Find Legitimate Paid Online Surveys

Here's an article I wrote for eHow.com

Not all paid online survey sites are scams, but how do you know the difference? With so many people and places claiming to be legitimate, it's hard to figure out who's telling the truth. Find out how to avoid spam and scammers and actually earn some money. Get paid in cash and prizes to take legitimate paid surveys online. (Click the links to the right under 'Legitimate Paid Online Surveys' or visit surveymoneymakers.com for a directory of legitimate paid online survey opportunities.)

Making money filling out online survey companies is really quite easy, once you've weeded through which ones are for real, and which ones are making false promises. But that's a time consuming process. Fortunately, there are a few, but just a few, websites out there that outline which survey companies are actually legitimate. There are about three categories that companies claiming to be 'paid online survey' companies fall into.

Legitimate Paying Online Surveys - yes, they exist! There are quite a few marketing research companies that will actually pay you to participate in filling out questionnaires and recording your opinions on topics anywhere from new movie releases, to your shopping habits, to what you think about a potential new product. Most of these surveys pay between $1 and $3, but some will pay $75 or more if you qualify for further questions. There are additional survey companies who look for people who qualify for their focus groups. These usually pay between $50 and $150 for an hour or two of your time and opinions.

Survey Newsletter Club and Fill Out Offers - These survey companies, whether legitimate or not, are not as revealing with what they promise. This is where reading the fine print comes in most handy. Many of today’s online survey companies will hook up with hundreds of other companies, and give you a newsletter or questionnaire with opportunities for free samples, discounts and survey panel memberships. Additionally, you may be promised a big ticket item like a Wii or a $500 Target Gift card. In order to qualify for these prizes, you must fill out offers; generally 2 silver, 2 gold and 2 platinum. If you like to discover great discounts and new products, like free contact lens subscriptions, discounted rates on informative e-books, and weekly pet food coupons, this is definitely a great service to look into. Please be aware, however, that you’ll want to set up a new email address, as you’ll definitely get lots of email offers and spam.

Surveys with a Fee-Based Subscription - Many survey companies promise you paying online surveys for $100 per day or more! This sounds so wonderful and wouldn’t we all just love to quit our jobs and tell people what we think about Pop-Tarts all day? Of course we would. And of course, this sounds too good to be true, so you can bet that these promises come with a fee. That fee is generally $25.95 or higher. It’s a one-time fee that claims to hook you up with a long list of hiring survey companies that pay. I have not personally come across any positive feedback about such companies, unless it’s from another website trying to get you to sign up. If I were you, I’d never, ever pay a fee to sign up for filling out online surveys for cash.

Tips & Warnings
Legitimate survey companies generally refer to themselves as Market Research companies. Their websites will be full of information about their company and links to privacy statements, contact information and FAQs.

You might be best served using the search term 'survey scams directory,' as you'll be directed more towards weeding out which surveys you want to avoid!

Find a directory with ratings from OTHER PEOPLE! This will give you a good idea about the experiences of real people, instead of trusting the person who's affiliating with a particular survey company.

NEVER pay anyone money to fill out surveys. Though they may not be scams, there are plenty of companies that pay you to fill out surveys for free.

You're not going to make a living filling out surveys...it's not possible. But you can most definitely make enough to pay one of your bills every month, or treat yourself to something special.

Visit surveymoneymakers.com for a list of legitimate paid online survey panels