Being a college student can be tough on finances. Even if you have a work study or off-campus job and your parents send you money every once in a while, it can still be difficult to actually find room in your budget for extra expenses. When searching for other money making ideas, students can hardly find the time to do any of them. This is where the beauty of surveys comes in.
While surveys have been around for a long time, they are still an integral part of the business research world. Surveys are used for a variety of purposes. They can be used for market research, identifying demographics in a particular geographic area, and for improving the way a business functions. The best part of surveys is, because most are so short-term, you don’t have to be a trained or licensed professional to conduct them. Many companies recruit college students and other people looking for money on the side to perform these surveys, while others will pay survey responders. It is a great way to make a little extra cash while either collecting opinions, or providing your own. Here are some great survey opportunities for anybody looking for a little cash on the side.
Make Money by TAKING Surveys:
Surveyhead.com
The philosophy of SurveyHead is simple: Get paid for taking surveys. This company works with a variety of big name corporations, and provides you with the opportunity to do surveys for those companies so they know how to improve their business practices, strategies, and product offerings. All you have to do is sign up, and you will start to receive surveys for these different companies. Right now, you can earn $5 simply for signing up.
E-poll
E-poll is another surveying, internet market research organization that caters to a much younger audience. Through E-poll, you receive email notifications for new surveys. Rather than getting paid, though, you are instead rewarded on a point system. Each survey is worth a different number of points. After you get enough points, you can log into your E-poll account and trade in your accrued points for some cool gift cards. With enough points, you could obtain a gift card for Amazon, Best Buy, Target and many more, worth up to 30 dollars. Or, if you’re feeling generous, you can also submit your points as a donation to a large charity, like the Humane Society or American Red Cross, among others.
Survey Club
Survey Club is yet another market research company that uses the everyday consumer to provide answers to surveys in exchange for a cash return. What is unique about Survey Club is that they leave plenty of options to tell them about yourself. From basic information, like city you live in and age, to much more in-depth information, such as your obscure hobbies, the more information you provide the Survey Club panel, the more targeted the surveys you receive will be. There are some companies doing specific market research on a specific group of people. Because these surveys are so exclusive, being included in them could mean getting paid more than average, all because you provided information about hobbies you really didn’t think mattered.
Craigslist
As funny as this may sound, a plethora of companies publish listings on Craigslist looking for market research subjects. These are generally not done online and require you to drive to a location, whether it is the client’s store–such as a shopping mall–or to the market research firm’s location. For a couple hours of your time, you simply have to provide feedback on what you think about different products and services in order to help the company better understand what the public may think of its product. These are often posted under the “gigs” section on Craigslist, and sometimes pay very generously!
Make Money by GIVING Surveys:
For those of us who have a little extra time, giving surveys is another great way to make money. They are a slightly bigger time commitment than taking surveys online, but they yield much better pay.
Craigslist
Yes, once again, Craigslist is a good resource for finding jobs or gigs in giving out surveys. A lot of the time, you may find postings for magazines, bars or nightclubs, and other companies with a younger target audience hiring people as promoters, or “street team” members, to promote the magazine or club while collecting information on what the people in the young and trendy crowd are looking for. This is an ideal job for anybody looking into the entertainment industry as a possible career field, or for any person who enjoys being outgoing and sociable and doesn’t mind chatting with complete strangers.
Market Research Companies
Sometimes the best bet is to just get a hold of a market research firm somewhere in your area. Chances are, they are looking for a team of temporary surveyors to do a project for a client. These opportunities are ideal for networking with business professionals, plus carry a cash payment and maybe even some additional benefits. One company in St. Louis, Mo., paid a group of college students to survey fans during a Rams football game for a few hours. Not only did the students get paid, they also received a free t-shirt and two free tickets to a game later in the season, just for asking strangers a few questions.
Surveys are still a great way to make some easy money while providing your opinion or collecting others’ opinions. It is a tried and true method of gathering accurate and useful data for companies, meaning it won’t be going away any time soon, leaving plenty of opportunities for college students to make some easy money on the side.
Oh gosh ! Online surveys ! They are so boring ! I tried few of those programs and none of them where profitable enough to justify the time lost and boredom…
i had more success in buying banner space and selling items as an affiliate.
Luke recently posted..What degree to get
I didn’t had any luck with online surveys . I got totally bored . Plus the payout was to small to justify the amount of time spend on them.
Luke recently posted..What degree to get
I started working with online survey sites a couple years ago. Since that time I would say that I have earned a few hundred bucks. Nothing to brag about, but the money was fast and easy to make. Anyone looking to work with online paid survey sites should stay away from any site asking for a membership fee. I learned something new, because I never knew that you could get paid for giving surveys.
Sabrina recently posted..Anthony Weiner Come Back
I feel surveys are great way to make money online but you need to sign up for more then 5 sites as they will take your much less time
Owaiz recently posted..Surveyhead a scam or legit site?
