Protect Yourself By Selecting Legitimate Online Paid Survey Companies

People were paid for their opinions long before the Internet became popular. Marketing research companies used to send out surveys in the mail. They also ran focus groups to find out what people thought of products. Market research groups still bring people into their offices to answer questions. You may even have been approached by a marketing researcher when shopping at the mall. However, it is no longer necessary to mail out surveys, or perform personal approach style research. Instead, leading Fortune 500 companies from around the world have been harnessing the power of the Internet and Social Media to get your opinion. These days companies have finely tuned processes which allow almost anybody to get paid for simply completing online surveys from home. If you do a search for online surveys you will get pages of results. Unfortunately it can be tricky to find legitimate paid online survey opportunities at first. That is because work-at home scams have targeted the same people the legitimate research poll companies want answering their online surveys. So how can you tell if an online survey company is legitimate or just another online scam? To help protect yourself from scammers and simultaneously build your confidence in research poll companies, be sure to answer the following questions before committing... 1. Must you pay a fee to answer surveys? A reputable company will never ask you for financial information. If you have to hand over your bank account or credit card number it is not a good sign. Top research poll companies who offer "paid for completion" surveys want unbiased reviews and opinions; therefore it is against everything they stand for to request payment from you. If you come across a survey site that asks you for money upfront, run the other way. There are numerous, highly credible, websites out there so find another one. 2. Does the company have positive feedback? Find out what kind of reputation the company has. You can find out what people think about the company by searching message boards and work-at-home informational sites. There are message boards that focus only on paid survey experiences. Remember that some people may have bad experiences because of their poor performance. Read enough reviews to form a balanced opinion. Check with the Better Business Bureau too. Scams are usually reported and investigated. 3. How will you be paid? Legitimate online survey companies usually make cash payments through PayPal. Many companies reward you with tokens or credits instead of cash. You can use the credits to purchase items in their online stores such as gift cards for national websites like Amazon.com. Examine the payment system carefully. 4. How often will you be paid? There is usually a set point or minimum threshold where you can receive your pay-out. For example, some companies will deposit money into your PayPal account when you reach a minimum of $10. If you are earning credits for your work from home efforts, then you can usually cash in those credits as soon as you have earned enough for a gift. 5. Is the website professional looking? Take a look at the website. Does it look like it was a created in a rush? Does it have missing information and broken links? That could mean it is not a reputable company. Review all the pages of a website and perform your own due diligence before joining. These days, just about anyone can build a legitimate web site if they put in a little time and effort. So the fact that it looks polished doesn't necessarily mean it is legitimate. Be sure to review the site content and give it your own smell test first to see if it stinks. This is just one quick way to evaluate the company. 6. Is there a privacy policy? Look on the bottom of the registration page. There should be a privacy policy that explains how your personal information will be used. If you don't see one then you should not give out personal details. Always make sure you understand how a company handles private information before sharing any sensitive data with them. There are legitimate ways to get paid to answer online surveys. It is simply a matter of researching your options and being responsible about sharing your private information. Ask these questions and you should be able to find an opportunity suitable to you in no time.

Leeza Montelli is one of the world's leading paid survey affiliates. She has been paid for her opinion by some of the worlds top Fortune 500 companies over the last several years. Being a stay at home mom, Leeza values time freedom more than anything so she can spend quality time with her 2 young kids. Paid surveys and research polls have allowed Leeza to gain the extra money and time freedom she desired. These days, getting paid to complete surveys comes natural and Leeza is looking to pay it forward to anyone who wishes to learn this fast & easy, work from home skill. For more information on what's working now, visit www.SurveyMillionaire.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Leeza_Montelli/1522270