Paid Survey Success

You already know paid surveys are a good way to make some money on the internet, but it isn’t the only way to make money online.  There are dozens of other ways besides paid surveys that you can use to make some extra cash.  Since it’s always a good idea to diversify your sources of income I want to introduce you to some of them.

One way that I use to make money online is freelance writing.  Did you know that there are hundreds of companies and websites that are always looking for people to do their writing for them?  The pay isn’t always great, but once you start to get established you can earn a substantial amout of money every month.  If you don’t believe me just take a look at what Chris Bibey has done with his writing skills at ChrisBlogging.com

You don’t have to be a Pulitzer prize winning writer either to make money this way.  All you need is an enjoyment of the writing process and the desire to make money doing it.  Website content is easy to write and the pay can range anywhere from $5 for a 500 word article to $50 or more for a 500 word article.

The key here is repeat work and not underpricing yourself.  Many freelance writers started out taking very low paying writing jobs that turned into repeat business for them at a much higher rate.  If you can deliver quality writing consistently you’ll find that your customers will keep coming back for more.  This gives you a steady stream of income and also allows you to command a higher price for your work in the future.

Here’s a short list of 5 freelance writing sites to get you started.  Remember, you don’t need to quit your job in the first month, but you can build a solid business through freelance writing.

Associated Content – This is where I started and while the pay isn’t great it is a start.  They will pay you anywhere from $3.53 (the lowest I made) to $10 (the highest I’ve heard) for your original articles.  Plus, you get an additional $1.50 for every 1000 page views your articles receive.  So, you not only get paid upfront, but you make continuing residual income.

Helium – Helium is another site that pays you a revenue share for the articles you publish there.  One nice feature of Helium is the Writers Marketplace where companies post their needs and they pay from $16 to $200 per article.  Go take a look, maybe there’s something already posted that you’re an expert on.  This is a great way to break into writing full time.

Review Stream – This site pays for reviews of darn near everything.  Anywhere from $0.40 to $2.00 per review.  You won’t get rich, but you can make a nice bit of extra money pretty easily.

I Freelance – This is a huge freelancing auction, not just for writers, but for all types of freelancers.  You bid on a project and if you win you get paid.  IFreelance is a good place to get started simply because of the sheer number of offers there.  Two downsides are you have to pay a monthly fee to bid, currently starting at $3.91 a month and when you start there you’ll have to bid low to win jobs.  Once you have a track record and a portfolio you can raise your bids and win more profitable jobs.

Online Writing Jobs  – Some higher paying jobs here, but mostly lower paying jobs.  Another good place to get your feet wet and find some longer term customers willing to pay you what you’re worth after you’ve proven yourself.

There are more sites like this around, but I don’t want to overwhelm you right now.  These will get you started and if you do a search on “freelance writing” you’ll turn up plenty of additional research and reading material.  The best advice I can give you now is just get out there and do it!

Popularity: 15% [?]

Everyone wants the highest paying surveys, because these are the real money makers among paid surveys.  So what’s the deal with these high paying surveys, the ones that are claimed to pay $75-$150?  You rarely hear of anyone who actually takes these highest paid surveys so do they really exist?  Or are the high paid surveys simply a creation of the paid survey companies made to get more people to register with them?

The truth is that these surveys do exist, but they aren’t offered all the time or to just everyone that signs up to take paid surveys.  I have taken several surveys that paid over $50 and even one that paid me $225!  The key to getting these surveys is to make the market research companies know that you’re important and that you’re reliable.

Many people turn down the surveys for $1 or $2, but these are the surveys that create a track record for you with the survey company.  When they need survey takers for the highest paying surveys who do you think they turn to?  Don’t miss out on the big paying surveys later by declining these smaller surveys now.

If you think you are going to sit down today and start taking paid surveys and make thousands of dollars a month your first few months you’re wrong.  More realistically you can make several hundred dollars in the first month doing paid surveys and will be able to slowly increase that as the survey companies begin to send you the higher paying surveys.

The people that have made a full time job from survey taking haven’t done so overnight.  They have taken the time to build a good reputation with the survey companies and they are known to be reliable.  They will take surveys regardless of the size of the reward and that is why they get the highest paying surveys now.

Once you find the highest paying surveys the next trick is to actually get accepted to take them.  If you’ve been taking surveys for any amount of time I am sure that you, like me, have missed out on some high paying surveys simply because you were too late to the game.  If you’re only checking your email once a day or less then you will very likely miss these high paying surveys because once the invitations go out they are snapped up pretty quickly.  Keep an eye on your email if you want to take the highest paying surveys.

Another reason people miss out on the highest paying surveys is that they limit themselves to just a few survey companies.  When they don’t get that $75 survey after a few weeks they give up.  Well, that won’t work if you want high paying surveys.  You’ve got to register with as many survey companies as possible, at least several dozen and a couple hundred is better.

Once you’ve registered make sure you’re checking emails several times a day and for the first month or two respond to every survey possible.  Once you’ve established yourself as reliable to the survey companies they will reward you with the highest paying surveys out there.  I can tell you it’s quite a rush when you get that first $75 survey!

Popularity: 43% [?]

Make Money With MyLot Discussions

MyLot is not a survey site per se, but it is a place to make more money online for doing things you’re probably already doing. It is similar to 43Things where you create discussions and blogs and comment on others discussions. It also allows you to share photos and news and the best part is you get paid for all of these things!

Once you register for MyLot it is easy to start making money, just create a discussion or comment on discussions that are already out there. With over 100,000 users there is sure to be something of interest to you to comment on. There are also interest groups you can search to find people and discussions that are inline with your own interests. Subjects like “What I want to do with my life” or “Types of pets I enjoy” can spark your creativity and allow you to meet like minded people.

MyLot requires a $10 minimum before payment and they pay through PayPal which I like because it is very convenient. They also pay through Moneybookers depending on what country you live in. Anyone over the age of 16 can participate and get paid from MyLot.

Users can participate from anywhere in the world, however regulations set forth by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an office of the US Treasury, prohibits myLot from sending money to certain countries.

To make the most money from MyLot you want to start your own discussions. You will get paid for each response to your discussions. The pay rate increases after 10 responses so make sure you post thought provoking discussion topics to get as many people as possible participating. Fill out your profile and make friends on MyLot. This will also increase your earnings since you can then post comments to each others discussions. Finally, refer others to MyLot because you get paid a percentage of everything your referrals make as well.

Overall this is a nice program if you like to read others thoughts and comment yourself. I was doing this already on blogs, but it is much nicer to get paid for it.

Popularity: 14% [?]