Surveys Can Bring You Passive Income
Taking online surveys is an excellent way to make a little extra money. Unlike some other online earning methods which we'll leave unmentioned, taking surveys can actually be really interesting as well -- you're actually doing some useful work by sharing your opinions with businesses. In a small way, you can influence the products and services that are put on the market just by answering some questions honestly.
People sometimes make the mistaken assumption that taking surveys can only bring you active income. By "active income", I mean income that comes to you solely based on your own work. You take a survey and you get paid for it...that's active income. However, some survey sites also let you earn a passive income by referring other survey takers. Some sites will give you a cash bonus for every referral who signs up for the site through your referral link; others will let you earn a percentage of your referrals' lifetime survey earnings.
Although there are a lot of good survey companies out there, I prefer to focus particularly on those sites which let you earn both actively and passively. In this lens, I'll only be covering survey sites that have straightforward referral systems -- basically, as soon as you signup to take surveys for any of the companies I am going to list, you'll also be able to start recruiting referrals of your own. I'll also only be listing sites that are free to join and use. Paying to join a survey site is usually a very, very bad idea...there are lots of scams out there, unfortunately.
People sometimes make the mistaken assumption that taking surveys can only bring you active income. By "active income", I mean income that comes to you solely based on your own work. You take a survey and you get paid for it...that's active income. However, some survey sites also let you earn a passive income by referring other survey takers. Some sites will give you a cash bonus for every referral who signs up for the site through your referral link; others will let you earn a percentage of your referrals' lifetime survey earnings.
Although there are a lot of good survey companies out there, I prefer to focus particularly on those sites which let you earn both actively and passively. In this lens, I'll only be covering survey sites that have straightforward referral systems -- basically, as soon as you signup to take surveys for any of the companies I am going to list, you'll also be able to start recruiting referrals of your own. I'll also only be listing sites that are free to join and use. Paying to join a survey site is usually a very, very bad idea...there are lots of scams out there, unfortunately.
Contents at a Glance
Survey Savvy
Survey Savvy offers one of the best referral programs in the industry. First of all, it makes you money whenever one of your referrals completes a survey. I like this system better than the giving of bonuses after a signup because the former lets you earn a residual income from the activity of each one of your referrals for as long as they are members. Secondly, you also earn from your referrals' referrals on SurveySavvy. This is uncommon among survey sites, but it is an excellent feature that makes referring doubly rewarding. They accept members from anywhere, but only pay by check.
From a survey taking perspective, Survey Savvy is good but it will not keep you overly busy. You'll be sent surveys every now and then -- I would say I get one every couple of weeks -- so the amount you can earn from your own surveys is fairly limited. The sky is the limit when it comes to referral earnings, however!
From a survey taking perspective, Survey Savvy is good but it will not keep you overly busy. You'll be sent surveys every now and then -- I would say I get one every couple of weeks -- so the amount you can earn from your own surveys is fairly limited. The sky is the limit when it comes to referral earnings, however!
Palm Research
Palm Research offers daily surveys (at least 2) that pay $1 or more apiece. With a minimum payout of $10 and payment by both PayPal and check, Palm is an excellent site for Americans to join. They typically offer surveys in partnership with other companies, like Greenfield Online, so people who normally take those surveys on other sites (such as on an offer site like CashCrate) may not be able to earn as much here. However, Palm pays better than most other sites so you might want to drop yours and switch to it at least part of the time!
Did I mention that Palm Research has a killer ref program yet? Well, it does. You earn a straight percentage (10%) of each of your referral's earnings. With at least 10 cents per survey completed by each of your referrals coming to you, this site offers the possibility of great profits. To me, this site is the second best survey site with a referral program at the moment -- I still give Survey Savvy the edge because it has two levels of referral earnings and has been around for so long.
Did I mention that Palm Research has a killer ref program yet? Well, it does. You earn a straight percentage (10%) of each of your referral's earnings. With at least 10 cents per survey completed by each of your referrals coming to you, this site offers the possibility of great profits. To me, this site is the second best survey site with a referral program at the moment -- I still give Survey Savvy the edge because it has two levels of referral earnings and has been around for so long.
HCD Surveys
HCD Surveys does short, fun questionnaires opinion polls better than just about anybody. They're especially great for political junkies and pop culture fanatics who are often asked to watch videos and share their reactions. Membership is limited to the United States and the payout is $10 by PayPal.
While HCD is an excellent site just for taking surveys, it's also got a nice referral program. You earn $0.50 for every referral who signs up using your referral link, completes their basic profile, and validates their account. Unfortunately, you won't earn residual income based on how active your referrals are, but if you can direct a steady stream of new referrals to HCD Surveys this program could be quite profitable for you.
While HCD is an excellent site just for taking surveys, it's also got a nice referral program. You earn $0.50 for every referral who signs up using your referral link, completes their basic profile, and validates their account. Unfortunately, you won't earn residual income based on how active your referrals are, but if you can direct a steady stream of new referrals to HCD Surveys this program could be quite profitable for you.
spiderMetrix
spiderMetrix is a fun Australia-based survey site. I highly recommend it for Australians in particular because most surveys on the site are geared towards them, but spiderMetrix has surveys (or ratings as they call them) available for people around the world. I mean that quite literally -- sometimes you'll login and see a survey specifically for people from Greece or Malaysia or Russia to complete. If you're an American like me, surveys won't always be available, but if you keep checking the site regularly you'll find them sooner or later.
The spiderMetrix referral program will give you one point for every rating your referrals do (300 points gets you 50 Australian dollars via PayPal...you also have e-voucher and charity donation options). Obviously you're not likely to earn a lot from just one or two referrals, but if you manage to recruit a team of eager survey takers (preferably Australian) you'll have a chance to do very well on spiderMetrix!
The spiderMetrix referral program will give you one point for every rating your referrals do (300 points gets you 50 Australian dollars via PayPal...you also have e-voucher and charity donation options). Obviously you're not likely to earn a lot from just one or two referrals, but if you manage to recruit a team of eager survey takers (preferably Australian) you'll have a chance to do very well on spiderMetrix!
Your Daily Surveys
Your Daily Surveys offers daily surveys. It is similar to Palm Research in that respect, but YDS' surveys all pay $0.50. One fantastic thing about the site is that it is very international in its approach: currently, there are daily surveys available for residents of the US (5), Canada (3), the UK (3), and Germany (2). Additionally, promoters are welcome to sign up as well, with the promise that the administrator of the site will keep searching for surveys people from other countries can also complete.
YDS offers a high rate for referral earnings. You'll earn 25% (12.5 cents per survey taken) of your referral's earnings as a standard member. The site also has an upgrade option which will let you earn even more and give you some other privileges, but upgrading is entirely optional -- I haven't even done it myself yet, though I am thinking about it. The standard member payout is $3 and by PayPal or AlertPay. It has the lowest payout of any of the sites listed on this page except Survey Savvy and the highest referral earning percentage so I think it's well worth joining even though the surveys just pay $0.50 apiece.
YDS offers a high rate for referral earnings. You'll earn 25% (12.5 cents per survey taken) of your referral's earnings as a standard member. The site also has an upgrade option which will let you earn even more and give you some other privileges, but upgrading is entirely optional -- I haven't even done it myself yet, though I am thinking about it. The standard member payout is $3 and by PayPal or AlertPay. It has the lowest payout of any of the sites listed on this page except Survey Savvy and the highest referral earning percentage so I think it's well worth joining even though the surveys just pay $0.50 apiece.
by bryangpt
I'm a twentysomething male from the United States who wants to share his thoughts (and links) related to the world of online moneymaking with the Squi... (more)
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