Feeling lucky? There are thousands of online competitions out there in the UK at any given time so we make things a little easier for you by listing some of the sites which run regular free prize draw competitions.

The great thing about prizes being offered as a reward at survey sites, is that very often there may be very few people in the study so that you do actually stand a great chance of winning the bigger prizes. This would not be the case at lottery or other gaming sites where you have to compete against millions of others.

Earn money from Cashback websites

Cashback websites have become perhaps the most popular way to make money online. Nearly everyone uses the Internet when it comes to doing some of their shopping – so why not earn cashback when you buy anything online. Cashback websites pay people to shop online using any of the retailers and services listed on their website. Anyone can start earning cashback and all of the major retailers are listed on most of the cashback sites. Over the course of a year, you can potentially save thousands of pounds as a result of using cashback websites.

Get Paid to Upload Videos

The prolific rise of websites such as YouTube has meant that Videos have become a very valuable form of content on the Internet. Popular videos help companies to increase traffic to their website and help generate more ad displays. Therefore many websites are willing to pay people to display their videos on their websites. Instead of uploading your video to YouTube, why not upload it to a site like Demand Media which will pay you for doing so, according to the videos popularity. You will get a share of advertising revenue generated by your video.

Get Paid for Medical Testing

Although not strictly an online marketing activity, medical testing recruitment is often solely advertised on the Internet. Participants are able to join a medical testing organisation and, after filling in a profile and answering certain medical/health questions, the website will then invite you to any available medical tests/trials in your area. Medical testing can be one of the most lucrative of activities however there are certain measured risks with some trials that need to be borne in mind. Of course, medical testing isn’t everyones cup of tea but you will be paid a decent sum of money and you will be contributing to the development of breakthrough treatments which affect everyones life.

Get Paid to vote for Sites Online

Subvert And Profit is a website that pays its users to vote for stories and sites on the Internet. The site makes money by helping companies to rank higher in social media sites such as Digg and Stumble Upon, as a result of getting it’s users to either vote positively on websites that interest them, or vote negatively on competitor websites. The sites with most votes go to the top of the charts, and onto the frontpage of the site.

Make Money from the Stock market

Making money from the stock market has been a risky but exciting option for internet users for quite a while now. The allure of making a fast buck draws in the crowd and thanks to the internet, getting involved is really easy and you can get going almost instantly with minimal knowledge and effort. However, you need to consider the risks before you get involved, it is after all, just a form of gambling.

Get Paid to Blog

Some people enjoy writing and enjoy leaving feedback on various subjects. PayPerPost is a website which pays people for making blog comments. If your comment meets the acceptance criteria and gets published you will be paid for your efforts. If you are a prolific writer able to generate vast amounts of content quickly then this may be an option for you. The better the quality the more you will be paid as earnings at sites such as these are often tied to the level of popularity and ad displays that your comments generate.

Earn money from your Photos

If you are an avid photographer and have a talent for producing interesting and professional photography, you will be able to earn money for your efforts from websites which pay people to upload their photos. These websites (such as Fotolia or iStock) allow budding photographers to earn a commission (ranging from 20% to 50%) of royalties earnt whenever someone downloads and uses your photo from their gallery. These websites contain thousands of different photographs which people can purchase to use on their own websites, magazines, books, etc. This is one of the more popular ways that people can earn money online.

Get Paid to test and review Products

As a product tester you can get paid to test products and often get to keep the products for free at the end of the trial! There are websites such as paidproducttesting.co.uk who are willing to reward people for receiving, testing and reviewing various products. Product testing isn’t that different from getting paid to complete surveys – except that you will be sent items through the post which you will be able to use and then answer questions on your experience with the product. Reliable Product testers are always wanted by market research companies.

For online product reviews, there are only a few websites which pay people to write product reviews online, but these sites are very popular. All you need to do is register with the website, complete the application form, then log in and start reviewing thousands of products that are listed. Product review websites are usually free to join, and you can usually earn a couple of pounds per review.

