Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Ten Things Every Affiliate Marketer Needs To Know

Becoming an affiliate marketer sounds easy. Just add a few links to your website and you'll be on your way toward making thousands of dollars each month, right? While affiliate marketing is a great opportunity, it isn't as easy as it initially seems and common misconceptions often lead many new affiliate marketers to fail. In order to become a successful affiliate, you need to learn the tricks of the trade and work consistently to generate top results. The following are ten of the most important things every affiliate marketer needs to know in order to do well in this growing industry.
1. Affiliate marketing takes time and effort.
Affiliate novices often mistakenly believe that all they need to do to start earning money is to place a few affiliate links on their website. This is simply not the case. In order to achieve real and lasting results, you need to be willing to work on your affiliate websites and promotions on a daily basis.
2. Understanding your audience is essential.
In order to choose the right affiliate offers, produce the right website content, and effectively market your affiliate offers, you need to have a solid understanding of your target audience. Who are your customers? What are they looking for? By learning all you can about your potential customers and then tailoring your marketing efforts to their needs, you'll be able to increase your site traffic, generate more link clicks, and sell more products.
3. Choose the right affiliate programs for your audience and your needs.
Give careful consideration to affiliate programs in order to find those that are best for the needs of your website and your audience. Before you join an affiliate program, carefully analyze what the merchant has to offer. Do their products match the needs and interests of your audience? You should also consider the payment model, payout dates, and affiliate tools that each program provides before you decide.
4. Keyword research is crucial.
Once you have chosen the affiliate offers you want to promote, you need to create website content that complements your affiliate links. Simply adding a lot of links to your site without back them up with sufficient content is a recipe for failure. In order to develop content that achieves high search rankings and draws in potential customers, you need to spend some time on keyword research. Utilize tools such as the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool to discover which search terms your audience is using to find information on the Web.
5. Always measure your results.
In order to determine which elements of your affiliate marketing efforts have been successful, it is important to carefully track and measure your results. Determine which links are generating the most sales as well as which advertising methods are drawing in the most traffic. Use this information to make adjustments to your site and plan for future campaigns.
6. Diversify your marketing tactics.
Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Having only one income stream is a dangerous risk, possibly resulting in disaster if the market changes and that revenue source dries up. By having multiple sources of income, you'll be better equipped to cope with changes that might occur.
7. Genuine consumer advice is more effective than a sales pitch.
Instead of extolling the virtues of every offer you are promoting, focus on providing genuine and balanced reviews. Consumers can sense a weak pitch, so always stay open and honest with your audience. Point out ways the offer might benefit the reader, but don't be afraid to note potential weaknesses. While it might seem counterproductive, personalized reviews generate far greater conversion rates.
8. Always links to quality products.
Online viewers are granting you a certain amount of trust and credibility once they visit your site. Don't throw away trustworthiness by linking to low-quality products. A great rule of thumb to follow is to never promote anything that you would never buy yourself. Remember that your affiliate links are a direct reflection on your business, so never promote anything that isn't up to your high standards.
9. Link to individual products.
Many new affiliates start by simply placing an ad to the main page of an affiliate merchant, expecting viewers to visit the site and buy products. However, this is one of the least effective ways to promote affiliate products. In order to motivate users to make a purchase, you need to provide a link to an actual product.
Think of your affiliate links as something similar to contextual online advertising. Your links should relate to the information on each page. If you have a Web page titled "Top 10 Digital Cameras," then your affiliate links should be directly to each of the product you mention in the article. By providing links to specific products, online readers will be far more likely to make a purchase.
10. Generate website traffic.
It is next to impossible to truly thrive as an affiliate marketer if you are not generating sufficient website traffic. Because only a small portion of your viewers will click your affiliate links and an even small portion of these users will actually make a purchase, it is essential to draw a lot of traffic to your website. In many cases, the more traffic you generate, the more products you will sell. Great traffic-building ideas include search optimization, blogging, viral marketing and free email newsletters.

Saturday, 25 January 2014

Top 10 Best PPC ( Pay Per Click) Publisher Ad Networks

Google Adsense


Google Adsense is one of the best PPC based networks. No doubt every blogger and website owner wants to earn through Adsense because of many reasons behind the success of Adsense Popularity. In short Adsense is Bid based CPC and RPM networks and their are lots of advertisers bases on the niche of sites. Adsense offers highest CPC rates and show more targeted ads related to content which increase the CTR rate and helps to earn more revenue. Adsense rates varies on the bases of relevant and irrelevant ads. It CPC rate vary between the range of $0.02 - $15 depend upon the location of visitor and niche of the blog. 

