Consumer surveys are designed in a way that punishes honesty, and rewards liars.

People who tell the truth are subjected to hours of exploitative unpaid work, having their data collected for 20 minutes at a time only to be disqualified for no apparent reason.  People who figure out how to tell researchers what they want to hear are able to make it to the end of the surveys and receive payments.

Here are some key strategies which will help you qualify for far more surveys than honesty ever will:

1. "Which of these industries do you work for?"

This is almost always a trap question, to disqualify people with biases towards their industry, or media personnel who might leak information about products in development.  Choose ‘None of the above’.

Pro tip: Look at the industries mentioned and see if any reveal what the survey will be about.

2. Your income

Your profile should indicate that you can easily afford to purchase whatever it is the survey maker is selling.  This means having a well-paid full-time job.  Note that your income may be indirectly assessed by comparing the annual revenue of your company vs. the number of employees.

Being a high-ranking member of your company (e.g. management) can qualify you for studies about business purchasing decisions.

3. Purchasing responsibility

Always state that you have sole responsibility over purchasing decisions, whether it’s for your household or business.

4. "Do you have children?"

If you say that you have a child, you will qualify for surveys about products aimed at children.  Some surveys even expect your children to answer some of the questions.  Remember that you would need to be of a realistic age relative to the age of your child.

If you see this question at the end of a survey, you don’t need to bother saying yes- Doing so will only waste your time with extra questions about their age and gender.

5. "Which products have you bought recently?" / "Which shops have you bought from recently?" / "What activities have you done recently?" / "Which brands have you heard of?"

For questions about recent or upcoming consumer behaviour, always choose as many items as realistically possible.  The more you can select, the more likely you will be to catch the one the survey maker is interested in.  Always say that you “would consider” trying any brand or product.

Watch out for trap questions that ask about statistically unlikely activities such as ‘sky diving’- You will most likely be disqualified for choosing uncommon answers.  This is pure ignorance on the part of the survey designer, but that’s how it goes.

6. Defensive strategies

To mitigate the time-wasting effect of unavoidable disqualifications, it is recommended to use two survey platforms simultaneously in side-by-side windows.  You could also opt for survey platforms that pay a disqualification bonus each time a survey kicks you out (e.g. Theorem Reach or CPX).

Thanks for checking out my article.  I'll see you again soon with some more Lazy Money Making tips.