Earn Money From Affiliate Programmes

Making money from affiliate programmes is probably the most popular way to make money on the Internet. Millions of people all around the world are currently make a living by earning money from a variety of different affiliate programmes. If you have a blog or website, you can start to earn a great deal of money by .

The idea of an affiliate program is simple – you link to a shop directly on your website, and any sales that you manage to generate from your affiliate link will earn you a commission. This rate of commission is dependant on your relationship with that affiliate website. Some affiliates might earn %5 of the final value of the sale, others might earn %20. It will depend entirely on the shop that you are linking to. One of the great things about affiliate programs is that there are so many of them to choose from – meaning that no-matter what the subject of your website is, you are sure to be able to find an affiliate program that suits your site. This will enable you to earn an impressive amount of money from linking to online retailers directly from your own personal webspace. Make Money From Affiliate Programs Online.

Data Input

Inputting data is one job that can be done anywhere you have a computer and internet access. Data entry isn’t the most thrilling of tasks but if where you have any spare time, there will be lots of companies looking to outsource any data entry tasks that members of the public are able to complete. These types of jobs can be completed at your own leisure from home and at your own time. These kind of jobs are free to pick up and you could earn a tidy packet £50-100 a week depending on the complexity of the task and how quickly you can complete it.

Matched Betting

Matched betting is a great way of making money online so long as you are disciplined with using betting sites correctly. If properly done, you could earn thousands of pounds from only a few hours work. The concept of matched betting is about making bets online at a bookies website but only making bets that are at a minimum risk. It means you do not lose any money but you still qualify for lots of free online bonuses which would more than cover any loss you make, thereby earning you a small profit. You will need to be over 18 and have a debit/credit card, and be based in a country that allows online gambling. The potential to earn money is limited only by the number of bookies offering registration bonuses. You will of course need to fork out the minimum bet at each bookmaker but if you apply the process across all available bookmakers, you should make a tidy sum (although nothing is guaranteed).

Ebay

Ebay can be a very lucrative source of income, especially if you know of some good wholesalers and have good information of the online marketplace. Millions of people make an income working from home using Ebay as their own online shop, discovering a niche market and then developing and selling a product. Wholesalers are very common on Ebay at the moment, and this involves purchasing goods in bulk at discount prices and then selling the items individually on the Ebay auction website. You could earn a lot of money on Ebay, it all depends on how successful you are at finding and selling products. This method of making money online will also require a little money to start things off.

Website advertising>

Website advertising is the mainstay of income generation for millions of websites around the world. You will need to invest time and effort in developing your own website but the effort you put in, should be paid back in advertising revenue if your visitors enjoy using your site as much as you. You need to place advertising banners in key areas around your site. The more users view banners and click on them, the more money you will earn. The longer your visitors stay on your website, re-visit and interact with your website, the more you can potentially earn. Google adsense is a great way to start earning an income from website advertising.

Focus groups are a form of market research, where a small group of people are brought together in a single location (or in an online chatroom) and asked their opinions and thoughts on a wide range of things from product design, to topical issues in the news. Focus groups usually last from 30 minutes to a couple of hours and are paid very handsomely from £10 to £100 + expenses depending on the length of the session.

Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping is a form of research which aims to measure the effectiveness of a companies’ customer service offering. It involves signing up to a free mystery shopping website where you will be invited to visit a local supermarket or other shop and by making some purchases as if they were a genuine customer. You will be expected to give your comments and observations on your shopping experience. This allows a company to independently check how well they are serving their customers in a real life scenario. Mystery shopping is also well paid. Mystery shoppers can expect to receive anywhere from £10-100 for each task completed depending on the complexity of the task they are being asked to undertake. However mystery shopping assignments are still quite scarce and you have to establish a good reputation with mystery shopping agencies before you are offered the more lucrative assignments.

