I know that it's a tough economy for most of us. I know that most of us could use a little spending cash. And I know that there are some sites out there that will help you make a few extra bucks.
A few days ago, I decided to join a few survey sites to make a little extra cash, and some are actually pretty good, but others that were referred to me have yet to impress me.
Before You Join a Site and Start Taking Surveys...
...you need to know how they work.
First off, I know what most of you are probably thinking:
"I've heard that they're not worth taking."
"Why would I want to waste time (and money) taking surveys?"
"$0.50 surveys aren't going to pay my bills!"
But the truth is:
Most of them are actually legit.
Surveys aren't hard to do.
You may not be able to pay your bills with the money you make from survey sites, but some people really work at it and end up making hundreds of dollars a month from them.
The way survey sites work is simply this:
Advertisers will pay each website for promoting their companies via surveys and offers, and because they are advertising on survey sites, people do sign up for their services and offers.
The survey site, in turn, will pay the members who take the surveys.
So all you basically do is sign-up for a survey site for free, take surveys, and get paid to do it.
And you're probably asking, "So how do I get paid?"
Well, all survey sites offer different types of payment methods, whether it be sending you a check through the mail or depositing your earnings into an online bank account. I personally use PayPal and have the sites direct deposit my earnings into that. And don't worry, it's safe!
Some sites will pay members weekly, and some monthly. It all depends. Of course, each site will give you its payment information (along with its rules, regulations, and many frequently asked questions).
Now that you've been informed about how they work...
Three Main Things
The first thing you want to remember is this: If you have to pay a site to become a member, it's most likely a scam.
Secondly, in order to make an adequate amount of money, you have to join more than one site. But don't worry, there are tons of survey sites out there.
Thirdly, the absolute best way to make money from survey sites is referrals.
If you don't know the basic terminology and common phrases (like referrals, or credit surveys), that's what the next section is for.
The Lingo and Terminology
Note: Some sites offer explanations of their phrases
Referral- If I refer you to one of the sites, and you not only sign up for that site, but also claim (during the sign-up process) that I referred you, then I'll receive a certain amount of money from that site. A "reward," so to speak. But the money will not come out of your account. It will come from the site itself. Sometimes the referral bonus (the amount I receive) per referral is a few bucks, and sometimes, it's a certain percentage of what my referee makes (some sites are 20%), but again, that doesn't come from the referee's account. It comes from the company's.
Cash Surveys- These surveys you complete for cash. The amount you receive is added to your earnings account for that site
Credit Surveys- These surveys you complete for credit on your credit card. Most of these offer free trials, and once you sign up using your card, your earnings are directly added to your credit account.
Note: Some credit offers are free but make you pay for shipping and handling in order to earn credit. I can't say if these offers are legit or not because I personally don't do them, because I'm wary about any third-party company knowing my credit card and account information, although there are quite a few people out there who claim that it's safe when it comes to survey sites.
Cashout- Remember when I said that some sites pay you every week, and some pay you every month? Well, when you "cashout," it's basically saying, "I'm ready to receive all my earnings so far!"
If you have it set up to have your earnings deposited into your online bank account, then they will transfer when you cashout. If you have it set up for the company to send you a check, then they'll send you a check. But remember some sites pay you weekly, and some monthly.
Important note: Most survey sites have a minimum cashout balance, which means you have to make at least that amount of money in order to be paid. Somes sites have a minimum balance of $1.00, and some have $20.00 (as you will see later on).
Completed Offers/Pending Offers- Basically, once you finish a survey or offer, it is considered "pending" until you get credit from the company that provided it. Once it's approved by the company, it's considered "completed."
Note: Some surveys and offers are approved instantly, and others take hours, or even days to approve. So don't freak out if an offer doesn't approve right away!
Now What You Came Here For...
...the Websites!
But first let me briefly explain this elongated list:
All sites are listed alphabetically. I only did that to be fair. Under each banner for each site is some information from that site, including sign-up bonuses (yay!), referral info, payout info, and most importantly, my experience with that site so far.
Ok, Here We Go ("Finally!")
