More about Surveys
This section has been out together for those visitors that would like to know, in more detail, how online surveys work.
A Brief History of Surveys
I Remember ,back in the 80's, driving 30mins to a market research company to have a 1 hour discussion on coffee filters, and if the packaging should be green with brown writing, or brown with green writing. They paid me $50, which I thought was, at the time, the easiest money I had ever earned. However, These opportunities were hard to find, and were very costly for the marketing companies to run. Not only did they have to pay a lot of money to get people to do there surveys, they had to hire office space ,conduct surveys all over the country, then manually compile the results.
Then, some years ago, a smart man in CERN invented the modern internet. Marketing companies suddenly had access to thousands of willing participants all over the country. They could pay a fraction of the frees they had done previously, get nearly instant results , and all they needed was a computer.
And, for the willing participant, there were hundreds of surveys available to them.
So Why is your opinion valuable
Companies pay millions to research, develop and advertise products. Before they spend a few million on a TV advert, they want to know if the right people will see there advert.
After running an advert, they want to know if the right people saw it, and more importantly, if they remembered it.
If a new product is on the market, do you like the way it is packaged? Does it motivate you to buy that brand?What, if anything, would motivate you to buy a different brand than you do now?
These are some of the questions companies want to know. But, how do they find out? Some how they have to ask You what you think. Sometimes that will be through a phone call, or just by asking questions in your local supermarket. But these are very costly to run.
This is where on-line surveys benefit both you and the companies that are marketing. As a paid survey taker, you're a willing participant because you have a vested interest in doing the survey. From the companies perspective, it can cost a fraction of other types of market research, and it is almost instantaneous.
What surveys will you receive?
Most survey sites will ask you to complete a profile. Some of them will even pay you to complete your profiles, because they are very important. The Marketing Company then uses these profiles to match you with the projects they have available. If, for example, you don't drink coffee, then asking your opinion on the best coffee brand is not going to be worthwhile for you or them.
Once matched, you'll receive survey invitations by e-mail. These will usually tell you the expected reward, and approximate time to complete the survey.
Generally, you will not be told who is running the survey until it is competed, to make sure your opinion is more accurate.
Most surveys will take 10-15 mins to complete. The type you will get will vary based on your profile, but you might get asked about bottle water, tyre's, holidays, washing powder, coffee and movies.
Some sites will send you adverts, as well and these are usually very good earners. These usually take 1-2 mins to watch, or to go to the site, and earn good money and rewards. Pure Profile send regular $1 adverts to watch, and What do you think sends nearly daily reward e-mails. Emailcash has daily paid activities on there website.
What if don't want to take a survey
If you're invited to a survey and, for whatever reason, you are unable to complete the survey, then you don't have too. If the survey is still open later, you can still take it. If it ends when you get to it, there will be another one sent to you later.
Are they Difficult?
Marketing companies will do all they can to make the surveys easy to complete. They usually have help and instructions , and generally will have contact people in case you get stuck. Many surveys have areas you can type in to add additional information. Marketing companies don't care if you can't spell, which is a good thing for me because I'm a terrible speller. The rest of the survey will usually be tick boxes.
Will I be asked for Private Information
Yes you will. In order to decide who you are, you'll be asked how many children and adults live in the house, what your income is, and how old you are. Occasionally you'll be asked if the company can contact you for additional information. All Australian Marketing companies must abide by the Direct Marketing Association Standards regarding protecting your privacy and your private information. Most surveys will provide you with an option not to answer a question if you are unhappy about the question. If you are uncomfortable about completing a survey, you can just decline to take that particular survey.