The Low Effort Side Hustle for Extra Monthly $100s
Get paid good money to sit down with your brain
In the lead-up to July, I was scrambling for ideas on how to make money online without it eating too much time out of my writing. I happened to stumble across an article by Ted Rivers entitled ‘3 Websites To Have Open To Earn $100s Extra Every Month’. Sounded too good to be true… but to my surprise, it actually wasn’t! Here are my findings from giving one of the 3 a go over a month.
Not just any other survey provider
Our opinions on products deserve payments because they form the same ideas advertisers, businesses, and entrepreneurs will use to make money off of other people later. There are many survey providers out there that compensate for our time and thinking power.
I’ve never tried Swagbucks and after discovering this side hustle, I don’t think I’d ever want to.
Prolific, unlike other survey providers I have explored recently, is an academic research website with the majority of surveys coming directly from Universities and science labs. They sometimes have market research studies too. To me, the topics are fascinating with survey lengths ranging from 1 minute to 60 minutes. Unlike user testing, you don’t need a mic or camera to participate in these surveys, but the option is given if you wish to participate in specific ones. These also usually pay more to compensate for your efforts.
Don’t get me wrong, others I’ve tried have helped me out in dire circumstances and have their own perks (such as a very low cash-out minimum) but the pay isn’t spectacular.
Prolific surveys usually meet or exceed UK minimum wage. The average pay works out to be around GBP 7.50 (USD 10.44) per hour spent working on the site. You can cash out after earning a minimum of GBP 5 (USD 6.95). Don’t worry, if you’re based outside of the UK, you can easily convert this to your local currency from within your PayPal account.
Just a head’s up, you will need a PayPal account to get paid by Prolific.
Upon signing up, you’ll need to fill out some information about yourself which will help you to match with new studies. I took time after creating my account to do this and, boy, was it worth it! I had so many surveys in July. Upon filling out the first set of questions, more are generated based on your answers, so regularly check back and answer more to secure additional studies — they eventually end though.
New studies are released throughout the day so it’s best to keep the website tab open all the time and turn on notifications. I’ve learned that those with a higher hourly rate with the lowest completion times get filled up quickly.
All other survey sites have now been sacrificed for Prolific, like Ted, I too believe it’s hands down the best survey site available. Having only answered surveys for a total of about 10 hours, I still managed to earn GBP 78.39 (USD 109), which I’m putting toward a new laptop.
Along with the numerous reported benefits of research participation, imagine what knuckling down a few days per week in the name of science can earn you financially. I’m personally going to be taking this side hustle more seriously from now on.
Final thoughts
We hardly realise just how straightforward it is to earn extra money online. Sometimes all you need is a sturdy internet connection, some time and guidance from someone paying it forward.
Personally, I don’t want to take on any heavy-duty side hustles that require a lot of time and energy to maintain whilst I work on furthering my writing career. That’s why this is perfect for me and others who are focusing the majority of their time on main jobs, freelancing gigs, studies or even being a full-time parent!
Ready to get started with Prolific?
I’d love to hear about your experiences and any other recommendations you have! So please do reach out in the comments. 👇
Big thanks again, Ted Rivers. Credit where credit is due:
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