Anywhere you go online nowadays, you will see an ad offering to pay you cash for your opinion. Whether it's a paid survey or focus group, the idea is the same - market research companies want your opinion and are willing to give you cash and free merchandise for you to spend your time filling out their surveys. In this article, we will clear up the mystery surrounding "paid surveys".

What is a paid survey?

A paid survey, or "market research survey", is a series of questions that are presented to either an individual, or group of individuals, to see how they perceive and respond to certain products or services. Each and every person fits into some type of demographic (segments of human populations broken down by age, sex, income, etc.), that certain products or services are marketed to. For instance, athletic equipment may be marketed towards a younger, physically active demographic, while luxury cars might be marketed towards a higher income demographic. These online surveys are offered for free as a means to understand certain markets better.

What is a focus group?

A focus group is another type of survey where a group of individuals are invited to discuss a certain topic related to the company that sponsors the focus group. You may or may not know the point of the discussion and they are often hosted by a moderator that will guide the discussion. These focus groups can be held at a physical location or online and usually lasts between 30 minutes to 2 hours. The compensation can range from up to , depending on the topic and time involved.

Why is my opinion so important?

Companies spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars on advertising for new and/or existing products and services. These "advertising campaigns" can sometimes be a complete waste of time and money if the company does not research the market that they are trying to capture. So it makes sense for a company to see how it's products or services are received by the public, before it invests the money and time on advertising. This is where the market research survey comes in, and this is why your opinion is so important.

I understand all that, but why would they pay me money?

The answer to this question is very easy and boils down to one thing; Your time is worth their money! Think about it this way...if you are going to introduce a new type of tennis racket into the market, but you're unsure if it's needed or wanted, would you rather spend thousands of dollars on advertising, or simply pay 50 tennis players and find out their opinion about tennis rackets?

Okay, so how much can I really make taking paid surveys?

Compensation from survey companies can range from $1 up to $75 per survey, and most surveys take around 6-12 minutes to complete. There are some companies that offer points for completing a survey, and those points can then be redeemed for gift certificates, merchandise, cash and prizes. You can even be entered into raffles for prizes after completing certain surveys. No matter what the compensation, all legitimate survey companies will tell you up front, before you begin the survey, what the compensation will be. The more you take, the more you make.

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