Making extra money.

Almost everyone wants to make some extra cash, whether you are a student who needs to supplement your income, a stay-at-home-mom, a retiree or anyone else who wants to keep busy and make money on the side.

There are various ways to make extra money. Here we will discus paid surveys or freelancing on the web. Both of these endeavours can mostly be done from home using your computer and digital appliances.

However, to earn some decent cash or rewards such as gift cards, you will have to put in the hours, paid surveys do not pay mega bucks, and a freelance business could take time to build up.

So which is better? Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of both paid surveys and freelancing.

Paid Surveys.

What are paid surveys?

Have you ever wondered why someone would be willing to pay you for your opinion? Manufacturing companies, retail stores, restaurants and chain stores are all willing to pay just to know what people out there are thinking and what their buying habits are. This trend is part of the marketing research strategies, business plans and product development of many companies in the market place today.

The information gained from the survey results is a valuable measuring tool that gives insight into just what makes consumers tick. Companies ask these questions to develop better products or improve those they already have and provide better service in areas where it may not be up to scratch. This is why they will pay you and many others for your personal information and opinions.

Paid surveys are now done almost strictly online, with the offer of various rewards and incentives for completed surveys.

How can I benefit from paid surveys?

You will not get rich by taking surveys but if you go about it diligently, it can provide a steady income of cash and rewards over time. Most surveys do not pay more than $10 per survey, but they do not take much time, and are easy to do.

Paid surveys are easy to register for and you do not have to pay anything to start. You will be asked provide demographic details such as your age, gender, income level, interests, occupation, religion and level of education. When you apply, it is best to give as much detail as possible to ensure many invites relevant to your interests. Because paid surveys pay less than freelancing opportunities they are also more freely available.

They also offer few ways to make extra cash. These include possible invitations to surveys like focus groups and mystery shopping assignments, which pay much more than the average surveys.

However, some of these invitations are more for more surveys you complete for the different survey panels. You may not always be lucky, but when you are the rewards are very worthwhile.

Remember that the more panel survey sites you register for the more surveys you get to do and the more cash and rewards you can accumulate.

Find the best paying online surveys.

When you decide to embark on a survey-taking journey in your eagerness to get busy you may take any surveys that you can get, even those that pay no more than a few pennies. This can be okay for a while, but when you get into the swing of things becoming more selective and opting for better paying surveys is the most profitable way to move forward.

Here is a list of some of the best paying survey panels.

• Mint Vine sends high-paying survey invitations to members approximately once per week. The pay ranges from $10 to $30 per survey.
• Pinecone Research is an immensely popular survey panel and is only available by invitation. Each survey pays $3 and you always qualify.
• Swagbucks is highly regarded on the web. In addition to regular surveys they offer a variety of ways to make extra money. You can make yourself available for mystery shopping assignments and focus group opportunities through their site. You will also be paid, if you allow them to track your internet browsing.
• Vindale Research is a survey panel that has been established for many years. They always have at least 20 to 30 surveys available to choose from and although the pay is generally less than $2 per survey, almost every day they have a few that pay $4 or $5.
• Survey Savvy is a panel site that consistently pays out big bucks. It is invitation only and the surveys they send out pay $50 to $100. To be qualified to take their surveys you are required to download their Savvy Connect program onto your computer or smartphone. The software is web-tracking that gathers data from your daily internet usage and habits.

The best advice is to sign with these high paying-sites and for those which are by invitation only, find out how to go about securing an invitation for yourself.

Benefits of paid surveys.

• They are mostly hosted online which is convenient for those who need to work from home.
• They are in plentiful supply and you can take as many as you want at any given time.
• Most are easy to do, and don’t take very long to complete.

Drawbacks of paid surveys.

• As a rule the pay is low.
• Many do not offer any cash payments, only gift cards.
• Some have a complicated points system, and many have a high threshold before you can redeem points and cash out.

Paid surveys alone cannot be looked at as something that will give you a full- time job or income but if you spend time, you can make a useful side income.

Freelancing on the web.

Creating a good freelancing business.

The main difference between paid surveys and freelancing is that freelancing gives you the opportunity of more ways to make some really good money.

There are a lot of ways to make the extra cash you need and you do not always need special skills or training. Based on your interests and whether you prefer to work online, you can investigate various freelancing opportunities. You can decide to concentrate on just one that takes your fancy or you want to try a few things to find the right niche.

The key to successful freelancing is to build a portfolio that showcases your skills to attract potential clients. There are some things to consider before you start on your portfolio, such as the niche in which you would like to specialize, such as health subjects, writing blogs, web development, data entry projects, or internet marketing and sale of products. There could also be other categories where you have some expertise or knowledge.

It is essential to prepare the groundwork properly when building your portfolio, so be as specific as you can about the services you offer. Always introduce yourself without going overboard on personal details.

How to find jobs you can contribute to.

• If you are familiar with paid online surveys, try getting pre-screened for the higher paying focus groups and mystery shopping assignments. If you get an invitation, it is an excellent way to make a substantial amount of cash.
• Social media services for companies who require help with keeping up their social media platforms. They pay per month or per post for Facebook posts or tweets.
• Freelancer is a company who outsource services in various fields to freelancers, including web designs, writing, marketing, data entry etc. It is free and easy to join and you will have to construct a profile of the services you can offer.
• Upwork offer work of all types to freelancers. They have hundreds of jobs available, divided into specific categories, some requiring specific skills. Clients are in need of programmers, IT specialists, financial advisors, writers, bloggers and natural health experts among others. There is plenty of work to go around, but it will be advisable to have a niche that you are comfortable in. Pay is either an hourly rate or a fixed price per project. You will also have to set up a comprehensive profile of what you can do.
• IFreelance is an organization which has a wide freelance network that includes categories like photography, video making, marketing, art, writing, translation, graphic design, accounting and admin support.

These are just some of the ways to earn money freelancing online, and get paid very well for your efforts.

What you put into it.

What you put into anything you do is more or less what you will get out of it. If you are casual and careless about making a success of any business, you will not succeed in reaching your goals.

It is possible to make an excellent living by operating a freelancing business. But like any business, especially when you are you own boss you have to put in a lot of time to succeed. Clients can sometimes be difficult but if they give you regular work and pay well, they are the bread and butter of your business.

The same principal applies even if you are in the business of taking paid surveys for survey panels. Sign onto as many panels as you can, concentrating on sites which pay well and take all the invites for which you qualify. Survey panels keep records of who they send offers to, and take note of panelists who submit well-completed reports.

You will build up a reputation of being reliable and efficient, and greatly boost your chances of getting invites to the higher paying jobs like mystery shopping and focus groups.

So which is better?

Freelancing for companies such as Upwork, Guru, or Freelancer does pay well but also takes a lot of your time. Payment is in cash usually through Paypal and when the job is successfully completed and approved by the client there is no hanging around waiting for payment.

Paid surveys are far less hectic to do. The pay is not all that great, but you can push it up by working for several panels at the same time and opting for the better-paying surveys. Invites to focus group surveys or mystery shopping trips also generate extra cash.

Some surveys panels take a while to pay out redeemed points, whether cash or gift cards and this is a drawback for many panelists.

Why not do both?

Neither of these money-making endeavours should be looked at as a full-time job, although you would have a better chance of achieving that with freelancing.

However, whether you choose to concentrate on freelancing, or opt for completing surveys for the survey panel sites – with perseverance and determination on your part, you will be able to make quite a good extra income.