Finding Paid Focus Groups in Your Area

Today I went to my favorite online resource to check out possible opportunities for paid studies in my area. Over the last couple years I've signed up with 3 marketing research firms and have been invited to participate in 5 studies, totalling around $400 in compensation!

Generally a focus group is a paid study conducted by a market research company, lead by one individual and approximately 6 recruits. Upon qualifying for a study, (generally accomplished with a phone call) you'll be given instructions on when and where the study will be conducted, then compensated same day! The study usually lasts between 1-2 hours. I've enjoyed every study I've been a part of... especially the part where they hand over the check. lol My favorite was one conducted for Hallmark, but I've also enjoyed others for car manufacturers and online banks.

Ok... so how does one find focus groups in their area? My recommendation is to search GreenBook. This site is very user friendly, providing you with a simple searching tool to local focus groups in your area. If you don't have success searching that route, another way I've located focus groups is using this sites market research searching tool to find the names of marketing companies in my area, then Googling that name to find contact information. It never hurts to call the company to ask about whether they conduct focus groups and if you might register to be on the call list!

If you live near a large city, there's a high probability that you'll find at least one good firm in your area to register with. Don't get too bummed if they call and after a few questions tell you you're not the right candidate for a study. There's bound to be another just around the corner! Always answer the screener's questions honestly as you could find yourself disqualified upon arrival if something you reveal there doesn't match up with what they thought they were getting!

Good luck!

Message Board for Virtual Assistants

I just found this message board about 5 minutes ago and it seemed like the perfect thing to share on my Mommy Space blog! I spend a lot of time at Wahm.com, but didn't know about Virtual Assistant Forums. The site appears to have a reasonable amount of traffic and has folders for a variety of work from home opportunities.

Maybe you're looking for ideas and want to visit with other women about their experiences. Possibly you want to share a business opportunity with the rest of the world, or perhaps you're just wanting to meet a few women who prefer to telecommute. Whatever your reasons, I highly recommend this forum.

I learned something very interesting within seconds of visiting the site. There was a discussion about Constant Contact, an online tool for creating and sending newsletters and professional looking emails to clients, partners, family, or friends. I learned from a discussion between two women that Aweber offers a better service for the same price. See what I mean? There's power in knowledge! So even if you're already working a job from home, you might be able to learn a few tricks to make what you're doing function more efficiently or with better results.

Have fun!

Do You Have a CafePress Store?

I'm always exploring new online earning opportunities, just to experiment first hand what works and doesn't. CafePress is one of the many options for everyday ordinary folks like myself to attempt earning from home. A lot of your success will no doubt depend on how amazing your designs are and how you go about plugging them online.

What is CafePress exactly? You likely are already familiar with CafePress, even if you don't realize it. If you've ever gone online looking for a t-shirt or mug, even poster or stationary, you've likely found this superstore of anything goes humor, wit, and spread the news type of creative design that anyone can create and sell through shirts, hoodies, aprons, baby clothes, and much much more.

SparkleSpot is one example of a very basic paid version of a CafePress store. Cake Space is one example of a free store. You'll see right away the differences between the two. There is a lot more flexibility with the paid version, including the ability to play with the template and have multiple designs for each type of product.

I'm current experimenting with both the free and paid versions of CafePress... trying to see what works and what doesn't. Playing with PhotoShop to see what I can do and what I can't! lol It's actually a lot of fun, but so far I'm not selling a whole lot. That's without a lot of advertising mind you... so we'll see what happens if and when I step up the game a bit!