  1. Getting Adsense Approval is too Hard
  2. Highest CPC Rates as compare to others
  3. Show Targeted Ads for particular Pages on the bases of Relevant and Irrelevant
  4. Minimum Payout $100  via check or wired transfer

Media.net Ads


It is a Contextual Ad network by Combined Yahoo and Bing  and powered by Media.Net. It is one of best Alternative of Adsense. Its CPC rates are also high and good. It is also Bid based CPC and CPM and CPA ads on the bases of eRPM. Media.net become most popular for advertiser and publisher within few years and makes best place in advertising. Unfortunately if you don't get Adsense approval then i recommend you to apply for Media.Net

  1. Getting Approval For Media.net easy as compare to Adsense
  2. You can use Adsense and Media on same website to earn more revenue
  3. You will only get Approval if you site have High qualify content and Traffic from the reason like US/  UK/ Canada
  4. Show well targeted ads for particular pages
  5. Minimum payout $250 via PayPal or Wire Transfer

Chitika Ads


Chitika is also famous platform of CPC on the bases of Search Targeted Ads, Local ads and Mobile Ads. Chitika ads are accepts only organic traffic drive by Search engines. So you will only earn revenue from clicks, if you have good visitor flow from search engines. Chitika Offers high CPC rates as compare to others but little bit low as compare to Adsense. But instead of others it is also good Adsense alternative. Chitika has Referring Program also you can refer others for using Chitika ads then you will earn 10% of Refer Publisher review for 10 months.

  1. Their is no Particular Requirement for Approval They Accept small site and blogs also
  2. You can show Chitika with Adsense or Media.net also
  3. Site required Search Engine Traffic to earn Revenue
  4. Minimum pay out $10 via PayPal and $50 via Checks

InfoLinks Ads


Infolinks is In-text link based CPC ad network. If you have text based rich site or blog then Infolinks is best choice for earn some revenue. The best part of Infolinks is they don't need and space for banners. Infolinks show targeted ads for any relevant keyword from you content. You can also use keyword Tag cloud from Infolinks on you site or Infolinks can be use as search ads.  Infolinks don't cover the spaces so thats why you can use other ads banner from Adsense or other alternative to earn more revenue for site content.

  1. Getting Approval is too much easy. Only few sites get disapprove
  2. In-text ads, Search ads or Tag cloud Instead banner ads.
  3. Minimum Pay out $50 via PayPal or wire transfer

Clicksor Ads


This is also one of the best Alternative for other in-text based as well for banner ads. Clicksor is best and popular platform of advertiser and publisher. Clicksor having several advertising format like in-text ads and contextual banner ads. Clicksor divides publisher in two groups on the bases of total impressions. Clicksor is Bid based CPC and CPM ads networks. Its offer less CPC rates as compare to above Sites. If also offer Reference Program mean you earn 10% revenue from the Publisher you refer for using Clicksor

  1. Approval System is fast as compare to others
  2. In-text and contextual banner ads, Pop under and other text based ads
  3. Minimum Payout is $50 through check or PayPal

Affinity Ads


Affinity has also make their best place in advertising market. Affinity has adopts many different kind of ways for publisher to earn more revenue from their website by implementation in Toolbar, In-text, search suggestion, gaming ads, widget and such kinds of amazing implementation. Affinity is also Bid Rates network based on CPC , CPM and CPA with better eRPM rates. Affinity have highest revenue sharing upto 95% as compare to others.

  1. Fast Approval Process
  2. Keyword Based Targeted Ads
  3. Minimum payout $50 via PayPal

Kontera Ads


Kontera is almost similar to Infolinks ads networks. It is based on In-text and in-image ads for your text content for any selected keywords. Kontera show relevant ads for keyword shown in double underline which is also looks irritating for users . Kontera offers Less CPC rates but they having higher CTR rates. Kontera is also compatible which Google Adsense and other Networks. They also don't need any space of banner placement. So it is better way to earn side earnings with other Banners based ads. Kontera share 70% revenue with Publishers

  1. Approval Process is Fast
  2. Show In-text based ads and don't occupy and banner space.
  3. Also used as side earning with other banner ads
  4. Minimum Pay out  $50 via checks, PayPal or Wire Transfer

ValueClick Ads


Valueclick Ads hold best position in advertising networks. It is based on CPC and CPM methods. Advertisement format used by valueclick is contextual ads, different size of banner, pop ads and many other different format. Its offers good CPC and CPM rates better lesser as compare to above networks.

  1. Easy to get Approval
  2. Its Share 65% revenue with publisher
  3. Minimum Payout $25 vie PayPal or check

Bidvertiser


It is also a best choice if you are not able to get an approval from Adsense or media.net. Bidvertiser is also famous and oldest advertiser platform but personally i am not satisfied from Bidvertiser. It CPC rates are not too much high Because they don't have too many advertiser So their is no comparison with Adsense. Its CPC rates vary from approx 0.02 to $2.

