THE CLAIM: You can make extra cash by taking surveys online.
Here we go! I have heard that taking surveys online is the easiest way to make some extra cash. Lets find out if this side hustle is legit.
Who did I use for my surveys?
I have decided to try out Survey Junkie. Survey Junkie is an online market research community wholly owned by consumer insights platform DISQO, which delivers data and analytics to the market research industry.
This is what the website states. You take Surveys by building your profile & they will match you to surveys. When you complete the survey you earn virtual points that can then be redeemed for Paypal or eGiftcards. One blog I read said you can earn a couple hundred dollars a month by completing a couple surveys a day.
The Survey Junkie website goes on to say there are two communities you can participate in. Their core Survey Junkie community which offers opportunities to share your perspective via attitudinal based market research. Then there is the SJ Pulse Community which offers opportunities to engage in behavioral market research.
Attitudinal research includes activities such as taking surveys or participating in focus groups. Behavioral research includes opting in to share de-identified digital browsing activity which is collected via SJ Pulse. Its pretty much gibberish to me at this moment. But I am sure the details will work itself out over time.
How to Participate. Survey Junkie has a number of profile questions that you may complete to help them match you with studies that are relevant to your background and interests. Individuals with more detailed profiles will be better matched to survey opportunities.
Participation in each of these surveys is voluntary, and you will be rewarded for it with cash.
Sharing your opinion
Let’s talk about sharing your opinion Or in this case mine. The most popular way most people participate on Survey Junkie is by sharing their perspectives in surveys. When your profile meets the preliminary criteria for a particular research study, you will see the survey within your Survey Junkie dashboard.
When you choose to participate in a survey, the information you provide is captured only by the entity conducting the survey. That probably important to know.
Your completion of the survey remains completely optional. If you happen to decide you don’t want to answer the questions asked, that’s okay! Simply close the survey and choose something else from the Survey Junkie dashboard, if you’d like.
Please note that you will only receive the reward listed if you successfully complete the survey, so if you elect to withdraw from a study, you’ll no longer be eligible for its reward.
In an attempt to answer some questions before you ask them, here is additional information.
First, what is de-identified data? Every day, hundreds of thousands of people like you take surveys and share digital behaviors via the Survey Junkie platform. Survey responses are directly collected by the party conducting the research. You choose what you want to share, and Survey Junkie will never pass along any personally identifiable information, protecting your anonymity. If you choose to participate in SJ Pulse, digital activity is likewise de-identified.
What is market research?
Every day, companies are looking for ways to improve the products and services they offer and make them more appealing for people like you. To figure out the best course of action — which feature to add, which promotion to offer, etc — they conduct research into the market, which is anyone who might be interested in their product or service. To conduct this research, they reach out to DISQO, which is our business-facing consumer insights platform that works with researchers at the reputable brands you love.
At times, market research may include research into which advertising messages or visuals are the most appealing or effective. In these instances, we may show you an advertisement in either a survey setting or a natural setting (if you’ve elected to participate in Survey Junkie Pulse).
As with all other types of market research we enable, your responses and reactions to these ads are likewise de-identified. No personally identifiable information is ever shared.
My Plan.
Below is a nifty diagram to illustrate the process I will be doing to make money from taking surveys.
How did I sign up?
Here are the steps I took to sign up and start taking my surveys.
I started my profile which gave me an extra 50 points. There are 16 additional questions that I will spare you the snippets of. Just know, you should answer all of them to get the full experience.
Next, I setup my Activity Preferences
Every time you log in you get asked more questions that you get points for. You get the points immediately upon completion of the questionnaire. Here is an example of some login questions.
Survey Time
Now its time to do my first set of surveys. Below is my dashboard which shows me several things. It shows my points, they types of surveys I can take, and how much time they will take. It’s pretty easy to gather points, I just need to devote the appropriate amount of time.
From the dashboard above, you click on whatever survey you want to take. Pay close attention to how long the survey will take and then answer all the questions they ask and bam, you get the points.
Types of surveys I have taken.
- Survey on travel during Covid. Would I, wont I, that kind of stuff.
- Survey on lots of things from politics, to local community satisfaction and shopping.
- Wireless phones and mobile service providers.
My Observations.
One of the problems I have noticed is, I do not qualify for some of the surveys I try to take. Not sure why but when that happens they do give you 3 or 4 points just for trying. I would say I don’t qualify for many of the surveys because I am old fogey and nobody wants to hear my opinion. This happens more often than you would think.
They do ask questions every time I open the program. They give points for this. That is nice but can be somewhat annoying at times.
A few time I was 20 minutes into a survey, then all of a sudden they say its full. I suspect, they determine full by the number of completed surveys rather than participants currently taking the survey. Be aware of wasted time.
Payment method and proof.
To start getting paid you have to have earned 500 pts. I chose Paypal as my form of payment. Here is my proof of payment.
My slightly biased opinion.
I was going to take a 30 day challenge on this one because you definitely earn money which means I can’t say this side hustle is a flop. But the problem is, you devote a fair bit of your time for pennies on the dollar. Think of it this way, I took several 15 minute surveys that paid me 50 points. That equates to 50 cents for that 15 minute timeframe. In other words, you are making $2.00 an hour. That’s not enough money for me to consider this side hustle as a viable option.
I will continue to take some surveys here or there but I am definitely worth more than a couple bucks an hour. Its probably good when you are sitting there at the Doctors office or on the toilet.
Verdict: LEGIT
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