| You're surfing along the web viewing pictures of | | | | promotion by netting these referrals as potential |
| friends or reading about the latest electronic toy, and | | | | customers and also heavily on the hope that a user |
| the inevitable happens: you see an ad for a "free" mp3 | | | | does indeed refer some friends, but not enough to |
| player, video game device, or how you can make | | | | complete the requirements. Therefore less offers |
| money from home with only a few minutes a day. The | | | | need be completed on a referral-type site as opposed |
| first question you ask would be, "Is this legitimate?" The | | | | to a do-it-yourself site (as an example, a total of 6 |
| answer is sometimes yes, mostly no. I'd like to shed | | | | offers may need to be completed on a referral site |
| some light in this industry because as a web | | | | including all referrals verses 8-12 offers on your own |
| entrepreneur, I'm bombarded with questions by friends | | | | for the same gift). |
| and family on how this works. We'll also uncover how | | | | Then you have sites promising free money just for |
| to tell the real ones from the fakes. | | | | trying out these same offers. Most of the time, a user |
| First we'll tackle the obvious question: Why would a | | | | completes an offer (let's just use "Offer A" as a |
| company give away expensive gadgets (if indeed | | | | reference). Offer A will pay the website a flat rate |
| they really do)? Most of these companies have little | | | | commission on this new customer. The site will then |
| catches before you can receive your "free" gift. | | | | pay out to the user a percentage of this commission. |
| Usually they will ask you to sign up for offers from | | | | From my experience this amount can be anywhere |
| their sponsors and to refer x amount of friends to do | | | | from 40-80% but a typical user does not have access |
| the same, or it's purely a do-it-yourself setup where | | | | to this kind of information unless they have affiliate |
| you must earn points towards your gift/cash by | | | | accounts. On paper this kind of model may not sound |
| completing offers or surveys. The company receives | | | | that enticing until you realize that some websites have |
| a commission for every new customer they bring to | | | | very appealing deals on well-known products or |
| each sponsor. Although there are many crooks out | | | | services you might have been wanting to try anyway. |
| there that make it impossible to meet all the limits or | | | | Why not make cash back while you're at it? |
| never pay out (one of the largest offenders is | | | | Before you jump in the world of trying to score free |
| Consumer Research Panel), there's no doubt that | | | | schwag and cash, you must do some research on the |
| people all over the USA have been supplementing their | | | | company. You don't want to waste your efforts |
| income (some with over $1000 or $2000 a month) | | | | signing up with a site that's received bad reviews and |
| with honest websites and minimal work. I will cover 3 | | | | always making excuses, do you? First, make sure |
| models out of potentially hundreds out there but these | | | | your company is registered as an official corporation |
| three are the most common. | | | | or LLC. This information should be easily found on their |
| In the first model, a user completes an offer and refers | | | | main homepage - a company or LLC should have a |
| friends to do the same. This is a tried-and-true referral | | | | Co. or LLC somewhere in their name. A corporation or |
| chain for receiving your gift. This is technically not a | | | | LLC is much less likely to run off into the night and it |
| "pyramid scheme" because no actual cash is | | | | shows the owners are serious about running their |
| exchanged between the website and the user. | | | | businesses legitimately. Second, they should offer |
| However there may be costs in completing a certain | | | | proof images of their legitimacy, such as testimonials or |
| offer, such as paying for shipping & handling or | | | | pictures of actual products that users sent in. Third, run |
| paying for a trial period. You might think, "Why don't | | | | a search on the company and their sites and read the |
| people just sign up under themselves?" Freebie sites | | | | user reviews and ratings. Lastly, make sure they have |
| have extremely strong and rigorous verification | | | | a privacy policy and do not spam (FreePay is guilty of |
| processes before you can receive your gift, to make | | | | making users go through pages and pages of what is |
| sure your referrals are all different people who live in | | | | called "co-reg", short for co-registration. This is when |
| different places (most sites operate under the "One | | | | they list offers from sponsors on a big list with yes/no |
| per household" rule; specifics will be outlined in their | | | | boxes next to each - for every "yes" a user clicks, |
| terms of service). The first company to really expand | | | | they make money and the user usually ends up with |
| exponentially by coming up with this business model is | | | | more spam). This should land you with at least a few |
| FreePay, formerly Gratis. There are many legitimate | | | | of the best sites. |
| news sources and articles that back up their promises. | | | | There are countless forums, websites, and e-mail lists |
| They've sent out thousands of iPods and LCD | | | | dedicated solely to this topic of free stuff and making |
| monitors but in the last 2 years their ethics in this | | | | money (typing in "free ipod" into Google shows 225 |
| "freebie world" have turned for the worse. For | | | | million results with many forums, guides, and news |
| example they have started implementing rules where | | | | articles). This is also your starting point for attaining |
| a user only has 3 months to fulfill all the requirements. If | | | | referrals. It's also a great way of learning what new |
| he is unsuccessful (even if he's one referral short of | | | | sites are out, which sites are among the most popular |
| finishing), his gift will be denied and he will not have | | | | among users, sites that never pay out, and a great |
| another chance at attaining it. | | | | deal more. Scammers that collect commissions while |
| The second, which is a site model where a user can | | | | never paying out grinds my gears and give our |
| earn points towards their gift, works in a similar way | | | | industry a bad name. Hopefully this article fired up your |
| with the same offers. But it is often easier for many | | | | motivation to go get your own pricey gadgets (for |
| people to get referrals rather than earn points | | | | free)! |
| because these websites count on massive free | | | | |