*Apologies to my email subscribers…I know you are seeing this twice. Blogger deleted the entire post, and I had to completely re-post it. So sorry to be crowding your inbox!

One of the things I’ve been experimenting with to generate some side income is joining various survey groups. I’ve carefully selected the groups I have joined based on the feedback that members have to offer. I’ve only picked the places that people say actually pay (remember, there are LOTS of scams out there) and that offer a decent number of survey opportunities.

Wanna know how it is going? Not so great. I used to be a member of Pinecone, the group that paid the best, but I stopped working with them for about a year, and I guess forfeited my membership. I’ve tried to sign back up twice but their quota of people in my demographic is always full. Most of the other sites I work with I struggle to qualify for their studies, which you only learn after filling out their screeners. Honestly, over the last few months I’ve spent hours and hours trying to qualify for surveys and getting rejected. I have been able to fill out several, as well, but I have very little, financially to show for it. For many of the sites, you have to earn at least $20 to cash out, and trust me when I say that it takes FOREVER to get to that point.

I have judged this method of making extra money to be, overall, not worth the time invested. I think I’m earning less than minimum wage doing it. Also, filling out the vast majority of those surveys was BORING. Like, poke my eyes out boring. Bleh.

But recently an online friend introduced me to Crowdtap, and I have to say, I’m having a lot of fun as a member of this site. Crowdtap connects you with brands by getting your feedback with questions that are fun to answer, straightforward and fast. You can answer as many or as few questions as you want at a time, and the more you answer, the more points you build. Points help unlock higher levels in Crowdtap, which help you gain access to the really fun stuff, like paid discussion groups, product reviews, etc. (I say “etc.” because I’m only at level 3…I don’t know what awaits me at the higher levels!). There are opportunities to interact with other people and share your thoughts. It is SO much more fun than any other survey site I’ve joined (and I’ve joined a lot of them in my day). Also, as you earn points and cash, so does the charity you select! Crowdtap gives back when it gives to you. That rocks!

Right now they are offering all new members $1 just for signing up. In my book, $1 for 30 seconds of work is pretty decent pay. But I bet you’ll stick around and answer some questions, and then unlock a few levels. They make it so much fun that you don’t want to leave. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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