Alpha Centauri
Administrator
Runboard user emeritus
Registered: 02-2004
Location: Athens, Hellas
Posts: 1988
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 Surfing for money...
Get paid to... programs are based on the simple statistical principle that from a 1000 people that will watch and ad, 15-20 will follow the link to the advertised site and 5 of them will proceed to a transaction. It is not very different from TV messages, but it is much more immediate.
The companies which manage the "get paid to..." programs are advertisement dealers that sign special agreements with commercial companies and use a percentage of the fees to finance their programs.
Lets examine the example of a TV commercial. The cost to run a spot, the purchase of air time actually, is related with the range of the station (local, national, satellite) and the time zone (morning - afternoon - evening, before, during or after specific broadcasts). In simple words the cost depends on the number and profile of people that will see the spot, in order for the laws of statistics to start working.
The most common type of internet advertisement is placing ad banners on various sites. In this case the owner or manager of the site is getting paid for putting the banner to a specific position in the site or in a page. A crucial factor are the ratings of the site. Nobody is interested in paying to place a banner on a site that gets 10 hits/day. Sites with really high ratings require enormous fees for ads.
The next step was to create a form of "private" projection of ads, adapted to the viewer's profile and shopping attitude. Along with that one had to ensure that the users would be motivated to watch the ads and sometimes visit the merchants.
How it works
The most common variations are 2:
- receiving e-mails with ad content. In most cases the user is required to read the mail and follow a link in order to be credited a certain amount.
- watching commercial on the default browser window or on an independent bar that is docked at the top or the bottom of the screen. So the bar runs its ads while the user is performing whatever tasks he has logged on the internet. Some of these bars have also useful tools, such as search engines, news tickers and others. The user is credited for the time he keeps the bar running or for the ads that have passed over the bar.
In both cases the companies that manage the programs sell ad time and/or space in costs that depend on the number of their active users. Marketing companies evaluate the "get paid to..." programs in order to ensure the best possible promotion of their products judging them by the active users.
On the other hand the "get paid to..." companies, in order to attract more contracts try to raise the number of their active users providing various services and of course compensating them for their ad viewing. In addition they encourage the active users to introduce new ones and give them credits for those new listings. That means that if an active user persuades his friends to join the program he gets credit for the time they spent and so on. This can go down to 4th - 7th level referrals giving users strong motivation.
Why do they pay?
When someone pays you for something it is certain that his gains even more. It's that simple and it applies here as well. If the user gets paid $0,5/hour the company earns many time this amount. The companies with the biggest number of members, usually those that are operating these programs for many years, earn some hundreds million dollars per year. There is no mystery or hidden agenda behind the whole idea. The "get paid to…" companies need their users in order to achieve good contracts and they compensate them to keep them.
Usually they pay by checks they send their members by mail. So when you 're asked to fill a form with your name and address be sure to spell them right. The payments are in USD ($) and overseas users can cash their checks to local banks at the current exchange rates. The companies issue the checks after the sum reaches a certain "floor value", usually $30-$50, something that should be all right with you since there is no real sense in collecting 5 or 10 dollars. You can monitor your accounts and balance sheets daily simply by visiting the sites of the companies, or by using the related link on the ad bar.
Is it worth dealing with?
The answer is a matter of a personal evaluation, based on realistic assumptions and calculations. It has to be noted that it would be quite foolish for someone to believe that he can solve his/hers financial problem by using these programs. Most of the times, what appears or is presented as pretty simple, creating a network of associates (levels of the pyramid below yourself), is much more difficult and usually impossible.
Of course, one should check very carefully the full terms and conditions of the agreement before any registration. One should also be very careful in their choices and should never trust any promises that present these activities as business opportunities or alternative income sources.
Last edited by: Alpha Centauri, 25/May/04, 8:25
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23/May/04, 1:48
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AnnaAngel1
Senior Member
Registered: 08-2003
Posts: 533
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Re: Surfing for money...
hello mike ......
that is a smart question ...... hehe
--- Please visit me at Heavenly Universal Star
~Anna~
*Life is so beautiful so live it to the fullest of each and every new day* |
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21/Jul/05, 4:26
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