How To ​​Unleash Your Extra Income Potential With Respondent

Respondent is a leading research participant recruitment platform that pairs top companies looking to improve their products and services with participants like you who want to share their insight and experience and get paid for it. It’s common for participants to make up to $200 a week for participating in projects.

Projects on Respondent cover many different areas, so no matter who you are you can find a researcher who wants to hear from you. Some researchers are recruiting for remote studies, while others are looking for in-person participants. There are also a variety of formats that projects might take including one-on-one interviews, focus groups, diary studies and unmoderated surveys.

The number one question we get from new participants is “how can I get invited to participate in more projects?” In this article, we’ll discuss a few things you can do to make sure you get the most out of Respondent.

Optimize Your Respondent Profile for Success

It can be tempting to skip some of the recommended steps in setting up your profile and dive right into searching for projects. But remember that a complete and accurate profile is what will make you stand out to researchers as someone who can give them the insight they want. Start by making sure that all of your demographic info, work experience, and contact information is up-to-date.

Respondent participants fall into two categories: industry professionals and general population. Industry professionals get more invitations to higher paying projects because researchers are often looking for people with specific knowledge about the industry they are researching. To be classified as an industry professional, you need to verify your work email and connect a social media account to your profile. A verified professional profile also lets researchers know that you are who you say you are.

A high quality profile picture and a video introduction will also set you apart from the crowd. Remember that researchers want to know that the participants they choose will be able to speak articulately about the topic of their study and, in many cases, that they have the basic tech capability for a remote interview. Your video intro can show them that you can do exactly that. Plan out what you will say in your video introduction and speak slowly and articulately. Make sure the video and sound quality is high. Lastly, don’t share personal data aside from your first name or include any inappropriate content in your intro.

Find Projects that Are Relevant to You

Researchers post new projects to Respondent every day, so check back often to see what new opportunities are available. You can use specific search terms like “IT Professional” or “Sports Fan” to find projects that you’re interested in. The Respondent platform also lets you use filters based on type of project, compensation ranges, or time requirement. Filters can be a good time saver, because Respondent does have a large database of projects.

Once you find a project you want to participate in, you will be asked to take a screener, a short survey or questionnaire, to make sure you have the experience and knowledge researchers are looking for. They typically take less than 5 minutes to complete.

Participants who have completely verified their profiles with a work email and social media account can take up to ten screeners per 24-hour period. Participants with incomplete profiles can only take three screeners per 24-hour period. There’s one more reason for you to complete your profile!

After you submit a screener, the researcher will review your answers, and if they think you're a good fit,  you will receive an invitation with specific instructions for scheduling an interview or whatever that particular project entails. Make sure to show up at the scheduled time for your interview, or cancel the appointment if necessary through the participant dashboard. Once you complete the project, you will be paid via PayPal for your participation.

Be Honest When Completing Surveys and Projects

Always answer questions honestly when you are completing screeners and when you are participating in interviews. Researchers want to know your honest thoughts about the project, so you shouldn’t try to say what you think they want to hear.

To ensure that researchers get quality candidates every time, Respondent has a zero-tolerance policy for participants who misrepresent themselves on screeners or in their profiles. Make sure you always provide accurate information when you take any survey or fill out any questionnaire.

It’s also important to be careful about sharing your private personal information with researchers. Researchers should never ask you for private information like your full name, date of birth, physical address, social security number, or credit card or banking information. However, it is okay for researchers to request your phone number or links to social media accounts or personal websites for verification purposes. Some researchers may also need you to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) if the project involves sharing confidential information with you about the project they are working on.

Refer Your Friends and Make Extra Money with Respondent

A great way to make even more money on Respondent and help out friends and family that may be looking for side income is to participate in Respondent’s referral program. You earn a $20 bonus for each person you refer who completes their profile and earns a minimum of $75 by participating in research projects. To get the referral payment, the person you refer has to be signing up for the first time and use your referral link, which you can get in your participant dashboard.

You can earn a $50 referral bonus when you refer new users to specific projects with an incentive of over $100. Again, the people you refer have to be signing up for the first time.

You can check the status of your referrals through your referral dashboard. Status updates let you know when your referrals have signed up, are actively participating in screenings, have and participated in studies. You will also be notified when your bonus is processing and when your bonus has been paid. 

The Bottom Line

It can take some time to land your first project on Respondent, but stick with it. Start by optimizing your profile and making sure your video intro and profile picture look professional. Then check back every day to see what new projects are available and take screeners for projects that interest you. The effort you put in initially will pay off, and you’ll get to enjoy weighing in on new products and services from top companies and getting paid for it!

Check out new projects today on Respondent! 

Recommend Resources:

• How to Recruit Participants for Qualitative Research (2022 Edition)
• 6 Ways to Strengthen Your Participant Profile
• 5 Ways To Improve Your Participant Profile
• How To Get Survey Participants
• How To Create A Video Introduction For Your Participant Profile