MyTNS.com, online survey website

=== ~~ UPDATED JANUARY 2008 ~~ ===

'''***In December 2007, MyTNS rebranded themselves as MySurvey***'''

MySurvey is another of those sites offering paid online survey work. At the moment membership of the MySurvey panel is limited to residents aged 15 or older residing in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Ireland and UK. Rewards for membership of the European panels are paid out in Euros, but for UK members, ...
...Amazon gift vouchers. If you want Nectar points you will, therefore, need to be a member of the Nectar rewards scheme, more about which, I have detailed below.

=== ~~~ REWARDS WITH MYSURVEY ~~~ ===

''' ~~ NECTAR POINTS ~~ '''
Rewards for taking MySurvey surveys are paid out in points, which can then be converted into Nectar points. 1 MySurvey point equals 1 Nectar point. As a rough guide 500 Nectar points is ... more

~~ UPDATED JANUARY 2008 ~~

***In December 2007, MyTNS rebranded themselves as MySurvey***

MySurvey is another of those sites offering paid online survey work. At the moment membership of the MySurvey panel is limited to residents aged 15 or older residing in Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Ireland and UK. Rewards for membership of the European panels are paid out in Euros, but for UK members, payment is made in the form of Nectar points or Amazon gift vouchers. If you want Nectar points you will, therefore, need to be a member of the Nectar rewards scheme, more about which, I have detailed below.

~~~ REWARDS WITH MYSURVEY ~~~

~~ NECTAR POINTS ~~
Rewards for taking MySurvey surveys are paid out in points, which can then be converted into Nectar points. 1 MySurvey point equals 1 Nectar point. As a rough guide 500 Nectar points is the cash equivalent of about £2.50 (NB: depending on where you spend it). So, if you take a survey paying 300 points, its worth about £1.50 to you.

There are a number of different schemes in operation where you can spend your Nectar points, the most well known being Sainsburys and Argos, but there are any number of different schemes and treats to be had from flights, hotels and holidays, cinema tickets, pampering days out or discounts at various restaurant chains.

Similarly, you can add to your MySurvey hoard of points by collecting Nectar points at a number of different places, the more usual ones being Sainsburys, Debenhams and BP. However, this review is all about MySurvey, and not Nectar, so if you would like more information on how to spend or collect Nectar points, have a look at their website at www.nectar.com. To join the Nectar reward scheme, you need to click on the "Register" button at the top of the Nectar website home page.

~~ GIFT VOUCHERS or CHARITY DONATIONS ~~
MySurvey points can also be exchanged for Amazon gift vouchers. Once you reach 1,000 points with MySurvey you can exchange your points for a £5.00 gift voucher. Similalry, you can also donate your points to a MySurvey charity scheme run by UNICEF.

~~~ WHO ARE MY SURVEY ? ~~~

MySurvey.com is a consumer panel made up of volunteers who want to participate in market research studies. MySurvey.com is operated by British market research firm TNS, which stands for Taylor Nelson Sofres Plc. TNS is the world's second largest custom market research company (second to Dutch group VNU), and they operate in over 70 countries worldwide. If you want to look at the TNS corporate website to check their credentials, more info can be found at http://www.tnsglobal.com/.

~~ WEBSITE ~~

Membership of the MySurvey panel is not limited to one applicant per household, so you can sign anyone up who lives with you as long as they have a separate email address. The website can be found at http://uk.mysurvey.com. It's a well laid out website in mainly white, black, red and blue. There's lots of information to hand on the benefits of joining, as well as extensive privacy and data protection information. It's professional looking and there's really lots of information to hand….everything you need to know…. except how to join….

~~~ HOW TO JOIN ~~~

Like Ipsos Access Panel and Pinecone Research, MySurvey is also annoyingly vague on how to join their panel. Some say you can only join through invite, usually via another survey site. To be honest, there is scant information on their website about how to join their panel and it's really not very helpful. However, I have undertaken a little bit of sleuthing, and come up with two basic options on how to sign up and become a member of this panel.

[1] You can hope to receive an invite to join the panel via another survey site, and this was the method by which I joined. However, my invite came a couple of years ago via GoZing.com, who are now a defunct arm of Greenfield Online. Nowadays you are more likely to receive a MySurvey panel invite via a survey site such as ToLuna.com.

[2] The second option I can suggest is possibility the quickest and simplest way to join. Try typing the words "join MyTNS panel" into Google, and this may bring up some links which take you to their registration questionnaire.

~~~REGISTRATION ~~~

So now you have the means to joining the MySurvey panel, you need to get cracking on filling in the online form.

The initial registration questionnaire asks you to choose your country of origin, and then input the usual personal data such as name, address and email address. MySurvey will also ask for your home telephone number as they do offer phone survey work as well. They also ask about all the other members of your household, occupations and income.

Upon completion of this initial form, MySurvey will then email you a link to the second part of their registration questionnaire.

The second part of the questionnaire asks you about your buying behaviour, and whether you are one of the first to buy/try new products. They also ask about how often you communicate with other people either by email, phone or in person. I guess they are trying to ascertain more about your character, and what is important to you.

