Friday, January 11, 2008

Online Paid Surveys

Online Paid Surveys

An online survey company that does market research for a variety of fast-food restaurants, including McDonalds and KFC. A couple of their other clients include General Mills, Proctor and Gamble and Microsoft. Zoom makes the grade of one of the "legitimate" online survey sites on the internet.

Membership is free for this site. There are no fees involved and they will not share your information with telemarketing companies. They also promise not to "spam" you inbox with a variety of ads.

Rewards are based on points. Surveys regarding different products are sent via e-mail. You are under no obligation to participate in any survey. Each online paid survey earns the participants "points." When accumulated, the points can be redeemed for prizes or gift cards. Zoom does not pay cash to individuals participating in surveys.

Those interested in participating in this website should answer "yes" to all of their questions in order to receive the most surveys. If, however, you answer a couple of questions and find out that you do not qualify for a survey, you are eligible to play a game called "spin to win" where you can earn points or prizes.

Each survey is worth between 25 to 150 points. Points for gift cards and merchandise can be redeemed once you reach the 1000 point level. If you manage to refer a friend to the site, you will earn 100 points for each friend referred. This is probably the easiest way to gain points with doing as little work as possible.

Referring a friend to a survey company is easy. This can be done in a variety of ways. You can send a link to the site to all your friends via e-mail. Or you can rave about how well you're doing on the site on your MySpace or other blog site and include a link. This is the easiest way to earn points and/or money for every legitimate online survey site that offers rewards for referrals. Be advised that Zoom limits you to 400 points a month for referrals.

The Advantages of Online Paid Surveys

One of the exciting things about zoom is the opportunity to view different products and/or concepts before they are available to the general public. The information is gathered in a database and presented to those companies that use this site to gain information from the public. McDonald's, alone, spends millions of dollars a year conducting surveys about its products and uses several different avenues to gain information.

A word of warning: Don't expect to get "big rewards" for participating in zoom, Rewards at the 1000 point level consist of battery charges and other little gadgets. Even at the 5000 point level the rewards are comparable to those banks used to give out as premiums.

The positive aspect of participating in this site is the chance to view new and exciting products, not receive telephone solicitations, answer simple, brief surveys and gain a little prize now and then. This is not a way to make money, but can be a lot of fun. And yes, this site is completely legitimate.

Advantages of Online Paid Surveys


The "bad" online survey companies are the ones that offer cash, actually pay cash, but fill your e-mail inbox up with so much spam that you end up spending a good 15 minutes a day deleting all of it. The "bad" survey companies are legitimate to the point that they actually do pay cash once you've accumulated a certain amount, but are also interested in getting you to visit the websites of their marketing partners, where you will be pressured into signing up to learn more about affordable health insurance. If you show any sign of interest, expect at least three calls a week from various telephone representatives.

The bad news about the "bad" companies is that you have to keep on your toes. You'll often find yourself directed to other websites, they will try to sell you many products that you don't need or want. You have to stay one step ahead of them, or participating in a online paid survey will cost you more than you'll make.