Easy Money - Market Research

If you're looking for a side hustle that is easy, flexible and pays well... I have the answer for you!

The words “market research” might raise alarm bells for people. It does sound, at worst, like some terrible scam and, at best, something I am trying to sell you. So I will start by saying that I am not being paid to say this, I’m not trying to scam you out of money, I'm not trying to sell you anything. This is just a fairly easy side hustle that I have personally used and think is actually worth the time.

I initially found out about market research from Steph at Abundant on a Budget. She creates content about budgeting, side hustles, etc. and has a big master list of side hustles for download, including a great list of market research websites.

So, what is market research? Basically, market research is what brands do to gather information about their customers to guide business decisions. This might mean gathering information about how customers are using their products, what sort of advertising works for their brand, product testing, etc. Market research helps the brands gather data about what customers or potential customers think. For example, a credit card company might want to know which advertising campaign young people like better, so they hire a market research company, who then pay you for your opinion. Or, a car company might want to know what features are most important to their target market of soccer Mums, so they hire a market research company, who pay you to talk to them about it. They’re gathering information from real people to influence their business decisions.

Now I do want to emphasise that, although you may be familiar with market research survey sites that pay a couple of dollars a survey, this is nothing like that. I am absolutely not a fan of those sites. I don’t believe they are worth your time at all. I recognise that some people might be in a position where it is worth the time and effort. But for me, they’re a waste of time. You get so little for each survey and half the time the websites crash in the middle of the survey, or you get to the end and they don’t reward you, it’s all just very frustrating. This type of market research is much higher earning. It’s fun, it’s easy, it’s amazing and I love it.

So how does it work?

There are a bunch of different market research websites (which I will talk about later) that you can sign up to, and their job is to match their studies from their clients (the companies) to participants (you). Once you have signed up to the site, popped in all your information, they will generally then send you email updates with studies that might match your profile. You can then take a little survey to apply for the study, and if you are successful they will contact you to schedule the study. Once you take part in the studies or testing, then you’re generally paid in digital gift cards or digital mastercards. The payment amounts do vary quite a lot, but in general I think it's about $80 for an hour.

So let’s have a chat about the studies.

I’ve taken part in a range of studies. You’re not really allowed to discuss the exact content of the studies, but I can tell you how they’re set up and what sort of activities I’ve done.

Group Discussions.

I’ve done two group discussions, both online, and they ended up being quite interesting and fun.

Basically they collected a few participants together on Zoom, and showed us a range of different advertising campaigns that the company were tossing up between. We voice our opinions, discuss it with others, and answer questions from a moderator. It is basically just an open conversation about our thoughts with a few other people.

This type of research study is definitely best for people with good communication skills who aren’t afraid to speak up in front of people. People who aren’t afraid to voice their opinions.

These group studies are generally only one session in length, from my experience. The last one I took part in went for 45 minutes and paid $60. The other was 60 minutes and it was an $80 reward.

The pros to this type of study is that it’s interesting, easy, and usually quite short, and the reward is great. It also might feel a bit easier having a discussion with a group of people than one-on-one. The cons are that they are often in the evening, at scheduled times. So they are less flexible than some other types of studies.

One-on-One Interviews

I have taken part in a few one-on-one interviews. I find them to be really easy, pretty interesting and similar money to the group discussions.

Interviews are similar to the group discussions, but they involve talking online to just one researcher. There are often researchers in the background too, making notes and observing, but they are generally out of sight and it just feels like a one-on-one chat.

I’ve completed one on one interviews about health, government services, medications, etc. I find it’s often the more personal topics that are covered by the one-on-one interviews. You’re, one again, essentially giving your own experiences and personal opinions. These would again suit people who have good communication and conversational skills.

The pros of the interview are that it's more flexible than the group discussion in terms of time, you don't have to compete with others to voice your opinion, and the pay is again quite good. The cons are that they can sometimes be quite personal and some people might feel uncomfortable with that.

