Of all the sharing economy jobs out there, simply giving your opinion may be one of the easiest opportunities we’ve heard about with paid focus groups.
Everyone has an opinion. You may really like certain products and absolutely hate the features of other products. You’ve taken a stand, why don’t you get paid to share your thoughts?That’s what focus groups give secondary scammers like you: an opportunity to get compensated for sharing your thoughts and opinions on products, services, ads, and everything in between.In this article, we are going to explain what focus groups are and how you can earn money by participating in a focus group. We’ll also give you the top eight focus group companies you can consider to start making extra money.
What is a Focus Group?
When companies need to collect opinions and recommendations from consumers, they recruit focus groups to receive feedback on their products, services, or advertisements. If a company is developing a new product, this feedback will help to better develop its product or service.For example, if a car company is in the process of creating a new state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle, it will hold several focus group sessions to get real thoughts, opinions, and ideas from real consumers who are likely to buy the car.Depending on what the opportunity is, some paid research studies may be looking for a particular type of respondent. For example, if a company wants to further develop an item for children, researchers may only want to interview mothers who can help answer their questions.When you sign up to be part of a focus group, you’ll be asked a series of questions over the course of one to three hours, usually as part of a larger group. Through your participation, you will be compensated for your time and honest opinions.So how much can you get paid to participate in a focus group?
How much do focus groups pay?
In exchange for being part of a focus group, you will be compensated for your time and the information you provide. Focus group studies pay respondents between $20 and $200 per session, sometimes even more.Each focus group you join will have a different level of compensation. This compensation will depend on the length of the focus group, the type of company commissioning the focus group, and the subject of the study in which you participate.Compensation for your participation will generally be cash, PayPal, gift cards, or Visa prepaid credit cards. It is important to know how much you will be paid and how you will be paid before participating in any survey or focus group.Let’s break down what types of focus groups exist to give you an idea of what you can expect to find.
Types of focus groups
In many cases, focus groups are conducted by third-party research companies. Many times a focus group is anonymously unbranded, but in other cases, respondents will know which company they are being asked about.These consumer market research studies offer a few different focus group opportunities for you to earn extra money. The two most popular types of focus groups are in person and online.
In-Person Focus Group
In-person focus groups are what most people think of when they hear about these types of opportunities. They consist of being interviewed in person at a focus group facility as part of a larger group of participants.During your focus group, a focus group moderator will give the group questions and prompts that are intended to engage you and other participants in a small group discussion. Meanwhile, the moderator will listen carefully, take notes, and record responses.If you’re in one of the following major US cities, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to track down some focus group studies in person:
- New York
- San Francisco
- the Angels
- Chicago
- Phoenix
- Dallas
- Atlanta
- Minneapolis
- Boston
- Seattle
- Portland
- Miami
- Nashville
- Saint Louis
- Philadelphia
- Colon
- kansas city
- Indianapolis
- Denver
- Las Vegas
- Baltimore
- Richmond
One more thing to keep in mind: In-person focus groups will usually be a one-time meeting, but don’t be surprised if you have to attend multiple sessions. Don’t worry though, you will be compensated for each session you attend.
Online Focus Group
As the name suggests, online focus groups are pretty much the same as in-person focus groups, aside from the fact that you’ll be participating in an online forum instead of going to an in-person location.Instead of driving to an office building in your area, you can log into an online focus group platform on your desktop, tablet, or mobile phone. Once you’re signed in, you’ll be part of a group chat that will likely include video conferencing. If you need to download specific video conferencing software, you will receive instructions beforehand.Since hosting a focus group online is easier for participants and organizers, and much cheaper to start, they are becoming more popular and replacing in-person focus groups.
Focus Group Companies
There are so many focus group opportunities and research companies that you can choose from. One way to find local focus group opportunities in your area is to check out their Craigslist board. While this can get you in the right direction, it also leaves you vulnerable to potential online scams.Instead, you can find plenty of focus group opportunities in this list of consumer research companies below.
1. FGFinder.com
FG Finder is a platform for finding best paid focus group opportunities to earn money Online by participating in paid focus groups, clinical research trials & paid surveys!FG Finder want to help you grow your business with the latest in marketing research. This is why FG Finder’ve made it easy for you to search for focus groups that are happening near your location from allmost all the below mantioned focus groups compnies.
2. Respondent
Respondent is the modern version of market research. This platform allows you to connect your LinkedIn and Facebook pages to automatically mine your demographic and employment data in order to send you specific studies that are applicable to you. You can also browse the list of available studies on your own, which take an average of 30 minutes.
3. User Interviews
User Interviews is a market research company that simplifies the focus group and survey taking process. After you create a profile, you can start looking at studies that might interest you. Once you find one that looks like a good fit, you can take a screening survey and then get paid for completing the full survey.
4. American consumer opinion
ACO is a national market research company that pays participants on a points-based system. The average survey takes 10 minutes to complete and you will be able to take multiple surveys per year.
5. SurveySquad
Survey Squad is a suite of cheap, paid online surveys and more in-depth consumer research projects that pay substantially more. Some surveys pay for “Survey Squad points” and others pay with cash, gift cards, or prepaid Visa cards.
6. Mind Swarms
This is a unique version of consumer information collection. With MindSwarms, consumers record their insights on their smartphone, tablet, or webcam for researchers to analyze and optimize products, product names, advertising, and design. The studies take about 10 minutes to complete and only ask seven questions.
7. Survey feeds
Survey Feeds aggregates an online bulletin board of focus groups and survey opportunities across the country. You can use the site to scroll through opportunities in certain locations or filter only by online studies. The site makes it easy to sort through the types of opportunities that exist and view all payment information up front.
8. Square Research
Plaza Research partners with leading manufacturers to conduct market research panels in the United States. The market research firm has locations in 14 different cities, but also offers phone interviews and online focus group opportunities.
9. FocusGroup.com
FocusGroup.com is run by a company called Focus Pointe Global that conducts consumer research on a variety of consumer products and services. You can sign up for Focus Group and browse through a variety of surveys, focus groups, phone interviews, and product trial opportunities. You will find that there is no shortage of studios to choose from.
Earn money giving your opinion
By being a member of a FG Finder, you can go all out. While we don’t recommend you quit your day job, participating in focus groups can definitely be your source of part-time income.Be sure to look at each platform carefully to see the types of surveys each offers, how much they pay, and how they will pay you. After that, the only thing left to do is sign up and start giving feedback on everyday products and services.
