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To Join or Not To Join – Safe or Sorry?

Author: Val Burnett

What do you do when you see a new program being launched and circulating like wild-fire through your emails? Do you click on the link and sign up right away without researching it? Do you not even give it a second thought because you have seen so much advertising for it already? You may think to yourself that there are so many people promoting it, that it has to be a good program.

My philosophy for any program that comes out, I research it to satisfy my own curiosity. Just because Sally, Peter and John have joined does not necessarily make it a good program for me.

Here is what I do to check out a new site where I am “not familiar” with the creators of the program:

1) I view the site to see how well it is presented. Was the site professionally designed? Is it a Mickey-mouse job quickly thrown together. Usually your first impression of a website will tell you a bit about the people behind the website.

2) I check to see if there is a FAQ on the site and if there is, are there in depth questions and answers available for those that may need them

3) I view the Terms of Service/Privacy Policy to see if there is one – sometimes lots of hidden terms can be found and it is always best to read through the Terms of Service just so you know what you are getting into and for your own piece of mind.

4) Is there contact information for the company/website owners? Is this info prominently displayed or do you have to hunt it down? Do they hide this information? Is there just a contact form available with nothing else provided on the details of the owners or the company?

5) If there is no contact info or an about us page, I will then usually do a Whois search and see what type of information comes up. Do they display their phone number, is their information not provided on the domain registration. Usually with this information, I can then do a search on Google and see if I can find any more information about the program or the website owners

Now to many people this may seem like a lot of steps to go through. But for myself, I consider it a few precious moments to make sure I am not leaping before I look. When any of us joins a program and start to promote it; We are in fact giving it our seal of approval. How can we give it our seal of approval if we truly don’t know much about the owners, the website or the program and can not find any information about them.

Personally, I have no problems signing up for a new program that was created by newcomers. I think it is great. But if a new program or website wants us to join their programs, then I believe the few points above should be met. I believe every program should have their contact information displayed, information about who they are or their plans. Just a few simple paragraphs on a website can help ease a person’s mind but also makes the site more personable. This will bring more signups.

So next time you are going to join a new program … do some checking first. It could save you heartache down the road by doing some checking and finding out the answers to your questions. You have then equipped yourself with the answers your customers, subscribers, members may be looking for as well when you refer them to the new website.

Be safe out there and do your research on any program you are going to promote! Your seal of approval for any program should not be taken lightly!