1/19/2009

Making Money with Online Surveys

Making money with on-line survey jobs is something that is fun and could bring in a bit of extra cash. Though it sounds too good to be true, corporations will pay people to fill out surveys. Before you decide to sign up for one or more, here are some things to consider.

Do you want to pay for the surveys? When you begin to look for survey opportunities, you’ll immediately notice that some sites require you to pay for a “list” of companies who will send you surveys and say they will guarantee a certain amount of work. Some survey sites do exactly as they say, and some don’t. It’s important to do your homework and try to determine which sites are legitimate business opportunities and which are not. Check out sites that list “good” survey sites and see if the same sites come up. Check scam sites (though these are not always reliable) to see if a site you are considering has been tagged by former users. There are plenty of sites that do not require any fee to join and some pay more if you refer more survey takers to their site, sort of a mini multi-level marketing scheme.

How much time can you spend filling out survey? Filling out surveys is time-consuming. The ones that pay the most can take forty minutes or more to fill out. If you are quick on the computer and a fast reader, you can whittle this time down. Remember, companies are paying for your opinion, so it is important to actually answer the questions as best you can and not randomly check answers. Treat this as any other job that you’d get paid for.

It can be frustrating at times because you only get paid for those you fill out entirely. Though most on-line survey sites try to pair surveys with the right people, sometimes you will get a survey that you cannot honestly fill out. A woman getting a men’s grooming product survey likely won’t be able to complete the survey and will get “kicked out.” In other words, the survey will end. Many times you only get paid for the surveys you complete.

How much will you get paid? This depends on how much time you spend, how lucky you are to get surveys you can complete, and the survey site you sign up for. One site claimed to have a worker sign up and work full time for a week. Although it was fun to fill out the surveys, the worker made less than 50 cents an hour. Other people just get a kick out of doing something that’s fun and getting paid for it…even if it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to buy that yacht you’ve been hoping for. Some sites offer coupons or product trials, which are always fun to get.

It’s important to have some sort of commitment. Like anything, if you want to make money, you’ll have to put in the time and effort to do it. You will not have any success if you have people other than yourself answer the surveys or if you answer the questions randomly.

1/18/2009

Recommendations For Freelance Web Designers

Freelance web designers have their website to rely on. That is the measure by which they will be judged by any prospective clients. If your website was created years ago with a WYSIWYG editor you may want to redo it.

Web design changes with lightening speed. You want to stay on top of the new technology if you expect to get new clients. Creating your website in Dreamweaver is a good idea but you want to know how to do all of the things in Dreamweaver without the program. The reason why you want to be able to hand code is because there are things that are much easier to do by hand than by using Dreamweaver.

As a freelance web designer you should be well versed in Dreamweaver and Photoshop and all of the other programs that can be used to make websites beautiful. However, you also need to know CSS and XHTML. The notion that knowing the front end of Dreamweaver and other software, without knowing the back end is enough is not necessarily true. You want to be able to offer clients a number of different options when it comes to your creative skills.

Finding work as a freelance web designer can be tough. However there are a few places that you should get your website posted and advertise for work. If you are looking for any type of freelance work there are a number of sites, such as http://www.sologig.com/ that you can register with. You will be able to post some clips and other information about what type of services you are offering. Jobs postings from around the country can be found there.

Web designers typically get work online but you might be surprised at how much work you can get from word of mouth. There is always someone that needs a website for something. Some people have a product that they would like to sell online but have no idea how to put a website together. Some schools would like to have a website for one of their sports teams but there is no one the staff that can do it. These are great opportunities that you can get from just talking to people that you know. Make sure that you tell everyone that you are a freelance web designer. You will be surprised at how many people are interested in your services.

It is important to have a rate chart established before you start looking for work. There are plenty of people online that will try to get you to work for much less than what your skills are worth. Check around and see what the standard rates are for whatever applications you are doing. You do not want to spend time doing work for less than what you should be making. Have a rate chart and stick to it. Do not let people talk you down on your rates. Offer a money back guarantee if you do not deliver the work when you are supposed to with all of the attributes that are supposed to be there.

Note: you can submit your info in this blog letting others know about your web design talents and some of the works you have done previously.


Fuad Albadani
http://www.host4gain.com/