If you’ve ever wanted to share your opinions with real tech companies and get rewarded for it, the Contentful Research Panel might catch your attention. It promises to let you take part in research studies and user tests.
It sounds like a fun and meaningful way to earn a little extra on the side while helping improve real products. But as with most panels, the big question is: is it legit? And if it is, is it worth your time?
In this Contentful Research Panel review, I will give you an honest look at what the panel offers, how it works, and more, so you will know whether it’s a good option to join.
So, let’s dive in.
What is Contentful Research Panel, and what does it offer?
The Contentful Research Panel is a program created by Contentful, a company that helps businesses manage and organize their website content. And yes, it is indeed legit, since you can really earn from the opportunities it offers.
However, that doesn’t automatically mean you should immediately sign up and try to start earning. To find out if what it offers is a good fit for you, you must understand how it works. To do so, we have to examine the earning opportunity it offers, so you will have a clear idea of how good it is, as well as how much time and effort are needed to earn from it.
So, here’s how to earn from Contentful Research Panel.
The earning opportunity – Research studies
The only way to earn rewards from the panel is by participating in the research studies it offers.
However, to do so, you must receive an invite from Contentful, which will be sent via email. So, make sure to check your email inbox regularly for opportunities.
As for the dashboard used, from what I can see, it has partnered with Rally to provide participants with a user experience (UX) research platform they can use.
The invitation will contain the details of the study, including the type, the date, the time it will be conducted, and the compensation you will receive. Most of the time, these studies will be in the form of online surveys or one-on-one interviews (done online).
There are also usability or prototype testing opportunities available from time to time, but they are not very common. If you will be asked to answer a survey, the link to access the survey will be included in the email invitation.
For more complicated studies, further instructions will be provided if you decide to participate in the study. Take note that when you receive an invitation, you have no obligation to accept it. If you don’t have the time to accommodate it, you can always reject the invite.
But, in my experience, rejecting too many invites will send a signal to the panel that you are not really interested in providing feedback, so you might not be invited to future studies. That’s why you have to be careful with which invites to reject.
In my opinion, you just have to be honest. If you think you don’t have the time to do it, then don’t accept it. But if you have spare time on your hands, then I recommend you accept the invitation.
After you complete the study, the panel will assess the feedback you have given, and if everything is in order, you will receive the compensation. This is usually the process for online surveys. For studies that involve one-on-one correspondence with a representative, the compensation will be processed immediately once the study is completed.
As for the availability of the studies, it’s hard to tell because what this panel is dealing with is quite niche. It’s not like you will be testing or providing feedback for beauty products, ordinary websites, or apps, which is usually the case with other user testing platforms.
What you will be doing when participating in studies is that you’ll help the Contentful team improve their products and user experience, specifically their Content Management System. So, I don’t imagine the demand for this will be quite high, which means the number of studies available will be a bit limited.
Aside from that, the panel is also looking for specific people, so chances are, you might not even be a good fit for its studies, most of the time. That’s why you should consider yourself lucky if you get invited to participate in one in a couple of months or so.
I, for one, never got invited to participate in a study while I was testing the site. So, it’s hard to confirm how many studies are really available for you.
Recommended: Check Out the Best User Testing Sites to Earn From
How do you get paid?
What’s not clear about what Contentful Research Panel offers is the rewards you will get for completing studies. I can’t personally confirm the type of rewards you will get, as I was never invited to participate in a study when I was testing it.
But based on what the website says, you will receive digital vouchers and surprise gifts after completing research studies. These surprise gifts are usually in the form of non-monetary perks, like access to certain premium features of its CMS (Content Management System) software or early access to upcoming features.
They also don’t elaborate on how much you will earn for each study you participate in. What’s clear, though, is that it doesn’t offer any cash rewards, so if your goal is to earn extra cash, this is not the best site to join, in my opinion.
What I like about its payout system is that you will receive the compensation after completing the study, which means you don’t have to reach a threshold to withdraw your earnings. It will be sent to you right away.
Overall, I would say its payout system is relatively simple. However, it would still have been better if they were transparent about how their rewards system works.
Now, if your goal is to earn cash, I suggest you check out the top sites that pay via direct bank transfer instead.
How much money can you make?
I can’t clearly say what its earning potential is since there’s not a lot of information regarding how its reward system works. But based on my experience, the amount you can earn from a site like this will mostly depend on the number of research studies you can participate in.
Unfortunately, you don’t have any control over how many studies you will be invited to. And based on my experience, niche sites like Contentful Research Panel don’t offer as many opportunities compared to user testing sites that have a broader scope.
And even if they did offer a good number of studies, qualifying for one is not that easy, unless you have a lot of experience with their CMS. This is why I would say its earning potential will only be quite decent if you use its CMS regularly, because then, you’ll have a higher chance of receiving invites to participate in studies.
Can you use it on mobile?
The panel doesn’t have a mobile app you can download, which makes sense because the work that needs to be done to earn rewards will mainly require a computer, unless you are working on online surveys.
For the other types of studies, you’ll need to sit in front of a computer to do the work that will be asked of you.
Who can join the Contentful Research Panel?
There’s no restriction as to who can join the panel, which means it is available globally. That being said, it is only meant for people who are:
- Content editors, marketers, or developers who use CMS tools.
- Designers or product managers involved in managing or publishing digital content.
- Business owners or IT professionals who decide on content management systems.
- Potential users, even if you don’t use Contentful yet, you can still qualify if you match their study criteria.
So, if you don’t belong in any of the categories above, don’t even bother signing up for the panel, because you will hardly find any opportunities to earn.
If you belong to any of the categories mentioned above, you are the right person for the panel. To sign up as a member, you must fill out the registration survey. The survey includes indicating your experience with CMS, so you must be honest, because the information you provide will be the basis for identifying if there are studies suitable for you.
After you finish the sign-up form, you’ll receive a confirmation email with your signed copy of the “Opt-in to research” form. Then, all you have to do is wait for a research study invite from Contentful.
It’s a fairly straightforward process, so you shouldn’t have any trouble registering.
Can you get support?
The research panel has a small FAQ section that discusses the basic topics you need to know about the platform. But if you can’t find the answers you are looking for, you can contact its support department instead.
You can log in to its support portal and submit a support ticket for your inquiries. You can also join its Discord channel if you want to chat with other members or a representative directly.
Overall, I would say it does provide decent support, since it offers a couple of convenient ways for you to get assistance.
Final Verdict
Contentful Research Panel is a legit platform that lets you earn rewards by participating in the research studies it offers. It has a couple of decent features, but it has certain limitations you must consider.
To wrap up this review, I have summarized its pros and cons, so you can clearly see an overview of what it offers. Then, you can decide if it is for you or not.
Pros:
- Has a simple sign-up process
- Offers an interesting way to earn rewards
Cons:
- Limited earning opportunities
- Not transparent with its reward system
In my opinion, Contentful Research Panel is not for everyone. I would only recommend you join if you have used, are currently using, or have plans to use Contentful products, because then, you’ll have a higher chance of getting invited to participate in studies.
It’s also a good idea because you can help shape the future products that Contentful will release. But if you don’t fit the bill, then you will find little value from this panel. So, I suggest you find other ways to earn extra cash.
For great alternatives, I recommend you check out the top survey and GPT sites in your country instead. The sites and apps on this list all have good earning potential, so you can earn a decent amount quickly.
Plus, all of the sites and apps on this list are transparent with their rewards system, so you will know exactly what you will be getting.
If you have any comments, questions, or experience with Contentful Research Panel, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.