For mystery shoppers, as with many professionals in other types of non-salary positions, more hours devoted to the job typically equates to more money in your pocket. While this is not necessarily the case, as almost every mystery shopper has been in the position of spinning their wheels on an assignment that never seems to end and earning only peanuts, most mystery shoppers are in the position of wanting to work more and earn more in the coming year. There are a few key ways you can make this happen and make your new year a more profitable one.
Develop New Relationships. Mystery shopping providers are always adding new assignments to their job boards, but just the same, each provider offers only a limited number of assignments on a given month. On top of that, the assignments on some providers’ job boards seem to be snatched up more quickly than others. If the providers you are working for currently are not giving you the amount of work you want to do or that you are able to do, there is no reason to sit back and grumble about not being busy enough. There are several hundred legitimate mystery shopping providers that offer assignments all across the country and even internationally. To find more assignments for the coming year, the answer may be as simple as signing up for a few more great providers. If in doubt about the providers that offer the most assignments in your area, post a question on the mystery shopping online forums and get a response back quickly from your fellow mystery shoppers.
Be The Early Bird. Sometimes the answer to getting more assignments is not branching out to more providers, but simply taking advantage of the relationships you already have in place. It doesn’t matter how many providers you are signed up to work for if you aren’t checking the job boards regularly. To get your hands on the plum assignments that your providers offer, and to increase your chances of getting more of the assignments that are posted on the job boards, be sure that you are among the first to see the new assignments on the job boards. To do this, you simply need to check the job boards several times a day.
Don’t Be Picky. While every mystery shopper wants to get the plum assignments, the fact is that there simply aren’t enough plum assignments around to make a great living as a mystery shopper. To earn a decent paycheck as a mystery shopper, you need to be willing to take on those assignments that may be less desirable in addition to working on your favorite assignments. While you may have to work on assignments that are not necessarily pleasing to you to make more money, this does not mean that you should work on assignments that are not worth your time. You should still avoid choosing assignments that pay very little in exchange for hours upon hours of your time. Choose assignments, plum or not, that pay well for your efforts.
With these strategies guiding you, you can be well on your way to earning more money as a mystery shopper in 2010!