Thursday, August 28, 2008

Getting Paid for Your Opinion-Surveys and Focus Groups

Majority of people looking for an online income probably would have started by taking surveys and attending focus groups. What is a survey? It is basically a list of questions or questionnaire prepared by market research companies hired by large corporations, seeking our opinions about their products. It is very simple and also gives us a satisfaction that the corporations would seek the opinions of customers like us. As compensation for our time and opinions, these companies will pay us either in cash, gift cards (like Amazon.com gift cards) or they will enter your name in sweepstakes or contests. A few companies will also send products to us asking us to evaluate it and in return, you get to keep the product and also a small compensation. Not all surveys would suit a person. For example, a survey about feminine products cannot be answered by men. Similarly, if the survey is for men aged 18 to 35, older people would not qualify for the survey. Generally, the market research companies would get details about you while registering with them and surveys that suit your profile will be sent to you. There are many market research companies and once you register with them, invitations for survey would start pouring in to your email box.


While a survey asks for individual opinion, a focus group will consist of a group of people who meet the eligibility criteria and they will discuss about a product, health issues and other ideas or sevice. Generally, focus groups take up more time like maybe an hour or more and compensation is also better like $50 for an hour or so.


There are many market research companies and you could find them by searching on google. But it would take forever. To make the job easier for you, there are compiled lists of research companies available on the internet for a small fee. Surveyscout.com is one such list which provides you with the names of hundreds of research companies and their details. Although there are many such lists available, from my experience, surveyscout.com is the best and gives plenty of information for a small fee. Once you start taking surveys, you can earn back this money within no time.

Earn With Your Computer


Have you decided to make use of your computer to earn money? Well, you're not alone. Millions of people are making a part-time or even full-time income using a computer and internet. Everyday, we hear and read about people who work in their pajamas from the comfort of home and earn thousands of dollars. If this makes you think that earning online is a very simple task, then you could not be MORE WRONG!! Making money online needs plenty of research. It requires hard work and persistence. If you begin with the expectation of earning thousands of dollars in your first month, you may be very much disappointed. Of course, we see all these "earn 100,000 in 30 days" or "I earned 5 million in 6 months and so could you" banners in each and every corner of the internet. But any person who has been successful online would tell you that it is not so easy to do it. You have to read so much information and then learn by trial and error method. There are so many scams out there that it could take quite sometime for you to realise which program is scam and which is not.
But, don't think I'm discouraging you. If done properly, your computer could be a life-saver. Do your research, be patient and persistent and you could see the fruits of your hard work within a short span of time. Whether you earn part-time or full-time depends on the amount of effort and time that you put into it. If you want to be lazy but earn tons of money, then, sorry, this place is not for you.
So, why would you want to listen to my advice? Simply because, I've been there and done that. I've spent months researching each program, lost hundreds and even thousands of dollars in scams and learnt precious lessons in the process. In my blog, I'll be writing about the various means of earning income online, beginning from the most simple ways to the few complicated ones and most importantly highlighting which ones are scams that you need to keep far away from. Making money online is an ocean and I would like to share with you the few things that I've learnt from my experience. If in the process, I can help you profit online, I would be blessed. So, keep reading my blogs.