Make money from Paid Focus/Discussion Groups

February 25, 2008 – 8:18 am

You can get paid to take part in discussion groups also known as focus groups for market research companies! These can take place in person at a pre-organised address or online in a designated private chat forum. There are also, on occasion, opportunities to be interviewed in your own home on a one-to-one basis or you may even be asked to bring a friend along! If you have children or teenagers, you may be asked if you would be prepared to let them take part too, for which they will be paid, of course!

You will normally receive an invitation detailing the focus group topic, the criteria participants need to fulfil, along with dates, location & payment details. You can pick and choose which ones you would like to participate in, but most market research companies such as those mentioned below will require that neither you, friends or family work in the following occupations: marketing, market research, retail, manufacturing, PR, advertising or journalism, due to confidentiality issues and possible conflicts of interest.

In the invitation email you will normally be invited to complete a small screener survey to confirm your eligibility and contact details. If you are accepted, you will be contacted with more details.

Then, all you have to do is wait for the date, turn up and join in the discussion! It is very informal and there is nothing to be nervous about. An interviewer will direct the discussions and ask questions relevant to the project. You may be asked to test a product before, during and/or after the discussion and discuss your opinions.

Depending on what the client requires, focus groups can last anything from 45 minutes to a couple of hours, some are even all day or over a period of time where you’ll be asked to return for a second or third time and for which you will be paid handsomely! Some take place during the day and others in the evening, which is ideal if you work during the day or can only get a babysitter in the evenings! Free refreshments are normally provided too!

You can expect to earn around £30-50 per hour. If you are a professional, you will occasionally receive opportunities to participate that can earn you around £80-150 per hour! You will normally be sent a cheque after your participation has been confirmed, however I know Saros pay in cash at the end of the session/s! Saros, Nunwood and Focus 4 People tend to send the most invitations, though it is worth signing up to more, if you would like to do this on a regular basis as some market research companies have a requirement that you must not have participated in market research in the last 3/6/12 months and this varies from site to site.

Here are some of the best sites to sign up to and a brief overview of each:

SAROS – Applications are particularly required in the Greater London area but all are welcome to join. You can typically earn £30-40 per hour of your time. Regular opportunities to participate are sent to you by email. Payment is normally made in cash at the end of the session. Saros ask that you must not have participated in a market research project such as a focus group in the last 6 months. http://www.sarosresearch.com/main-index.html

NUNWOOD – You can normally expect to earn £25-£30 per hour of your time. Payment is made by cheque at the end of the month. Regular opportunities are sent to you by email. http://www.nunwood.com/expertpanel/Default.aspx

FOCUS 4 PEOPLE – You can typically earn around £30 per hour of your time. Many of the groups seem to be in and around London but there are some groups slightly further afield. Lots of regular opportunities are sent to you by email or you can check their website to see if there is one that suits you. http://www.focus4people.com

INDIEFIELD – You can typically earn £30-£40 per hour of your time. Payments are made via cheque. Lots of regular opportunities are sent to you by email. http://www.indiefield.net/index.html

QUALITY EYE - Focus groups are mainly based in the Greater London area. You will need to check their website to see if there are any focus groups to suit you. You can expect to earn around £30 per hour of your time. http://www.qualityeye.co.uk

FHIOS – Focus groups are often held in London but can be throughout the UK. Typically you can expect to earn around £40 per hour of your time and will be paid by cheque at the end of the session. http://www.fhios-uxd.com

Compiled by Beckie from http://www.ilovefreebiesuk.net