As a consumer, your opinion is important to companies before they introduce a new product or service to the market. Paying to have a consumer fill out surveys is a much more cost effective way to perform research, as the company cannot afford to introduce a new product or service that nobody will buy.

It is well worth it for a company to pay a consumer to fill out a survey, participate in an online focus group, or pay to watch a new movie trailer and give their opinion. This way they will get consumer opinions, good or bad, before they put any money into production.

Paid survey programs offer a dedicated resource for reaching the right people and 'target audiences'. They are invaluable to the big name companies that want real consumer opinions as they provide and endless stream of these 'reporters'. In my humble opinion, they are also incredibly valuable to all consumers (me and you) wishing to earn extra money by filling out these surveys, simply because they provide us with all the surveys and resources we need. Without them there is no way I would be able to make a decent amount of money from taking paid surveys, I just would not be able to keep constant track on where to find the best paying ones.

So with all this is mind, find a decent paid survey program that you like and stick with them. The more the better though.