A couple months ago I decided to take the plunge and learn the ropes about this potentially lucrative occupation known as Internet marketing. I joined Wealthy Affiliate and started working through the various training resources. So far, I have received quite an education and would certainly recommend membership for both the training and networking value.
One of the early lessons I learned is that one of the most heavily targeted groups for Internet marketing efforts is the people who want to make money on the Internet. Even Wealthy Affiliate encourages new members to start off by promoting WA memberships through our affiliate link.
It seemed fundamentally dishonest to me to actively promote making money online before I’d actually managed to accomplish that goal for myself. It reminds me a bit of those early multilevel marketing schemes, where the bulk of the money was made not from selling the actual products but from signing up salespeople in your downline and getting paid for speaking engagements where you promoted the MLM. Or, how about the guy who told everyone he knew that for just one dollar he would tell you the secret for getting rich? When people sent him their dollar, he sent them back a note saying “Now do what I’m doing, and you too will be rich.” Um… thanks.
I’m not going to promote anything about how to make money off the Internet until I’ve proven to myself that not only can it be done, but that I can do it. Once that happens, I’ll figure out a way to share how I did it in a way that benefits you and me both…
…which brings me to the very first make money on the Internet opportunity I’m going to promote–well sort of promote. I want to at least mention it because it’s an opportunity that has actually put some funds in my account–within hours. The “sort of promote” comes from the fact that I don’t feel I completely understand how it works and because it’s such a new opportunity for me, I need to give it a bit more time before I’m going to say everyone should absolutely sign up.
The concept is the ad membership program. Here’s how it works. You become a member for free. The membership gives you a number of discounts when you buy products through your membership portal. I haven’t tried this, so I can’t say much more. All members, paid and free, are encouraged to use the site as a portal through which they go to all other sites. This gives the site steady traffic which can then be leveraged to sell advertising to clients. Obviously, the primary target for the advertising is the members.
It gets more interesting from an Internet marketing point of view when a free member chooses to upgrade to a paid membership by buying positions. One position currently costs $45-$49 depending on which site it is. A position is essentially a share in the advertising revenue, and when the site sells an advertisement spot, the proceeds are then split up between all the positions. I purchased one position with Paid In Seconds three days ago, and have so far earned $1.40 back into my account. Had I purchased two positions I undoubtedly would have $2.80 in my account. The WA colleague who referred me told me he made back ten percent of what he invested in ten days–a one percent return per day. My experience so far confirms that. I will be able to withdraw funds when my account reaches $10.00. Testimonials on the website crow about how quickly the member gets paid when they request a withdrawal. I’m sure that’s the reputation Paid In Seconds is working hard to cultivate. You literally get paid in seconds when you request it. I will certainly let you know my experience when the time comes.
Paid In Seconds recommended another site with the same ad membership program concept called We Paid You In. I joined the site as a free member a few hours ago so I can’t speak to how quickly I get money into my account or how quickly I can make a withdrawal, but I wanted to at least let you know about it.
As far as I know, Paid In Seconds and We Paid You In are the only two ad membership programs on the Internet. The ad membership program appears to be a new concept in Internet marketing, and it’s one that for the time being is a passive source of income. You become a member, buy one or more positions, and you start making money. There is a bit of a “catch” with Paid In Seconds, and that is that once you have earned three times the amount you put in, they reserve the right to insist you buy more positions or close out your account. If I had an investment yield three times what I put in, I would have no problem reinvesting some of those profits. The passive nature of the income stream makes the ad membership program somewhat of a different animal than what I normally think of as Internet marketing.
However, both Paid In Seconds and We Paid You In also offer affiliate referral programs. Whether you are a paid or free member, you will get paid from referring other members, so in that sense it’s still a good old fashioned Internet marketing opportunity. I will keep you posted as I learn more.