How To Join Focus Groups
The good news is that market research companies are always looking for people to join their programs. If you don’t already know about this good way to make some extra money, you need to get on board. Focus groups are used by companies and marketing firms to collect and analyze consumer opinion and insight on various topics. If you are a consumer of food, household products, cars, medical services and just about everything else, then you are a prime candidate for focus groups!
A focus group typically is a “live” event where you meet with a group of other consumers in a meeting room to discuss and interact about a particular product or service. This means you’ll need to have a car or reliable transportation to travel to the venue, which is almost always in a large-sized city. Recently, there has been an increase in online focus groups that allow folks who can not get out of the house or live in more rural areas to participate in the discussion. These online focus groups are set up as “webinars” or “web chats”, so you’ll need a phone line and a computer with decent Internet access.
If you are interested in participating in focus groups, you can check the websites of your favorite products to see if they have programs in place and are accepting applicants. Also, there are databases that list legitimate focus group and online surveys; surf through these and apply for membership at the ones that interest you. Participants are chosen for focus groups primarily based on demographic information (such as age and family size) and interests (such as movie-goer or snack food eater); these qualifiers revealed when you fill out the initial registration forms for each focus group site. Occasionally, you also may be sent “screeners” via email or be called on the telephone to answer a few questions before you are asked to join a focus group.
Other projects, similar to focus groups, may also come up from time to time. In addition to roundtable discussions, you may also be asked to participate in mock jurys, website evaluations, one-on-one interviews and take paid surveys. Usually these events take approximately 2 hours, although some may be shorter or longer. You will always be notified of the project details before accepting the job. Successful participation in the focus group could earn you $30 to $300 dollar based on the project and company.