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!