How to Avoid Internet Marketing Scams

There has been a marked increase in those who work part time from home in Internet marketing as part of affiliate programs or networks.  Many are successful and earn a good living either on a full time basis, or as a means to earn extra cash from home.

However, as with any successful business models, there are the less savoury cheats who want to ride the achievement of others without considering their own ethical behaviour.  Unfortunately, in the online marketing world, there exist numerous Internet marketing scams which masquerade as bona fide Internet marketing programs. The aim of these Internet marketing scams is to make money for their creators with little regard to the affiliate or underlying clients.

How to spot Internet marketing scams

With the success of Internet marketing and the growth of work part time from home opportunities, the complexities of such Internet marketing scams have deepened. The list below covers some of the key factors to look out for to identify whether these are genuine affiliate marketing businesses or are elaborate scams.   Due diligence is crucial; otherwise you would have wasted your time and have contributed towards someone else’s profit and not your own.

1. Is there a web site?

Programs with the lack of a website providing detailed information should be red-flagged as potentially unsuitable.  Genuine programs will have a detailed web site, providing information and contact details.  Today, it is not difficult or that time consuming to create a simple website.  In fact, many scammers would take the trouble to fool potential affiliates by creating a website. Please note, however, that the presence of a website does not make a program genuine.

2. You have to pay to join

Real affiliate programs are free to join.  Some organisations require you to pay to join them before you can promote their products.  This is not an affiliate program, but possibly multi-level marketing (MLM). However, not all MLM opportunities are cons and some people have been extremely successful. Unfortunately, many will struggle to make it work for them and a large amount of cash may be spent before realizing that a MLM is unsuitable.

3. No affiliate contact or support

Internet marketing scams are commonly characterized by the lack of contact details.  Where there is a contact telephone number, it is a good sign that the business is profitable enough to be able to provide live support.  

However, the absence of a phone number does not necessarily mean the program needs to be avoided. Online business today encourages email contact, and many websites operate in this way.  To test the potential program, send emails to and ascertain the speed and quality of their response.  While slow responses may not indicate that the program is a con, however, it may indicate that they may not be proficient enough at running their affiliate program.

4. Requirement to buy a the product first

While an affiliate with (positive) experience of a product may well be able to sell it better, this is by no means a requirement.  Be wary if you are required to buy a company's product before joining as an affiliate; this is a highly unusual requirement.

5. Monthly quotas

Some companies require affiliates to buy or sell a certain amount of their products on a monthly or quarterly basis. This is not the practice of reputable companies. If their products are truly good, they shouldn't have to resort to such methods to sell them.

6. Check Feedback

Internet marketing scams are likely to attract criticism and negative comments from those who have had bad experiences with them.  Search online for the affiliate program to see the testimonials received.   Use search terms such as "scam" or "review" together with the program name.  Bear in mind, however, that even the best affiliate programs can receive bad comments from those who felt that it has not worked for them, or through specific incidents.  For many it is the only way to air their feelings and to give bad press to the program.  Keep an open mind and make your own decision based on a balance of opinions.   

7. Consider the track record

Lack of track records does not necessarily indicate such programs are Internet marketing scams.  These could be genuine new starts but just lack the time in the market.  A consideration then would be whether to join in its early stages or to let this run for a short period before revisiting this opportunity.  If in doubt, wait.  Internet marketing scams frequently do not last and tend to disappear before long.

8. To avoid Internet marketing scams, consider joining reputable networks like Clickbank

Join reputable and established affiliate networks in order to avoid Internet marketing scams.  For those who are relatively new to Internet marketing, the best place to get started is at Clickbank. 

Clickbank is the leading Internet retailer of digital products (e-books, software etc) across many categories.  It is easy to start there and their commissions are attractive (up to 75%) compared to the better known retailers which may be 1%-5%.  There are many other affiliate marketing networks or merchants with affiliate programs (eg. Commission Junction, eBay, Amazon etc).  However, to start off with, I would recommend you to first make money with Clickbank.