Online Boards

Online discussion boards are the best! I’ve participated in a number of these and I would do them every day if I could.

Basically, the researchers set up activities for you to complete online over a few days and you can do it at whatever time suits you, as long as you complete it all by the deadline. The activities might include things like written responses, video responses, drawings, photos, a range of media. For example, it might be for a credit card company and they want you to draw a diagram of your bank accounts and how they’re linked.

The moderators observe what you’ve done at the end of the day, and they might pose some follow up questions that you respond to as well. They do give a base time that it should take you each day - they might want you to spend 30 minutes a day on the activity just to make sure you’re giving fully thought out responses.

These also pay very well for such little effort. It is usually 30-45 minutes a day for 3-4 days, and the incentive from my experience is usually around $150 or more.

If you’re lucky or have given some really good responses, they might choose you for a follow up one on one interview, which could be an extra $60 for 30 mins.

The pros of this type of research are that it’s easy, the time is flexible, it’s quick, and the activities can be paused and picked back up again. Perfect for people with kids. It's also a great way to earn a bit more than other types of market research. I honestly can't really think of any cons. Some people might find the self guided style difficult to complete? Honestly, I just love a good online board.

Product Testing

Product testing probably doesn't need that much explanation - it's the process of testing products and giving feedback.

I’ve only done one product testing study, but it was probably my favourite. The researcher sent me a package with the product and some sample advertising campaigns. I had to film myself testing the product, then explain my thoughts about the product and my thoughts about each advertising campaign.

I loved doing this because not only did I get paid $150 for it, I also received free product. As someone who is obviously fairly comfortable in front of a camera, it was such easy money for me. It was also super flexible, I could complete the activities whenever I wanted during the day and I had a week or so to complete all the videos. It was great and I’d love to do more of these.

The pros to product testing is that you get product as well as money, it's super flexible and it's fun to try new things. The cons are that you may not neccessarily be a fan of the product, and some people might find it a bit awkward filming themselves.

Websites

These are the sites that I have personally used. There are plenty more out there, but I don’t want to put my name to anything I haven’t tried.

• ChitChat Research  is probably where I get most of my matches.

  After you’ve signed up and filled out your information, they’ll email you with matches. You then apply for the study and if you’re a match they’ll give you a call to confirm times. I’ve had a few online discussion boards from Chitchat and it’s all been very professional.
  

• User Interviews is another one of my favourites (this is a referral link, we will both get $10 if you compolete a study). For this one you still create a profile with all your information, but you can browse through the studies yourself and apply to ones you’re interested in. I’ve had one on one interviews and also some online tasks with User Interviews.

• Askable is a great site too. Again you can browse for studies to apply for, they also send you links to studies you might be a match for. 

• Watch me Think This is the site I used for the product testing study. So again, set up a profile, and they’ll email you with matches. 

Pros and Cons

So there are some pretty big pros to market research: it is so easy, it’s pretty fun, it’s very flexible in terms of time, location, lifestyle, and it pays really well.

The cons for me would be that there are quite dry times, when not many studies seem to be coming your way. It's certainly not a reliable income. It also does take a long time to set up your profiles for these sites, they want a lot of information about you. Applying can be time consuming too, you have to make sure you’re consistently applying to studies to see results. There also might be a privacy concern for some people. There is a LOT of personal information being shared, not only on the profiles of the websites, but also in the research studies themselves. So that’s something to be mindful of. Also, even though it pays very well, we have to remember that this is taxable income. You have to make sure you declare and pay tax on it.

For me, these cons are definitely outweighed by the fact that it is VERY easy money.

As always, let me know what you think about today's topic by leaving a comment below. Let us know your own experience with market research, any sites that you can recommend, and any other easy side hustles you can recommend too.

Thank you so much for joining Aussie Frugal Family. Follow us on Spotify and Youtube, go check out our socials and I will chat to you next time.

Goodbye for now!