  1. Getting Approval Process is Fast. I think no one get disapprove
  2. Minimum Payout $10 via PayPal or Checks

AdHitz 


AdHitz is growing advertiser platform but its performance on the publisher platforms not so good. AdHitz having number different types of advertiser but their offers less CPC rates as compare to other publisher networks so that's why publisher choose Adhitz lesser ad compare to others.  But if their is no choice left then i recommend you to choose Adhitz. Otherwise try on another ads programs first.

  1. Based On selling ads spaces to advertisers through Adhitz
  2. It shares 70% ads revenue with publisher
  3. Minimum payout $25

I hope You enjoy this article about PPC publisher networks. I try explain only the best ppc networks from where you can earn some revenue. Their are numbers of PPC publisher site are available which i do not listed just because of their low cpc rates and performance. So i recommend you to choose any network which you like.
Don't use more that 2,3 three different networks on same site. Their are many bad effects on site as well on earnings also.

Top 13 Best Paying CPC/PPC Ad Networks

PPC ad networks are pretty much proven models that can provide profits for webmasters who publish ads using them. It also serves as an income stream to a lot of blogs and websites which feature these CPC ads. But which CPC/PPC ad network should you join? or which one is the top ppc ad network? Picking one can be somewhat difficult, since in one network directory you can find at least a hundred PPC ad networks listed. So, here we have for you, the 12 Top Ad Networks (PPC).
Before we start, we’d like to let you know that rating them can be a problem, but there are ways in which you can determine which one is best for your Internet marketing needs. You’ll have to be somewhat familiar with the web analytics tools to see if your ad monetization strategy is working, and that can get a bit frustrating for average webmaster. One of the more obvious ways to see if a network is any good would be the traffic volume it generates. Just as important, you should find out about their ads’ conversion rate. Finally, there’s also the average click pricing to consider. The basic question is: which PPC ad network will make you the most money or which one is the best ad network? The blog you put up may have idealistic goals such as informing people of what they need to know, but maintaining a website costs money. That means at the very least you need to make some money to cover your expenses. With the following ad networks, you’ll get the best possible odds of making money off ads. There’s no such thing as a sure thing, but you may as well arm yourself with the most promising ad network candidates:
1) Google AdSense
No list of this type would be complete without mentioning the Google Ad network (The Undisputed King of PPC Ad networks or easily the best ad network). For bloggers and other website owners, the place to go is Google AdSense. One of the main benefits of AdSense is that Google works with millions of advertisers (it’s Google’s main source of income) and this makes it more likely that they can deliver ads that are both relevant and high quality which in turns leads to a higher CTR and more money for you. As the website owner, you can control just what types of ads appear on pages of your site. You’ll have access to reports and metrics which can show just how effective your website is working for you. It’s very easy to use, and there are no signup fee involved. If, you already use Adsense, read some testing and optimization tips to increase your Adsense earnings. You’ll get to display ads that are associated with the interests of your visitors, and you get paid depending on the number of visitors who click on the ads on your site. You can also put in a custom search bars on your site, and earn money from the ads that appear on the search results page. You just need to have sufficient ad space and decide where the ads should go. Advertisers then participate in a real time auction to appear in your ad spaces and the highest paying ads then appear on your reserved ad spaces. This video shows you how the auction works. A lot of people make money from Adsense, so what’s the catch? If Google AdSense is so good, why doesn’t everyone use it? The simple reason why- not everyone uses Adsense is that not everyone is approved to join the network. You have to be approved, and that means you have to comply with all the conditions Google has laid out. For example, if the primary language you use in your ad is not among their list of supported languages, then you’re out of luck.
Adsense-top-ppc-network
Courtesy: www.hub4blog.com
Many former AdSense members have also been suspended because they’ve been accused of click fraud. Of course, being accused is not the same as being guilty, but Google is both your accuser and judge. If they say they’re suspending your account, there’s not much you can do. You can appeal, but since you’re also appealing to Google… well, you get the idea. So make sure your never completely dependent on it. So despite the Google monolith, there’s space for ad network alternatives out there.
2) Media Net
This is the Yahoo-Bing ad network and this PPC ad network pretty much gives you an idea of just how dominant Google’s PPC ad network is. Internet giants like Yahoo and Microsoft actually had to combine their efforts and resources in order to offer a viable ad network alternative to AdSense. Media Net gives you relevant ads, and you also have tools to track your performance in real time. You can control how the ads look so that they fit right in with your color palette, and you can filter advertisers and block ad topics. While the number of advertisers can actually compare to Google’s, the conditions for being approved may actually be more difficult for many international bloggers. Aside from the usual conditions such as having high quality traffic and content, your site’s visitors should mostly come from the US, Canada, or the UK. You’re also required to use English as your site’s primary language.
3) Bidvertiser
While not quite as well-known as the first two, Bidvertiser does have some benefits especially if you’ve been banned from AdSense for some reason. If you have a website and you want to join, there are the usual conditions such as not allowing adult sites as well as those sites that sell illegal drugs and those with too much profanity and hate speech. You can’t join if your website is under construction, or if your site already has too much advertising to begin with. However, many have commented that the approval process is quick and easy because there seems to be no requirement regarding traffic volume and language used. There’s an easy installation with an HTML code to be added to your webpages, and you can easily change the appearance of the ads. The payout may not be as high per click, but you earn money not just on clicks but on conversions as well. Conversions are when the clicking visitor goes to the advertiser’s website and actually makes a purchase. There are still problems, though. If you are focused on a small niche, then the ads that appear may not be all that relevant to your site. And the reporting is not quite as detailed as they ought to be; you don’t get a lot of info regarding impressions or click through rates.
4) Chitika
While the AdSense-deprived website owners may be flocking to alternatives, the thing about Chitika is that you can use it alongside other ad networks. It is also considered one of the best ad networks for adsense banned sites. Approval can take a while (it may take up to a week), but then you only need to have one of your websites approved. After you obtain the approval for that one website, you can then use Chitika for any of your other websites. You can also resize mobile ads to make it easier for you to generate income from mobile traffic. The pay per click rates will of course depend on the keywords and niche, and the PPC rates may be considered lower than other ad networks in general. But, there’s a low pay out limit before you get your money. You’ll need to generate $50 if you want your money by check but if taking payment through PayPal the limit is only $10. The main difference between Chitika and the other ad networks is that the ads aren’t contextual at all. Instead, the ads depend on the keywords that the visitor typed in the search engine to get to your site. This can result in somewhat more relevant ads too.
Chitika Ad Network
Chitika Ad Network
5) Infolinks
