YouGov Survey Panel

As I'm covering Paid Survey on this blog I've decided to include a little more detail about some of my favourite panel sites. I'm going to start with YouGov, as it seems to be popular and I think that people will benefit from finding out a little more about what it's like being a member of their panel.

I've been a YouGov member for several years. I enjoy being a part of their panel for two reasons. Firstly, because they are paying me for my opinion and secondly because I get to have my say, which consequently has an effect on issues raised.

YouGov's surveys are by and large political but they do also occasionally offer consumer surveys. The pay is usually 50p per survey, sometimes, rarely, a little more. However, they do have regular prize draws with cash prizes, so if you're feeling lucky....

Registering with YouGov is free and a simple process. You do need a valid email address to participate. Survey invitations are sent via email, you then choose to participate or not. Unlike many other survey sites, once you have been invited to complete an online survey, that place is guaranteed. You do not have to go through any further screening tests to check your democratic profile, nor is there a 'cap' on panelist participation. So, as long as you apply to take part before their deadline, the job is yours.

Some of the surveys are very interesting but some can be quite long winding and a bit repetative. It probably takes approximately ten to fifteen minutes to complete a 50p survey, sometimes much less time is required.

While the survey payment isn't very much you also earn cash for referring friends, which stands for the first three months of your friend's membership. Great, isn't it? Escpecially if you've got lots of friends whom you think would enjoy signing up and taking part.

Once your account reaches the £50.00 threshold you will be sent a cheque in the post to that value. You can expect to receive between two and five surveys per month, based on my experience.

YouGov is a reputable and reliable survey site so if you enjoy filling out online questionnaires then this one is worth signing up for.

You can join the YouGov panel here.

Paid Online Surveys

You've seen the advertisements and you've read all the hype on making money using your PC or Laptop just for filling in online questionnaires. But what's the real deal on the Paid Surveys option? Do companies really offer you cash simply for answering a few questions online? Can you really make money from this? Put quite simply the answer is yes, they do exist and they do pay for your opinion.

Market Research companies offer their Panellists cash, or points that can be converted into cash or shopping vouchers, for completing online questionnaires, otherwise known as Paid Online Surveys. The surveys cover a broad range of subjects and can include shopping habits, political and/or social issues, opinions on new or revamped drinks, snacks, detergents, or financial products. And this is just scratching the surface. Questionnaires can take anything from five minutes to half an hour to complete. Most of them take approximately twenty minutes, at the end of which you will receive a reward. The amount you earn per survey depends largely on which company you are registered with, as some will pay more than others, and the length of the questionnaire. The more time taken ticking all the boxes, the more your reward will be. But typically you can earn anything from 50p ($1.00) to £5.00 ($10.00), averaging at approximately £1.00 or £2.00 ($2.00 - $4.00) per completed survey. The least I have received from a survey is 50p and the most is £4.00. Some companies claim to pay more but if they only send you one or two surveys per annum then it just amounts to the same as the others.

If you are interested in taking part in Online Surveys then the first thing to do is sign up with a few Survey Companies. The more companies you sign up with, the more money you will earn. So, how do you find them? You can find a free list of recommended market research groups at: survey agencies , use this list to save you the time and trouble of trawling through a long list of search engine results. However, if you choose to go the 'search engine results' route, my advice would be to steer clear of any that ask you for a sign-up fee. A reputable company will not require a registration fee. And please do not pay for a list of Survey Companies, you can find the exact same results here or by doing an independent online search, completely free of charge.

Once you've checked the Survey Company's credentials and you are happy to join their panel you will have to go through the registration process. This can take as little as two minutes to complete but as long as ten, so be prepared. You will need to enter some of your personal details such as your name, address, age, gender and possibly your shopping/social habits. Some people feel hesitant at this request but the details are needed purely to enable them to match your profile with specific client requests, you will not be asked for your bank details.

Once you've been accepted as a panellist you should expect to receive surveys as and when they become available. These will arrive directly into your mailbox. The briefing message will tell you what the survey is about, approximately how long it will take to complete and how much you will earn for your participation. You will then have the option to accept or refuse the invitation to take part in that survey.

So, how are you supposed to make a decent amount of cash from this? A solution would be to join as many Survey Companies as possible in the hope that they will post you a dozen surveys per day. But in reality this isn't likely to happen. You should expect to receive about a dozen surveys to complete per week by joining a handful of Survey Companies. However, the good news is that some of the sites offer rewards for introducing friends to their Panel of Researchers. This can be a one off payment per referral or a share of your referral's income for a set period. If you know a lot of people who'd like to become members then this could be a great way to increase your earnings. You will receive payment by cheque, Paypal or shopping vouchers, which include HMV, Boots, Next, Argos, Amazon, WH Smith and more, once your account reaches the company's threshold payment. Each company has their own threshold policy but on average it rests somewhere in the region of £5.00 to £50.00.

