How do you get started? You just need to get your name on the market researchers' prospective survey participants lists.  That is simple in concept but it can be a bit challenging in the actual doing.

There are over 750 survey makers in the U.S. and over 3,000 worldwide. Most of them don't actually pay their participants, many just want to sell them things. Others will sell your contact and demographic info to sales companies. 

The good ones are quiet; prospective participants come to them.  The bad ones make the most noise and have the most ads on the Internet.  Most of those offering "free lists" of survey makers are being paid by those selfsame survey makers to send you to companies you would rather not have to deal with.

There are considerably less than half of the survey makers out there that you should consider dealing with.  You just want the ones that offer free online surveys for money.  That really pay (not just promise) and respect your privacy.

So how do you know which are the good ones?  There are two ways: 

1. You can sort them out by trial and error on your own, or

2. you can hire a guide. 

There are over 200 paid survey "guide companies" that maintain lists of who is good and who is not, keeping their lists up to date and live.

You can sign up with one of these guide companies, pay a small fee, and they will give you a copy of their list of preferred survey makers.  Saves you a lot of time and trouble, and is generally well worth it.  After 2 or 3 paid surveys you recoup your sign up costs. 

And having a good list means you can concentrate on signing up with the 100 to 300 good survey makers. That takes some time. You must apply to each separately; they are all independent companies that compete with each other.

It is very important to pick a good paid survey guide company.  You want one that is

1. Larger,

2. Has been around for a while,

3. Has had good results for its clients and

4. Is willing and able to stand behind its service with a strong money-back guarantee.

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