Paid surveys and focus groups are a little known way for 
individuals to make money for free. There are businesses ranging 
from Fortune 500 companies to advertising agencies and market 
research organizations who look for the opinions of regular 
consumers and business professionals for their product lines or 
customers. What is great is that a good number of them pay cash 
to the participants and it is free of charge to join these types 
of studies. Paid surveys are generally given online and can range 
from $2.00 to $70.00 for each survey completed. Focus groups are 
closely observed groups of participants and mostly pay from 
$50.00 to $200.00 depending on the topic for 1 or 2 hours of your 
time.

Anyone can join up with these organizations that provide survey 
opportunities, and people with specialized business professional 
backgrounds such as IT, business management, law, accounting, 
etc. are ideal for this line of research. Average consumers who 
drink coffee, taste ice cream, buy power tools or electronic 
products, watch television or own a certain type of car can 
benefit from numerous surveys and focus groups. The possibilities 
for different types of surveys being offered are as endless as 
there are ways to create and market products to the public. The 
Internet is your best source of finding places to join for either 
one of these kinds of surveys, free of cost. Some businesses 
advertise to do all the footwork for you and will charge a fee 
for doing it. So it's a good idea to learn as much as possible 
on these services in order to understand what you will receive 
if you decide to pay for the information.

The paid surveys are mostly given over the Internet. With this 
method you will receive e-mail most of the time with links to the 
survey being given. Because they are given over the Internet, it 
will take generally between 2 to 4 weeks for your honorarium 
check to arrive either through the mail or by an online 
payment solution like PayPal. Signing up with as many survey 
organizations as you can find can result in a stream of 
invitations. When filling out their online forms, give as much 
information about yourself and your background to maximize your 
chances. And if you are married, have your spouse sign up if they 
are interested. Sometimes if one doesn't qualify for a survey, 
the other may. Plus when filling out the forms for signing up, if 
they ask if you can be contacted by phone for opportunities, say 
yes. This can help to expose you to higher paying focus groups.

A focus group survey is generally performed with a number of 
participants consisting from 5 to 50 people that meet in a 
designated place to give a more in-depth opinion on tasting food, 
driving SUV's, drinking certain brands of water or the like. 
Sometimes they pay cash on the spot after you are done. One can 
sign up online with some of the focus groups that have websites. 
There are times that you may have to call the centers that offer 
focus groups to let them know you want to participate. (If you 
are in a rural area, a long drive may be what it takes to get you 
involved so be sure the money is worthwhile to you.) And remember 
that most of the time they call you at home, so if they do call 
take them up on the offer. You will enjoy it and get paid too!  

Tom Howze is a webmaster. You can learn more about
 Paid Online Surveys and Focus Groups here.