I receive emails and phone calls throughout the week from individuals who have joined programs and need advice on how to market or advertise online.

More often than not, the caller has actually joined a program that was created to address the same questions I am being asked. I think to myself, "What's not right here?"

A program - membership or otherwise - must have a few fundamentals to be considered legitimate online. It must give you something in return for you giving someone money. It's that simple. There must be an equitable exchange - information, software, products - something that says you are getting value for your money.

As you explore all your various choices online, when it comes to picking a membership (or product or service), ask yourself (at a minimum) these two questions:

1. What is the program giving you in return for your money?

2. Is there more to the program than just telling others about it?

Hence the dilemma presented above. This person arrived at the membership site sales page. They had predefined reasons for hunting for a membership in the first place. Then, hit with an offer they cannot refuse (vast amounts of cash for telling others about that membership) they totally forgot why they needed it in the first place.

Sad but true. Somehow, somewhere along the lines of reading an action packed and powerful sales letter, the hunter forgot what he or she was hunting for - direction to help him or her build their own business online.

I've only begun to scratch the surface here. The problem is further complicated because after parting with the money to join the membership site (or purchase the product, ebook, what have you), the buyer skips over all the fine points of what it is and jumps right into trying to tell others.

But it doesn't stop there. The problem compounds itself because, in their rush to tell others, the hunter (who has by now become a membership member) skips straight to the "here's your affiliate url to give to others." No reading takes place, no educating oneself on the fine points of what the program (membership or not) is about.

As I talk or write back and forth with someone, I can tell from the conversation whether someone is - harsh as it may sound - lazy or hard working and determined.

Personally, I can tell from talking to someone or emailing back and forth when someone is doing his or her job or trying to take the easy way. Unfortunately, by taking the easy way they create further difficulties for themselves. How can you sell something to someone when you don't know what you are selling?

If the allure of making money is the only reason for parting with your own, think it through carefully. If you're not one for researching so that at a minimum you can put your own carefully crafted advertisements together, and you think promoting it will be a walk in the park (and you don't have an active mailing list) your job will not be an easy one. Do-able only if you're willing to work very hard promoting something you know nothing about.

If your reason for joining was just the allure of making money with that membership or program, then at the least learn everything there is to know about what you propose to sell. When others join under you, I would hope that you'd agree that you have a moral responsibility to that downline individual to help them succeed, too.

You can't do that if you don't know what or why you joined.

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