How to Earn $100 Talking About Mayonnaise
(Or Something Else You Use A Lot)
In times of financial trouble, it can be hard to make ends meet with conventional work. Not only do most jobs require a commute and tax forms, but you’ve got to bring skills and production to the table. If you’re working a traditional 9 to 5, you might be too exhausted to think about adding a second job at the end of the day.
But what if there was a way for you to make extra money without leaving your home? Or traveling to a well-populated place in your city and possibly getting rewarded with not only a financial incentive but food and relaxing conversation as well? Welcome to the world of consumer market research.
Market research exists because companies and organizations want honest opinions from real people about how products, services, or cultural happenings are perceived. Instead of asking someone who will agree with their assumptions or green light their project, they pay people a financial incentive to speak freely and gather information about their age, race, sex, income, and other identifying characteristics.
This means that if you’re willing to part with some of your personal information and give your opinion(s), you can get paid real money! There are many platforms to do this on, and in this brief article, I will discuss five of the highest quality places to participate.
dscout
A flexible, remote, in-context user research platform such as dscout is new in market research. Not only was dscout pioneering virtual/remote research before the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re also still a champion of being able to participate from your smartphone.
Studies on dscout generally range from between $50–150. They are on a timeline of a couple of days to weeks, with “Express” missions offering anywhere from $0.50 to $5 that can be completed in several minutes. PayPal is the way you get paid, so you’ll need to have an account and email address on file. A handy incentive tracker allows you to see studies you’ve completed and applied to, and there are new studies that pop up on here daily.
Many of the missions are “diary” based, in which you submit videos/text within a predetermined time, but some are live interviews done over Google Chrome. If you check every day, dscout is a wealth of opportunity.
Plaza Research
Plaza Research is a firm that has been around for quite a while. Conducting both in-person and virtual studies, they primarily send out email lists of groups occurring soon and have you sign up over SurveyMonkey or other survey platforms.
Many of the studies through PRC pay well (upwards of $100), but they tend to fill up fast. You are also not allowed to participate in a Plaza Research study if you’re currently completing a study with another company or have participated within a specific time. Regardless, Plaza Research conducts high-quality focus groups and interviews that typically pay a digital incentive sent through email.
Schlesinger Group
Formerly a somewhat niche research firm, Schlesinger Group seems to be dominating the research landscape and buying up a lot of smaller, boutique research companies. They conduct research in every major US city and even some international locations. Their studies range from $50 to $600 depending on the length, subject, and expertise required.
Schlesinger Group is like a high-tech version of Plaza Research, with more organization thrown in. They will track the number of incentives you get and issue you a 1099 at the beginning of a year if you earn more than $600 with them. Schlesinger is also unique in that they pay you with a physical Visa gift card issued by Bank of America. You can use this anywhere that Visa is accepted or withdraw physical cash from any Bank of America location.
FindFocusGroups.com
This website is not a research firm but an excellent aggregator that allows you to see what research opportunities are available in your area. Not only can you narrow in what research opportunities might be available near your location, but you can select only virtual options and find out what other market research firms might better want your opinions.
You will have to create a free account on FindFocusGroups.com to sift through the listings, which might remind you of old classified ads. Don’t be frustrated if the links end up taking you to a third-party site (such as another research firm) because not all survey links are publicly available. Some surveys and focus groups will require you to be part of their database/network to participate.
Elliot Benson
Elliot Benson is a smaller research firm out of California, but they are very high quality. Almost all of the studies they conduct are interesting, fun, and typically pay above $100. Their website is clean and easy to navigate, and once you’re on their email list, you will get notifications every so often about studies you might qualify for. Studies are typically paid through a physical check or PayPal, which is also a plus.
Every Little Bit Helps
While no amount of consumer market research will make you rich, every little bit helps. With most studies paying anywhere from $75–150, this can give you the wiggle room to buy groceries, start a savings account, invest, or even start a micro business.
Be sure to keep track of the incentives you receive, as they will still be treated as taxable income. Some companies, such as Schlesinger Group, will automatically send a 1099 to your address if you meet the threshold of earning $600 or more.
Sometimes, you will even learn a thing or two by participating in focus groups. From meeting new people to being introduced to cutting-edge product concepts, having a financial incentive to be engaged and speak freely in a group setting has never been so easy (or rewarded). Get started now!
