Are Surveys Profitable?

We've all seen advertisements at some point stating that we can make tons of money just by filling out surveys, but do they really work? Are they worth the time it takes to fill them out for whatever profit you get?

Well first, do they pay? There's no doubt in my mind there are legitimate sites out there that DO pay if you meet their requirements. Many work by stating you can only cash out when you reach a certain point, $10 for instance. While that doesn't seem so bad, most surveys wont make you rich, and you may end up doing 5 or more just to get to cash out at any point.

http://www.surveyspot.com/ for instance, is a legitimate survey site, that does in fact require that you make $10 to cash out. Yes, they do pay. But is it worth your time?

First off, you wont have access to 'unlimited' surveys - they are in fact, very limited. You can sign up and see only three surveys ready for you to take, for instance - and that's only if you're their target audience.

Before every paid survey you have to take an unpaid one. This survey is to determine whether they care about your opinion to let you take the survey. For instance, on a Bush's baked beans pre-survey, one of the questions was something along the lines of, "How does serving Bush's baked beans make you feel?" and had options such as "Anxious" and "Happy to be helping the environment." If you can manage to stop laughing long enough at some of the questions to finish the survey, they determine based on your answers if you get to take the paid one.

That means unless you're purposefully trying to be the target audience at all times, your profitability on these sites is already cut down, probably as drastically as in half, if not more. I suppose this is one area of income where honesty truly doesn't pay, unfortunately. That's my first major strike against the system, as if I'm going to try and make money, I prefer to do so honestly.

And if you were not chosen to take the survey, you just spent five to ten minutes of your time answering questions for no compensation whatsoever. That would be another strike.

Now, let's say you're fine with this and you go along trying it anyway. Are surveys profitable at all? Yes. You *can* make profit on them, so long as you're doing them.

This is an entirely active income: you only make money so long as you're working. That's yet another strike, and for those of you keeping count, that's the third.
Those who know me know that I'm a huge fan of passive incomes: systems you set up and walk away from, so that even when you're not there you're still making money. I find this to be hugely important, as I believe my time is worth far more than any dollar amount.


So in the end, it is possible to make a few extra dollars here and there by doing surveys for profit. However, in the end, I think it's far more profitable to chase other avenues of income. That's not to say I'd never be seen doing some surveys for some extra cash here and there, but it does mean it'd only be short term, and I'd quickly move on after my first cashout.

That extra buck simply isn't worth the effort long term.

Good luck out there!
-Billy