Day 6.2: Referrals: Are They Worth It?

As I look through program after program on the Internet, I'm beginning to see a pattern emerge. Each one claims to be so different than anything you've ever tried before and such a surefire way of making money... but they all hang on the same hinge. On your own, you'll only make pennies on most sites. You need to band up with others. You need to get referrals. Most money-making sites work on a chain system. You only make so much money yourself, but you also make a percentage of the money earned by the people you've referred, and the people they've referred, sometimes through up to ten levels. It really is possible to make a fortune online!--If you can get enough people to sign up under your link, that is.

It sounds stupidly easy at first. Mention it to your friends and family. Ask people on Facebook. Send out an e-mail. If you like the system so much, won't others? I learned the sad truth about that a year ago. I've mentioned before how I could have gotten a free iPad once. I had to sign up and do one offer and then get nine other people to do the same under my link. I was in college, and there were lots of money and tech hungry students everywhere. Sure enough, many people I talked to agreed to sign up--more than enough. However, once I gave them the link, only three people signed up on the site. Not one of them completed an offer. And these were friends of mine who wanted the same thing.

I've heard of people claiming to get referrals easily and often, but so far out of my various referral programs I've yet to get one other person to join me. Unless you have a very definite way to get people to sign up, don't count on using referrals.

Is there anything you can do about it? You can post your link right and left. You could tell everyone you know about it, but you're probably not going to get many, if any, responses. Some sites offer alternatives. If you're desperate, you can buy referrals (a bad idea, in my opinion, since most referrals quit very soon after they start). Neobux also offers a system of renting referrals, which I've gathered is a nice program except that you need to have made at least 60¢ before you can start. At a rate of about 4¢ a day on your own, it'll take you some time and patience. Though from my readings, if you are willing to sign in and watch your daily ads on Neobux for several months, the rented referral program can become a huge benefit.

So in the end, are referrals worth it? Probably not. Don't count on people clicking on a link just because it's there, and don't assume that others will take the same interest in a site that you do. However, if you have two or three friends who are equally excited about a process, it might be worth a go.

(Personally, I haven't given up yet, though, and while I have a blog I'm going to take advantage of it. So please follow me on Twitter or join up with me under Swagbucks or Clixsense! Seriously, I'm sticking with these sites even if I continue to get NO referrals because they're that good.)