The Top 10 Commandments Of Paid Online Surveys

UPDATE: A follow up post has been written to this article as it has become pertinent to let everyone know that It’s Time We Nigerians Forget About Paid Online Surveys

Thou shall not thread the path of making money online through paid online surveys without reading this post. Paid Online Surveys are said to be the easiest work from home business opportunity online today.

Note: This is a long post so I advice that if you can’t read it all online, scroll down and use the Print This Post link to get a printable version that you can read offline.

I’ve decided to share a little bit of what I’ve learnt so far in the area of Paid Online Surveys because most “gurus” are making a fortune selling LIES to people.

DON’T be fooled by “gurus” claiming that you could make as much as $250 a month from filling out online surveys. I was ecstatic when I bought one of those info-products on online surveys but when I finally started implementing all the report contained, I realized this was really a fool’s paradise.

Forget about online surveys sites that claim you can get paid from $25 – $75 per survey. What they are not telling you is that, you HAVE to try out a product before you get paid the big bucks and that 99% of the time when you cancel your trial period for these products you still won’t get credited.

Also good to know is the fact that some of these companies offering to pay you to try out their services can be deceitful. I remember rushing to get my Visa Gift Card and going straight to Cash Crate to fill out a product trial that would pay a whooping $15. The website was offering a 7 day trial window after which your credit/debit card would be charged $29.95 monthly thereafter. I signed up @ once only to check my online statement to see that they had actually deducted the money without my even starting the trial.

Luckily for me I was credited the $15. So you could say I basically bought the product for $14.95.

You will DEFINITELY not make a fortune from filling out online surveys but you’ll DEFINITELY make some extra spending cash. That said, if your plan was to hit it big through surveys, I advise you to look for another work from home job.

Most people actually make money through referring other people to this sites. So it’s like for every , say $5, your referral makes you get paid $1.

Personally, since I’m not a citizen or resident of USA or Canada, I use these survey sites mainly to shop @ cheaper rates and play games for money. I fill out surveys mostly when a digital downloadable product is involved but then again it’s left to you to do as you wish with the information below.

Please note that some of the information below has to do with Nigerians only.

LET’S GET STARTED

Preparing for Online Survey Participation

One thing we all ought to know when starting in the field of paid online surveys is that most countries are not welcome in some cases. You should know that most of these survey sites cater principally to the US & Canada extending a little bit to Australia and UK. So how do we go around this obstacle? Read on

Note: At the end of this post is a link to SOB’s Top 5 Free Paid Online Survey Sites

I. THOU SHALT MASK THY IP ADDRESS

You ought to change your IP address as it gives away your real location. I’ve tested a lot of free software and websites that can do this for you but so far the best in my opinion remains Ultra Surf 9.2 . It connects fastest amongst the lot of softwares I’ve tested. Also most of its servers are located in Canada & the US. This program doesn’t need to be installed and so it can be run in most cybercafés from your flash drive. When connected, go to WhatIsMyIPAddress to see your new IP location. If it shows US or Canada you’re good to go. You can also try Hotspot Shield. If you don’t want to download the softwares you can also use the following sites Indirect Connection & Free Proxy Server . Like I said before Ultra Surf 9.2 remains my NUMERO UNO.

NOTE: There’s an increase in sites offering free paid online survey opportunities to non US/Canadian residents.

II. THOU SHALT GET A VIRTUAL US ADDRESS

This is crucial as most of these survey sites that were previously paying via PayPal are going the check way due to the fraudulent activities of some individuals on their sites. If you don’t know anybody in the States, no need to panic as Graph Card comes to the rescue. Graph Card is run by the same management of VTN (Virtual Terminal Network).

What Graph Card does when you register with them is to give you a P.M.B @ their headquarters in the States. Below is a run through of their charges for this service.

The address you will get from them will look like this

LFR COMMUNICATIONS INC

PMB 1212, 8101 Sandy Spring Road,

Suite 220, Laurel MD 20707

USA.

Now when you’re asked for payee name on these sites, make sure you type in LFR COMMUNICATIONS INC . Now when your check arrives at their office, they cash the money and pay it into the account name that corresponds with the PMB on the package. That said, they recognize you by that PMB number. They charge a commission of 5% and pay the rest into your Graph Card account from where you can choose Western Union or Direct Payment into you bank account. For Nigerians, Guaranty Trust Bank is your best bet.

III. THOU SHALT GET A DEBIT CARD

Now this is for those who can really afford it. When you go through some of these survey sites, you will find out that there are some companies that pay as much as $15 to $150 for trying out their products. Now to get to fill these offers you’ll need a debit card as they could charge you any amount from 50 cents to qualify for the offer.

Example: Like I said in the beginning of this post, I unknowingly signed up for a home study course on affiliate marketing without reading the fine print and my card was charged $29.95 @ once. At the same time I was credited with $15 @ Cash crate where I had initiated the offer from. Now if I’d been living in the United States, I would have been receiving this home study course for the price of $9.95 if you get me. What I’m trying to say is you can sign on to so many companies to use their products and still make back half of your investment.

After this mistake I got wiser and started out to get the best I could of these offers. I did an Inbox Dollars 5 DVDs for 49 cents each offer (shipping and handling included) with the obligation to buy @ least one DVD @ $19.95 within the following year. When I ordered I also included a $19.95 DVD so as to end my contract with them there and then. For this I got a whooping $15 in my account instant. Do the maths, I spent roughly $23 and made $15. That’s 6 DVDs of the latest movies @ $9 only. Better still, I used a friend’s address and she brought the DVDs to me when she visited Nigeria 2 weeks later.

