Completing paid surveys online is one of the most flexible ways to earn some extra income outside of a daily job. Getting started is easy! People all over the world share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences by answering a series of questions online, and receive payouts or rewards for their time.

At FlashField, these surveys are our bread and butter. We understand how they work and want you to as well! In this Resource, we go over some of the ways you can make taking surveys work for you, so that you can use your time with us - or any other reliable platform - optimally and profitably.

Earning from surveys: Best Practices

All you need to get started is an internet-enabled device and an internet connection to unlock a world of opportunities. The time you want to put in is completely up to you - survey takers can participate when they want, from where they want, and as often as they want.

Begin by identifying the right platform for you.

The biggest (and very valid) concern that most people have when it comes to taking paid surveys is that they just aren’t sure if the survey is legitimate. The best way to avoid having to invest time in finding real surveys with real payouts is to have someone else do it for you. Pick a trustworthy platform that takes care of the vetting process, letting you get right to taking the surveys you qualify for. The platforms you work with should be:

• reliable, consistent, transparent: making it easy for you to find and take advantage of opportunities with regularity, and understand exactly what you’ve earned when.
• secure and compliant: to ensure that the process is in line with regulations put in place to keep you safe online.
• easy-to-navigate: so that you, the respondent, have a pleasant experience and are able to focus your time on providing responses that can help you earn.
• For more on avoiding fraudulent surveys and platforms, check out our Resource on How to Identify the right platform.

Once you’ve signed up, try to fill out your profile as much as you can.

Most platforms will let you get started with just a few required pieces of information, like your name and age or location. This is fine to get you set up and on your way to earning through surveys, but it’s not the most optimal way of going about it. Real surveys sometimes have criteria they want respondents to meet, like where they live or whether they have children. By filling out your profile and keeping it up to date, you help the platform reach out to you with more surveys that you are eligible for.

When taking the survey - any survey - be authentic and honest with your responses.

Any credible platform or research company wants authentic, good data, and that comes from credible responses. Respondents sometimes try to guess what they think the answers should be - this is a mistake! There are no right or wrong answers here, and trying to fake yours could result in not receiving a payout or worse, a ban, depending on the platform. Credibility is key, and it works both ways in a healthy panel!

After you’re up and running, get a good groove going!

Consistency is key to optimizing your rewards from paid surveys. Make sure that you are checking for new surveys regularly. Make sure your preferred platform is able to reach you about new surveys you might be eligible for via email or text message, or login to your account regularly to stay connected. Some surveys have a limited number of respondents or a time period during which they can be taken - don’t miss out on these!

Always remember to look out for your own convenience and comfort.

The beauty of earning through paid surveys is that you can take a survey at any time, from anywhere, so use that flexibility! As a Respondent, you are an integral part of the system that makes market research work. You should be comfortable taking a survey, reaching out for support through the platform you have chosen, and rest assured knowing that your contribution is making a difference - and of course, be confident in your payout.

So, what’s in it for companies? Or the platform?

Paid surveys are part of market research, and is a vital part of how several industries make informed decisions about their offering. A better understanding of what real people with real experience and opinions want helps improve products and services across sectors. However, this method of market research only works if the sample is representative of the population - i.e. if the people taking the survey reflect the actual population that could use the product or service in question. That’s where panel experts like FlashField come in.

Our job is to help respondents like you reach the people who need your responses. We try to do this by speedily providing accurate data gathered from authentic respondents to our client companies. We believe the simplest, best way to go about this is to create a healthy ecosystem - from Respondent to Client. That’s why we have invested in making a respondent-oriented platform from scratch - we want you to feel good about your contribution, while confidently receiving your payout.

Cons of taking online surveys

This is a good point to talk about some of the downsides of online paid surveys. While it opens up opportunities for people around the world to earn by sharing their opinions and experiences, like all things it has its own disadvantages:

Regularity is not guaranteed.

Surveys are not typically conducted at regular intervals – they are designed to get answers to specific questions. Each one has a specific sample in mind in order to get accurate results from a particular population. You might not have a survey available to take when you need to, and might have periods when you are not qualified to take a survey.

It does not replace employment

Incentivized surveys are great to supplement your income at your convenience. The payout scale is lower than other part time or full-time jobs and is more comparable to some extra income as opposed to another stream of income.

There is an effort investment.

Taking a survey does not require any particular skill set, training, set time availability, or monetary investment, but it does need some effort. You also need a device and internet connection to be able to take a survey.

Scams and Frauds

As we discuss in our resource on spotting real from fake, there are many people out there who pose as survey-taking platforms while running fraudulent operations. There is  a degree of caution you need to apply when looking for the right option for you.

What’s in it for you, the Respondent?

As part of a credible platform, it should be easy for you to receive tangible rewards through paid surveys taken at your convenience. In addition to the payout, you should know that the time you invest in these surveys has a multifold impact on the world we’ll see tomorrow. Every question you answer has been carefully considered, and impacts how we understand our world.

"We understand the business of market research. The internet changed how the business operates quite dramatically, opening up avenues for companies and respondents alike. At FlashField, we believe that the best way to enable people to take advantage of all incentivized surveys have to offer is to create a system catered specifically to the Respondents on our platform, and to operate with transparency. We take great care to ensure that every survey on our platform is from a credible company that can follow through on the promised payouts. Our goal is to make it easy for anyone to benefit from incentivized surveys."