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7 million companies now actively seek out the opinions of moms, students, retirees and others. In the last year thousands of people have discovered that they can earn money simply by filling out paid online surveys or participating in paid focus groups while sitting at their computer.

A stay at home mom may fill out a couple of surveys while the kids are napping or later in the evening when the kids go to bed, or a student may complete a survey in-between classes or use surveys as a part-time job in the summer. If you have a computer with Internet access then you are eligible to participate.

Why will companies pay for your opinion?

Why? Because getting your opinions allows companies to get in touch with consumers and their views and habits BEFORE launching new products and services. With research and development costs at all-time highs and profit margins at all-time lows, a company simply cannot risk bringing a product to market that nobody wants. Think "New Coke" or today's automotive industry.

It's worth it to these large corporations to pay someone $75 to fill out a 1 to 2 page online survey, or to pay someone $150 an hour to participate in an online focus group, or to pay someone $25 per hour to preview the trailer for a new movie.

How they work.

Companies you register with will send paid survey opportunities to your email inbox. You have the option to accept or decline these individual surveys. For each survey you complete, you will be paid a preset amount. Most of these paid surveys take approximately 5 to 15 minutes to complete and normally pay $10 - $75 per survey. Online focus groups pay substantially more .. up to $250 per hour.

In the course of our investigation we received approximately 25-30 survey opportunities per day. It quickly became clear that if someone is willing to devote several hours per day to these surveys that it's entirely possible to earn several hundred dollars per day.

Let's say you complete 20 online surveys per day .. all at the low-end pay of $10-$15 per survey. At 5 to 15 minutes per survey you would be earning $200 - $300 per day for 1.5 to several hours of at-home work. At just $35 per survey the earnings go to $700 per day. And at $75 per survey the earnings skyrocket to $1500 per day.

Fraudulent websites & potential pitfalls.

Unfortunately, as with any innovative idea come the scammers. Hundreds of "paid surveys" websites have popped up, claiming to offer direct access to networks where people can find these online surveys. Most charge $85-$125 dollars to register and make outrageous claims of $200 per survey. But once a customer pays the membership fee they find:

1. Outdated resources and directories
2. Non-Working links and pages
3. Non-Intuitive navigation
4. Zero help or customer service
5. No refunds if you are unsatisfied.

Most of these SCAM sites won't even respond to refund requests. Eventually they get shut down due to too many customer complaints, or the State Attorney General forces them out of business. But the customer has already lost their money, and the SCAMMERS just open another paid survey site under a different name in a different state. It's definitely "buyer beware".

Paid Surveys and Paid Focus Groups at your fingertips.

Fortunately you no longer need to register with each of the 7 million companies to participate in their paid online surveys. 2004 saw entire networks spring up solely to administer these paid surveys. All you need do is register your name with one of these organizations to participate in the surveys in their network.

Many experienced people find it advantageous to register their name with more than one administering organization. This allows the person to enjoy a wider selection of surveys and focus groups .. as well as collect the multiple bonuses that are regularly offered.

Yes, you can get paid for your opinion.

If you can stay away from the SCAM websites, it is possible to earn money ... even hundreds of dollars per day ... by filling out online paid surveys and participating in paid focus groups.

Before joining a paid survey network, you should be sure that it satisfies the following minimum requirements:

' In business for at least 1 year.
' Well organized, easy to navigate directories.
' Directories updated at least weekly.
' Helpful resources available for newcomers.
' No "waiting period". Eligible immediately..
' Customer service available via phone or email, with response time less than 24hrs.
' 100% guaranteed.