Sunshine and Sippy Cups

How to Get FREE Stuff Series {Part 1} – Earning free products and cash with Survey Sites! So many of my friends were super skeptical when I first started signing up for survey sites… Everyone told me that there was no way that this stuff was legit, and that I was wasting my time. But as the free full size test products, the boxes of samples, and the checks that I cashed to get free money started rolling in regularly, they changed their tune pretty quickly, lol. Most of them now use these sites too, and I’m excited to share my tips and tricks with you guys here too!

Welcome to Part 1 of this weeklong series teaching you, “How to Get FREE Stuff”!! Today’s topic is how to get FREE stuff by becoming a member of Survey Sites.

Why use survey sites?

Signing up with survey sites was one of the first things that I did years ago when I first started looking for online freebies. I was pretty discouraged at the beginning, because so many of them just didn’t seem to be getting me any rewards. I’d spend tons of time filling out surveys and never have enough rewards to cash out.  Or, once I got enough points to get something, all of the “good”rewards were always “sold out”, leading me to think that they never actually offer this stuff.

How to find legit survey sites

With a legit survey site, you should be able to earn rewards in a reasonable time frame, cash out and get a check {or PayPal deposit} without waiting months, and have a good selection of rewards to choose from. Also, when you request a reward, you should get it within a few weeks, not be told that it takes “2-3 months for shipping.” No way. So, how do you know if a survey site is a scam? A legitimate survey site will be honest about what they can offer you… Beware of offers like, “Make $90 per survey!” or “Test out new iPads at home for FREE!”… offers like this are a pretty obvious sign that the company is a scam.

And be careful too about claims like, “Make a full time income from home filling out surveys!”, because I have not seen ANY company where you can earn that much!

Don’t get me wrong, you can make some nice extra money doing surveys, just don’t expect to quit your day job :) I make about $80 – $150 a month from the sites that I use… Plus a few product testing shipments each month, and sometimes I even get lucky and win a big prize in one of the giveaways! I used to make even more, but with the new baby and new blog, I’ve cut back quite a bit.

How to Maximize Your Online Survey Site Earnings

The more sites that you sign up with, the more surveys you can complete, and the more money you can make. Here are a couple tips to keep your email under control if you’re worried about the offers coming too frequently – Use one separate email account dedicated just to surveys, so you can easily log in when you’re ready to earn some cash. Or, put the survey invites into their own email folder in your regular account, and have everything ready to go in one spot. The sites I use don’t send spam, just the invites to participate in surveys or giveaways.

What kinds of rewards can you get from these survey sites?

Most of the sites that I use have the option to trade in my “points” for cash, which means checks mailed to you, or a PayPal deposit. Some sites let you cash out as soon as you reach $5, but I like to wait until I hit $20 or $30 to request my checks. Lots of sites reward with you with FREE gift cards, which I love. You can usually earn these even faster than you can cash, and the sites that I use all have a great selection of places to choose from, like Amazon, Macy’s, Home-Depot, Old Navy, and more. Many sites will also reward you with entries into their monthly giveaways each time you attempt a survey. That way, if you start a survey but don’t qualify to finish it, you will still get rewarded, with a chance at winning prizes. And – one of my favorite rewards is the product testing! Several of these sites will send out surveys to see if you qualify for product testing opportunities, and if you do, ask you if you’d like them to send you free stuff. Um, of course, right? Right now we’re doing a salad dressing test, air freshener plug-in testing, and trying out a new face cream product too. Super fun.

What should I know before getting started with survey sites?

Know that you won’t earn HUGE amounts of money, but you will have a new, fun way to earn some extra spending money. I put part of my earnings away in a separate account each month, and then I have FREE Christmas shopping money at the end of the year. {Learn more about how to shop online for free.} Know that you won’t always qualify for every survey, but that’s ok. Don’t get discouraged. You’ll see the rewards start to pile up after a while! Just make sure to sign up for as many survey companies as you think you can handle, so that you are always earning in different places. Soon, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve earned at each one :) And remember… Not every survey site is right for everyone. Some people like to get lots of short surveys that offer smaller rewards. Some people like taking the longer surveys to earn rewards faster. Some people want to only earn cash, while others (like me!) LOVE getting to do the product testing! So sign up for a few, try them out, and see what you like.

There’s nothing to lose…

If you don’t like one site – cancel it, and come back to find some new ones to try out! Bookmark or Pin this page, so you can easily add new sites when you’re ready for new rewards. I’ll add to this regularly as I use and earn with new sites… I don’t like to recommend sites unless I’ve actually cashed out and received a reward myself, to ensure I’m not sharing spammy-scammy places with you. Because those suck.

Now that you’ve learned more about how this stuff works, it’s time for the fun part… Signing up!

• Inbox Dollars: Get $5 in your account just by filling out your user profile, so signup right now for FREE. Click Here.
• SwagBucks: Search, complete surveys, and more! Start today! {You may have read my post, and seen how I earn about $5 in FREE Amazon gift cards each week with SwagBucks. Adds up quick!} Click Here.
• Global Survey Group: Businesses want to pay for your opinions – that’s how they develop and launch new products, learn what pricing people will pay, improve existing products, and more. And they reward you well for filling out those surveys and trying their products!
• Valued Opinions: Nice reward options, fun surveys so far. Click Here.
• Neilsen Home Scan: I was doing this one, using the scanner, until the baby came and I got too busy. I want to get started again, and I heard their taking new members. It’s incredibly cool – you scan everything you buy, in town or online. You earn points for sharing that feedback. You can earn SERIOUSLY awesome stuff like kitchen appliances, trips, and more. Click Here to check it out.
• Opinion  Outpost: The minimum cash out for Paypal is $10 and only $5 for Amazon gift cards. Learn more.
• MyPoints is a little bit different than the rest. You can earn points for surveys, completing offers, and clicking on the ads that they send you via email. You also earn points if you start here when you shop online. You’ll learn more about MyPoints on Wednesday when I post {Part 3} about cash back sites. MyPoints rewards you with FREE gift cards, and I have earned sooooo many of these over the years with them.
• MySurvey: They have tons of great product test opp’s for moms. I’ve tested out two big packages of diapers, and a baby jumper. Take Surveys, Earn Rewards, It’s Easy & Free! Click Here.
• SurveySpot: Love this- “Earn prize draw entries every time you participate in a survey, with a chance to win up to $12,000 in our quarterly prize draw.” They always have fun games. promotions, and giveaways. Click Here.
• NPD Group – Online Research: This is one of the largest and most trusted market research companies in the world, with over 40 years of experience, very trustworth and legit.
• Mindfield: Frequent surveys = more chances to qualify. Click Here. This is valid for US and Canadian residents too.
• Vindale Research: Keep products you review Click Here.
• Ipsos I-Say Moms Panel: Earn points for taking surveys and use them towards Cash, Gift Cards or Charities.

So – now you know how to tell if a survey company is safe or a scam, what to expect in rewards, and have a HUGE resource of great new programs to join! And remember: I am VERY interested in hearing from you guys this week! If you have questions about any of these companies, post your question in the comments. If you want to share your experience, good or bad, with any of these sites, please comment about it! And if you have a great site to add to my list, post it!

Check out the the rest of the How to Get Free Stuff Online series here.

Once you become a NCP panel member all you have to do is scan and send them your household purchase information every week with a handheld scanner that they provide. For each week of the month NCP receives your purchase information, you will earn one entry into the Monthly Sweepstakes where you can win a $500 American Express Rewards Card. That’s up to FOUR entries every month! Every month, 25 panel members win!