Is LocalFocusGroup.com Legit?

There are so many paid online surveys these days, it can be overwhelming to find which ones are legit and which ones are scams. We set out to get rid of the overwhelm and make your surveying life a peaceful and easy one! In this article we examine if LocalFocusGroup.com is legit or not.

LocalFocusGroups.com is a bit more of a search engine than a Survey Site. You do not have to enter your email address or your personal information up front, which is nice. However, you then have to begin your search based on your location or the category of survey you are interested in.

The categories you are able to search are Focus Groups, Remote Studies, Mock Juries, Playtests, Product Testing, and Taste Testing. Some of these categories are not offered on many survey sites, so that is one of the major benefits of the site.

Focus Groups on LocalFocus Group.com

The focus groups section brings you to some familiar sounding companies. Groups like Schlesinger Group out of Los Angles, Plaza Research and VG Market out of San Francisco, and Elliot Benson Research out of Sacramento were all options. Once you selected one of the focus group companies, that is when you had to submit your email address, phone number, address, and some required an upload of your photo ID.

Once you added your personal information, you had to fill out a screening survey but after that you were given a list of several surveys online that you were a good fit for. I already had an account for the Schlesinger Group, so I applied for a technology survey and was chosen.

Remote Studies on Local Focus Group

On top of all of the focus group companies, you now also have the option of selecting Respondent.io and Fieldwork Dallas. Both of these companies offer local focus groups on topics such as entertainment, politics, and product reviews. The pay rate is about $100 – $300 for 1-2 hours of your time.

Despite being relatively local, you are able to participate in these studies remotely from the comfort of your own home. The reason they keep these studies local is for demographic and population purposes. I was fortunate enough to be selected for a TV study about a pilot episode we were shown a clip of and asked a bunch of questions about which was a fun way to make money.

Mock Juries

Mock Juries is a way to make money that is not often seen. The ability to sit in a paid focus group and listen to some lawyers debate their case live and then give your feedback is not only helpful in a court of law, but also a neat experience that not very many get the chance to experience.

Truscott Research performs in person studies around court cases where they need to see how jury’s will react to certain aspects of a case. The best part about this paid focus group is that it is a mock jury, so there is no real pressure to do anything but give your honest feedback. Plus it is a good way to make extra money as they pay their jurors approximately $300 per day (which beats real jury duty).

Playtests

The next category available to apply for was playtests. This is a common practice for quality control that happens at many points during a videogame evolution. Users play beta versions of video games not yet released to help find bugs, glitches, analyze general game play while also making extra money.

As far as market research companies go, this is one of the more fun opportunities because you literally earn money by playing games. Video game testers can get paid an average of about $15 per session, with each session lasting only 10-15 minutes, so it can be a quick way to make a few extra bucks.

Product Testing Opportunities

If you are looking for another of the legit paid focus groups, product testing may be a good option for you as well. It is generally in an person focus group because they will want you to use and try their product and then give them feedback about the pros and cons of the product’s use.

This is important market research for companies to best learn information about a product before releasing it as far as price points and improvements that can be made. Product testers can get paid anywhere from $13 – $25 per hour and can sometimes keep the products. Some product testers make good money year round doing this and turn it into a full time income.

Taste Testing Gigs

Last, but certainly not least is taste testing. Food companies will pay good money to market research company to bring in focus groups to try new products and give them feedback on how the product tastes.

These too are generally in person focus groups due to wanting to keep their products fresh and in a controlled environment. The focus group participants are generally fed several products so as to make the research worth the time and effort.

Amateur taste testers participating in the market research will be interested in knowing that the focus groups pay anywhere from $15 – $25 per hour, plus you leave getting fed well generally too.

Final Verdict

Overall, when answering the question, is Local Focus Groups legit, I would say yes, but to be used as a great general search engine for several categories in order to find paid focus groups. My experience overall was a positive one. I was selected for one study in particular relatively quickly, and sent emails for many future studies I may have been a good fit for.

There are certainly plenty of market research groups searching for participants. Whether it is survey sites, or questionnaires, online focus groups, or in person focus groups, this is a great site to start your search for paid focus group studies.

If you have had any prior experiences with Local Focus Groups, please feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear your story. For more articles like this, or to sign up for the newsletter, go to https://stansgigs.com/signup/ and sign up for the week’s best side gigs.

Stan

I am a father to a beautiful baby girl, a husband and a serial gigster 🙂 I live in Toronto, Canada. My claim to fame: I made thousands of dollars from focus groups and surveys over the last 15 years. Studied Marketing in Ryerson Univerity and worked in Marketing and Marketing Research for the last 14 years+ My mission is to educate others how to be successful with side hustles. You can contact my be email or  on Facebook.