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UK Paid Survey Opportunities
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Get paid for giving your opinion!
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When my oldest son was very small I remember taking an evening job working as a telephone market research interviewer (yes - I was one of those annoying people who ring you up just as you’re about to sit down and eat your evening meal!) I worked for a large, international company in a swish office filled with around 20 - 30 other people all doing the same thing.
We’d turn up just before 6 pm for a briefing about who we were targeting and the nature of the questions we had to ask, then we’d spend the best part of the next 3 hours with our headphones on, dialling random telephone numbers - just hoping that we’d strike it lucky and get to speak to someone who fitted the specific criteria we’d been given. Some nights you might manage to complete 10 or so surveys - but other nights it would be like pulling teeth and you wouldn’t even come across one willing - or suitable - participant.
I’m going to show my age now by telling you that I did this type of work back in the early nineties, when the term “world wide web” had no real meaning - or certainly not the meaning it has today! Nowadays of course it is a totally different story, and market research companies all over the world have cottoned on to the fact that it’s more efficient and cost effective to use the internet to find willing people to form a database of panelists, who in exchange for providing a few details are paid directly by the research company to give their much needed opinion on a variety of topics. This means that if for example a confectionary company contacts a research company stating they want to pay them to find 2000 females from Essex aged 30 to 65 to test out a new product, the research company can tap into it’s database of panelists and hey presto! They have found their target audience. The research company sends out e mail invites to all panelists who fit the criteria until they have reached their quota. The confectionary company then goes on to pay the research firm, who in turn pay each panelist an amount for taking the time and trouble to take part.
I’ve spent countless hours over the last 2 years researching, testing, joining and more importantly earning through a number of different market research companies. You will find that a high percentage predominantly target US and Canadian residents, but if you know where to look there are plenty of opportunities for us Brits too. And the even better news is that the number of paid survey opportunities open to UK residents is increasing all the time.
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Some of the companies offering paid survey opportunities to UK residents are US based and pay in dollars not pounds, but don’t be put off by that. In fact with the current exchange rate, if anything it’s a bonus! Some companies will pay you by cheque, some by Paypal and some directly into your bank account. Each company stipulates a minimum amount that you have to earn before they will pay. Once you’ve requested a payment, you can expect to receive it anything from 1 day to 6 weeks later, depending on the payment method used.
Quite often you will be invited to take part in a survey then find you are screened out after the first two or three questions. This can be disheartening at first, but don’t worry - it’s nothing personal - and for every survey you are screened out of, there will be another two or three you will be eligible for. Some companies also pay you a small amount even if you’re screened out - so you haven’t always totally wasted your time.
It’s fair to say that you shouldn’t expect to earn a full time income taking part in paid surveys, but it is certainly possible to earn a respectable part time income if you’re prepared to join at least 30 panels. Some companies send out multiple invites every day, whereas others only send out one or two invites every few weeks. The amount you are paid varies from company to company, but an average figure would be around £1 for 5-10 minutes of your time. This may not sound a great deal, but if you multiply this by 20 - 30 surveys every day it starts to sound healthier! And another bonus is the total flexibility you have. You can easily fit your paid survey work around other commitments, slot in a couple of surveys whilst you’re having a cup of coffee, or even log in and do some surveys at 2 in the morning if you want to!
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As I mentioned earlier, the key expression where paid surveys are concerned is “the more the merrier!”. If you only join one or two sites you will not earn more than three or four pounds a week, but if you’re prepared to give a little time setting everything up at the outset and sign up to 30+ panels, you will soon start to see your income grow.
At the foot of this page I will tell you some quick and easy ways to find details of hundreds of UK paid survey companies without having to spend hours trawling the search engines, but to get you started I have reviewed just a small sample of sites that I personally use on a daily basis below to give you a better idea of what you can expect when you register. All of these sites are free to join.
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YOU GOV has a high profile in the UK, but also provides opportunities for people from all over Europe. You Gov has been acclaimed as one of the most accurate polling companies, as well as being one of the most quoted research companies in the UK. You may have seen or heard the results of You Gov polls mentioned on the BBC, so by joining the panel you really can make your views heard. Panel members are sent regular surveys on a whole host of topics from politics to brand awareness. Most of the surveys pay in cash, with the occasional survey offering an entry into a prize draw as an incentive.
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SURVEY HEAD is an international site which offers members new surveys on a daily basis. You are paid on average around £1.80 for 10 minutes of your time. You will be sent an e mail inviting you to take part in the surveys which you stand the highest chance of being eligible for. However I’ve found it’s well worth logging into your account on a daily basis, as you’ll almost always find there are several other surveys which you may well be able to take too. Surveyhead publishes a scale alongside of each available survey, outlining the likelihood of you meeting the criteria, based on the information you provided when you signed up. They also clearly show how much you’ll be paid for each survey in UK £. You are rewarded with $5 (around £3.30) just for signing up and it’s a very simple 5 minute sign-up process.
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PURE PROFILE is a really excellent company with an informative and clearly laid out website. You can expect several new surveys every week most of which will take you no longer than 5-10 minutes to complete, paying an average of £2 per survey. Unlike many paid survey sites, Pure Profile will also pay you a nominal amount if you’re screened out after the first few questions of a survey. When you sign up you have the choice of filling in several profile questionnaires, and this enables Pure Profile to link you to surveys that correspond with your interests. This takes around half an hour to do, but it’s well worth completing all sections if you want to secure your chances of being invited to more surveys on a regular basis. Payments are made via Paypal when you have accrued £25 in your account. A word of advice with Pure Profile though - it’s important to log into your account every day to see if any new surveys have become available, as in my experience they don’t always send out e mail invites. It’s well worth taking 2 minutes out to do this because Pure Profile are one of the highest paying companies.
