Monetizing Your Opinions: Can Your Really Make $100/Hour Doing Online Surveys?

If you search online for ways to make money from home, you’ll most likely find taking online surveys in any list.

However, just as common as they show up, you’ll see survey-taking described as not paying that much.

So when we heard about a platform paying over $100 an hour, and even up to $500 or more, we had to take a look!

Enter Respondent.

Respondent is looking to change the survey game by focusing on high-value studies for companies that need input from people with very specific profiles.

But is this the real deal? Or just a waste of time? Let’s take a look at their platform to discover the answer!

This week’s newsletter brings you:

  • Trends. According to our data, lots of people have a side hustle doing online surveys!
  • Strategies. The best platform we’ve found for making money doing surveys is Respondent. This week we unpack how it works, its pros and cons, and a few strategies to land more surveys and make more money!
  • Tool of the Week. If you really want to improve your chances of making more money with surveys, you need to have a great LinkedIn profile.

Do lots of people take online surveys? You bet they do! And we have the data to prove it.

Most common side hustles

95% of 1000 part-time and full-time employed Americans do online surveys as a side hustle.

Gone are the days of working 9 to 5. A new survey conducted by Insuranks finds a whopping 93% of Americans who are currently working part-time or full-time have a side hustle. Of those, 38% work one side job, 38% work two, and 20% work three or more. 

When asked what type of side hustles they have, an overwhelming 95% say they do online surveys to earn extra bucks. 18% sell items on sites like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. 13% do freelance work, and 9% sell their used clothes on sites like Depop. 

Strategies

Alrighty side hustlers, it’s time to learn what makes Respondent different from other online survey platforms and explore its money-making potential! 

How Respondent works 

Using Respondent, you will be paid for taking part in research activities. It helps companies like Allstate and eBay conduct market research. Those companies are connected with verified “respondents” – that’s you – by applying to participate in the study.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with crowdsourcing, it’s a method of getting work done by getting input from a large group of people online.

In the case of Respondent, their partner companies can invite respondent’s members to participate in studies.

You’re likely to end up participating in studies that match your interests and/or expertise due to the strict selection process.

Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of this platform. 

Advantages:

  • PayPal is an option for payment
  • Each project pays quite well
  • Globally available
  • Reviewers gave positive feedback

Disadvantages:

  • A limited number of project opportunities are available
  • Since you will need to apply for every project you wish to participate in, it does not guarantee you will be able to earn regularly
  • Payment processing fees are relatively high
  • The interface can be buggy

Now let’s take a quick look at how you can make money with this platform. Respondent has two different avenues for making money.

Get paid to participate in projects

You can participate in projects as part of a research study.

You can view all the available projects on Respondent’s member dashboard once you become a member.

You will earn the majority of your money from this website by participating in project offers.

It is usually necessary to apply for a project before you can start working on it. Your qualifications will be reviewed by the company that sent the request (based on your profile).

This is similar to an interview for a job. You must take the qualifying screener when applying for a project.

You will not be paid to take the screener, and you can only apply for three projects in a 24-hour period. Respondent’s partners use their screener to determine whether you qualify for the study.

You will also be able to see the type of project and how much you will earn from each project description.

There are two types of projects available. The first type is in-person, and the second is online. In either case, the study will be one-on-one or unmoderated.

In-person studies will offer higher rewards, but you will have to travel to a designated location.

In order to qualify, you will need to live near the location where the event will be held.

Payment will only be made once a project has been successfully completed. If you go to the My Studies section, you’ll be able to see if the company has paid you. Here you can see the status of all the projects you’ve applied for and qualified for.

Get paid with Respondent’s referral program

You can also participate in Respondent’s referral program. You will earn bonus rewards by inviting people to join the platform.

There are two ways to invite people to join Respondent. Respondent invite links can be shared either for specific projects or general invites.

Any person you invite who completes a paid study will earn you a $20 bonus. You will only receive one referral bonus even if you refer the same person for multiple studies.

Furthermore, your referral must also earn at least $75 in incentive payments to qualify for your referral bonus. It’s not really that easy to earn money from their referral program, in my opinion.

If you want someone to become a member of the site, make sure they are interested in it.

How to get paid 

Respondent only accepts PayPal as a payment method.

You will be asked for your PayPal email address during the registration process. Your PayPal account will be automatically linked to Respondent’s.

Automated payments will be made on a regular basis. PayPal will deposit the payment into your account once the company sends it. Nevertheless, you won’t receive the full amount because there will be a processing fee.

There is a processing fee of 5% or $1, whichever is higher. Thus, if a project pays $150 upon completion, you will only receive $142.50 in PayPal.

The 5% fee is fairly high compared to other online research sites, in my opinion. It can still be worth it if you qualify for the rewards on each project.

PayPal’s payment system is good because it does it automatically, and you won’t have to reach a certain threshold to receive the payment.

Is it possible for you to earn a lot of money?

