There is a lot of money in business, and businesses will spend a lot of money to stay in business. That is why they do market research.
Traditionally they pay a research firm to find the answers for them, paying a team to stand on the street corners and quiz passers by for example. Now with the internet, businesses can contact the users directly, and will pay good money for your opinions on their products.
Does it work?
Yes, but don't expect to make a living out of doing this. It can be a handy way to make some money on the side though. Stash some away for Christmas, or for that extra holiday, simply by telling a company exactly what you think of them.
Typically questions are taken over the internet, although phone calls, discussion groups and being asked to go somewhere to try a product are all possible and will get you more money. Be aware though that the surveys, especially on the free sites, are quite saturated - you might have trouble fitting into the demographic that they are looking for.
The paid sites are better. With these you pay a small fee to join, and they send you more lucrative and easy to access questionnaires than the free sites.
Links
Ciao Surveys
- This is best free survey site on the internet. Assuming that you fill out your profile fully, you can expect to receive multiple surveys daily. However the popularity does have it's own problems, as it is possible that surveys will be closed before you have a chance to answer them. Ciao is also the only site who have sent us free stuff up to yet - we got 5kg of dog food to review.
YouGov plc
- YouGov is a very well known paid survey company. They only offer surveys fairly infrequently, but every survey we've tried through them we were able to complete and claim the money. They only pay out over £50 however.
Please feel free to submit a review of these or any other Online Survey sites you have experience with! That way we can offer the best information to other users.