The questionnaire concludes with more queries on your mobile phone, car, pets, household appliances, computer equipment, internet usage and so on. Finally at the end of the questionnaire you will be asked to choose a password and to enter your Nectar account number (if you chose to use this method of reward). However, please don't worry if you haven't yet got a Nectar account, as you can add it in at a later date at the "update your info" section of your MySurvey account.

Upon completion of this questionnaire, MySurvey credit 100 points to your account as a welcome incentive.

~~ YOUR ACCOUNT ~~~

Logging into your account is easy enough (email address and the password you chose), and you should be able to see your 100 points sitting in your new account under "Rewards". There is also a section called "Update your info", where you can add in your Nectar account number (if not already done), or change any personal data. The "Rewards" section shows a list of surveys you've taken with the MySurvey points earned and number converted into Nectar points.

~~~ SURVEY FORMAT ~~~

MySurvey send survey invites by email only, you cannot access them via your account on their website. The email will ask for a named member of the family to complete the survey and tells you how long it will take. The email won't tell you anything about the topic, but it does inform you how many points you can earn if you complete the entire survey. Once you click on the email link, they'll ask you some pre-screener questions to establish whether you are part of the target group they're seeking. If you're not part of the target group, the survey will end quickly and painlessly, and usually gives you 20-35 points for your trouble, which I think is a fair and just reward.

I couldn't say that there is any particular theme to MySurvey surveys (i.e. some survey sites seem to specialise in new food or drink products). With MySurvey I've been asked my opinion on all manner of products and concepts from radio stations, TV watching, toothpaste, biscuits and snacks, car insurance and hair gel.

The surveys are extremely professional and well laid out. They are easy enough to complete and I've not had any technical problems with mine. All the links have worked and done what they were supposed to do. My one gripe with this site is that they always tell you that you can take a break mid survey and come back at a later time/date to complete the survey. However, this is all very well in theory, but whenever I have done that, it's saved all my answers but still takes you back to the first page of the survey, and you then have to scroll through page after page to get to the bit where you stopped and took a break!

The MySurvey points are credited to your account, on average, about three weeks after you've completed the survey. They are then converted into Nectar points by MySurvey once a week, or you can carry on building them up to cash in for an Amazon gift voucher.

~~~ MY EXPERIENCE ~~~

I joined up via a GoZing link a couple of years ago and I've received a fairly steady stream of surveys invites - approximately one every fortnight or so. In terms of online survey work, I'd classify them as fairly good in terms of earning opportunities. I've earned over 12,000 Nectar points during this period, which has come in handy for money off shopping at Sainsburys.

Surveys will reward you with anything from 60 to 1,000 points. The number of points is mainly dependent upon the length and complexity of the survey. For example, a survey I undertook on car insurance rewarded me with 1,000 points, as it took over 45 minutes to complete and involved some thought. MySurvey are quite fond of showing different images of women in relation to the product you are surveying, and you have to state which female image best matches the product they are describing and why. Similarly, if you get involved in a product trial, that too will give you more points. I recently earned 600 points for undertaking a month long trial on hair gel and giving my feedback. However, on average I would say that you earn 25 points for the screener surveys, and from 120 to 300 points for a full survey.

MySurvey may ask you to listen to radio advert, or to look at the packaging for a new product and give your input. Their surveys often involve watching a short video clip or advert and giving your feedback on it. Earlier this year MySurvey sent me the same survey on five separate occasions asking me to watch the same sensitive toothpaste advert, and then complete a survey on toothpaste preferences. I don't think it was an error on their part, as the surveys were sent out at fortnightly/monthly intervals, but it does seem a little bizarre.

When I first joined, the site was extremely chaotic and points were not credited at all for about six months. Happily, they have managed to turn things around at MySurvey, and every single survey point I have ever earned has found its way into my account without my having to follow up or chase them. That said, if you do need to contact them in the event of a problem, they are quick to respond and get back to you, which is always reassuring.

MySurvey panelists can also sign up for postal surveys and product testing. You can, in addition, sign up for telephone surveys and group interviews. I've been invited to test one product, but have yet to receive any postal or telephone surveys. It's worth mentioning that not all surveys offer points; once a month or so you will be sent a MAPS survey, (which stands for Monthly Access Panel Screener), which is usually just a brief series of questions on topics relating to upcoming surveys in the pipeline. You get a prize draw entry to win points, but that's all.

~~~ CONCLUSION ~~~

Signing up with MySurvey is really quite worthwhile, as they are a good and consistent earner in terms of survey work. They do reward you with around 25 points (12½p), just for answering their survey invites, so even if you fall at the first fence there's not too much of a sting to it. The full surveys pay a fairly decent whack points wise; the Nectar reward scheme is a nice way to spending them and you can never have too mnay Amazon gift vouchers. MySurvey are a professional, well run and fair outfit, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend joining.

~~~ FURTHER INFORMATION ~~~

MyTNS.com
Postbus 247
1000 AE Amsterdam
Netherlands

E-mail: info@MyTNS.com or support@mytns.com
Website: http://www.mytns.com or http://uk.mysurvey.com 

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