From what I can remember, it was a pretty easy sign up. They didn't ask for anything too personal. I did give them my address, but they mail you your checks when you get pay outs, so obviously they need to know where to send them!
Also, make sure if you sign up for this or any other survey site, fill out the profile questions! It will help them to make sure you qualify for the maximum number of surveys. That way, they'll be less likely to send you an invite for something related to elderly people when you're 30, for example.
Here are the details about Toluna:
Amount Earned:
In total, I have earned $87.16 from Toluna since signing up with them on November 13th, 2010. Not too bad for 4 months work. That averages out to just over $20.00 each month. I have completed 87 surveys in that time, which averages out to just about $1.00 a survey. This is lower than many of the other sites I use, but see below in the "Positives" section to find out why I still use them.
Payouts:
Payouts in cash can occur once you get $20.00 earned. This is equal to 60,000 Toluna points. They mail you a check when you redeem your points. They do not currently offer PayPal. I have gotten 4 payouts so far, 3 of which I have received and seem to take around 3 weeks to get after you redeem. I just cashed out for the 4th time 10 days ago, so I haven't gotten that check yet.
If you're not looking for cash, you can also redeem your points for vouchers of various types, sweepstakes entries, or Billboard music downloads. Many of those options require smaller amounts of points, so you can see your earnings faster.
Surveys:
I probably receive more survey invites from Toluna than any of my other sites. An e-mail is sent to you whenever they have one they think you might qualify for. I've seen point ranging anywhere from 1,200 to 15,000 or more ($.40 to $5.00). The majority of the ones I qualify for and complete are either 1,800 or 3,000. I do occasionally get a 6,000 pointer, and yesterday I finished one for 12,000!
On the down side, I have attempted to take 350 other surveys in the past 3 months that I have not qualified for. Usually you test out after a few questions, so it doesn't take up much time, but expect to qualify for 20% or so of the invites you get, unless you are in a minority group that many companies are interested in. The up side of this is that for each survey you attempt and test out of, you get a sweepstakes entry where you could win one of the $4,500 prizes each month. Of course it's not too likely that you'll win, but you never know!
Since it's early in my blog, I should briefly talk about testing out. Many times the company the survey is for is looking for the opinions of a select group of people. Call it their "Target Audience". For example, I have a 10 month old son. A baby food company would love to interview me about my baby food preference, but they probably aren't interested in the opinions of an unmarried 20 year old with no children, or a middle-aged someone with all of their children in college or older.
Another thing I should mention about Toluna's surveys is the amount of time it takes to post points. For me, it seems like the more points involved, the longer they take to post. For awhile, smaller points would post the next business day. Lately it's been a few days, and higher valued surveys can take a few weeks. Typically, this seems to be because the surveyors evaluate the surveys received, check for errors (yes, they monitor them to see if people are rushing through and not paying attention), and sometimes wait until the survey closes to post the points. This is fairly typical of other survey sites as well.
Finally, Toluna allows you to find your own surveys by answering a few qualifying questions on the My Surveys tab, and by answering some of the poll questions people ask on the home page. If you have free time and really want to take a survey, or are close to cashing out and don't want to wait until you qualify for another invite, this is great! Just plug away at it until you find one! You can also earn small amounts of points in the process by answering those poll questions.
Other Things To Know:
Toluna also has a product test area. Every now and then, you can sign up to be chosen to test a product. You put your name in and answer just a couple of questions, and they choose a specified number of people to test the product at random! It's usually small things, but they've done big ticket electronics items in the past!
They are the only site I know of that has a sort of online community. You are able to post questions for others to ponder and have people leave comments on it. You may even be able to earn bonus points for having a question enough people post replies to, or by giving a good response to another person's question.
You can earn a few extra points by referring friends. Any time you refer a friend, you can earn 500 points.
Positives:
- steady stream of surveys
- reliable payout system
- can pay out in CASH
- product test area
- can find your own surveys
- extra points from polls
- extra points from opinion topics and responses
- no PayPal
- low percent of surveys qualified for
- wait for points to post
- wait for check to be mailed
In short, yes. I have had a good experience with Toluna so far, and I have earned more with them than any other site. They are also the most consistent with the frequency of survey invites. This is a good site to be a member of to earn a little extra money here and there.
Have more questions? See Toluna's FAQ here: http://us.toluna.com/help
Ready to sign up? Here's the home page! http://us.toluna.com/Default.aspx
I hope this helps someone decide whether or not this site is worth their time! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions that weren't answered by either this post or the FAQ!
Thanks for reading!
Sara
http://sarashandmades.etsy.com
You can make $20 for a 20 minute survey!
ReplyDeleteGuess what? This is exactly what big companies are paying for. They need to know what their customer base needs and wants. So big companies pay millions of dollars each month to the average person. In return, the average person, like myself, answers some questions and gives them their opinion.