Paid reviews

It’s quite surprising to see how many people spend time writing up their opinions and personal reviews on Amazon or their personal blog. Most people don’t realise that you can actually be paid to write your opinions. As a website reviewer you can earn money online writing reviews and opinions on a wide variety of subjects. Reviews are typically 50-150 words in length and are usually paid on a per review submission basis.

Some reviews are paid on the amount of traffic they generate or are incentivised through points or prize draw incentives. So if you are a regular bulletin board contributor, have a knack for writing or simply prefer to write reviews rather than filling out paid surveys, this is a great alternative and a quick way of earning cash.You don’t have to be an expert on the subject, websites are simply looking for genuine responses to the articles they write on their site.

The product review websites are free to join with no obligations, and they will pay you every time another member reads and rates one of your reviews.

There are not many requirements to use these product reviewing websites; however you do need to generally be at least 16 years old and based in the country where the review website has a base.

To earn good money you need to write quality product reviews, and you need to build up a reputation for being a good, fair author. The more users you get to read and rate your reviews, the more money you will earn. Therefore it pays to be popular.

When your cash earnings reach a certain amount you can cash them in; through Amazon vouchers, paypal or directly into your bank account.

Website usability reviews

A more recent service offering provided by market research companies is to offer clients the opportunity to get their website reviewed by active internet users. This is often similar to a mystery shopping exercise, only online, where users are invited to give honest appraisals of a live website and undergo a series of tasks to test the websites usability. Companies are always looking to test for poor navigation, complicated ordering processes, bad design elements, poor browser compatibility and anything else which might be losing them money. As a site reviewer you can earn money performing these tests as well and help improve the state of the internet at the same time.

Get Paid for receiving and reading emails

Believe it or not, there are thousands of web services that allow you to get paid for receiving and reading their newsletters and advertiser emails.These websites are often cashback or loyalty websites that allow you to sign-up and earn points or cash rewards for engaging with their website and viewing advertiser offers. Registration is usually free. The best rewards are usually tied to a the purchase of certain products however these types of sites can also provide quick rewards (check out Mutual Points) which allow you to earn points or cashback without spending a penny but performing tasks such as performing a product search, completing a survey, joining a competition or a newsletter programme. Mutual Points allows users to earn points simply for visiting their advertisers site and reading their emails. Sure, so it won’t allow you to retire but over time it all adds up to a tidy sum and the more you participate, the more you can earn.

Get Paid to win and play games

If you like playing online games, this is a perfect way for getting paid for spending time doing what you like doing best.It sounds too good to be true but there are thousands of companies looking to promote their games and build a loyal fan base and therefore are willing to spend money to get people to play their games. So if you would like to play free games and earn money or be entered into prize draws for doing so, look no further.

Make Money Playing Computer Games

Yes, it is true. Whether you are just a casual gamer or a full-on gaming expert, you can earn money from playing computer games online. One way to do this is by exploiting the virtual worlds of games such as Second Life and World Of Warcraft. Millions of people play these games online from all over the world, and as they have their own in-game currency and markets, it is now very possible to convert this virtual money into real money. There are also lots of online gaming websites that enable you to win cash prizes by competing against other online gamers. If you have the time to practice, you may have what it takes to become an expert and start to make money. What’s more, if you register with gaming sites through cashback websites, you will make some money just by registering.

Earn money from playing bingo & lottery

If you are the kind of person who enjoys a flutter but still haven’t managed to win the lottery, you can save a fortune and play online bingo sites for free (new visitors only).

Also, by joining a lottery syndicate website as an affiliate member, you can make money from getting people to play the lottery online. You can get money from referring new members to the website, and you can also get to play the game online for free. All you need to do is register, validate your registration and get playing. It’s as simple as that.Just remember you have to be in it to win it.

