How to Research Before Joining a Rewards Program
We've all seen the ads, for the greatest site of the month,
promising high paying emails an equally high payout and selling
ads for next to nothing.
We've also all heard the adage, "If it sounds to good to be
true, it usually is."
The key to joining a winning program is research. So here are
some tips to assist you in making informative choices about the
programs you join and hopefully save you some fustration in the
long end.
1. Read the terms of service (TOS) and frequently asked
questions (FAQs) pages of the program so you have a definitive
understanding of the requirements prior to joining. As Pete
Seeger once said, "Education is when you read the fine print.
Experience is what you get if you don't."
2. Take a good look at the advertising page most notably the
pricing. Are they making a profit or grossly underselling ads?
An ad special is one thing but a constant flow of 10-cent emails
to all at the selling price of $1, for example, is a recipie for
disaster. The bottom line is undersold ads kill a site. For more
in sustainability visit: http://cashcrusader.info/cms/index.php
3. If the site runs on CashCrusader scripts, take a look at the
runner.php page (which can be found at
http://www.Insert_Program_URL_Here/scripts/runner.php or for
example http://www.emailsforads.com/scripts/runner.php) to
verify that the commission settings match what is on the index
page of the program. Also take a look at the program's activity
requirements. You'll see something like, "Must login every XX
days and be at least XX% as active as your downline to get
commission from downline clicks." In layman's terms what this
means is you need to either login or click on a link every XX
days to earn from your referrals AND you'll need to be able to
click on XX% of links to earn from your downline. Links include
paid links; search links; paid to click; top, middle, bottom
sponsor links; site support links, contest links, limited links,
targetted links, point emails, etc, etc.). The trouble is
there's no way of knowing how often click counters are reset or
how active referrals are or when they're clicking. A reasonable
setting for this is 25%. Anything higher and you'll need to
judge for yourself especially if you are from a country that
isn't search engine friendly; or if the program sends out lots
of limited clicks that are expired by the time you are able to
click them; or you have your account on vacation mode.
4. Get to know where you are submitting your personal
information to. Do a WHOIS via http://www.whois.sc to see who
the webmaster is, when the domain is set to expire, where the
host is from, etc.
5. Use forums to your advantage. Ask other members what their
experience is, do a search through BeenPaid's forums and the
popular forums like: GetPaidForum.com and GPTBoyCott.com read
the information on the programs both on the bad and good side
and decide if that is something that you want for you.
6. Finally use your common sense. The damage that has been done
to this industry by the influx of programs with dishonorable
intentions is on the rise. Sustainable programs cannot compete
with their ad pricing; advertisers are spending their dollars
wherever they can find low rates; sustainable programs aren't
getting advertisers for these reasons; members are joining these
lemons and promoting them all the while forgetting about the
tried but true.
You can end this vicious circle but it starts with you making
better choices. And if you've joined one of these programs, it's
never too late to quit ;)
(c) 2005 Patricia Taylor. All rights reserved. This article can
be reprinted freely as long as the author bylines are included.