I've only finished a few surveys on here, and they've been pending for a few days now.
Number of surveys and offers: Not a whole lot. They do have a pretty good amount of free surveys, but very few of anything else. But they do have contests and drawings.
Sign-up bonus: $3.00
Referral bonus: $10.00 per referee who joins and eventually cashes out
Minimum payout: $20.00
I'm sure you've probably heard of CashCrate, because it is one of the more popular sites out there, and it really does live up to it's good reputation. Definitely one of my favorites so far.
Number of surveys and offers: Tons...Literally, tons! I mean, from such a large selection, I could sit at the computer all day and still not finish most of their surveys, because there really are so many. Plus, the site has contests, and if you'd rather earn prizes instead of cash, they do that too!
Sign-up bonus: Unfortunately, there isn't one, but it has more offers and surveys than most sites to make up for it.
Referral bonus: 20% of what your referee makes, and an additional 10% of what they're referee makes! Plus, you get an additional $3.00 for each referee who earns their first $10.00
Minimum payout: $20.00
Again, definitely one of my favorites, if not, my number one favorite so far.
:)
I'm honestly not completely impressed with this site yet...I did a few surveys on here a few days ago, and they're still pending, although I am waiting patiently for them to approve...
Number of surveys and offers: Quite a few, actually. I was very impressed with how many they have. More than a lot of sites out there.
Sign-up bonus: $5.00 (wow, that's cool!)
Referral bonus: 20% of your referee's earnings (not bad!)
Minimum payout: $20.00 by check, $15.00 by PayPal
I will admit, they do have a lot of cash-making opportunities on this site, mainly because of their lasrge number of free surveys and offers, but once my pending offers are approved, I'll be giving them lots of kudos
Another site I'm not crazy about yet because I did a few surveys a few days ago, and they're all pending, except for one (which is approved)
Number of surveys and offers: A pretty decent amount of "freebies." Not as many as I was hoping for, but not a small amount either.
Sign-up bonus: I'm assuming that they don't have one, because I haven't received credit for signing up yet, and I can't find any information on their site about a sign-up bonus.
Referral bonus: 20% of your referee's first earnings (not bad)
Minimum payout: $10.00 (again, not bad!)
Like I said with CrazyMonkeyCash, I'll give FairyTaleTreasure kudos once my pending offers are completed.
Again, like the past two sites, no kudos until my pending offers are completed.
Number of surveys and offers: Quite a few freebies, actually. More freebies than a lot of the sites out there. Plus they offer points if you want prizes instead of cash.
Sign-up bonus: I haven't received one yet, and I can't find any information on their site about it.
Referral bonus: 20% of your referees first earnings
Minimum payout: Only $5.00 (very cool!)
This one is actually quite good. Definitely one of the top ones out there!
Number of surveys and offers: Not a lot of freebies or trial-offers at one time. But I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that they only have a certain amount at one time and then eventually add more. I've only been on there for a few days, so I haven't seen their addition of more surveys and offers yet. But most of the the surveys and offers do approve pretty quickly, and the site sends you an email confirmation for every approved survey and offer! Very cool.
Sign-up bonus: $5.00 (very cool)
Referral bonus: $1.00 per referee who signs up, $2.00 per referee who completes an offer, and $5.00 pre referee who cashes out. (Very awesome!)
Minimum payout: $25.00
Again, definitely one of my favorite so far!
A pretty good site so far...One of my favorites!
Number of surveys and offers: Not many freebie offers, but the site does have a lot of everything else combined, including surveys, games, and sweepstakes. Plus you can make petty cash by reading their emails they send you. Quite a lot of opportunities altogether.
Sign-up bonus: $5.00 (very cool)
Referral bonus: 10% of your referee's qualified earnings
Minimum payout: I can't find anything on their site about a minimum payout, but they do payout monthly
Again, great site. I look forward to using this one!
I haven't done many surveys on this one yet...Still scouting it out
Number of surveys and offers: Not many at all. I mean, not an insignificant amount, but not nearly as much as I was hoping for, although they do have sweepstakes and offer cashbacks from shopping.
