Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Turn Free Time Into Cash By Doing Market Research

By Cache Spencer

Ever want to earn extra cash while working at home? There are plenty of opportunities to work in the comfort of your own home while getting the money that you need. If you're unemployed, disabled, a homemaker, or need spending cash, you might be able to get paid for market research.

The market research you'll be asked to do is often in the form of surveys and responding to products. It's not difficult, or time consuming, and you can do it any time day or night. There's no special skill involved, you just give your time to benefit companies who want to know more about people like you.

To get paid for market research, you first have to sign up with a company, usually online, that will let you work at home. Google can be useful here - many companies that offer a chance to earn extra cash doing market research advertise online.

Focus groups provide a lot of at-home work. You might be asked about the reasons you buy one product and not another. You might give feedback about advertising that allows a company to be more effective. Most companies pay for the completion of the job, so you'll work for an amount of money you've agree upon when hired.

Surveys are another income for the at-home worker. The company will offer an amount for every survey completed, and give you the money at the end. These surveys ask about buying habits, or common subjects like what you do in your free time, or how you live. You might answer questions about whether you use a certain product or a checklist about your family's likes and dislikes.

After you are paid for your work, it is a good practice to spread the word to other online workers and friends, so that they can also benefit from the opportunity to work at home. When you let your friends know, they also get the chance to do meaningful work with solid rewards.

Of course anywhere there is money to be made there are people running scams, especially online; this means at-home workers should be careful to only give out their information to companies with good reputations. Never give personal passwords and information to people who ask for them through email; this is called phishing, and it can devastate your credit and financial security. Chat with other at-home marketers about the companies who are hiring, and give them accounts of your own experiences. This keeps everyone safer.

If working in your pajamas appeals to you, or you want to sleep in on weekends, or you need to moonlight without your boss finding out, then doing market research from your home could be the answer. You can have fun, provide valuable information, and work as much or as little as your finances require. Your cash is as simple as clicking. The effort is minimal; you simply need to have a computer and a good work ethic.

About the Author:

No comments: