online focus groups represent a productive effort conducted for the sake of business or a company’s development. So we hope to discuss and provide some examples sitting on the topic.

This discussion will help most business owners, company authorities, and most importantly the guys in search of extra income.

I hope to carry out this fine discussion targeting our side hustle maniacs. Although this is for side hustle maniacs, business moderators too can get the most out of this internet source.

Anyhow, focus groups have a long history that runs to the 1940s. Recently we are witnessing a slight growth in using online focus groups with the hits of technical waves in the world.

But, in 1940 Robert k. Merton ran a few propaganda and analytics to explore the effectiveness of focus groups and as a result, this context marketing strategy came in rising for many years. Now it has become one of the main strategies to apply for the sake of the company’s growth.

That is from the company’s point of view while the common public also has a chance to make $50-$150 per hour using these online focus groups. It sounds good, right?

Well, let’s discuss some important things about online focus groups here,

What are online focus groups?

The online focus group is a research method to evaluate and keep pushing a company’s growth. In this method, a small(Probably 10 – 12) group of people gather together to answer the questions in a moderated setting. The group of people is chosen using demographic traits and the questions may ask targeted to enlighten a certain topic of interest. 

Above is the procedure and setup for a focus group. Continuing the same procedure through an online platform is known as an online focus group.

There are specialized platforms for the hosters (Moderators) to create a meeting table suitable for an online focus group.

Most of the time the company uses one of its seniors, administrators, or higher authorities to moderate this kind of meeting.

No need to explain but you will understand how effective is it to conduct an online focus group for the company.

On the other hand, how effective is that for you to attend such a meeting? You can decide that by considering the money as well as the field experience you gain by participating.

Your field of expertise also can be useful here. on the other hand, if you are a good customer of a certain brand, you can apply for an online focus meeting conducted by that company. Obviously some money by participating.

15 Best online focus groups. 

Lucky for you, there are online focus groups that also exist other than individually conducted focus groups. These platforms can pay you $50 to $150 dollars per hour as I told you.

We are going to see them one by one so you can choose a platform to make some money out of it.

01. User interviews.

Use interviews is a platform that can use to start a connection between company researchers and extra money seekers like you. You have the opportunity to connect with the moderators through this platform.

If you have any doubts about the legality of the platform, would like to state some stats about the platform below.

• In  2021 User interviews were paid to over 100,000 users.
• User interviews fill their files with almost 200 new studies each day.
• Since 2016 they have paid over $15 million in incentives.
• The participants have completed over 400,000 sessions using 40,000+ studies.

Pros and Cons of User Interviews. 

Pros.	01. The average one-hour earning is equal to $55. 02. Applying and attending tests is easy, so no waste of time. 03. The payment gateway is easy and fast.
Cons.	01. A lower qualification rate. 02. The ones that pay highly need professional skills to attend.

 

02. Respondent. io

As we found on the internet and asked our readers about respondent.io, it is a totally legit platform to start your work as a research participant. Respondent.io is a high-paying platform and as per the records, there are people who have earned $500 per hour using respondent.io. (No big dreams, this is so far. I mean earning $500 per hour).

There are some household business partners who joined hands together with respondent.io namely Microsoft, IBM, Godaddy, and Intuit.

It would take only minutes to sign up using some personal information. That information will help you to participate in your group activity on the platform.

Pros and Cons of Respondent.io. 

Pros.	01. High paying capacity. 02. More interesting and professional works than other surveys for money sites. 03. Available within the global market. 04. Legit platform with better user comments.
Cons.	01. The selective factor depends on your professionalism and most high payees can avoid you. 02. Buggy interface to work with. 03. Customer supports found as slower than some other services. 04. The platform has reported several scam studies. Needed to be careful while dealing with it.

 

03. Survey Junkie.

As most of you know, we have even talked about this in one of our previous topics “make money hacks“,  too. Survey junkie is a survey site as well. Going forward they have developed the platform to host focus groups. So we can participate in online focus groups through the website.

Most of us know that survey junkie is a legit and trusty platform as we have worked with them. Apart from the survey for money, once you register with survey junkie, you will see some interesting online focus groups too.

Some reputed companies have put forward their study packs for the people to involve and earn some money.

You will like the customer-friendly interface as well. I personally like the way survey junkie site let people earn some extra bucks in these critical economies.

Pros and Cons of Survey Junkie. 

Pros.	01. Signing up is completely free. Keep an eye on research for free. 02. No doubts about the payments while survey junkie is a 100% legit platform. 03. Ability to make an average of $50 – $150 per hour.
Cons.	01. No multiple accounts for the platform. 02. Available only for the countries like Australia, Canada, and the USA. 03. High competition based on skills and professionalism.

