the shelf, it's easy to see why your opinion is so valuable.

The next thing to do is start signing up for paid survey panels, while keeping an eye out for scams and fraudulent websites. I list many of the legitimate survey panels in the paid survey directory. Some registrations will require you to confirm via email, some will ask you for to fill out a profile, but they all are free to join, completely confidential and require no money from you, ever. You simply pick the surveys you want to take, answer the questions and wait for your check in the mail. I know it sounds easy, and that's because it is - relatively. Most of the work is done in the beginning, when you are signing up for panel after panel. Don't lost hope! It's all worth it.

I have personal experience with a lot of the top paid survey panels. Here are 11 of the best ones that I recommend signing up with first. Follow all the steps involved for each panel to ensure a successful registration.

An important note to keep in mind is that once you make over a certain amount (usually /yr), you are required to report that amount as income on your federal taxes (and state, most likely). Just keep good records and save all the check stubs you receive from the research companies so you can total everything up in the end and you'll be good to go.

Paying for a Survey Database

To understand the nature of paid surveys, you have to first have a decent understanding of how taking surveys online works. Anytime a new product is developed, there are teams of people hired to study and evaluate the target market (or segment of the buying public) the product will be sold to. For instance, let's say you have just invented the world's first automatic putter. You know that golfers are more than likely the people that will be purchasing your putter. So you hire a marketing company to create an advertising campaign for your putter with the golf industry as your target market.

Now it's their job to seek out golfers and question them about their buying habits, preferences, etc. This is where you (and the general public) come in. You have previously joined a survey panel because your friend told you about them. After you registered, they may have asked you a series of questions, one of them being "do you golf?", and since you answered "Yes", you check your email inbox and see that a company putting out a new putter is conducting a survey. Do you take the survey? Well, that is up to you; if you do, you may get to try the putter and keep it when you're done. Or maybe you'll earn a couple dollars for taking that survey, or points that you can redeem for cash or merchandise.

Okay, now you should have a fair understanding about paid surveys. Now you see how you can earn money online taking surveys. The previous example showed how you can get emails inviting you to take a survey, sent from one market research company. The whole key to success is understanding that it's all a numbers game. Being on that particular research company's survey panel gave you the opportunity to earn a little bit of money, or a free gift. Now, think about what would happen if you were registered with more than that 1 survey panel...you would increase your chances of participating in many different surveys because remember, you're very unique as an individual. You may golf, mountain bike, read, swim, eat corn, drink milk, use a certain type of hand lotion, drive a certain type of car or buy a specific brand of shampoo. Understanding why your single opinion is so valuable is key to understanding how paid surveys work.

Now that you're hip to the market research game, you may want to sign up for a couple panels and try it out. You can do so by going to any search engine and typing in "paid surveys" or "taking surveys online" and find thousands of links to various websites, some containing valuable information and some with ads and links to other pages. As long as you remember that it's 100% free to join any survey panel. Do not ever pay to give your opinion. However, there are paid survey programs that charge a fee to access their paid survey panel directories, and understanding how these work is important, too. Basically, these companies have created listings of *almost* all of the survey panels available. I say *almost* because there are always new and emerging companies that have survey panels being added all the time. Anyway, they charge you a one-time fee, usually around , for unlimited access to their list. Between the convenience and the low price, a lot of people have turned to this type of service rather than search around on their own. The legitimate paid survey programs will have a money back refund gaurantee and update their list frequently, so if you do choose this route, make sure to look for both of those things.

And now the biggest question - Are they scams? If you put in "paid survey scams" in any search engine, you'll find many comments about these programs being scams and how people got ripped off. I would say that if someone felt ripped off, it's probably because their expectations we're high and the knowledge about what they were paying for was low. They wanted to make money for doing nothing. So many people think that they are paying to sign up for every panel on the list, when in fact they only bought the information on the list. They still have to go through the registration process for all of the panels, and most people don't realize that. The confusion leads to feeling ripped off, etc. If you go into it knowing exactly what you're getting, you won't be disappointed.

Well, there you go. A crash course into taking paid online surveys. If you do wish to sign up with a paid survey program, the best one seems to be PaidSurveysOnline.com. It's the one program with the least amount of refund requests. They also have other work at home opportunities listed that they include, for free.

Paid Survey Basics

Work at Home Taking Paid Surveys

Taking paid surveys online is a great way to earn money while working at home, as long as you follow a few guidelines. This article will explain the market research industry and why your opinion is so important and valuable to advertising companies.

As with any work at home opportunity, however, you must beware of the scams and quick money that some "market research companies" will offer.

There are two main types of products/services that advertising companies are hired to develop marketing campaigns for; the first is a new product/service, meaning the general public has never seen or used it. The second, more common type is an existing product/service, that has either been redeveloped or made better by a company.

The advertising company will take their product/service to a market research company, a company that asks, or polls, certain demographics (groups organized by age, gender, income, location or other factors) through focus groups and online surveys. This is where you come in.

In exchange for this information, market research companies offer cash, give out free merchandise or offer other compensation in order to continue to get honest responses and answers. If a person takes a survey and gets cash or gifts, they are more likely to work with that market research company in the future.

The best way to become a market research participant is to go online and obtain a list of research panels. A list like this can either cost money or be found for free, it just may require you to do a little research.

Once you have found some market research panels that you want to work with, the next step is to register with them. Registration should never cost you anything; remember, they are going to pay you for your opinions, not the other way around.

Once you register, you may be asked a series of questions that will help the research company develop a profile for you. The types of surveys and focus groups that you will be invited to participate in will be based on that profile. For instance, women would qualify for a paid survey about types of purses, while young adults may be asked about colleges and tuition fees. Most research studies will take place online, but some will be mailed to you or require you to meet others at a specific location.

That's the paid survey industry, in a nutshell. You register with a company, take surveys online or participate in focus groups, and receive money or other forms of compensation for your time. It's really that easy, and as you register with more and more research panels, you'll qualify for more and more research studies.

Remember, just because you sign up with a research panel, there is no obligation to participate in any studies. You will be notified of surveys that you qualify for, and the decision to participate is entirely up to you.