Surveys that pay real money

When you spend 30min answering questions, you want to know that it was worth the effort.

One survey website that actually pays out is In Your Opinion.

Most of their surveys pay between €1 – €3 (Euro) per successful survey completed. Once you have earned €20 you can choose to cash it out to your PayPal account.

At present the exchange rate is R9.65 = €1.00. It means for a South African you will walk away with about R193.00 for having completed about 8 – 10 surveys.

Clearly surveys won’t replace your salary by any means. Sorry guys, been there, tried it. But it is still money earned.

IYO is the only survey site I’m aware of that has a low threshold and actually pays out real cash.

Why do online surveys?

Partaking in online surveys might not be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s ok.  For those interested the motivation is normally two-fold.  You get paid money for it and you help shape the products and services of tomorrow.

Surveys can literally be about anything you can think of.  Your next car choice, what you think of the TV channels you view, new product and advertisement ideas, how much you know about internet security, what you expect from a supermarket, and so on.

The average survey takes about 30 minutes to complete and trust me, they ask a lot of questions.  Some questions might seem repetitive, but they are not.  Some survey companies pay via PayPal or another means of online payment or else you are rewarded points that translate into money at a later stage.

South African companies are only starting out in this area.  Nothing new there, but don’t despair.  Many overseas companies welcome South African subscribers.  The nice part about all this is that you are rewarded in foreign currency.

What are Paid Surveys?

Now that 21 May 2011 has come and gone here in South Africa, I think it is safe to say the world did not end. 

This morning I want to talk about paid online surveys.  For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it is simply questionnaires that you complete online and in exchange you earn a certain amount of money.  Market research plays such an important role to existing and new companies.  Existing companies need to stay on top whilst new companies want to rise to the top.  Gaining feedback from the general public is a great way to stay abreast.  Surveys are nothing new.  We ask each other questions all day long to gain input.  Opinions matter since they shape the world.

The internet is a very powerful tool.  Take the uprise in the Middle East for example.  People love to talk and share information.  Companies want to tap into those opinions.  If I produce soap for instance, but I’m not sure if the new packaging and flavours will take off successfully, my best bet would be to do some market research first.  Free samples are a hot favourite to gain input, and so are surveys.  What better way to conduct surveys than through the internet?  You reach millions of people and gain their input. 

Why pay people for their opinion when everyone is so opinionated? 

Asking someone a simple question like ”what is your favourite colour” will give you a very broad idea of the most liked colour.  Let’s say the most liked colour in the world is blue.  OK, so now I know to add a lot of blue to my soap bar wrappers.  Easy?  Not just yet, because what shade of blue is more popular?  This answer will lead you to another question and so forth.

For market research to be truly effective, a host of questions should be asked to gauge the general feeling accurately.  This means that surveys can become quite lengthy and I for one just don’t have the time nor energy nor interest to answer 30 questions and get nothing in return.   Companies know this and therefore are willing to pay you for your opinion.