Get Paid to use Casino sites

A number of casino sites nowadays offer great deals to tempt you to sign up. This means giving you a big cash deposit to get you started. So whether you’re a regular punter or a newbie to the casino world, giving the casino sites a go can be a lot of fun and for limited commitment. The providers in this section offer completely free sign up cash or registration bonuses based upon your initial deposit amount.

Free Betting

Get free online betting and gambling bonuses, free bet and registration bonuses, special event bonus bets and more in this section. There are hundreds of pounds in free bets and gaming bonuses given away by online bookmakers inside and serving the UK daily so if you fancy an online gamble then you might as well take advantage of them.

More Activities to Earn Money From

MySpace is the main culprit, as soon as you login chances are you will be confronted with an online survey or quiz to take part in. People are even starting to incorporate these questionnaires into their profiles.

Just remember that time is a commodity. Whilst it might be fun to complete these types of surveys, just think you could be spending the same time completing similar fun surveys which are genuine research surveys and getting paid for your opinions at the same time. Consumers need to realise that advertisers who run these type of Facebook and MySpace surveys will be cashing in on your responses but not paying you for your time.

In previous times, trade of products was largely a localised affair with one or maybe two merchants competing in a particular market in each region. Starting up as a new merchant was particularly difficult and the community would generally turn its back on new, foreign competitors who would attempt to establish themselves. Given the virtual domination of those key merchants, there was little need to worry about consumer opinion and no need to innovate beyond the products and services which the community had a need for at that time.

The Industrial Revolution and the growth of free market economy principles in the late 18th and early 19th Century radically changed how people did business. For the first time, consumers had a wider variety of choice and the tables turned for the consumer. Now it was a buyers market and merchants had to improve their efforts to meet the needs of their customers if they were to be able to compete effectively with a growing marketplace for new products and services. The need for ‘marketing’ had been borne.

Early practitioners of marketing, educated as economists, felt that demand was relevant to purchasing power. However, it became apparent that demand was much more complex than financial ability to buy alone and that desire to buy was an increasing factor as well.

New concepts in advertising proved that purchasing desires could be magnified and shaped by elements beyond mere availability of products.

In today’s globally competitive market place, companies have a greater demand than ever to measure consumer needs.  The dawn of the Internet has facilitated this process by providing an easy access route to reach a global audience of consumers who are potential customers.

Over the years, market research companies have fine tuned their methods and have managed to harness the opportunities provided by the internet to make contact with their consumers and get a good understanding of consumer demand. It is estimated that over $1 billion is spent annually on market research, a large portion of which is delivered in the form of online surveys, focus groups and other internet based formats.

However the need for good quality information comes at a price. In an increasingly busy 21st century lifestyle, time has become a precious commodity and, therefore, market research companies understand that to meet the ever increasing demand for consumer research information,  they need to offer  incentives in exchange for peoples time.

Consumer survey incentives range from entry into prize draws, points that are redeemable for cash, vouchers or products as well as straight forward cash payments.

The advent of the internet has enabled millions of people to earn a secondary income stream by taking part paid surveys like never before. Here’s six reasons why you should take part:

1. Vent spleen and give your opinion.

Ever fancied taking part in Question Time and giving your opinion on things. We all have things on our chest that we’d love to express from time to time. Online surveys are the perfect opportunity.  Not only are surveys the perfect opportunity to allow you to tell industry leaders what you think of their products and services but you’ll directly inputting into the development process for several companies and helping to shape what happens to those products and services in the future. Only by asking users what they think of issues that affect them, can companies be sure that their products and services are working as they should be. And remember, many of the surveys being commissioned are done by political parties, think tanks and academic institutions, the results of which feed directly into the political process. Some examples of organisations who regularly commission paid surveys:

• Product manufacturers
• Retailers
• Government bodies (in particular heath care providers)
• Travel companies and airlines
• Hotels,
• Telecoms companies
• Automotive industry

Your opinion is highly sought and just think, you could be reviewing and shaping the development of the next big invention to alter our lives.

