WAHM Opportunity - Focus Group Study Participant

As a stay at home Mom of four, working outside of the home seems to be an impossibility.  Not being formally trained or educated, there is not a job available, that I have found, that would cover the cost of childcare for four children, and still make money for my family.   That is why I have always looked for any opportunity to earn extra cash from home.  For many years I have accomplished that through my own home sewing and painting business.  But more children equals less time, so that is now not as feasible to make it worth my time and investment money.  Now I do blogging where I can earn money as an affiliate publisher, allowing me to earn money just on reader participation or clicks on affiliate links.  This is a lot harder than it sounds....so as of late I have been participating in surveys.  Surveys have proven to be a really quick way to earn a little extra for very little effort.

Recently I was invited to participate in a Focus Group Study on Popcorn.  After I signed up, I was sent a large box that I was told not to open until a certain date.  On that date I was to open the product and then answer some questions while sampling the popcorn and record my results on a webcam video.  I then was scheduled to participate in an online chat room, where the moderator asked us all questions about the taste, appearance, impressions, and feelings about the product packaging and design.  It took just about an hour of my morning, and all in all I probably spent about two hours total.  My reward was a $90 gift card to Amazon.com! Woo Hoo!! Pretty exciting!  And because I am a Mom who loves a clean house, my money went to buy a new carpet cleaner!

My advice is to look for any online opportunities to fill out surveys and questionnaires.  Businesses are paying for Mom's who are the primary decision makers on purchases of all sorts of products to tell them what they like and don't like.  I use e-rewards.com but you are only able to get in with them if you receive an invite, and I honestly don't know how to get one.  Check out Surveyclub.com, There you can find links and listings of paying survey sites, with user reviews and articles.
Make sure to read a recent story from ABC and Good Morning America about making money with surveys and what to look for to make sure it is legitimate.  They've also got a great link with more legitimate survey sites.

Taking surveys is a quick, easy way to earn a little cash or prizes.  Keep your eyes and your mind open, and the opportunity may present itself.  (Remember, you do NOT have to pay money to do surveys. You want them to pay you!) Good luck, I would love to hear if anyone has done this or is doing this, and their experience and advice with it!