The Infolinks PPC ad network is one of the more popular supplementary income sources for those who already use one of the major PPC ad networks. That’s because the ads here are comparatively unobtrusive—they don’t have standard banner space. Instead, the ads (insearch, intext, intag, inframe) appear minimized or in hyperlinks, and visitors need only to hover their mouse pointers over the links for the ads to appear. Approval time is quite short, and that’s because it’s based mainly on content and not on the amount of traffic you generate. The installation is easy with java script added to the body of your site. You can even use a plugin that does the work for you if you use WordPress, joomla, Blogger, or Drupal. You have a lot of control over the ads as to location and number, and the support system is very quick to respond. To maximize your earnings, however, you’ll need a lot of traffic from the US or UK. Infolinks also only offer ads in English and Spanish.
6) Clicksor
This is another haven of AdSense exiles, and the thing about Clicksor ads is that it doesn’t look quite like the ads in AdSense (which many ad networks seem to emulate). There are numerous sizes available to make your ads look different, and there are unique types of ads as well. It’s also very easy to install, and like Infolinks there’s a plugin if you use WordPress, joomla, Blogger, or Drupal. The approval process is quite quick, and you can have ads from other networks on the same page as long as you only have 3 ad units from Clicksor at the most.
7) Vibrant Media
This is one of the more well-known PPC ad networks right now, and their premium brand advertisers can be seen in a lot of popular high traffic sites. Their PPC rates are among the highest in the industry, but the catch is that they just don’t let any website join in the fun. They have to consider your site to be a premium site, and one of the conditions seems to be that you ought to get at least half a million page views each month. The usual publisher guidelines are also in play, so this means you can’t have anything to do with adult, gambling, drugs, profanity, hate speech, violence (you can’t even sell stun guns), or just about anything illegal. The types of ads Vibrant Media has are quite innovative, with 11 intext ad formats available to use. This includes expanding video boxes, multi-button videos and expandable flash. There’s also in-image advertising, which a lot of visitors find professional and unobtrusive. The ads are so effective that the click through rates can be 5 times higher than the ads generated by AdSense. They also look great on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. So if you are already successful in luring lots of visitors to your site, you can leverage that popularity by joining Vibrant Media and partnering with other premium advertisers.
8) Exit Junction
For many website owners, bounced traffic (when a visitor enters your site and takes just a single look before leaving) may be generally considered worthless. After all, they didn’t stay long enough to visit the other pages, and therefore they didn’t click on the ads on the site. But the appropriately named Exit Junction allows you to supplement your PPC advertising income by showing these visitors, ad they can click on so that you earn money. When you have Exit Junction installed, and your visitors click on the back button after seeing the landing page they don’t go straight back to the search engine page results they usually came from. Instead, they are taken to a list of sponsored results based on the keywords they typed. For those who decide to explore, their user experience is unaffected. The review and approval process to enter is very quick, and you don’t need to generate lots of traffic to be accepted. (That’s a relief if you have high bounce rates!) Installation is quite easy, and your income from Exit Junction doesn’t compete at all with the ads from other ad networks featured on your site. Since the visitor has effectively decided to leave your site when they see the ads, you don’t have a say on how the ads appear.
9) PocketCents
It’s a pretty straightforward ad network with fixed rates for PPC. For publishing websites, there’s no sign up or upfront costs, and there’s restrictions regarding page views per month. They earn money from plain-text, hybrid, banner, and video-advertisements. You may need some skills to set up the ads, but after the setup very little effort from you is required for maintenance. Payout is mainly through PayPal, with a $10 minimum payout. For webmasters in the United States, Canada, and in some European countries, there’s a check option as well. The fixed PPC rate scheme for Pocketcents goes like this: the ad network charges 25 cents per click for advertisers, and from that you get 15 cents as a publisher.
Pocketcents
Pocketcents Ad Network
While in its early years there were complaints about some snafus regarding the reports, but lately they’ve seem to have made the appropriate improvements about this. The advertising base is also growing rapidly, which ought to give you lots of options.
10) Blogads
With a name like that, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the ad network focuses its efforts on helping blogs maximize their profits through PPC ads. If your blog discusses just about anything under the sun then advertisers may wait until you have at least half a million impressions per month before they start to advertise on your site. But if you focus on a very narrow niche (you’re all about werewolves or Chilean football players) then even 30k impressions per month may suffice. As a publisher, you control your own ad offerings and prices, so the income you generate is all up to you.
11) Kontera
Getting into Kontera seems easy and quick enough, and as long as you don’t have any adult content you should have no problems. The installation is easy and they also have a plugin for WordPress, joomla, Blogger, or Drupal. The ads look impressive enough that you won’t be embarrassed by them, and they have a large ad inventory. The rates are decent too, and you even get $50 bonus if your site gets at least 25 thousand page views in the first month with Kontera. They specialize in “in-text” advertising, and they are focused more on the user’s search terms.
12) CPX Interactive
You can sign up easily with this PPC ad network, but approval may take a bit of time. That’s because CPX Interactive checks to see if you have at least 30 thousand impressions per month, and that your privacy policy complies with the CPX conditions regarding use of data. But then again they allow you to choose another ad network to work with alongside CPX. There are lots of choices regarding the types and sizes of ads, and the account management system, dashboard and reporting tools are quite comprehensive. But you’re on your own when it comes to analyzing the data, which for non-techies can be quite frustrating. The minimum payout is $100, and it’s either by check or through PayPal.
13) Click Booth
Clickbooth’s CPC Network leverages years of performance based marketing knowledge to yield the highest eCPM’s in the industry from compliant, high performing campaigns. By cutting a layer out of the equation, Clickbooth is able to outperform the competition by 30-40%. With revenue share and CPM models available, CBCPC has quickly become the “go to” ad-serving solution for all the top Comscore and Alexa properties. Currently, CBCPC serves over 6.5 Billion impressions a month on some of the most premium, sought after sites in the US and abroad including NBC, FOX and more.
When asked about why Publishers should choose ClickBooth, this is what Chris Butlin, Director of CBCPC Publishing had to say “Publishers should choose CBCPC because our industry experts are dedicated to creating long term monetization solutions for your site. We provide our clients access to the largest network of premium advertisers automatically delivered to their site through advanced algorithms. These algorithms factor in consumer feedback mechanisms to determine the most compatible ads for the site’s psychographics and demographics”.
So that’s it. That’s 13 CPC ad networks (can also be considered the top ad networks) to choose from, and this list ought to give you an additional zing in your income column. You can also Take your earnings to the next level and optimize any ad network  on your website using our ad revenue optimization tool. With a dozen options, there’s at least one that will make you some serious money! Do post your comments about your experience with the networks after trying them.