2. Become your own boss.

Getting involved with online marketing activities doesn’t mean you have to commit serious amounts of time unless you really want to. It’s something you can pick up as and when you have time.  How many jobs allow anything like this amount of flexibility.

When you first complete your registration with the various market research companies, you will be emailed the various surveys or focus group opportunities as and when they arise and where your profile is required. If you are looking to do this as a part-time activity to allow you to earn extra cash working from home, the trick is to keep an eye on upcoming assignments and try to fit them in with other activities or work you have planned. It’s useful to keep a diary and where possible inform your favoured research companies of the times which suit you best for scheduled activities such as mystery shopping or focus groups.

You are under no obligation to complete a certain number of surveys and therefore you should feel no pressure to so do. It’s entirely up to you.

What’s more, depending on how many research companies you’ve registered with, you should be receiving a steady flow of survey opportunities and whenever money is tight, you will be able to increase the number of surveys you can get involved in. its a good idea to complete at least one survey per month with each research company to make sure, that they recognise you as an active participant and they will continue to keep you updated with the latest surveys.

Remember, completing online surveys is voluntary. Your work will not be scrutinised for performance issues and you choose when you want to do the work.  What’s more you will be rewarded for the exact amount of effort you put in.

Child carers and stay at home mums looking for extra cash opportunities can benefit hugely from the flexibility that paid surveys can provide. We all know how the demands of a busy family environment can make scheduled working practices difficult but these kinds of activities can help you to schedule your family life so that you can earn an income whilst also spending more quality time with your family..

Online market research activities are also a perfect opportunity for students to earn extra cash in between attending course lectures or completing studies.

Senior citizens can also benefit. Filling out paid surveys and participating in focus groups are a great way to supplement income and help companies to benefit from your vast amount of life experience.

Even if you are a full-time employee, there’s no reason why you can’t take part in paid surveys so long as you are willing to give up a couple of hours of your time per week. In fact, most companies appreciate the opinions of all segments of our communities so long as they represent the profile of people who are likely to use or purchase their product. In these austere times, completing online surveys is a perfect way to supplement your income when times are tough, especially around key events such as Christmas or birthdays. However remember to plan ahead and ensure that you register and complete those surveys in good time for payment before you need to receive the money.

Once you identify those reputable companies that provide a good service, why not get the whole family involved and working towards a common goal such as earning money for a holiday.

3. It’s great fun.

If you think filling out surveys is boring and pointless, think again. Long gone are the days when consumer surveys consisted of you filling out a 50 page paper survey of small text box fields and boring questions. Nowadays participants are asked for their opinion on all sorts of things, sometimes completely unrelated to a particularly product, and come in a wonderful variety of formats so that companies can properly test peoples opinion in the most invited way.  Some focus groups ask for peoples comments on new TV ads or ask peoples opinions on new cutting edge product designs whilst others ask for peoples thoughts on new website designs. The diversity means that surveys are seldom boring. In fact, the most boring surveys are likely to be initial registration surveys (sometimes called ‘pre-screeners’) which ask for your initial information about yourselves so that companies can identify what type of customer segment you are likely to fall into. This is a critical part of helping companies to understand why you think the way you do, so try to be as honest as possible during this stage, otherwise your information may be invalidated as an anomaly. You will be exposed to lots of different types of questions and topics that you would be exposed to as a consumer.  You’ll notice that after completing a few surveys, you’ll begin to see the retail world in a different light and begin to appreciate how new products are designed for consumer markets.

Focus groups provide a fun opportunity to meet with similar consumers who may or may not have had the same experience as you with a product or service. Focus groups provide a very interesting environment to hear other people’s views. During the session there is interplay of thoughts and ideas and these discussions can sometimes become very animated and very interesting. Good fun indeed.

