The biggest thing to hit the internet in recent months is paid surveys. Paid Surveys actually aren't that new. People have been taking surveys for money for over thirty years now. But lately alot of websites are popping up claiming to pay you thousands of dollars for taking paid surveys online.

Most of these websites have nothing to do with paid surveys, market research, or any other type product tests or focus groups. They simpy pose as paid surveys to get you to buy a product or subscribe to their mailing list so they can sell your information to third parties.

However, there are several companies that really do pay you to take surveys online. These are market research firms that are hired by major companies to conduct research studies of their products or advertising methods. Big corporations spend Billions of dollars every year on advertising. They then hire market research companies to see if their advertising is working. In return market research companies will pay you a small fee to test a product or give your opinion of a commercial or other type of advertisement.

With so many paid survey scams out there it is difficult to tell the real from the fakes. Below is a list of questions commonly asked about taking paid surveys online.

Can I Really Get Paid To Take Surveys Online?

Believe or not the answer is yes. As I explained earlier, there are several companies that will pay you to participate in paid surveys, focus groups, product tests, and even mystery shops.

Will I Really Make $250 An Hour?

NO! It is claims like these that cause everyone to think that paid surveys is a scam. It is possible to be invited to participate in a focus group that pays $250 and only takes an hour of your time. But you will be lucky if you were to get more than one of those a year. They average paid survey pays between $5 and $20.

Should I Pay To Join A Paid Survey Site?

NO! NEVER! A legitimate paid survey site would never make you pay to work for them. Most sites that ask you to pay are simply directories of companies that you can join to take paid surveys. Lots of time these directories are outdated and worthless. There are lots of websites that offer the exact same information for free. You are usually fooled into joining one of these paid membership sites by claims of making thousands of dollars a month. Those sites don't even send paid surveys!

How Much Can I Expect To Make?

That all depends on you. You can make a couple dollars a month with one paid survey company. Or you can make a few hundred with several. It all depends on how many surveys you take. In order to make hundreds a month you would have to register with several paid surveys companies. Most companies will send only a few paid surveys a month. Although there are a few that will send several paid surveys a week. So the logic is... the more paid survey companies you are registered with, the more paid surveys you will be invited too, and the more money you will make taking paid surveys online. You will usually be asked a few questions prior to taking a survey to see if you fit the demographics they are looking for for that particular paid survey. You will not be qualified for all paid surveys.

How Do I get Paid?

Each paid survey company will have it's own payment system. Some will send you a check for each survey you take. Some pay you through Pay Pal. Others use a points system where you earn points for each paid survey and the points can be cashed in for cash payments, gift cards, or other merchandise. Some paid surveys will enter you into drawings or sweepstakes. Although these do not always pay, the odds are not that bad. Sometimes the survey may pay $100 to 100 people who took the survey. Which means if 1,000 people take that survey your chances of winning are 1 in 10. And they are usually pretty short surveys.

Where Can I Find Real Paid Surveys Without Paying For a Membership?

There are several Free Paid Surveys Directories online. Try Doing a search for "Taking Free Paid Surveys Online" at google.com . Or refer to the link at the bottom of this page for a site that lists lots of legitimate paid surveys. Once again, Never Pay A Fee To Join a Paid Survey Site.

What Are Some Good Paid Surveys To Join?

I have had the best experience with the following companies. This is my list of personal favorites: NFO My Survey Global Test Market Survey Spot Survey Savvy ECN REsearch Lightspeed Research Greenfield Online Test Spin Synovate Surveys ACOP E-Poll Poll CastCunningham Research Pinecone Research