List of Best PPC ad Networks for 2013

Here I'm going a quick list of the popular and well-known PPC ad networks. Adsense is leading them and other are also good if one doesn't qualify for Adsense. 


  • I can say and you should also say that Adsense is the king among all PPC networks. The reasons are following: 
  1. Adsense pays you more money than expected
  2. Adsense is suitable for all small and large business
  3. The highest CTR (Click Through Rate)
  4. Adsense payment options are awesome including Western Union
  5. Adsense is run by Google and you must know who is Google?
So in my opinion Adsense is the # 1 PPC network and will remain same for a long time. 

  • Infolinks is another PPC solution for a website or blog in order to earn money online. But unlike Adsense this network doesn't accept video and wallpaper based websites. The reason is: because Infolinks was designed for text-based content and their ads show only in text content randomly. So if you have a website or blog having text content in it, you can easily monetize your blog with Infolinks. 

Also, Infolinks can be used altogether with Google Adsense. Infolinks payments methods are same like Adsense.

  • Chatika is also a good alternative to Adsense and can also be implemented along with Adsense. The main concept for using these networks is traffic, if your site has good traffic then you can earn by all of them. Chatika pays you via Paypal or Payza. If you don't have adsense account then must try it. 
  • Bidvertiser is also working as PPC network for last few years, so it has a good reputation online in the market. You can try it out, but in case if you don't get Adsense account then. Don't use it along with Adsense. This network pays you via Paypal and Payza.
  • Clicksor is also a pay per click based advertising network which pays you mostly for valid clicks on your website. Clicksor pays you via Paypal and Payza. The requirement for approval is just having a website or a blog.