Paid Online Surveys are fun, relaxing and great for anyone who spends a lot of time on their PC or Laptop. They are not suitable for people who do not enjoy being online for long periods of time or for those who are impatient, as some of these surveys can be long-winded and repetitive. They are not a means to earning a full-time income.

In conclusion, the scope to earn a living from this low and the most you should expect to earn is some extra cash and high street shopping vouchers, which do come in very handy at Christmas!

You can find a list of decent Paid Survey companies at Paid Surveys.

Discount Codes

As mentioned previously, I'm going to add various ways of how you can save money too. This will include links to sites that are holding special offers and/or discount codes. I'll make sure that this section is updated regularly, and that the links are placed directly within this post, for speed and convenience.

You may have found that the credit crunch is biting hard or taking a few nibbles, either way it makes sense to utilise all the available coupons, discount codes and vouchers that are readily available online.




I'll be updating this post regularly but you can find more offers at Offers & Discounts

Mystery Shopping

One of the most popular enquiries that I receive is about Mystery Shopping, so I’m going to kick off with this.

Mystery shopping is fast becoming a very popular means for earning some extra cash. It appeals mostly to stay at home mums or dads, students, the retired or to anyone who wants to supplement their income. The reason for this is because the job is so flexible that it enables you to slot it into your daily routine, between school runs for instance or if you're studying or working during the day then you can carry out the assignments in the evening or at weekends.

So what exactly is mystery shopping? It’s covert reporting of customer service to be concise which is why it is also often referred to as Secret Shopping. Shops and large organizations want to find out what their customers really think of their services. They want feedback on staff performance; they want to know if their current promotions are being adequately supported, whether their products are desirable and so on. So they hire a mystery-shopping agency to gather all the information for them. Agencies need reliable staff to complete all the assignments for their clients and hence the need for reliable mystery shoppers.

So, what is required of you, the mystery shopper? Simply to visit a designated establishment, i.e. a shop or restaurant, pose as a normal shopper and report back your findings.
Once you’ve decided to become a mystery shopper the next thing to do is sign up with a reputable agency but remember, and I can not emphasize this enough, genuine companies will never ask you for a registration fee, becoming a shopper is always free.

What I particularly like about mystery shopping is that while you are earning a bit of extra cash and helping businesses to improve their services, you are also helping the community by improving the service from the retailer to the consumer. With a large proportion of the public reputedly choosing not to return to an establishment where they have received bad service rather than complain, it deems a worthwhile job to do.

And now for the downside, and as there are two sides to a coin there is always a drawback. Mystery shopping it is not a means of reliable work and unless you can manage to assign yourself a lot of jobs each day, you are unlikely to make a living from it. So my antidote to this would be to join as many mystery-shopping agencies as possible to ensure you are kept reasonably busy. The other quibble is that you have to be fast and furious when it comes to assigning yourself jobs as the good ones go fast. This means having to log into your account or call your operator regularly to ensure you get sufficient assignments. And finally, you do have to use your own money when required to buy something during an assessment but you will be fully reimbursed the following month together with your salary. So if you can live with these few shortcomings then you might want to give it a try. You can find out more about mystery shopping and how to join at Mystery Shopping.

Working from Home

As a work from home researcher, I decided to create this blog. What I plan to do here is discuss various ways of earning an income from home or by freelancing. I will also review business opportunities and ways of supplementing your income, which may include offers and general savings.

This blog will be helpful to anyone who wants, or plans, to work from home, become self-employed, earn a bit of extra cash or set up an online business. I'm going to write about each opportunity and welcome feedback on all home working options raised - for and against.

Some of the opportunities I will write about have been around for a while but I also plan to introduce new options.

I've been researching home working opportunities for over three years. I first became interested when I wanted to work from home myself. I searched the internet for opportunities but found that most of them were not offered in the UK, so I decided to put the work in myself and make it my business to 'find' legitimate UK based home working and freelance jobs. To my surprise I came up with a lot more than I bargained for. The opportunities are out there, which is why thousands of people are working from home nowadays but you've got to be prepared to put in the time and effort to make it work for you. One thing I 'won't' be disucssing here is 'get rich quick' schemes. If that's what you're looking for then you may as well stop reading now as this isn't what this blog is about.

I won't be discussing anything that requires a joining fee, unless it's a legitimiate business opportunity, i.e. setting up a website to sell goods or a franchise opportunity. I've written an article on scams and how to avoid them that has been published on several work from home websites, details of which I will provide shortly, and I welcome stories by anyone who has had the misfortune to have fallen prey to a scam, so that others can steer clear.

So, who might benefit from this blog, I hear you ask? Basicially, anyone who wants to find a way to earn money independently. Most of the people who contact me are stay-at-home mums or dads, students, freelancers or anyone who is housebound.

I want this to be a no nonsense work from home blog. I will add links to opportunities and offer advice and articles periodically. And anyone who has any ideas or feedback and wants to share.....please get in touch!