A brief summary of key points to consider when evaluating online income opportunities.
You've made the decision. You're going to find a way to make money using the Internet. It's going to take some time and effort on your part. Many people who attempt to do what you're doing never make a dime, but you're determined to succeed.

Well, that's out of the way. Now that you know what you want, how do you sift through the countless online opportunities to find a program that gives you a reasonable chance of achieving your goals? Here is a brief list of things to consider when you evaluate an Internet income opportunities.

1.) Would you buy the product or service if you weren't in the program?
A company named Bowling, Inc. sells bowling balls and is willing to pay you a 50% commission whenever someone buys one of their bowling balls based on your referral. Bowling, Inc. sells bowling balls for $150, but you could get the same quality of bowling balls from any other company for $100.

Since you receive a 50% commission, you would still probably buy your bowling ball from Bowling, Inc. You spend $150 and receive $75 back in commissions. You've spent $75 to get a ball worth $100. If you weren't receiving a commission, you would have to pay $150 for the ball and would probably shop elsewhere. If your success in the program hinges on getting other people to buy bowling balls, you won't have much luck.

2.) What kind of experiences have other people had with this program?
I should begin by point out that every program is under investigation by somebody at one time or another. It's simply one of the ugly aspects of human nature that whenever a person or group of people is successful, other people will come along and try to tear them down.

Having said that, there will always be scam artists trying to get you to invest your time, or worse, your money in an "opportunity" that has no hope of succeeding. Fortunately, there are people who do research in this area and are willing to share it with the world. Enter the name of the program in your favorite search engine and see what comes up. If you're lucky, you can find a page from a discussion forum in which a few people have had bad experiences with the program and a few people have had good experiences. Such a dialogue can quickly give you an accurate picture of what the company is all about.

3.) Does the program provide the opportunity for recurring payments?
Getting a chunk of money at one time is never a bad thing, but getting a chunk of money every month is far more satisfying. If you join a program that sells Frisbees, you could expect that once someone has bought a Frisbee they won't need to buy another one for a while. If on the other the company sells disposable contact lenses, you can expect someone who buys contact lenses based on your referral, providing they are pleased with the product and service, will be returning to buy contact lenses again in the near future. In the contact lens example, the time that you spend on the program today could still be paying off years from now.

4.) Could you make money without referring anyone else to the program?
This is one of the primary criteria in determining if a program is legal. Let's say you pay $10 a month to join a program called Income, Co. How do you make money? Whenever you refer someone to the program, they also pay $10 a month, and $2 of that is paid to you. Income, Co. is quick to point out that as soon as you have referred 5 people, your membership is paid for.

It may not be impossible to make money in such a program, but very few people do. This is not to say that you shouldn't attempt to get other people involved in the program. In order to earn a sizable income you will probably have to do so, but the more ways to earn money the program provides, the better chance of success the program has. Other ways to earn money can include: commissions for selling advertising space in the Income, Co. newsletter, rebates when you buy Income, Co. products, bonuses for bringing people to investigate the program whether or not they join, etc. There are more possibilities than can be covered in this article, but the rule of thumb is: the more options for earning money in the program's compensation plan, the better.

5.) Does the program use cookies to track referrals?
A cookie is a bit of Internet technology that allows a website to remember information about the last time a visitor came to the site. Without cookies, you only get credit for referring someone if they join, make a purchase, etc. during their first visit after clicking through your referral link. If they decide to sleep on it, then go directly to the site the next morning without going through your referral link, you get no credit for the referral. With cookies, however, someone could come back to the site weeks or in some cases years later, and you would get credit for the referral.

This list is not comprehensive, but should help to get you thinking along the right lines. Remember that there is no single "right" program. There are many good opportunities to make money online, but success with any of them requires persistence and patience.

Good luck!

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