How to Make Money Through: reading e-mails, watching ads, playing games and surveys

Are you reading emails?  It’s common. But do you think you can make money from it, just by reading emails. Why not? Because it is one of the ways to make extra money online without paying anything from home. So why not join in a site which will send you commercial emails and your work is just to open them and read.  When you register some of these sites give you a sign up bonus some will give you $5 depending on the site.


Easy way to make money online without investment, is just reading commercial E-mails. You will receive the free Emails on the topics that interest you and get paid for reading these e-mails. However this site will not make you rich but you can make some extra money to care of your daily expenses.


Below are some sites that offered paid surveys, reading e-mails, watching ads/clicking ads of which I am a member and have been making some few coins, though not so long that I joined through a colleague. You can click on them to register and go through the site it’s very easy and free and start making money.


      1.       http://yield2me.com/-98811.htm
      3.       http://adf.ly/?id=3026830
      5.       www.inboxdollars.com

Friday, 24 January 2014

Online surveys - the best ones to make you money (By: MSN Money UK)

If you're on the computer a lot and you like answering easy questions, online surveys can be a good way of making a bit of pocket money - or getting some fun prizes here and there.
Don't think you will make a fortune though! The most you are likely to get from a survey is about £5 a go, and many of them don't actually pay - they just give you points through which you can redeem some prizes.
The bad news
...is that there are a lot of con artists on the net and many of them are running bogus surveys. BEWARE!
There are several that just want to get your information (and possibly even your bank details) and then cause you problems. So don't just go with any old company. Check the list below and only join those or others that your trusted friends recommend.
Also, even the good ones are likely to bombard you with emails once they have your email address so it's a good idea to set up a separate account from your usual email address just for surveys, cashback sites, freebie sites and other annoying companies that want to keep 'communicating'!
How to do it
It's not a difficult process. It's simply a question of registering (for free - make sure you don't pay anything) with a few survey companies you like the look of, then checking your inbox regularly to see what surveys are on offer.
Remember, you won't qualify for all the surveys. These are marketing tools and the companies that set them are usually looking for answers from specific groups, eg mothers between the ages of 20-35. You might find that only a few surveys apply to you so it's a good idea to be signed up to a few survey companies to give yourself a decent choice.
With most companies you earn reward points as you go and obviously the more active you are the more points you earn. Depending on which site you use you can convert your points into vouchers or sometimes cash and you also have the chance to enter prize draws too.
Safe sites to join
Valued Opinions
This is a firm favourite with my readers at Moneymagpie.com. Valued Opinions will enter you into a prize draw to win an iPad as soon as you sign up. They then offer short surveys of just 15-20 minutes which will earn you between £1 and £5 each time. Not bad cash.
They'll also give you £2 when you refer a friend who joins and completes a survey. Plus there's also the chance to do product testing, which means free stuff. So you can see why it's popular.
Once your account reaches £10 you can redeem your points for vouchers at Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Argos, Tesco, Boots, John Lewis, HMV, Arcadia and Marriott, or you can choose to donate your rewards to charities like the British Red Cross, Amnesty International and World Vision.
Surveyhead
Surveyhead offers all kinds of surveys about films, travel and gaming and will pay you £3.50 just for signing up. They send you invitations every time a survey comes up and will reward you with points for each one you complete.
Once you've reached a minimum threshold of points you can either claim vouchers to spend across hundreds of different online stores, or you can opt to 'cash out' - claim your rewards in their cash equivalent. These are paid using Paypal.
Users I've heard from have given Surveyhead a big thumbs up for good rewards and prompt payment.
Panelbase
Another popular site, Panelbase has turned many of the drawbacks of online surveys into positives for its users. For example, all respondents who are screened out of a survey are put into a monthly prize draw to win £50 cash.
The surveys they offer pay between 25p and £10 each, and often include additional entry into prize draws for big value prizes like TVs and iPods. Once you reach your redemption threshold of £10 you can opt to receive it as cash (via a BACS payment into your account) or you can choose vouchers. They offer Love2Shop vouchers, which can be used in over 70 high street retailers, so you don't have to choose a specific store to get your rewards in.
Lightspeed Panel
These guys are another popular choice with many people. You'll earn between 50 and 150 points for each Lightspeed survey or MiniPoll and you need a minimum of 1,100 points to convert your points into vouchers. You can receive your rewards as cash (via Paypal) or in vouchers for a variety of online and high street retailers like Amazon, M&S and Argos.
Completing surveys and MiniPolls will not only earn you points, but also enter you into a quarterly cash prize draw for £2,000.
Toluna
With Toluna you'll get 500 points just for signing up, and you'll get an additional 500 points for recommending friends too (as long as they complete their sign-up).
You can earn between 1,000 and 20,000 points for each of their surveys depending on its length, and they are sent directly to you. The great thing about Toluna is that you have other opportunities to collect points by doing smaller polls or giving an 80-word opinion about something - perfect if you've got a spare 15 minutes on your lunch break.
You need 80,000 points to convert into the lowest £15 voucher, which you can spend in a variety of places like Amazon or HMV. On average you'll find this will take two or three months to reach, depending on the survey screenings and how active you are on the website.
GreatSites
On GreatSites a cash prize of £5,000 is given away every six months, which is not bad for just answering a few simple questions. Once you've registered they will email you special offers and surveys based on the information you provided them with (ie your profile).
The more you respond the greater your chance of scooping the £5,000, plus you'll gain access to the various other competitions the company has running.
Ciao for Product Reviews
You write reviews for Ciao and earn money when people read them. Different reviews are given different rates of pay. The rate for each review changes monthly because of how Ciao is financed. Reviews are worth 0.5p per rating, 1p per rating or 2p per rating and you earn more if you write a first review of a product or very high quality reviews.
You can invite friends and earn a commission equal to 50% of your friend's earnings for the first six months of their membership. Once you've reached £5 or more you can request a payout into your bank account.
(Ciao is owned by Microsoft)
Onepoll
Onepoll will pay you £2.50 just for joining and then you can make between 10p and £1 for any surveys you take with the chance of winning £500 in a cash prize every now and then. Onepoll also pays for real-life stories you might have for the papers, so worth considering (although if it's a really good story make sure you get at least £500 or it's not worth it).