After that I signed up for Napster through Cash crate and got $5 off my subscription. Okay I know you’d be asking, how do I get a debit card now? Well you’ve got 3 options open to you.

a) Zenith MasterCard Web Surfer : This card is based on the MasterCard platform and is EXCLUSIVELY for online usage. It costs $20 a year. Initial deposit is $100 exclusive of card fees. Subsequent deposits attract a $5 fee per deposit. Card is activated in 24 hours or less.

The only problem with it is that some merchants don’t accept it or will ask you to provide scanned copies of your ID and MasterCard. Also if a merchant should refund your money for any reason, it takes 30 days to post to your account.

b) GTB MasterCard : For this you ought to have a foreign currency domiciliary account with them. The card costs $10. A minimum deposit of $100 is required and yearly maintenance costs $20. That’s $130 in all.

c) Graph Card : Offers you an anonymous Visa Gift Card. One thing I love about their service and another I hate @ the same time is that there’s no yearly maintenance fee but then the card is not reloadable. My first debit card was issued by them till I decided to switch to Zenith’s Mastercard Websurfer. You can reload your account via Graph Card Resellers or VTN .

After the card has been ordered you can expect to have the card in less than 12 hours. The card details include card number, expiry date and CVV 2 number. Now there’s a little problem. Your card isn’t registered to a name or address yet and that might pose a problem when registering or buying from some sites. Well, I simply used their Graph Card’s office address and it worked fine.

NOTE: Their email customer service sucks, so be prepared to call them if you have any problem. Apart from that I’ve got absolutely no complain about them and they happen to be the cheapest company I come across that offers Visa Gift Cards.

IV. THOU SHALT GET BROADBAND INTERNET CONNECTION

Some of these survey sites use a lot of flash & high quality images and videos so your Dial-Up/GPRS connection is just not going to cut it. Speed is needed if you expect to make cash in online surveys. Get a 3G or 3.5G connection.

V. THOU SHALT GET A PAYPAL ACCOUNT OR BORROW ONE

Some sites no longer pay through PayPal BUT some still do. I have an account which has been operational since my last 2 visits to London. You could try getting a friend over in the States or any PayPal accepted country to help you receive your money. Register illegally and risk having your funds frozen when caught.

VI. THOU SHALT GET A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

In some cases you might be getting a large volume of emails from these sites so it’s good to have separate email accounts for them that way your important mails don’t get mixed up in so much survey offers.

NOTE: Try and read the fine print always as your email might be given out to various organizations who will spam the life out of your inbox but then again it shouldn’t bug you that much since you’re using a new one. In some reports I’ve read, some “gurus” have suggested you sign up with each survey sites 3 -4 times so as to get more jobs. LISTEN UP. It’s BULLSHIT. You’ll only subject yourself to more work making it hard for you to get to the minimum cash payout. Besides once you get caught, you will be removed from their system and will so doing forfeit your earnings.

VII. THOU SHALT BE PROMPT AND MUST SIGN IN REGULARLY

Most of these offers are gone before you know it because in some cases a particular number of people are needed per survey and once the spots are filled, you’re left out.

That said always endeavor to respond to all emails as soon as you can. That way you wouldn’t miss out on a good opportunity. Some sites take note of people who complete surveys faster and so send them more jobs than others. Some sites also shut you out when they notice you haven’t been responding to their emails for quite a while.

VIII. THOU SHALT MAKE ROBOFORM YOUR FRIEND

This tool is a must if you want to complete surveys fast. It serves as a toolbar application that helps fill in data such as name, address, email, passwords etc fast without re-typing every time. Get the free version here. Google Toolbar also helps.

IX. THOU SHALT RESPOND TO ALL OFFERS IF POSSIBLE

You can’t afford to be picky! If you want to make money with paid online surveys, you need to answer ALL surveys that are sent out to you. These survey sites take note of how frequently you respond or reject offers and these counts towards future mailings to you. You might just be jeopardizing your chances of being offered the big bucks’ surveys.

Also note that for every 10 survey offers sent to your email, you might only be eligible to participate in NONE. THAT’S THE REALITY OF THINGS!

X. THOU SHALT BE HONEST

These sites offer screening questions which must be answered before survey offers will be sent your way. You can lie about your name, address, email, phone number etc but be careful when answering personal preferences questions like hobbies and interests.

You can never tell what they are looking for @ any point in time and lying in your personal preferences could cost you some survey opportunities. What I’m trying to say here is: Surveys are sent out based on these screening questions so do endeavor to answer as truthfully as possible.

So there you have it. SOB’s Top 10 Commandments of one of the best work from home jobs: Paid Online Surveys.

If you’ve REALLY digested all the above, here is SOB’s Top 5 Free Paid Online Survey Sites. Start registering and making money online now!

1. Nigerians It’s Time We Forget About Paid Online Surveys This post is a joint effort by MK Akan (90%) and StrictlyOnlineBiz (10%) When the make money online buzz took off in Nigeria, paid online surveys was on everybody’s lips and spread like wildfire thus I wrote one of my top five most visited posts; The Top 10 Commandments Of...
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