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PANEL BASE is primarily targeted towards the UK market and offers online surveys on a wide range of topics, as well as SMS based surveys. Rewards range from £0.50 - £3.00 for a successfully completed telephone or online survey, to £50 cash for taking part in focus groups. Because the criteria set at the sign up process is so specific, you’ll find that when you are invited to take part in a Panel Base survey you’re very rarely screened out. Payments are made by cheque when your balance reaches £15 and the support offered to panelists is of a very high standard too.
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IPSOS is a well established and respected research company. You may have seen recent the results of their surveys mentioned in TV advertising. Unlike many other companies, Ipsos send out survey invites relating to all the members of your household, yet the earnings are all banked under one account. This means you have many more chances to earn than with most companies. You are awarded points for each survey completed that can later be exchanged for for gift vouchers in denominations of either £5 or £10 for a variety of well known retailers such as Argos, John Lewis and WH Smith. The surveys cover a wide range of topics and vary in length from anything between 5 minutes to 1 hour. You are always well rewarded for your time and are even given a nominal amount of points if you screen out after the first few questions. AS an added bonus, if you check out the Ipsos website, you will be automatically entered into their ”choose your own trip” prize draw valued at £2700 simply for showing an interest!
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PALM RESEARCH is a site open to members worldwide, but particularly welcomes panelists from the UK. Once you’ve completed their very simple registration process you can expect to receive two survey invites every day via e mail. Each survey generally pays $1 (around 67p) and takes no more than a few minutes to complete so you can soon start to build up a useful part time income when you work this site alongside of several others. Payment is made by either Paypal or cheque when your balance reaches a minimum of $10. Palm Research has a well laid out site and if you don’t want to wait for survey invites by e mail, you can log into the members area and check out what is available there too.
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ONE POLL This site was recently recommended by money saving expert Martyn Lewis in a feature on his website looking at paid survey companies. One Poll works a little differently in that panelists are paid for taking part in very short polls rather than more detailed surveys. The polls are frequently requested by the media so questions about celebrities and shopping are usually high on the agenda. One point to note with One Poll is that you must log into your account every day to see what is available - there are no e mail invites. There are usually at least 5 different polls to take part in every day - each paying between 10p and 20p, as well as some prize draw polls too. It literally only takes you five minutes to earn around 50p - 60p a day. You are paid via Paypal once your balance reaches £40. If you want to instantly increase your One Poll earnings, then I recommend you also check out their sister site ONE POLL CASHBACK, where you can earn hundreds of pounds simply by shopping on line. This site is absolutely jam packed full of money saving and money making ideas and you’re also credited with £2.00 just for signing up!
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ADPAID is one of my personal favourite sites because there are so many different ways you can earn money with it! The site welcomes members from a large number of countries, but UK residents can expect at least two survey invites by e mail every day, each paying 80 cents (around 50p). The surveys usually only take two or three minutes to complete and cover a variety of topics. You’ll also find you can earn by completing free offers, shopping online and for reading e mails. You are awarded points for each activity you complete, which can be converted to cash through Paypal. The AdPaid admin team also have regular cash prize draws to reward their members even further. Every time you take part in an activity through the AdPaid site you are automatically given an entry into the draw. And if you know of anyone else who would benefit from being an AdPaid member, providing they join through your unique referral link, you will be paid every time they carry out any activity through the site too!
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WhichSurveys.com was recently featured in the Daily Telegraph and is absolutely packed with tips, advice and information. You also get access to a free report listing hundreds of companies available worldwide. The report has conveniently been divided into different countries making it easier for you to search only relevant information. The section dedicated to sites w
ho accept UK based panelists covers around 45 survey sites and a handful of mystery shopping sites too. Some of the survey sites pay in gift vouchers and some in cash. You can also access some of the UK panels via their website.
Another site worth registering with is Earn With Paid Surveys. It’s free to join and as soon as you sign up you’re given access to a free 17 page e book guide full of tips and advice which will be a great help to you if you’re new to the world of paid survey taking. There are also links to around 50 free to join paid survey sites - around half of which are suitable for UK residents. Members are sent occasional updates and tips via e mail.
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If you do decide you would like to earn more serious money taking paid surveys then it’s well worth considering joining SURVEY HAWK. Over the last three years I’ve poured more of my hard earned cash into online money making programs than I like to admit (and had my fingers burnt on more than one occasion too!) In my experience most programs advertising extensive databases of paid survey companies are only of value if you live in the USA or Canada. Survey Hawk, however, is a welcome exception.
You pay a one off fee of £21 and in return you are given instant access to a database of over 150 paid survey companies who accept UK residents on their panels. The site layout is pretty basic and one or two of the links don’t work, but overall it’s an excellent resource which would take you months to compile under your own steam.
And to make the site even better value for money, by joining Survey Hawk you now get an instant free membership to the UK Wholesale Directory (valued at £13.99), where you will find links to 5,000 UK wholesale suppliers. To compliment this membership you also get access to an excellent e book guide which shows you step by step how to set up a successful e bay business. And if that wasn’t enough, there is a further e book bonus (valued at £19.99) showing you how to make money by having a blog. The bonuses alone are worth more than the price you pay for your Survey Hawk membership. 
Whilst Survey Hawk is primarily of interest to anyone wanting to develop an income through Paid Surveys, it also gives you sufficient information to develop a full time income working from home if that’s the route you want to go down.
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online-resources@workathometips.org
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