YouGov

YouGov in many ways was the start of what led me to the creation of this blog, as mentioned in my first post.

About YouGov

YouGov is in its own words "a professional research and consulting organisation, pioneering the use of the Internet and information technology". YouGov is frequently used by media organisations, particularly here in the UK, when opinion polls are produced on topics ranging from voter intentions, to what people think of the capabilities of national political leaders. Yet the public face of YouGov, as a political opinion pollster is not the only work it does. It also frequently seeks the opinion of its members prior to, or during the launch of new advertisements for products and publications to gage just how successful such marketing is. Furthermore it regularly quizes participants about their opinion on a wide range of famous, and up and coming brands; data this is no doubt fed back to the marketing departments of popular high street names such as TopShop, HMV and Dixons.

Advantages

Unlike many other online surveys YouGov members are almost always offered with a cash reward; usually around 50p to £1, sometimes as much as £2, and will usually be allowed between 24 hours and a few days from recieving notification in order to complete a questionnaire. Where no cash reward is offered participants are entered into prize draws with a number of financial rewards available, sometimes as high as a £1000. Furthermore, the surveys are usually interesting, tailored to your personal interests, and can usually be completed within less than 20 minutes (on some occasions I have been accredited with 50p for clicking just three boxes!) If this wasn't enough, incentives are offered that give you further rewards if you are able to get your friends and family to sign up too.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of YouGov come in the infrequency with which surveys are sent out to your e-mail inbox. Sometimes upto a fortnight may pass without recieving any surveys to participate in, in other weeks you may recieve as many as three prospective questionnaires. In addition to this YouGov only pays out a cheque when you reach credit of £50 - if you're hoping to instantly catch you prize then YouGov may not be for you

Evaluation

YouGov is definitely worth signing up for. In spite of the infrequency of the surveys, the relative ease with which they can be completed and their interesting nature, mean that you rarely find them to be tiresome and from my own experiences, it hardly feels like any effort at all. And when the cheque for £50 arrives on your door, it feels more like a reward then hard-earned cash. Just what making easy money online should feel like!

To Sign Up

Click here to sign up for YouGov - fill in a survey about yourself and get £1 credit within minutes.

Please leave any comments you have about this post or your own experiences with YouGov