 

04. FocusGroup.com 

Focusgroup.com is another legit platform to consider while discussing online focus groups. You have to keep in your mind that, this platform also allows individual focus groups to conduct via platform contacts.

Focusgroup.com is most of a consumer-focused platform where many researchers want online focus groups related to child products, cell phones, dining out, Pets, and likewise.

Payment methods are not similar for each and every study, so you have to be more watchful about the way they going to pay.

Pros and Cons of Focusgoup.com. 

Pros.	01. Most a consumer based so no need for extra professional skills. 02. Both individual and online focus groups are available.
Cons.	01. Be careful when receiving payments because the gates are different.

 

05. FieldWork. 

The fieldwork platform has spread along major cities in the USA. It gives the chance for people to participate in online focus groups conducted by premier companies in the areas.

The average make-money volume per hour is $75. The call-ups are rare but once you get the chance there might be decent pay for the task you had.

Fieldwork is a legit website and there are people who received legal payments through fieldwork.

Pros and Cons of Fieldwork.com. 

Pros.	01. Amazing customer service by the Fieldwork community. 02. Easy to use the software interface.
Cons.	01. Sometimes the platform presents unpredictable work schedules. 02. A highly demanding customer base.

 

06. Mindswarms. 

Mindswarms is a market research platform, in other words, a platform to use for online focus groups. The researchers use this platform with tech, healthcare, entertainment, and other industries.

This is unique and a bit different from the other platforms. They based on a video to ask questions from the participants. $50 of payment will be paid for the ones who answer the questions and the payment will be done through Paypal.

The account creation is through a 60 seconds solo video about your passion or else you can do it using the mind swarms app.

Pros and Cons of Mindswarms. 

Pros.	01. Earn around $50 or more for a survey. ( Higher pay rate than other platforms). 02. More of a work-from-home work. 03. Quick registration to start work with online focus groups.
Cons.	01. Fewer chances, in participating in high-quality surveys and focus groups. 02. The prequalification surveys are not getting paid.

 

07. American Consumer Opinion. 

American consumer opinion is a better opportunity for people to start earning with online focus groups. Over 7 million users are active within the platform that gives your return via Paypal or as a pay cheque.

They will tell you to use their virtual currency system which gives you points and 1 point equals 1 penny.

There are short surveys to make $0.05 to $0.50 and at the same time, there are ones to make $50 at the end of the research.

The minimum cash out will be $10.

Pros and Cons of American consumer opinion. 

Pros.	01. A minimum of $10 cash out. 02. Variety of survey options are available other than online focus groups. 03. A legit platform that can trust.
Cons.	01. 1,000 points milestone will give you a waiting period of 6 to 8 weeks to receive the reward. 02. No referral or sign-up bonus. 03. No predictions can be done because no pattern of offering jobs.

 08. SurveyFeeds. 

Surveyfeeds is a US-based platform not specialized only for online focus groups but also can involve clinical research studies and one-to-one interviews.

An average earning capacity will be around $150 per research.

They do have a well-updated Facebook marketing page and you also have the opportunity to join them using the link given.

Surveyfeeds is a legit platform to use. But when contacting the researchers, use the official website without messaging through private channels.

Pros and Cons of SurveyFeeds. 

Pros.	01. No point systems to pay back. 02. Free to join as well as to start taking surveys. 03. Can earn up to $300 per research.
Cons.	01. Some studies can take up to a month to complete.

 

09. Probe Market research. 

Probe market research is a US-based platform for online focus groups. The average earnings are between $50 – $400 per research.

The chance of attending online or even with a phone has made this platform a special one among extra money seekers.

Some major brands with Probe are mystery shopping gigs, mock juries, product trials, and many more.

This is also considered a legit platform to involve with online focus groups.

Pros and Cons of Probe Market Research. 

Pros.	01. Can reach up to a maximum of $400. 02. Ability to attend groups online or over the phone. 03. Legit platform to make some extra money.
Cons.	01. Mostly a US-based platform with US research groups.

 

10. Watch lab.

Watchlab is another legit and effective platform developed to conduct online focus groups. Other than focus groups, they attend in conducting, usability tests, interviews, mock juries, and more.

This is a US-based online platform, and the participants earn amounts between $50 to $200 per study.

Pros and Cons of watch lab. 

Pros.	01. One of the best side hustle ideas. 02. Can make amounts between $50 – $200 per survey.
Cons.	01. The platform management is at a lower level compared to the other platforms.

 

11. Ipsos / I-Say.

This is one of the world’s largest and most legit platforms for online focus groups. The specialty is that this accepts people from all over the world.

The mobile app facility has made it easier for the participants and researchers to contact each other.

There is a point system to collect your values inside the platform. When the total reached 500 you get access to redeem the points out of the platform.

