Making money from home is such a powerful and persistent desire, that it can almost be considered an American dream. And, believe it or not, millions of Americans are achieving that dream. But there are others who get frustrated because they get sucked into scams. One of the most prominent schemes can be found in the affiliate marketing world.

To understand affiliate marketing scams, you must first understand how legitimate affiliate programs operate. And basically, they work by paying you a commission every time someone buys from your URL. They do not guarantee income because technically you are not an employee but an independent contractor. In addition, they do not charge you to join their program.

These scams work differently. Firstly, they promote themselves as work from home jobs, whether in the marketing or data entry sector. This should automatically send red flags, because traditional affiliate programs do not pay their contractors a salary. If they are paid a salary, they are considered a marketer or a copywriter… fields that usually require experience and/or degrees.

Secondly, these scams will usually charge victims money to join their programs. This is not necessary among legitimate affiliate programs, because companies expect to earn their profits once you bring customers to their site. Plus, it really doesn't cost that much to run an affiliate program. Indeed, if a company is charging their affiliates, chances are that's how they are making their profits. They hope they can sucker more people into their fraudulent web.

Thirdly, affiliate marketing scams tend to have an abnormally high number of bad reviews with the Better Business Bureau. Of course, even some of the best networks get negative ratings, but if you see more than 10 in a one-year period, something is wrong with that program. This is especially the case if the reviews talk about non-payment or refusal to refund.

Finally, scams of this sort will promise returns that are unrealistic, especially for beginning affiliate marketers. They may say you'll make $500 a week typing ads from home. In reality, this refers to promoting their affiliate program through classified ads or Google Adwords, (a pay-per-click network where you must pay to advertise). You won't get any upfront money for this, and as far as affiliate commissions, these venues don't generate those kind of returns unless you really know what you're doing. And assuming you do, you're wasting your time promoting a scammer, because you'll probably never see your commissions anyway.

In conclusion, don't let the promise of easy money suck you into scams in the affiliate marketing industry. There are too many legitimate opportunities to waste your time and money with companies who will probably never compensate you for your efforts.

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