Alternative Income – Focus Groups

It has been a while since I  wrote about a new way to make alternative income.  I made $30 for about an hour of my time yesterday by participating in a focus group.  I just had to give my opinion on new varieties of oatmeal to help the makers determine which product to develop.  There are lots of different types of focus groups.  Last year I participated in one that gauged our reaction to different advertisements by attorneys.  Focus groups are pretty easy money but there aren’t a lot of them available to participate in.  I’m signed up for a local company that has focus groups but you can’t participate in more than one every three months.  The focus group I did last year I found on Craiglist.  The site FindFocusGroups.com is supposed to help you find focus groups but I haven’t used it so I can’t vouch for it.  You  could also try the company I just did a focus group with but they only have locations in Dallas, Chicago, and Springfield, MO.  If you know of any other legitimate focus group companies please share them in a comment.

9 thoughts on “Alternative Income – Focus Groups”

  1. Focus groups are fun and often pay well.

    The most I’ve made is $200 for one hour (stock market firms).
    Second place tied between Electronics Retailers (CC BB GG) @ $75, and a couple cellphone firms.

    Being selected is a tricky process.

    Reply
  2. Hello all,

    Focus groups are a method of group interviewing in which the interaction between the moderator and the group, as well as the interaction between group members, serves to elicit information and insights in response to carefully designed questions.

    Reply
  3. Very interesting blog – I will be checking in here often. I’m getting close to an early retirement (hopefully). You have some great ideas and inspiration on how to live on a very limited income.

    I feel certain that enjoying life now is worth the risk of not having a bunch of money later. After all every day could be your last day!

    Reply
  4. I’m really surprised that focus groups pay that well. I’ve personally tried paid surveys, and they were a bust. The ones that i signed up for were pretty much a scheme to get my email address and sell me some products.
    Have you had any experiences with online surveys?

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    • The only survey company I currently use is Pinecone Research. They pay $3 per survey. It isn’t much but it is a little extra money in my spare time. There are other good survey companies out there but I don’t have personal experience with any of them so I can’t recommend any.

      Reply

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