How to Make $5 a Month on Swagbucks (with minimal effort)

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Thrifty Thursday: Survey Sites part 5

     Now, on to what is probably the most profitable use of your time--online focus groups. Online focus groups (or even in person ones if you can find a company in your area) generally pay pretty well for your time. They can pay anywhere from $50-200, depending on the subject and how long the study is. The catch is if you can get into one. They are often looking for really specific demographics. 

Thrifty Thursday: Survey Sites part 4

     Okay, a couple weeks ago, I went into all my grievences with programs like Inbox Dollars and Panda Research. Now I want to tell you about the sites that are a little similar to those, but ones I actually like.
     The first one is Swagbucks. If you've been online any amount of time, you've probably heard of Swagbucks before. If you haven't signed up for it and would like to, you can do so here.
     Swagbucks is a little like Inbox Dollars and the others in that it does offer points for shopping and signing up for stuff and it does offer surveys (which usually don't offer enough for me to bother with), but it also offers you points (or Swagbucks) for things that the others don't.
     Swagbucks started out as a search engine. And they will randomly give you "swagbucks" for doing web searches on their search engine. Web searching is something we probably all do anyway. So why not get rewarded for it?
     There are also daily things you can do, like the NOSO (no obligation special offers) and take the daily poll. If you have the toolbar installed, you automatically get a swagbuck for logging in. You'll get 4 points for those 3 things. No it's not much (it takes 450 swagbucks to get a $5 Amazon card) but it adds up over time.
     MyPoints--This is another shop-to-earn site where you get points for shopping through them and will occassionally get points for other things. I believe they occassionally offer surveys, but I don't think they pay much.
     The main reason I actually signed up with MyPoints was because of their affiliation with BzzAgent. I'll talk about BzzAgent in another post. Just like swagbucks you can usually get points by shopping. My favorite thing to get is Magazines (via myPoints' partnership with Magazines.com). I get points by linking to magazines.com through MyPoints.
     So check them out, have a little fun. ;-)

Thrifty Thursday: Survey Sites (part 3)

     Okay, here is part three of my short series of online surveys. Today I'm going to be talking about the sites that I recommend you stay away from! These are not strictly survey sites (though they do have surveys on them).

     Back when I first started signing up for "survey sites," drawn in by the potential of earning money for my opinions and and "free" offers (plus the $5 sign up incentive), I signed up with a site called InboxDollars. This site gives you so many cents or dollars for various offers, including daily surveys (which I think were 50 cents apiece). However, you could only take one survey a day and often I was screened out of them. So I got frustrated pretty quick. You can also sign up for "paid emails" which gives you like 2 cents for each email you open and they are usually ads. 

Thrifty Thursday: Survey Sites (part 2)

      Okay, today I'm continuing my post on online survey sites, or market research companies. Last week I told you about which ones I plan to stick with for now. Today I'm going to tell you which ones (in my opinion) you shouldn't waste your time on.

Thrifty Thursday: Survey Sites (part one)

     This week I thought I would right a post or two about taking online surveys. There are quite a few online survey companies looking for a variety of demographics and taking online surveys can be a good way to make a few extra dollars here and there. Please note this is not a full time income (maybe $100 a year if you're a member of a few companies and take a lot of surveys) but if you happen to have the time and enjoy sharing your opinion, you might like to try it out. 

     I have tried quite a few "market research panels," as they call themselves, am still part of a couple and have quit participating in others.
     It is just a matter of deciding which ones are worth your time. How much do they offer for your time? What are the incentives? Do you feel the given incentives are worth the time you put into the surveys? I don't generally like to do surveys that pay less than $1 per 10 minutes (and even that makes for a low "hourly" rate) unless I'm really interested in the subject matter. For example, I'm a real sucker for surveys on baby products. :-P

     So, based on my experiences with each of these companies, I will start with the companies that I definitely plan to stay with. These are the ones I have found to be most productive and enjoyable for me, personally. Some sites state a dollar amount per survey, and some use "points" that are worth so much.

     1. MySurvey--This has become one of my favorites, not because it always pays great for surveys (because sometimes it doesn't) but this is the only survey site so far that has actually sent products to try, then give my opinion.
     Many market research companies advertise that they do this, but MySurvey is the only one I personally have received anything from. I have gotten to try diapers, cookies and teething gel so far. So, since I love trying out products, that alone has made me more inclined to do surveys with MySurvey, even if the surveys don't always pay what I like. You never know when that low-paying survey will ask if you're willing to receive a product to try, then take a follow-up survey (which will give you more points). At My Survey, each point is worth 1 cent. So a 100 point survey is worth $1. Let me know if you would like a referral--I have to send it to your email. 

     2. Mindfield Online--Sometimes Minefield Online pays ok for surveys, sometimes the amounts offered are rather small. I just take the ones I feel are worth the time. It can take a while to add up, especially since many of the surveys pay small amounts. 

    3. Surveyhead--Like Opinion Outpost, Surveyhead surveys are hit-or-miss on whether they are worth the time. The survey sites Focusline and Mommytalk both almost always redirect to Surveyhead now, so just save yourself time and only sign up for Surveyhead. 

     I will post next week about sites I have found to be more of a waste of time. So check back. :-)