Mystery shopping assignments are a bit more involded in that you are paid to undertake a specific set of actions to mimic the actions of an actual consumer and then report back your observations from a detailed questionnaire.  In many cases you will be asked to buy a product, go to a restaurant or cafe, watch a film and report back your comments. Great news if you are a shopaholic but also if good customer service is a real concern of yours. The next time you are standing in a queue or getting poor customer service, just think – I could get paid for this and help to stop poor service for others like me. It’s a fun job that pays real cash.

So dispel the myth that online research is boring, get involved and give your opinion.

4. You don’t need any skills or experience

The great thing about getting involved in paid surveys is that you don’t need a degree, you don’t need any skills or experience. All research companies need a diverse range of different consumers from different backgrounds and experiences. Everyone has valid opinions and therefore everyone can get involved.

You don’t need any specialist equipment other than access to a computer which can access the internet.  You can access surveys anywhere in the world (you could even complete surveys if you’re on holiday).

The only thing you need is a willingness to get involved and some spare time. Signing-up to sites such as GetPaid4Surveys will give you all the information you need to get started. We have an extensive list of trusted market research companies where you will be invited to take part in all the best surveys around.

Be careful though. There are plenty of scam sites out there, especially those that ask your payment first. Check with sites like GetPaid4Surveys first or do your own research to find out about the company before you get started. GetPaid4Surveys provides a directory of trusted research companies which provide legitimate paid surveys.

5. Get loads of free samples

If you’re the kind of person who loves to be the first to test new products or get free samples, then getting involved in the market research scene is just for you. As an active participant, you’ll be invited to test new products before they hit the shelves and you’ll receive new product samples to use at home. OK, so you won’t get the chance to take home the next version of the playstation but you will be the first to know about new retail products which are likely to launch in the near future (such as beauty products).

Product releases are not as common as other forms of research but only by being an active participant will you be invited to take part so make sure you continue to fill out the online surveys to be in with a chance of being considered for these types of exercises.

6. Money

The main reason you are looking at surveys is to be paid for completing them.  Sites such as GetPaid4Surveys will also feature the most lucrative surveys out there. Make sure you register for our weekly alerts newsletter and you’ll be kept up to date with all the latest surveys out there.

Companies understand that good, honest, quality research is worth it’s weight in gold and they are willing to pay for it. They know that the better they understand the consumer, the more likely their products and services will sell and the more successful their company will be. Here’s the kind of rates you can expect:

Remember the more active you are in your participation with online surveys, you more likely you will be invited to participate in the more lucrative exercises such as mystery shopping and focus groups. Online surveys are more regular but only by completing them, will research companies be able to identify the best panelists for their focus groups.

As an estimate, and this really is a rough estimate. Provided you are able to register with the top 50 research companies, complete around 30 surveys per month (one per day) and participate in two exercises per week (mystery shopping, telephone survey or focus group). You could expect to earn around £400-800 per month.

The most successful surveyers build up opportunities slowly over time when they have worked out how they want to fit the exercises around their own lifestyle.

Market research comes in many flavours. One of the most interactive and also the most popular formats is focus groups or telephone interviews.

In earlier times, focus groups was one of the only a few ways in which companies could get detailed data on peoples opinions and reactions to its products.  With the advent of the internet, online surveys became a quicker, faster and cheaper way to gauge customer opinion and traditional forms of market research were used less.

That being said, paid focus groups are still used because they provide companies with an easier way to get more detailed responses from participants. What’s more, the internet now provides an environment to run online focus groups where people can give their opinions in a focus room environment from the comfort of their own home and get paid for it!

Normal focus groups are usually held in a hall or hotel conference room in a local area. Groups usually consist of a small number of people 3-12 and can either be based around a single topic or a number of topics. Participants are not usually told what the topic is before they arrive for the discussion.

