Want To Make Easy Money? Just Focus...
November 5th 2008 09:01
Have you ever participated in a ‘Focus Group’?
A focus group is a form of research in which a group of people, in an informal setting, is asked about their attitude toward products, services, concepts, advertising ideas and product packaging, The groups are interactive and usually have between between 6 to 12 people where participants are free to talk with other group members and air their views – the more honest the better.
The best part of a focus group is that anyone can register for them and they pay well for a couple of hours of your time and your opinions. Plus as an extra they generally provide refreshements. As subjects vary from advertising and testing of products ranging from washing powder to wine to insurance to holidays and even children’s television habits, there is something for everyone.
The best thing as they are held worldwide, mostly in the larger cities and it’s free and very easy to register.
I have done a number of them myself over the years, had some fun, been bored out of my skull and once was paid $80 to walk in and walk out again. Score! Apparently that sometimes happens. If they have overbooked (which they sometimes do to ensure numbers) first in will sometimes be given the option to stay and participate or leave with the cash. No-brainer really, I was out the door in five seconds flat calling a girlfriend to see if she wanted to have coffee as I had an hour and a half up my sleeve and some moolah.
Although you usually sign an agreement stating that you won’t talk about the group especially until after a product launch I’ll spill the beans on some I’ve been to without giving away any secrets.
I have participated in:
• A group where we had to give our opinions on the direction a winemaker was taking with the new branding of their products to see which demographic they had the best results with. They sucked. All of those bottles and all we got was OJ and a few bad sandwiches but after 90 minutes I was $70 richer.
• A laundry detergent which had been modified and modernised. They gave us all free unmarked bottles of the stuff to take home and use for a month and then go back for a 5 minute interview to tell them what we thought and to see if we could guess the brand. Not that it mattered, they just basically wanted to now if it was recognisable in its new form. I got $80 and didn’t have to buy laundry liquid for 3 months.
• APEC – Now that was funny. It wasn’t what we thought about security or the fiasco of having the city locked down. It was to see what we thought of the advertising leading up to it! Great food and drinks served and pocketed $80.
• A bank (who shall remain nameless) who played us four different advertising campaigns, filled us up with the most delicious food and wine and beer. I had so much fun the two hours flew by and they were by far the best payer at $100.
• Taste testing cereals. I actually got paid to tell people if I felt their cereals still tasted crunchy or had a nice texture. We only had to take a spoonfull of each but I did it in the afternoon so some people may find that weird. That’s the normal time I have breakfast so that was an easy one.
The least I’ve been paid was $50 and the most was $100 but I spoke to another woman in one group who had once been flown from Sydney to Melbourne and back to check an airline’s service and spent the day down there shopping…and they paid her. Damn, where was I when that one was handed out?
Anyway, the point is anyone can register; they will call or email you when people in your demographic are needed and there are few simpler ways to make money. But beware, every group has a complete know-it-all who tries to monopolise the whole thing and is usually a giant pain in the arse. It can be fun shooting them down in flames, especially when everyone starts to feel the same about them. In our wine group we had a wine ‘connoisseur’ who had a ‘cellar’ and knew everything there was to know about wine…except how to actually pronounce the varieties which had us all in fits of giggles when he kept referring to Pinot with a hard ‘T’ and Sauvignon with a hard ‘G’. Easy mistakes to make…but not for a self proclaimed ‘expert’.
What have you got to lose? Sign up and you may just make some easy cash and actually have a say in something.
Here is a directory for Aussie Market Research sites that present focus groups.
For other countries I suggest that you do a Google search in your using the terms Market Research and Focus Groups. I couldn’t find similar directories for other countries but there were so many companies all over the world that you can register with it won’t take much effort for you to find a few wherever you may be.
Get out there and have your opinions heard and line your pockets at the same time.
Have fun!
Picture from Really Long Link
A focus group is a form of research in which a group of people, in an informal setting, is asked about their attitude toward products, services, concepts, advertising ideas and product packaging, The groups are interactive and usually have between between 6 to 12 people where participants are free to talk with other group members and air their views – the more honest the better.
The best part of a focus group is that anyone can register for them and they pay well for a couple of hours of your time and your opinions. Plus as an extra they generally provide refreshements. As subjects vary from advertising and testing of products ranging from washing powder to wine to insurance to holidays and even children’s television habits, there is something for everyone.
The best thing as they are held worldwide, mostly in the larger cities and it’s free and very easy to register.
I have done a number of them myself over the years, had some fun, been bored out of my skull and once was paid $80 to walk in and walk out again. Score! Apparently that sometimes happens. If they have overbooked (which they sometimes do to ensure numbers) first in will sometimes be given the option to stay and participate or leave with the cash. No-brainer really, I was out the door in five seconds flat calling a girlfriend to see if she wanted to have coffee as I had an hour and a half up my sleeve and some moolah.