The Best Survey Sites to Join (By: Clarks Condensed)

My Favorite Survey Sites

1
Right before I graduated from high school, I remember signing up for a dozen survey sites. With each of those signups, I was often bombarded with tons of emails containing links to surveys. And guess what? I never qualified.
survey-sites
I realize now that partly may have been because I was 17, and most market research studies are looking for an older demographic. However, I was so discouraged, I gave it up for a few years. I figured it wasn’t worth my time to go through five or ten minutes of a survey, only to be told I didn’t qualify.
Well, last year, I remember reading a post my favorite deals website, Freebies2Deals. The post was about her favorite survey sites. And how people were actually making money doing it. And not just making money, but getting free products. I couldn’t believe it. But after reading the post, and doing some research on some of the companies she posted about, I decided to give it another shot.
And I’m so glad I did. Seriously, in the past 6 months alone, I think I’ve made over 100 dollars, plus I’ve gotten free, full-size products to try out.  I have fifty dollars right now, just waiting to be redeemed (though I’m trying to save everything I make for Christmas, so I’m resisting the temptation!) We’ve gotten a huge container of Tide Pods, Bath and Body Works  hand soaps, baby wipes, frozen meals, toilet paper, and more. And it’s so easy to do. At night, when we are just watching TV, I pull open my favorite survey sites, and see if there is any
Here are my favorite, legitimate survey websites. I definitely recommend signing up for the first two, because that is where I make my most money and get the most free products, but if you have some extra time, the other ones aren’t too bad either. These are all free survey websites as well — no catch!

My Favorites

MySurvey.com

- Both Forrest and I have signed up for this one, and have made a decent amount of money recently. I really like this one because I almost always qualify for the survey, and they are usually pretty interesting. I’ve gotten a few full-sized products from MySurvey as well, which is cool. They also send a ton of surveys, which is awesome, because if you don’t qualify for one, there’s usually another one ready to go. MySurvey has excellent customer service, which is nice, because quite often the surveys end up having an error at the end, and I don’t get credited my points. I just send them an email, and those points are usually deposited in a few days. Sometimes you might get selected for a special survey, where you get cash in the mail along with a product.
Points accumulate rather quickly. I usually save mine up for Amazon gift cards, but they have tons of different options. There are gift cards for restaurants, DVDs, games, or even just the option to be paid via PayPal. The minimum cash out is usually around 1,000 points, but it’s 1,100 for an Amazon gift card. It really just depends on what you want.
It does take awhile for points to be redeemed though, so don’t think you are going to get the gift card immediately. I think it usually takes about 2-3 weeks, so plan ahead!

