Do you feel you have lost out with paid surveys?  It is true that surveys for most, however many others with the right knowledge are earning nice amounts of money as a side-income.  Very often these are easy, and simple changes you can make and don’t require much time, or money.

Paid surveys are relied upon by millions for their ease of use, and lack of specialist knowledge required.  But with anything that is popular, there are plenty of sceptics.

Much if the scepticism around paid surveys comes from people losing money through incorrect use.

Although paid surveys are easy to get started with, it can also be easy to lose money through bad practices, or through missing out on higher-paying opportunities.

In this article you will learn about the most common reasons that people lose money through online surveys, and what you can do to avoid the same mistakes!

1. You’re not answering honestly

This is one of the biggest reasons people don’t earn the amount they should with paid surveys.  Companies are paying huge amounts of money to gain valuable market research, and won’t be best pleased with dishonest or unreliable answers.

An example situation:

Let’s say one survey asks you whether you have visited the Cinema in the past month.

You answer “Yes”, and carry on completing the survey.

A few days later you get another survey that asks you a similar question, “How many times have you visited the Cinema in the past month”.

You answer “none”.

Consistency of answers is a must!

Many survey panels will check your answers across multiple surveys, if they find that you are answering inconsistently then this can be a reason for disqualification.  Maybe of the surveys you have answered incorrectly, or even your whole account, losing the money you have accrued for each completed survey.

Steps to take:

• Take your time when asking questions – Completing a survey too fast is a strong indicator that you are not reading the questions correctly, or answering dishonestly.
• Avoid answering “what you think they want” – This is one of the biggest reasons that people lose out on money with paid surveys, by entering what you think the survey panel wants to hear, you may be answering untruthfully.  As a result many survey panels have systems in place to detect this, and disqualify your entry, meaning you lose out on the money for that survey.
• Register to more survey websites – It can seem that you’re missing out when you don’t qualify for certain surveys, because you haven’t been on holiday recently, or haven’t bought a new car in the past year.  The best way around this is to take advantage of many more survey websites, so when you don’t qualify for a new survey with one website,

2. Your points expire

Most survey panels use a points system, which allows users to convert their points earned from each survey into cash, shopping vouchers, or sweepstakes entries.

Survey websites are not banks and should not be treated as such.  You will often see advice about surveys advising you to cash out your earnings as soon as you can.  There are a number of reasons for this:

• Points can expire if you do not claim them – Some survey websites have time periods for you to redeem your points for prizes, if you do not claim in time, you miss out..
• Survey panels can close – This is unlikely with the larger survey sites, but it’s something that has happened in the past, with users losing out on their unclaimed points and rewards when the website closes.

Steps to take:

• Make sure you understand each panels points system, when do your points become available and how can you redeem them.

3. You don’t check your account enough

Another way that many people lose out on earning money through surveys is by not checking their account enough, meaning other people earn from those surveys instead..

• It is very common for new surveys to have time-limits on them or a maximum number of respondents, after this point the survey closes up and won’t accept new applicants.
• Surveys are not limitless, let alone the ones you actually qualify for.  So you want to be taking advantage of as many opportunities as you can.

Steps to take:

• Create a surveys folder in your email (or create a dedicated email address for surveys)
• Check your account each week, ideally every couple of days to ensure you can respond quickly to each new survey opportunity
• Give yourself time to check your account – Most, if not all people who use paid surveys, do so along their own part-time or even full-time work.  So it can be tricky to regularly keep updated with new survey invites.

Try to give yourself dedicated time each week to surveys, so that you don’t miss out on the next opportunity!

These are just 3 of the most common ways that people lose money with surveys, by understanding each, you should start to earn much more for your time with paid surveys.

This is hugely important when you consider the amount you can be paid for your time, you want to be getting the most in return as possible!

Do you feel you have lost out with paid surveys? Take these easy steps to start earning more today!