Although you usually sign an agreement stating that you won’t talk about the group especially until after a product launch I’ll spill the beans on some I’ve been to without giving away any secrets.
I have participated in:
• A group where we had to give our opinions on the direction a winemaker was taking with the new branding of their products to see which demographic they had the best results with. They sucked. All of those bottles and all we got was OJ and a few bad sandwiches but after 90 minutes I was $70 richer.
• A laundry detergent which had been modified and modernised. They gave us all free unmarked bottles of the stuff to take home and use for a month and then go back for a 5 minute interview to tell them what we thought and to see if we could guess the brand. Not that it mattered, they just basically wanted to now if it was recognisable in its new form. I got $80 and didn’t have to buy laundry liquid for 3 months.
• APEC – Now that was funny. It wasn’t what we thought about security or the fiasco of having the city locked down. It was to see what we thought of the advertising leading up to it! Great food and drinks served and pocketed $80.
• A bank (who shall remain nameless) who played us four different advertising campaigns, filled us up with the most delicious food and wine and beer. I had so much fun the two hours flew by and they were by far the best payer at $100.
• Taste testing cereals. I actually got paid to tell people if I felt their cereals still tasted crunchy or had a nice texture. We only had to take a spoonfull of each but I did it in the afternoon so some people may find that weird. That’s the normal time I have breakfast so that was an easy one.
The least I’ve been paid was $50 and the most was $100 but I spoke to another woman in one group who had once been flown from Sydney to Melbourne and back to check an airline’s service and spent the day down there shopping…and they paid her. Damn, where was I when that one was handed out?
Anyway, the point is anyone can register; they will call or email you when people in your demographic are needed and there are few simpler ways to make money. But beware, every group has a complete know-it-all who tries to monopolise the whole thing and is usually a giant pain in the arse. It can be fun shooting them down in flames, especially when everyone starts to feel the same about them. In our wine group we had a wine ‘connoisseur’ who had a ‘cellar’ and knew everything there was to know about wine…except how to actually pronounce the varieties which had us all in fits of giggles when he kept referring to Pinot with a hard ‘T’ and Sauvignon with a hard ‘G’. Easy mistakes to make…but not for a self proclaimed ‘expert’.
What have you got to lose? Sign up and you may just make some easy cash and actually have a say in something.
Here is a directory for Aussie Market Research sites that present focus groups.
For other countries I suggest that you do a Google search in your using the terms Market Research and Focus Groups. I couldn’t find similar directories for other countries but there were so many companies all over the world that you can register with it won’t take much effort for you to find a few wherever you may be.
Get out there and have your opinions heard and line your pockets at the same time.
Have fun!
Picture from Really Long Link
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Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
There is a cool group online called soup something or something soup that lets you sign up for amazing testing - I can't find their website - when they next email me I will post their address because they rock!!
Cool post!!!
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Current Business News
Movie Train
Artist Quirk
i once got paid $20 to be part of a group who taste tested some proposed new chip flavours . . . i workmates wife was a researcher for the CSIRO and they needed guinea pigs to munch on their potatoe crisps!
Comment by Lara M
Love Speaks
Comment by Market Newbie
Stock Market Punk
Comment by The Rusty Can
Everything
Thanks for sharing Cheryl!
Rusty.
Comment by Louie
Climate Forum
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
Comment by Janet Collins
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
Comment by Johnny Come Lately
Jack's Back
Comment by Cheryl J
Funny Videos
Rhythmatism
Zentertainment
Budget Centsability
Please do post the address when you get it, we're all about sharing here - especially if something rocks!
Hi Morgan, $20 bucks for tasting chips, I'd do it for free - woohoo! You should check out your area and see what's around. It's mostly fun.
Hi Lara, I hope your piggy bank gets a severe case of obesity
Hey Market Newbie, I still live in hope that I'll be paid for cocktail testing one day. Any Market Research groups out there? I'm so up for it!
Hi Rusty Can, there is a Chaser book about my blog??
Hi Louie, I'm a huge cynic and almost always think there is a catch to everything but I've never been hassled and never had my email address used so they won me over. Go on, give it a try
Hey there Janet, always glad to help. I've found you have far more of a chance of getting called up if you're listed with more than one company.
Hi Johnny, as I said above to Louie, I've never had any issue with privacy. I'm sure there are guidelines and most likely a policy that governs how your details are used. I'll check it out and see what I can find. Although after years of being a member of several and never having been hassled, I think they must be prevented from using your details but it's a very valid question so I'll find out and post it.
Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
Techno Stuffs
WoW, it sounds like a great opportunity to me. Hmm..., since I'm a very talkative person, it's not wrong to spare some time and give some opinions on it...
Thanks for everything, Cheryl
Comment by Cheryl J
Funny Videos
Rhythmatism
Zentertainment
Budget Centsability
And just as an update folks....
I'm being paid $80 to taste test chocolate next week. It's a tough job but someone has to do it