Ipsos I-say

- This is the first site I signed up with at the beginning of last year, so it has a special place in my heart. It used to be called Global Opinion Panels, but recently merged with I-say, which I also was a member of. The surveys are usually between 10 and 20 minutes long, and I feel like it is really easy to rack up points quickly. There are a lot of things that points can be traded in for, and I believe that 1,000 points will get you an Amazon gift card.
This is the site where I’ve gotten the most free products. I’ve also participated in several studies where, along with a product or a study I have to fill out at my house, I’m sent money as well. Like recently, I was sent a product to review, along with a 10 dollar bill, and as soon as I’m done, I’ll get another 25 dollars. So beyond getting points for surveys, you also can earn some cash.
There are usually quite a few surveys available, and I usually do qualify. It’s nice though, because even if you don’t qualify, you get 5 points. Which isn’t a lot, but it can add up. They also have the “poll predictor” at the end of each survey, where you can get a certain amount of sweeps entries for guessing the correct answer. I-say also has a loyalty program, where you get extra points for filling out a certain number of surveys

SurveySavvy.com

- Most of the surveys on here are worth 1 dollar, though I have gotten a few worth more. I have a love-hate relationship with SurveySavvy though. Sometimes I really feel like I”m going to qualify for a survey, and then after I’ve been asked a ton of questions, I get kicked out. However, the surveys really don’t take a lot of time, and when you do qualify, it’s worth it. I like that they have something to download to your desktop where you can take the surveys as well. They also have a good referral program.

Mindfield

- I haven’t made a ton of money with this one yet, but I have gotten some free products, so it’s one that I feel is worthwhile. They don’t send tons of surveys, but when they do, I usually qualify, unless they quota is already full by the time I get to it. They have a great referral program, and most surveys are worth 1-5 dollars. I think the minimum cash out is 5 dollars, and that can be accumulated rather quickly.

Other:

 
This are some sites I have recently signed up for, and from doing some research, feel like they are worthwhile. However, since I haven’t been doing them long enough to see any money come in or take enough surveys, I can’t personally vouch for them. But, I think they are worth signing up for, and I’ll do an update later when I have a better idea.

Mindswarms

This is a pretty cool idea. A webcam is required to participate, because the surveys are done via webcam. From what I read, you don’t get a ton of offers, but when you do, it’s worth it to complete. The payout is really great (as in, around 50 dollars per survey) and you get paid really quickly. As I was looking around the dashboard, it looks like you have to apply for certain surveys, and they let you know if you get accepted. There’s also an option to send a survey to a friend, if you think they will qualify. I’m excited to try it out, as I’ve done a few webcam surveys in the past and really enjoyed them. They also have the option of having them send you a text, email, Facebook message, or a Tweet on Twitter when you qualify for a study.

Opinion Outpost

I saw this one on a few different blogs, and people seem to really like it. I signed up and have already earned quite a few points. If you don’t qualify for one survey, they always ask if you would like them to see if you qualify for another, and most of the time, I did. What most people seem to like about this one is that you can get points really quick, and in my short time doing it, I found that to be true.

L’oreal

This one is really cool, especially if you like makeup. Basically, you are paid in makeup to take surveys or participate in panels. There are two different options, either participate in the studies at their base in New Jersey, or in their home study program. If you complete 5 surveys online, you will receive some kind of compensation, like a cosmetic or hair product, in the mail. You can also participate in at home studies, where you are given a product to try out and evaluate, and then you get to keep the product. From what I’ve read about this, people LOVE it, and the products are totally worth it. I read that it took awhile to get approved, but I was in less than 24 hours. You don’t always get chosen for all the surveys, but when you do, you are compensated greatly.

True Panel

This is another video survey site, and it is required to have some kind of recording device on your computer, phone, or tablet. When I signed up, I had answer some questions via my webcam, as well as record myself on my phone and upload that to the computer. It looks like there are some really cool rewards. If you don’t have a recording device, they will send you one to keep, but the payout will be lower. Some people have said that there are not a lot of opportunities, but when they do come, you are compensated well. I found the dashboard to be kind of confusing, and hard to figure out exactly where things were

Tips:

  • Just pick two or three sites to focus on. When I first started doing surveys, I remember signing up for like 15. DON’T DO THIS! I just found that I got way too overwhelmed with all the emails I would get, and I ended up just deleting all of them. Instead of doing this, if you just sign up for a couple, you can really focus on getting those surveys done, and making some actual money.
  • If anywhere in the browser says OTX, be aware that these surveys are designed to disqualify you. After I discovered this, I started to notice more, and I almost never qualified. I haven’t ever seen this with MySurvey or I-say, but I have with some other sites I’ve used in the past.
  • Most sites will have some type of surveys to take about yourself when you sign up, or a profile to fill out. Be sure to do this. It really does help you get more surveys that you will qualify for, because they have already kind of pre-screened you. I found that I get tons of surveys about babies and children since I updated mine to say I had a baby.
  • In the beginning, try and answer all the surveys sent to you. What I’ve realized is that when I filled out more surveys in the beginning, or over time, they send me more. I think it shows them that you actually want to participate, and they want to reward you for that.
  • Don’t let it overwhelm you. Just have this be something that you wind down with, or do while you are watching TV. If you get stressed out about making sure you do every single survey right when you get it, it kind of takes the fun out of it!