Paid surveys are known as one way to earn a few extra income fast. But are paid surveys a legitimate way to make money – or are they fraudulent in nature, in other words scams? The short answer to that is it depends on the survey and the company conducting them.
Why they pay YOU to take surveys
Like any business, you have to wonder, why you get paid for doing something as surveys? Right? Well the basis for this is basically market research. Remember when you were in school studying and asked to conduct surveys for your business plan? For your thesis? Yeah that! Of course, you did not have any budget so you basically asked whoever fit your target demographic to respond to your survey.
Market research firms pay consumers to take in-person surveys and/or participate in focus groups. However, the Internet has granted these firms access to a wider sample size and at the same time efficient ways to collect data. Many firms conduct legitimate online paid surveys, virtual paid focus groups, and various other types of paid online marketing research.
How to Avoid Survey Scams
As a general rule, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. These scammers fight hard to compete for your attention, and exaggeration is one of their tactics.
Go direct (if possible) - The best and safest way to make sure you are working with a legitimate company is to take surveys directly on the company site that is seeking feedback, and skip the middlemen.
Middleman Due diligence - Scrutinize the reputation, reviews, and the origins of the middleman soliciting third-party paid surveys.
Put things into perspective - There are questionable "middleman" third-party paid survey sites that hype easy money for participating in online marketing research from home. Check if the rewards or cash paid are realistic/achievable. What they market is usually the ‘Ideal’ scenario of earning.
Don’t Pay to take surveys - You want to earn money so why are you paying money to earn? That sounds suspect and suspicious already! There are sites that charge "membership" fees to access lists of online paid survey opportunities, despite the fact that you can find many of these surveys for free by searching online yourself. Don’t get enticed with ‘exclusive opportunities’, it’s a tactic.
What and How you Earn for taking surveys
Most surveys "pay" only token rewards in the form of free or discounted goods, services, coupons, or samples. But the caveat is that you have to be part of the target demographic first. One demographic may have more surveys available to them compared to another.
Cash - A few survey sites do pay relatively well in cash. However, many sites advertise hypothetical, best-case scenarios that can't possibly apply to each and every consumer. But it is still a legitimate side income/earnings.
Gift Cards or Discounts - Some may give you a gift cards, discount, or the like token of appreciation for participating in their survey.
Points - Some surveys pay with points that are redeemable for cash or goods. Typically, you take surveys to rack up a bunch of points before you are able to trade for anything of significance.
If anybody is making big money from online paid surveys, it's probably the middleman-site owners, not those actually taking the surveys.
So to finally answer the question, Can you earn income online through taking surveys? YES!! You can get cash and the like rewards, BUT, it’s not going to be enough to earn you a living.