Populus Live

Populus Live is a little different to the majority of other survey sites. Most of the surveys they send have a political theme, usually currant news stories or general questions about who you think should be running the country and more importantly how you think they should be running it.  They do send out some retail based surveys but these are few and far between.  

This site says they pay you £1 for every five minutes of your time, with an average survey lasting fifteen to twenty minutes and while I have never timed this, is it probably about right. There are a couple of draw backs for being so well compensated for your time, the pay-out threshold for this site is £50 which  comes in the form of a cheque which is automatically sent out when you’ve earned it,  the other is the survey availability, sometimes you will received two in one day but often they are less frequent.

These surveys offer a real sense that your answers may actually make a difference, that your opinion matters. So my advice would be to stick with it, don’t worry about the pay-out, try to forget about it if you can and the cheque in the post will be a huge, very welcome £50 surprise.

Survey Availability - Low

Payment - Cheque

Payment Time scale – Cheques are posted at the beginning of the month.

Screen-outs -Low

Global Test Market

Global Test Market is another one you will either love or hate. There are lots of screen outs and they pay-out threshold is a whopping $50, which is about £32 at the moment (2013) but if you stick with it and wait for the points to build up they sense of satisfaction is immense when you can finally cash out. The site has a decent help desk and they have always replied to my email queries. They recently revamped their reward scheme so that they could offer payment by vouchers and PayPal rather than waiting a few weeks for a cheque to arrive. This system does work well but the changeover caused some issues with panel members who didn't see any reason to change.

Global Test Market doesn't seem to publish their own surveys but they act as an agent for a huge variety of other companies. If you're sent an email invitation to a survey, the email will tell you how many points you can earn for completing and if you screen out you will be awarded some monthly prize draw entries. Sometimes you'll be told how long they expect it to take you to finish the survey but these times are not always accurate. I have had some really interesting surveys and product test through this site, my favourite product test of seven chocolate bars to be eaten on seven consecutive days was thanks to a quickie survey on this site. I think that is why surveys have held my interest for so long; you really never know what will be asked of you in the next one.  

Survey Availability - Good
Payment - Vouchers/PayPal/Cheque
Payment Timescale - Variable
Screen-outs -Average
     

Demographics and Screen-Outs

"demographics

Pronunciation: /dɛməˈgrafɪks/

noun

statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it"

(Oxford Dictionaries)

Some people I have talked to have said that because they don't meet the correct demographics they have not been successful in earning enough from surveys to make it worthwhile. It is true that a lot of brands tailor their surveys for a certain demographic, the 'perfect consumer', so for instance, if you're a young mother with school age kids you will find you fit into the optimum consumer bracket for lots of surveys, they want to know your opinion. This does not mean you won't get any surveys if you don't fit into that mould, it's all about finding the right panel and waiting for the surveys to roll in. This is where screen-outs happen, despite the fact you will have given the panel lots of demographic information when you signed up, at the start of a survey you will be asked for some screening information such as you gender, age etc. and this will decide whether you are selected to continue with the survey. At this point some panels will give you a couple of points or an entry into a monthly prize draw as a thank you for attempting the survey but screening-out.

The demographics used to select participants for surveys are not published so it's mainly guess work but the one thing I will say is never lie to make yourself seem more appealing for a survey. You have no idea what the survey is about and by lying you could be screening yourself out of a great earning opportunity and if you did make it through the screening with false information and where invited to join a focus group as a result you would probably have to prove you are who you say you are. It's just not worth it, be honest and hope you're just what they're looking for.

There are some survey companies that I am sent very few surveys from, these seem to favour either younger or older participants so it is always worth joining lots of panels to see which you find the most lucrative. The one thing I have discovered while talking to people about surveys is that my favourite site maybe someone else's nightmare. Try a few and see how well you think they're rewarding you.
.

IPSOS Interactive

In my opinion this is one of the better companies. IPSOS Interactive do not send a huge number of surveys but they pay well and there is no wait for points being added or rewards being dispatched. I have found that several other survey panels will send you the surveys from this site and pay considerably less for your time, taking the remainder for themselves which isn't unusual but it is worth your while signing up with the main producers of the surveys and ensuring that you give their surveys priority over the secondary panels.  

The surveys themselves are usually exceptionally well designed and I have never felt pushed to give an answer that I didn't agree with, you really can make your opinion heard. Screen outs are very low with this site and the opportunity for high quality, product tests is high. They also offer a tiered member reward scheme for members who complete every survey they are sent. The estimated time the survey will take and the rewards are clearly explained before
 you start the survey which is information some panels are not forthcoming with. I would say this survey panel is a must.

Survey Availability - Average
Payment - Vouchers
Payment Timescale - Fast
Screen-outs - Low

Toluna

Toluna was the first site I signed up with several years ago before I started to regularly take paid surveys. I still like this site, in fact it usually gives me the biggest payout per month but if you look at the actual reward for time spent it is a very low paying site. There are two reasons I still use Toluna, the first is the availability, they have lots of surveys, you could spend all day taking surveys and not run out, the other reason I like this site are the recruiting surveys. Very few people are aware that survey sites are the main source of recruiting for product trails (product testing) and online focus groups. Product testing is where a company send you, usually a full size sample of their product to try at home and you then answer their questions at the end of the trial. Online focus groups are a demographically selected group of people who are asked to join an online community and are required to participate in tasks and discussions, these focus groups are usually paid and additional cash incentive to take part.

Toluna is infamous for screen-outs and they do take a long time adding points to your account and to release rewards but if you're patient, the rewards will start rolling in.

Survey Availability - Very High
Payment - Vouchers
Payment Timescale - Very Slow
Screen-outs - High

Let Me Introduce Myself

I am a wife and mother and like a lot of people in the UK at the moment money is often an issue. I have been doing paid surveys for the past ten months or so and in that time I have earned a tidy sum which has meant I could buy some little luxuries that I would not normally have been able to buy.  Everyone likes being able to buy treats for their family, right?
When I mentioned doing surveys for money to friends they have been quite negative, their opinion was that surveys sites are out to scam you.  I decided it was time I shared my knowledge of the good surveys sites out there and discuss a few tips on how to stay safe online and avoid the scams. So that’s my plan, I’ll work my way through the survey sites that I have found both reliable and profitable.