yougov.com

I am a big fan of survey sites. I love giving my opinion and receiving money or vouchers for my time. I'm a member of about twenty sites and one of my favourites is YouGov, so I thought you'd like to hear about it too and hopefully make yourselves a bit of money! They pay out in cheques of £50 so it is worth having and they are sent out automatically.

Whereas most survey sites I belong to want to know about your use of fabric conditioner and flights to Europe, YouGov is based in politics and current affairs. This is great for me as I am fascinated by such things and usually have something to say on the issues. But even if you hate politics, don't be put off. The questions are usually straight forward ones with multiple choice answers. You may be asked to rate Gordon Brown out of ten, for example or say which political party you feel would deal with the terrorist threat the best way.

YouGov polls and surveys are often used by newspapers and TV companies to give a view of public opinion. I like seeing this as it proves to me that my views can really count. Someone out there is listening!

Another regular survey you get is a Brand Index one. This asks you for your opinions of certain companies and brands. You highlight the names of ones which apply for each question, so it doesn't take too long, but it can be rather dull and I do prefer the political ones. The Brand Index surveys ask you if you have heard anything positive or negative about each brand and who you would be embarrassed to work for or proud to work for, that kind of thing.

There are many benefits to joining YouGov. Surveys are regular and you get paid regardless of whether you are eligible. If you get invited to a survey, you get paid for it. In one case, I answered about three questions and received £1 for it. Obviously some are longer, but the rewards seem fair and you never receive less than 50p per survey. Considering many survey sites pay out in points or maybe 10p per survey, you can really earn well at YouGov.

I joined back in January 2003. At the time, surveys were slower than they are now and almost always worth 50p, so it took me until June 2004 to make £50 for the cheque. It took me until April 2006 (almost two years!) to make the next £50. But things have really improved lately. In the last six months, I have made £48 so I am close to being able to get my next payment.

Under your account details, it lists all the surveys you have done, when you did them and how much you earned for each one. It also lists your payments with dates, so you can keep an eye on how much you are earning.

The most I have earned for one survey was £3 and the lowest amount was 50p, although you can also complete prize surveys if you wish and have some chances to win money. To give you an example, in October 2006, I completed nine surveys and earned £5.50 in total.

So how do you sign up? Well, it is a bit complicated and the website is quite hard to navigate, so I'll explain it step by step. You can either join by referral (if you want one from me, let me know via email or my Ciao or Tooyoo guestbooks) or by going directly to the website which is www.yougov.com

On the front page, it currently has a section saying 'NEW PANEL MEMBERS - sign up here' but usually, this isn't there and you need to look for 'YouGov Panel' then click through to 'My YouGov' on the next page. This is where you can register or login.

Once you are a member, you will receive invitations to surveys by email, so make sure you use an address you check regularly as some are only open for a few days. You can easily check your profile and account from the links at the left of the page. There will be a link for any pending surveys too, if you have missed them.

Once you have made your £50, the payment is sent out automatically by cheque - so make sure you have your full name and address on file with them. It seems to take between one and two weeks to receive and I have had no problems with mine at all. YouGov seem very professional and reliable.

I know some people worry about companies selling your email addresses to other companies, so your inboxes become full of spam. I have never had this problem with YouGov. You can check their privacy policy and terms and conditions if you have any queries. You can also contact them directly and they do reply and answer your questions.

So overall, I can definitely recommend YouGov. There are many advantages and few disadvantages. After all, you could earn £100 a year for telling people what you think. Can't be bad, eh?