Around 95% of these programs failed our strict testing procedure, and thus were rated as very poor quality. Some of the characteristic features that led to poor quality grading on all such programs include but are not limited to:
Too little information provided: Whilst the concepts and methods were presented fairly well, there was no further information of practical or instructional value. This left us a little lost.
Poor quality of information: In some cases the program merely consisted of an E-book in PDF format ranging from 50 to 80 pages with an inflated font-size to make the book appear more than what it actually is. The information was poor, confusing and the content had many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. These were very unprofessional products. And we were surprised that such highly advertised programs could be of such low quality.
Hidden fees and huge up sells: A number of these programs did not disclose that there were further fees for the use of certain resources they offered, and many others offered an "up sell" which is offering you a higher value item at the point of purchase.
No clear privacy or refund policy: Many of the poor quality programs did not offer a clear privacy policy nor a refund policy. We attempted to get refunds for some of the extremely poor programs but were unsuccessful in most cases. Selling of mentoring programs: Our personal information was used (or passed on to other organizations) and we received a few emails and calls in some instances attempting to sell us expensive mentoring schemes.
Poor customer support: The poor quality programs had support that was not very responsive and in some cases, non-existent.
Conclusion
Our tests over a period of 12 weeks proved very disappointing for the most part. The majority of these programs were a waste of time and money, and proved next to useless in the end. With a 95% failure rate in our study it is important that people ensure they join only the highest quality programs since it is very possible to make a reasonable income online. Our tests revealed only two decent programs which showed promising results.
The two companies that provide positive results only required a small registration fee and had a clear refund and privacy policies documented on their sites. The registration fees appear to be reasonable and legitimate costs due to the investment into the members’ area, the quality of information and the infrastructure needed to maintain the provided resources, as well as the provision of support. In particular, we found that the first program reviewed below was of exceptional value. The one time registration fee was negligible compared to the level of income that we were able to produce in only a two week period - and we got paid shortly thereafter.
Taking the Opportunity
InfoWorld reports that just the US online economy alone collected $102.1 billion in 2006. This was up 24% from the previous year. That's the data from two years ago and the current annual value is expected to be much more than that. With such a gigantic online economic machine it is no wonder that literally tens of thousands of people are self-employed with their own online home businesses and earning a respectable income. The online economy is set to grow even further as more and more people come online with broadband, and this proves that this is a great opportunity and probably the best time for people to participate in and take their share of this online income. |