Surveys are good way to make some extra money. You need to join more and more survey sites in order to earn some consistent money because they rarely send surveys.
farhana recently posted..Affiliate Marketing as an Online Business | Online Business Ideas
I feel for survey sites there should be a particular strategy to be adopt . Survey sites are best way to adopt as a means of part time income for U.S people.I feel that is hub for them and It can create much better results for them.Survey Sites are a very cool way as well as it doesn’t require much time.
Ohaleem recently posted..Make Money Online Free
I found a legit paid survey site but I left it because the low offer does not justify the amount of time I give them. It seems hard to find a survey site with quality surveys and good payout.
I really enjoyed reading your post article. Thanks for sharing!
I find that Paid Surveys are one of the, if not the most easiest way to earn some money online. I’ve been taking surveys for a couple years and still am to this day. .Epoll is one of the sites I enjoy taking surveys from, MySurvey is also a good Paid Survey site as well.
Arielle S. recently posted..Can You Make Easy Money Taking Surveys?
I never thought such money earning way exist. Companies pays for surveys. I grew on making money online thru blogs and affiliate marketing. Thanks for this tho, I’ll be doing myself a little analysis before pursuing this new career.
Good god I remember trying to make money using surveys,so boring and way too time consuming for the little pay you get (my experiences at least). Luckily I found a business through surveys that actually got me on the road to making money, so i cant say it was a total waste. great post none the less
As many people search new ways to profit online, there are always some intriguing opportunities that come along the way. One of them is paid surveys…
Yes. Online Survey is a way to make money online,
just that it sometimes scares the viewer away by
filling up the form.
I think provide valuable information to viewer can
actually improve the conversion rate!
Thanks for sharing !
your article is very much effective and informative. i am hopeful you will keep sharing more content like this. you deserve this thank you. wish you happy blogging
Have you all conducted an opportunity cost assessment or return on investment assessment for filling out surveys on reputable sites? If so, let me know if it has been worthwhile…
Well Indeed a great list.All of them are legit sites. But I have got special romance with Cashcrate because once you will cross 50 active referrals then a money stream will be waiting for you to earn more and more.Similarly GlobalTestMarket is also a great site which pays for fulfilling Offers as well
Owaish recently posted..16 Easy and Realistic Ways to Earn Income Online Now
Hey there this is a great post for students learning about how they could make some extra money online using paid surveys as they are simple to get started with and a great way to get some extra pay i also like the resources you provide and see nothing wrong with paying a survey site for already finding you surveys that actually pay you thats how i manage to do it.
George recently posted..Highest Profitability?
Paid surveys are a waste of time. Can you make money. Yes but it takes a lot of time and it doesn’t pay out enough to make it worth it. Your better off investing in something else
While I don’t advocate taking part in research surveys as a full-time occupation, those with the time and inclination can earn cash and gift cards for major retailers. Most of the major players operate in a similar manner. You register your email address and then complete a basic questionnaire, outlining your background (age, gender, where you live) and interests. Afterward the company matches you with appropriate surveys. For every completed survey you receive points or credits. Those, in turn, are exchanged for gift cards and sometimes even hard, cold cash (via PayPal).
Home Improvement recently posted..Glass Pool Fences For Style And Class
How many survey sites do you have to sign up for before you can actually earn money? I want to make sure that this really works and won’t be a waste of time.
Jean-Philippe Maltais recently posted..Future of Digital Marketing in Canada
I took survey jobs when I was in college and boy did they worked. For companies, surveys are really advantageous because it gives them the knowledge of what their customer wants. Aside from that, companies can also take advantage of their competing enemies because of the knowledge that they are holding.
Maybelle recently posted..How Effective is Internet Marketing?
This may not be an income generating strategy for any company but it holds a very advantageous strategy for them. Why? First, they will know the range of variety of their customers and future customers. Second, expansion will never be a problem because the path of doing so will be clear. Lastly, any areas needing improvement will be improvised and taken care of. It’s not all about income-generating most of the time but it’s keeping your business on the track.
importanceofmarketingresearchinmarketingstrategy recently posted..Importance of doing Marketing Research
I think that it is a wonderful strategy for anyone with some free time and a need for a extra source of income.
Thanks
Wow, did not know I can really make money taking surveys! And especially using Craigslist..Can’t wait to share this post with my readers and newsletter
I agree with most people, taking surveys get really boring after a while but yeah it’s possible to make money doing it. Unlikely you’ll make thousands of dollars a month unless you dedicate many many hours a day doing it but yeah if you want to make an extra $10-50 a month or so that shouldn’t take too long
Earning money by taking online surveys can be a fun way to make extra money on the side but it’s really important to check out the survey company’s reputation before participating in any market research opportunities. I have been scammed by many sites in the past and refused to take any surveys that award you with points. In my opinion, the top market research sites to make extra money are Mindfield Online, PineCone Research, and 20/20 Research.. I like these sites because they award cash for each completed survey so its well worth your time. I may need to give Survey Head a try, I haven’t had any experience with that company
The longer you try and spend doing surveys the more money you can make. Many people get deterred from doing surveys as they expect to make a quick buck. My tip is stick to it and use several different sites and sources.