Most of the surveys are small that pay $0.40 to $1.50 per survey. But sometimes you will find effective ones that pay $50 – $100 per survey.

Pros and Cons of Ipsos / I-Say. 

Pros.	01. The site is free to join. 02. Legit and mobile-friendly survey site. 03. Can earn points even if you are disqualified. 04. Cash out through Paypal or gift cards.
Cons.	01. surveys are not plentiful. 02. Hard to get qualified for research. 03. Paypal cashouts take some time in processing.

 

12. Recruit and Field. 

Recruit and Field provide nationwide focus groups in the US. They allow participants from any age and gender to their site. We can see professors and doctors too have participated to work with them.

The basic payment gateway is PayPal but you also can receive Amazon gift cards and others. Happy to say that Recruit and Field is a legit network as well.

The easy-to-navigate interface will definitely amaze you here.

Pros and Cons of Recruit and Field. 

Pros.	01. Offer payments via PayPal. 02. Easy to sign up and get started. 03. Email notifications will ease your work with the platform.
Cons.	01. Limited earning opportunities. 02. The site lacks important details about opportunities.

 

13. Brand institute. 

If you are searching for online focus groups related to medical and marketing fields, the Brand institute is the perfect place to visit. The service is for worldwide participants.

You will be paid via PayPal and keep in your mind to claim your payment before 30 days of the research.

For regular surveys, you will be paid $2 – $5 while for medical surveys they pay $5 – $10.

Pros and Cons of Brand Institute. 

Pros.	01. Normally high rewards. 02. Free to join the platform.
Cons.	01. Difficult to pick research. 02. The platforms seem not very user-friendly. 03. Few surveys available.

 

14. Plaza Research. 

Plaza Research going forward with its slogan to become the number 01 focus group service provider in the nation. They have more than 14 places occupied in the US.

Online focus groups in this platform can pay you amounts between $50 – $200 per 2-hour session.

Either they specialized in the 1-person discussion they also have given the space for group discussion inside the platform.

Pros and Cons of Plaza Research.

Pros.	01. Can earn up to $50 -$200 per 2-hour session. 02. Easy to register with the platform.
Cons.	01. specialized in 1-person research more than group chats.

 15. Engage. 

Engage is another website for you to involve with online focus groups. The platform looks like bit old but has to say it is a legit one.

The platform is specialized for consumer and healthcare market studies. Once you getting register with the platform, you will have to choose your path of interest to proceed with Engage.

As per the reviews, Engage pay $50 – $250 per research and that is a good one for extra money seekers.

You can sign up from any place in the world but you have to give the exact location when signing up for the account.

Pros and Cons of Engage.

Pros.	01. better service feedback from the platform. 02. Can earn $50 – $250 from research.
Cons.	01. old looking platform interface.

 

Are online focus groups worth trying?

 01. Moderator-wise advantages. 

mentioned above, online focus groups are one of the old methods used in correcting a company’s path to development.

By conducting an online focus group, a company or an organization expect to measure their company’s statistics, analytics, user experiences, changes, and future paths.

The best group of people who can affect the company’s product or service growth is there in society. That is the reason these companies are more likely to have a chat with their audience or client base.

So from the company, they appoint a higher official to the task and they should know how to get a 100% yield from the online focus groups. Below are some categorized facts about the advantages of online focus groups for a company.

• Ability to have an idea about the customer service of the company.
• Can have an idea of what people think about the rates and charges of your products or services.
• You will have an idea about the changes that your company should undergo going forward.
• Getting down to the society or the customer base can really affect the positive gesture of your company image.

So likewise, we can list some moderator-level advantages of conducting an online focus group.

02. Participant-wise advantages. 

As we wanted to discuss and as we are discussing, participants also do have some special lucrative of using online focus groups.

I may like to list them one by one for the sake of your clear understanding.

• The advantage of having some extra bucks inside the pocket.
• Ability to get some experiences with various people living in society as well as in the market.
• A good place to brighten your skills as an individual.
• You will know how to become professional in front of a professional group or a panel.
• This could be a very good life achievement for most of you other than the money you receive.

Likewise, we can list some participant-level advantages of online focus groups.

Conclusion. 

We have discussed online side hustles in our previous articles.  Online focus groups also can be categorized under the same category.

I do not recommend participating in online or individual focus groups to earn permanent income. It is because they are not very sustainable as permanent income streams. But you can do it as a side hustle whenever you have the time to involve.

Also, I think you might remember that we have discussed side hustle apps. We can put some of the above platforms into the same category while they have the apps available in the app stores.

So finally I believe that the discussion was productive and effective for the ones in need of some extra money in these crucial times. If that is so, please do not forget to share this information with your friends on social media.

Hope to meet you soon with another productive article.