You can make a lot of money using crowdsourcing sites like Respondent depending on how many projects you can complete and how well the company pays you.

It’s important to make sure your profile is complete before you can begin completing projects.

Creating a profile is the first step to qualifying for projects.

It is also important to keep in mind that you can only apply for three projects every 24 hours. You should, therefore, do your best not to waste your chances by applying to the wrong projects.

If you want to maximize your chances of qualifying for projects, only apply for those you think you will have the best chances of qualifying for. As a result, your chances of being accepted will be higher.

Regarding Respondent.io’s pay, it is quite good. If the project takes longer or is more difficult, you can expect to receive a higher payment.

Respondent seems to be an excellent site for earning a few extra dollars. They pay well, and you can receive your payment fairly quickly.

However, it’s not likely that you’ll earn enough money from this site to replace what you can earn working full-time.

Considering the surveys and projects they have are mostly looking for very specific participants, this is a great secondary site to earn from. In order to supplement what you can earn from it; you should also check out other sites.

Resources:

Respondent Review by eBiz Facts

How to land more surveys 

One of the downsides of using Respondent is that it can be hard landing a gig. Use these tips to increase your chances of getting a survey:

Make sure your profile is as complete as possible

It’s common for participants that are just joining Respondent to rush through setting up their portfolios. Of course, this is understandable, but you should make sure your profile is complete and accurate if you want to maximize your chances of success on the platform. Make sure all your demographic, contact, work history, and skills information is accurate and complete.

To prevent participants from changing their profile information just to match with certain projects, certain sections of their profiles, such as skills, location, and industry, will be “locked” for four weeks after they have been saved. You will need to wait four weeks if you already created your profile and want to add more skills or change anything else. There will be a date when you entered the information and a date when the section will be “editable” again. 

Make sure your profile is verified

You are technically not obligated to verify your profile to get into surveys, but virtually all companies will prefer working with respondents that have a verified profile. A verified profile indicates the person is who they say they are, so researchers often select participants with verified profiles over participants with unverified profiles.

It’s easy to verify your profile; all you need is your social media link and your work email. As well as getting invited to more projects, Respondent never shares your email or social media links with third parties without your permission.

Record an introduction video

In their initial rush to set up their profile, many participants skip adding a video introduction. Without a video introduction, you won’t get as many invitations to participate in studies as you would with profile verification. Besides making sure you’re who you claim to be, researchers also want to make sure they’re speaking with someone who can speak clearly about whatever they’re studying. You can demonstrate that you are capable of doing just that through your video introduction.

Spend some time planning a 30-second introduction that gives researchers a sense of who you are and what you do. Be friendly, articulate, and able to communicate well to show researchers that you are the best.

Enhance your profile with skills

Participants with particular skills are often sought by researchers. You can add up to 25 skills to your Respondent profile, so make sure to think broadly about what you want to include. Make sure you accurately represent your skills and experience while being able to brag a little.  

Start by brainstorming hard skills and soft skills that you can add to your Respondent profile based on your resume. Think about the skills you have acquired through volunteer work, hobbies, or other types of involvement in the community, along with the skills you have acquired through education and professional experience.

Thinking back over the past month can also help you identify skills you want to include on your profile. Have you worked on any specific types of projects? How did you pursue hobbies and interests? Response offers a wide variety of research projects, and you never know when you might be needed by a researcher.

Researchers also look for participants with specific industry experience in addition to skills. Up to five industries can be listed by participants on the platform.

Perhaps you’re wondering if you can only list industries you’ve worked in or if you can also include industries that interest you. Your profile can (and should!) include your direct experience in the industry if you have direct experience in the field. This will increase your chances of being invited to participate in projects that will benefit from your knowledge.

Make sure your profile information is up-to-date

Finally, make sure to update your profile whenever your contact or work information changes. Make sure your contact information and PayPal address are up-to-date so that researchers can reach you and you get paid when the survey is done. In addition to taking screeners, it is a good idea to keep an eye on your junk mail in case invitations to participate in projects get lost there.

Make sure you’re 100% sure you’re a perfect match before applying for a study. You can only apply for three studies each day, so it’s best to be selective. (Even then, you may not be selected.)

If you find a study that you are interested in, apply as soon as possible. A few participants may be required for some studies, so they can quickly become “oversubscribed.”

Resources:

5 Ways to Improve Your Participant Profile

Tool of the Week

Building your personal brand will help you attract companies conducting online surveys and earn more money from online paid surveys.

It’s here that a good LinkedIn profile comes in handy.

Due to the fact that most hiring managers and recruiters already use LinkedIn, you will be able to find a survey opportunity faster. When it comes to vetting candidates for surveys, the project handlers often use LinkedIn to verify your information.

You will significantly increase your chances of being selected by various companies for studies based on your skills and experience by having an active and well-put together LinkedIn profile. 

By writing a well-written LinkedIn profile, you establish credibility and establish yourself as a trustworthy potential respondent!