Sign-up bonus: $3.00
Referral bonus: Quoting from their site: "Everyone gets a base rate of 10% for first level referrals and 2% for second level referrals. You get an increased rate of 15% for first level referrals and 3% for second level referrals if and when those referrals cash out above $100. You get a super-increased rate of 20% for first level referrals and 5% for second level referrals if and when those referrals cash out above $250."
Minimum payout: $20.00
I'm honestly hoping for referrals for this site because I didn't see many freebie offers, but the site doesn't look bad.
Honestly, not a fan of this site yet, but I haven't really done many surveys either...
Number of surveys and offers: Quite a few free offers, actually, and they have contests. Plus, they have a prize shop as well.
Sign-up bonus: $1.00
Referral bonus: Quoted from their site: "20% from your 1st level referrals; 5% from your 2nd level referrals; 2% from your 3rd level referrals."
Minimum payout: $25.00
Another site that's pretty good so far. I've only done a few surveys, but there are a lot to choose from!
Number of surveys and offers: Lots of surveys, offers, and contests. Plus, they also have a prize shop. I'm quite impressed at how much they have!
Sign-up bonus: A whopping $10.00 (awesome!)
Referral bonus: 20% of your referre's earnings (like most of the sites)
Minimum payout: $20.00
Again, another site I'm looking forward to using
:)
Another site I'm not completely crazy about yet...I haven't seen a lot on there...
Number of surveys and offers: Not many freebie offers, but a good amount of trial offers.
Sign-up bonus: $3.00
Referral bonus: 20% of your referee's earnings
Minimum payout: I haven't read anything on here about a minimum payout, but there are a lot of issues with pending offers and complaints about cashouts in the forums...
From what I've read in their forums, I'm not expecting much at all from this site.
They seem like they have a lot to offer, but I have quite a few pending offers right now, so I'm not too thrilled about this site yet.
Number of surveys and offers: A HUGE list of free offers, surveys and contests. Literally hundreds of offers and surveys. I'm very impressed.
Sign-up bonus: I didn't receive one, nor do I see anything on the site about one, but their extensive amount of offers and surveys actually make me not care about a sign-up bonus!
Referral bonus: Again 20% of each referee's earnings...
Minimum payout: $20.00
I really hope that my pending offers approve soon, because I'm very anxious to give lots and lots of kudos to this site!
Those are all the sites that I've signed up for so far.
I know there are a lot more, but I'll be joining more of them. And I'll keep updating this blog, most likely weekly, to inform you about my experiences with all of these survey sites.
Now, a Bonus for You!
Tips and Tricks:
1) I know some of those surveys and offers require you to click "yes" or no" to a lot of offers on many of their pages. And it can seem very aggrivating when you first start doing surveys. I actually recommend downloading Roboform (http://www.roboform.com). Not only can you automatically fill in your contact information for each offer, but it can also help you out on the " 'yes' or 'no' " pages as well. I admit, I click "no" a lot on those pages, but some of the offers they provide are still worth checking out!
2) One of the most effective ways to see if you'll like a site is to find a survey site with a forum. That way you can see what other members are discussing and saying. And plus, if a site has a forum, you know that it's legit!
3) Like I said before, never join a site if you have to pay to be a member. And avoid the ones that require you to provide your Social Security Number as well.
4) If you don't know what to fill out on a survey, or you're unsure about what to do, a lot of the sites (CashCrate comes to my mind), will tell you exactly what you need to do for each survey or offer. And like I said, if anything, stick to the sites with forums in case you need help.
5) You're not going to earn a lot of money instantly, even if you get a few referrals. It takes time to make money on these sites. And most people don't get paid enough to pay their bills, but there are some who do make a lot from a combination of surveys, offers, and mainly, referrals.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that this has helped you understand a little about how survey sites work, which ones seem legit (to me, so far), and I hope that I've provided adequate tips to help you out.
And like I said, I'll update this blog in a week or so.
I'm actually looking forward to making some extra money on some of these sites, because quite a few seem to have a lot to offer!
:)
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