Internet Based Businesses -
The Free and Not So Free© Bonny Albo
Aug 1, 2000
It seems that lately, I have been innundated with offers in my email mailbox asking me to "sign up" for a "free" URL, so that I can market someone else's product on the Internet, and then receive a commission for each and every sale. From debt consolidation to clothing, from educational software to adult chat lines, the emails extole the virtues of signing up for their program.
The first time that I came across such a venture over the Internet (see Pro-Link Marketing was a year ago. I found the opportunity by a fellow work at home parent who emailed me (if I remember correctly!) and signed up just to see how viable it was. It only took me one minute to sign up for the program, and about 20 minutes to promote it (both on my sites and through search engines). I had completely forgotten about the program when, three months later, I received a cheque in the mail for $40.00 US (minus a $10.00 processing fee - this fee is deducted for each biweekly cheque that you receive, but no taxes are taken off). Since then, I have received cheques sporadically throughout the year, and each one has been a pleasant surprise. I think that $40 for 20 minutes of work is great... if only I had applied myself more to the idea! However, not all of these programs are "great", or even good. The need to research these companies well before you sign up still exists, unfortunately. I have been duped by several of these type of companies several times now, and am in legal wranglings with one of them. (BTW: you won't find this company on the net, (and if you do, email me!) but be aware anyway of "OneSource Worldwide Network".) Some suggestions before entering ANY of your personal information: - Does the company allow you to transmit your personal information (because they will need it in order to send you your cheques!) through a secure Internet connection? If not, BE WARY.
- Contact your local Better Business Bureau, and find out if there are any on record complaints about the company you are looking at.
- Talk to other consultants, or contact the person who is "sponsoring" you. Ask them what their experiences have been like. Be forewarned, however: many of these companies stress recruitment very heavily. And though I understand the need for signing up new consultants, (I recruit as well) there is a fine line between providing useful information that just happens to be lengthy and spamming. I would suggest that you open up a free e-mail account (Hotmail is what I use) just to give out to companies and independent representatives to send you information.
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