More than ever we need to be thinking about diversifying our income. It seems everyone is concerned with making extra money. After this election, it better be on people’s minds even more as the income gap in this country widens. It’s been our habit here at M.O.B. Mentality to throw in some creative ways to make money when we want to break the monotony. It’s been awhile since we’ve covered one. Earlier this week I received an email from usertesting.com and rediscovered my extra extra extra extra money source’s extra money source.
Usertesting is one of those old friends that gives you a call after losing touch. I used it a fair bit last year to get a bit of extra cash to make ends meet. The reason it was extra to the 5th power is because you can’t usually make more than $100 a week give or take. That doesn’t sound like a whole lot of money but many of us know an extra 100 at times can be the difference between leftovers and Amazon Fresh. It could be saved up for something bigger. It could even be used as seed money for things like investing in bitcoin or the stock market. Or you could blow it on something frivolous. Whatever suits your fancy. I personally used it to make sure the internet/cable stayed current. My income is kind of dependant on that so….yeah. But I digress.
For those who don’t know what user testing is; allow me to enlighten you. They are an online service that helps companies test out their websites. That’s where you and I come in. User testing then contracts to folks like us to go test these sites. The set up is pretty slick too. User testing has a screen recorder built right into the site so when you are testing the client site(doing simple tasks and recording your thoughts on those tasks). As the screen recorder runs(might want to close the tab that has Pornhub on it), you simply “think out loud”. So if you’re having a hard time completing one of the tasks say that on the video. If the other testers are anything like me I know some of these recordings have to be priceless. Can we get a highlight reel user testing? Pretty please?
Signing up with user testing is easy and with little to no instruction anyone can dive right into earning money. One of my favorite things about usertesting.com is how user-friendly it is. Payouts are fairly quick and it gets plopped right into your PayPal account. Most of the reviews pay $10 a pop and sometimes there are “peek tests” for $3. I played around with my old friend for a while to see what improvements have been made over this last year. Everything seemed pretty much the same since the last time I used it. Tests do seem to come on my dashboard in bigger numbers and more often than they did before. Business must be good. Unfortunately, many of these tests have pretty tight restrictions on who “qualifies” to do a review. For example. One test called me to be a driver over the age of 30 with insurance. Not that strict right? Well, the next test wanted me to be a native Japanese speaker who taught English to other native Japanese speakers. It’s understandable that the tests are this specific sometimes. If the website targets a specific market then their test will too. No lie, though; it’s a little frustrating to log in and see 3 pages of available tests only to be disqualified from all but 3 after pre-screening. Tests also get scooped up fairly quickly(especially ones with fewer requirements) so you’ll have to keep an eye out. A little tip. On the days you decide to test, leave a tab with your dashboard open. Every time a new test becomes available you’ll hear an alert.
The tests themselves are easy enough to do. The screen recorder is not complicated and thankfully does not require downloading software(besides flash which most of us have by default nowadays). I found most videos take about 20 minutes to complete.That could possibly be looked at as a downfall for someone who wants to test but does not have free time or relative privacy. That’s right. You won’t be testing at any loud Starbucks. Being complete and not skipping is how you keep your rating high. If it falls too low you won’t get any jobs. The most tests I was able to complete in a day was 5. $50 isn’t anything to write home about but it’s pretty good for tinkering with websites and talking to my laptop. With the holidays approaching we could all use a bit extra. Usertesting.com is one of my favorite ways to give my finances a little booster shot.
P.S. User testing we need that highlight reel. And an affiliate program. That is all. Please and thank you!
