Everyone who wants to make money online eventually stumbles upon the idea of online surveys. And it's an alluring idea—all you have to do is give your opinion on something, and you'll get money or rewards for your effort. Work doesn't get any easier than that.

Of course, this is the problem. The idea of survey sites is so alluring that everyone wants to jump on this opportunity. This has created a situation in which demand greatly outpaces supply. There are only a certain number of survey sites that can actually be legitimate. Meanwhile, there are thousands upon thousands of people clamoring to sign up for them. As a result, what happens is that a lot of shady players swoop in to exploit some of that extra demand.

To be one of the successful online survey takers, here's what you have to do.

1. Know the tricks: At this point, to find the real legitimate survey offers, you have to be a little savvier than everyone else. When you think about it, what would you guess that other people are doing to find online surveys? Obviously, most people go straight to the search engines and start looking for things like "online surveys" or "paid surveys online." So, this is where the non-legitimate survey sites are most likely to target people. Be different, and don't use this tactic. Instead, use Web 2.0 techniques to connect with others who have leads on real survey sites.

2. Settle for prizes rather than cash: There are tons of illegitimate survey sites that purport to offer large amounts of cash for taking surveys. Don't trust these sites. If you want to be safe, it's important to be willing to settle for sites that offer non-cash rewards for your participation. You may from time to time come across a real-cash survey site, but they are definitely slim pickings.

3. Do research: When you encounter a survey site that looks like it might be legitimate, do a little research into the company. Do they have a real postal address? Are they upfront about their policies and tactics? If so, then there's a good chance that you can trust them. Also, if possible, read any online reviews that you find pertaining to the site.

4. Find your sources and stick with them: As you're looking into real online surveys, you'll find that there are some sources that regularly hook you up with legitimate survey sites. Once you find a few of these good sources, stick with them. If they're giving you no good leads on a certain day, don't sweat it. It may just be that there are no good surveys available on that day. Don't waste hours of your time picking through the unpromising offerings you'll find through search engines. Instead, just do something else, and come back to your trustworthy sources the next day. Otherwise, you'll end up getting sucked into the phone survey world, which is no fun for anyone.

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