At the start of the focus group, a group moderator introduces the topic of discussion. The topic could be anything and everything. Participants are then invited to give their opinions on the topic and the moderator will lead the group through the discussion being sure to pick up on certain points made and getting more detail on comments made where necessary. A focus group usually lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Participants will be rewarded for their time. This payment is usually between £30 to £100 (plus travelling expenses to get to the venue) depending on the length of the session and if the group covers specialist topics. Sometimes incentives such as shopping vouchers or products are provided in lieu of cash payment. The great thing about focus groups is that you get paid to give your opinion and you really feel like you are helping to shape the products of the future. Online focus groups are even better as you can participate from your own home. Participants visit a website and enter a virtual discussion room. The discussions are just as entertaining and informative, but you need to be able to type fairly quickly if you want your opinion felt.

Online focus groups are one of the most lucrative formats when you look at money received for time spent. Most of the major research companies  offer paid focus groups, online chat groups, sms research or telephone interviews for cash payments.

For a full list of companies running online focus groups, visit our survey directory page for full reviews and links.

Paid surveys are not a scam in themselves. Surveys are own of the earliest and most used type of market research mechanism and are a critical part of the marketing process that all major businesses undertake to develop their business.

The scam arises from unscrupulous companies who convince consumers to part with their cash to sign-up to their website service which enables consumers to get access to a list of survey providers and first refusal on lucrative surveys. However in many cases, the information provided is no different than that provided on information sites such as GetPaid4Surveys.

It has also been known that some scammers create false survey sites in order to collect consumers email details in order to sell the information on without your consent. Luckily this is extremely rare as it is difficult for scammers to gain a presence in the search engine results however you should always be wary of emails from unknown companies who try to get you to sign up to their surveys. Always check any website you visit carefully and use the advice given in our survey FAQs to aid you in your search for legitimate market research companies.

Some critics argue  that paid surveys are a waste of time. However it cannot be argued that online surveys as an industry continues to experience extraordinary growth as people realise how they can make money from time that would otherwise be wasted. There are a wealth of experienced online surveyors who continue to use online market research as a means for generating a healthy income stream.

Taking online paid surveys is not for the old-fashioned, the conservative, or those afraid to take a risk.  You need to retain a sense of open-mindedness, flexibility and determination to get the most out of it. Once you get started and the first time you get paid, you will feel more confident about the process and start to sign up to more and more surveys and other online marketing activities. You never know, it may open up all kinds of different avenues such as mystery shopping, professional blogging, freelance writing, you may even decide to set-up your own market research company or survey website! Many people starting with the odd paid survey and have developed their own computer skills enough to develop their own online business.

Maximising your ability to earn money is made possible by joining as many online survey panels as possible. Each company will usually only send out a dozen or so surveys each month and therefore if you want to be able to make the most amount of money, you’ll have to join as many panels as possible to make sure you receive as many survey requests as possible.

Most market research companies also provide online or offline focus groups. Focus groups are research forums consisting of a group of people sat in an online meeting room and having a discussion about a particular product or service under the watchful eye of a research moderator; focus groups tend to provide a higher reward than surveys and can be a lot of fun.

Another service provided by market research companies is product testing, this is where you will be sent a free product and asked to test it then post your opinion on the site. Again with product testing the rewards can be high and you get to test some great products.

Take at face value any guarantees of legitimacy such as testimonials and photos of cheques. These do not give you any guarantee as to the legitimacy. Spend some time looking for the small print. Legitimate companies will be open about their use of your data in their privacy policy and their terms should spell. They should also provide clear contact information. You should also quickly google the company to see if there are several negative comments about their service.

Always look for survey providers from information sites such as GetPaid4Surveys. Registration is free and these sites are impartial when it comes to the information they provide. However, remember to read through each sites carefully and always check the terms and conditions or small print where applicable.

The following list provides a few examples of market research companies where for specific surveys Teenagers can join:

Palm Research

Opinion People

Opinion World

Valued Opinions

Lightspeed

IPSOS

The Great UK Survey

Ciao Surveys