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I currently make a substantial income online as a professional blogger, and many people ask me how they can do the same thing. I figured the time is right now to talk about how I started making money online so others could do the same thing too.
This post dives into my beginnings of making money online and the steps I took to make the extra money I needed for my family…here is my story.
For us, the big income didn’t happen overnight. Instead, it was a process that started with one question. How could I make more money to help my family without having to leave my home? Luckily, the world we live in now is full of opportunity, it is just a matter of getting started on the right path and having some determination to see it through.
When I had our first baby we were struggling financially. My husband was working full time and his take home salary was just enough to scrape by. We were living paycheck to paycheck which was a stressful way to live. I knew I needed to somehow find a way to bring in just a little bit more money to give us some breathing room in case of emergencies and to make our lives less stressful. We had a new baby, we were first-time homeowners, and newly married. Something had to give!
I thought about doing some of the popular MLM products at the time (pampered chef, etc.), but really that just didn’t seem like something I could realistically make money from. It stressed me out to think that I would have to approach my friends and family to get them to be my first customers and I would have to spend money upfront to start, money we just didn’t have. I knew this type of thing worked great for some people, but I also knew that I didn’t have the personality to realistically make that work.
A friend of mine messaged me one day on Facebook and sort of let it slip that she was bringing in some extra money and it was helping her family out so much. She had stumbled into the world of online surveys. At the time, she was making nearly $200/mo., working at home…on her own schedule. That was exactly the type of thing I was looking for, so she showed me the ropes, and in no time I was up and going myself. I found it to be very easy (I mean…it was just giving my opinions which I generally give out for free, whether someone wants to hear them or not…haha!) Also, it was great because this is something I could do when our baby was asleep at any random hour, day or night.
That was a number of years ago and most months I hit the $250 mark in additional income from taking online surveys. This was exactly what I needed to make our lives so much easier. It allowed us to go out to dinner, the movies, or whatever else we really wanted to do that month and I no longer had to worry about emergency expenses, because with this extra money I was actually able to build an emergency saving account. As that account grew I was able to use that money to invest in other online ideas I had (like this blog). That initial money led me to where I am now!
There were some tips that I picked up along the way that I wish I knew when I started making money taking surveys.
Here are my top 3 tips for getting started with online surveys:
Sign up with as many companies as possible. The more companies you sign up with, the more money you can make…that’s the bottom line. Each company has limited opportunities, so you increase your money making potential dramatically by signing up for all the reputable companies.
Only sign up with reputable companies. This is the internet so, unfortunately, there are some scammers out there. The companies listed below are all legitimate ones and are not pulling some sort of scam. None of these make you pay anything to make money, which is a HUGE red flag.
Fully complete the registration process. I made this mistake at first and I don’t want you to make the same mistake as me. Most of these companies will send you an email as soon as you fill out their online signup form. You have to click the link in the email they send you or your registration will not be complete. I didn’t realize I needed to do that and it took me a little while to figure out that some companies weren’t sending me opportunities. This was because I never finished the registration process! Hopefully, you will not make the same mistake as me!
I know there are some ebooks and guides that will charge you money to show you how to make this extra income from getting started in the world of online surveys, and I could have gone that route too. But, in the end, I decided it would be much better to just put my story and tips in this article…free for anyone to view. So, without further delay, here are my recommended online survey companies to make money from today. Please remember to always read everything you are agreeing to with any company, these included and only give information you are comfortable sharing. This includes your phone number and agreeing to allow phone calls and text messages. Some people are totally fine with this and others are not. Do what you are okay with. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure for more info.
Click the name of the company to be taken directly to the signup page. (Each link will open a separate tab in your browser)
If you could use some extra money, I would highly recommend getting started with these companies. Most of them have a very quick signup process and it is always free. Remember to sign up for all of these companies if you can…that will give you a steady stream of surveys ready to take and will mean more money for you each month. One last thing to remember…most of these companies will need you to verify your email address before you will be officially eligible to receive surveys, so make sure to complete that step too!
I really hope you found this information useful! If you are interested in making more money blogging or starting your own blog, join our Start a Money Making Blog Group on Facebook. We are launching the group in two weeks and we are limiting the group size so ask to join today and we will add you as soon as it launches. We will be sharing lots of insider tips and new ways to easily increase your income.
My passion is blogging, but I don’t just blog for the fun of it. Blogging is a business that generates well into the 6 figures of income per year for our family and also provides us many amazing experiences. If you have thought about getting started in blogging, I invite you to sign up for our free course that will teach you how to start and run your blog in just 5 Days. You can find it at 5DayBlog.com . Blogging is no longer a hobby for many… it is a real business that generates a substantial amount of income.
I’m here to answer questions too so please feel free to leave them in the comments below.
This is all really good advice. I think a lot of people, not just stay at home moms, get their start earning online by doing surveys. I got my start by writing articles on revenue sharing sites like Hubpages and then from there started freelance writing and eventually my own blog. Once you have your own blog, it takes up a lot of your time…. at least until things get rolling and you can outsource some of the more tedious tasks. My favorite way to monetize my blog now is through eCourse development. I may be a little late to the game but I believe eCourses are the best way to earn online. As you can see in my name, I’m building my whole platform around it.
I am very interested in ways to make extra money, i have tried and tried, but i cant seem to get it. I am a single mom of a son and daughter and was wondering if you could help me?
Hi Kim, Totally can. Did you join our Facebook group? We will be sharing more over there!
Thank you Heather and Pete, I’d love to join! I appreciate the chance to be apart of a supportive group like that. I sent a request, hopefully I’m not too late!