We are in the midst of our weekly How-To Series about how to participate in FREE PAID SURVEYS. There have been other detailed articles written so far which you can find on our Free Paid Survey How-To Series page.
When you sign up for a Free Paid Survey Panel, you may get asked to participate in any number of different types of surveys. They all lead to the same thing - cash or points to trade in on cash or prizes but each is unique and will likely affect exactly how much you get paid.
Below is a quick list of the different types of surveys:
- Basic multiple choice style/form with occasionally some “fill in a response.”
This is the basic survey style most companies employ and the type you will do the most often. In general they range from 5 minutes long to over 45 minutes long but I would say most average about 15 minutes or so and consist of just text. - Multiple choice style/form but with product descriptions images or video that you watch and give your opinions about.
These are often more in-depth and longer than the basic multiple choice surveys. You will often get to see a product or idea before it hits the shelves. - Basic product test survey.
This is generally a three-phase thing. First you take a short qualification survey. If you qualify, then they send you a product to test for roughly 1 week. Finally they send you a second survey about your experience with the product. Often times the product test includes the free product and cash or points for completing the final survey. - Extended product test with online journal.
These are some of my favorites but are not super common. Basically they send you a product, usually one of greater value like a printer or a collar GPS system for a dog and they post activities over the course of a couple weeks. You use the products per their posted activities and keep an online journal (some are calling them blogs now) of your experiences with the product. Sometimes your payment is to keep the product, sometimes you return it and get paid cash, other times you get both! I once got to keep a product that had a retail value of $400 new and they paid me $125 in Amazon gift certificates for testing it. - Online focus groups.
These involving logging in to an online “session” at a set time with a group of other respondents and a moderator. First you will take a basic survey to determine your eligibility. They will ask you questions, show you images, and have you interact with others responses for anywhere from 1/2 hour to 90 minutes. Generally the payments for these range from $25 to upwards of $100. - In person focus groups.
These involve going to a physical location at a set date and time and participating in a group session where you usually sample products. First you will take a basic survey to determine your eligibility. These generally pay more, upward of $150 for a 60-90 minutes session but since they involve travel, may not be for everyone. - Website evaluations.
These types of surveys involve you visiting a website and performing certain tasks and then coming back and answering questions about those tasks. Usually there is a lat rate of around $10 for these and they expect you to be thorough and usually take roughly 30-40 minutes or more. - Phone surveys.
I don’t usually sign up for these because with small kids, phone surveys are just too difficult. They are pretty much like the basic survey except they call and ask you the questions. Some companies use phone surveys to screen you for focus groups (online and in person), I do participate in the screening surveys because focus groups pay well.
There may be other types of surveys that I have missed and please feel free to let me know if there is something that should be added to the list. For the most part, you will see the first 2 types of surveys I have listed, probably 95% of the time. They don’t pay as much but there is less commitment from you and you can do them at your leisure.
Stay tuned for more Free Paid Survey information in future posts. Next time we will explore how to optimize your earnings and also will visit another survey site in detail so you can learn more about them. Subscribe to our updates so you don’t miss anything!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this series, please let us know!
Well thats my experience anyways.