If you happened to land on this post via a search, then there’s a good chance you came across an opportunity that stated you could make money posting links.  Usually, these jobs show up in Facebook groups or you may come across a listing on a job portal, sometimes a search.

While the job in itself is vague, it may be legit, at least you may think so.  These job posts make it seem as if you sign up for a service, post a link and then watch the money roll in.  I mean, money is easy to make, right?  This job has to work!

In short, companies that pay you to post links are not legit.  Repeat that after me.  It’s a scam that won’t make you money, no matter how great the opportunity may sound.  These companies know how to make a copy that reads well and sells you on the fact that you need to give them money to make money.  Think of that.  What companies make you pay them to work?  Would you pay Walmart to start working for them?  Of course not!  However, posting links can make you money, but it won’t work in this way.

In today’s guide, I want to expose these sleazy companies and let you know what you should look out for in case you do come across one of these opportunities.  It’s a scam that has been around for years and still lingers to this day.  Hopefully, if we were all able to avoid these scams, they would eventually disappear, right?  Even so, scammers always have another thing up their sleeve.

With that small rant out of the way, let’s dive in and see what this scam is all about.

What is a Link Posting Job?

Simply put, a link posting job is one that requires you to “post links for well-known companies.”  And, in doing so, you can earn hundreds of dollars a day, sometimes more, all depending on how many links you post.  And, it can work in a few ways.

The most popular way to earn this money, however, relies in spamming a unique link.  Some companies may ask you to advertise their product on social media, usually spamming your unique link.  This can be on social media, blog comments, etc.  Each time someone signs up using your link, you get a cut.  Generally, you will be pushing the product you sold or you may be pushing some high value product.

Of course, if you like the job opportunity, you will have to pay the company money, usually in the tune of $100 or some marketing number like $87.  But wait, if you sign up now, they may knock $30 off.  It’s their sleazy marketing tactics that want you to sign up now.

Sadly, people fall into this trap, one way or another, mostly because the ad copy is good and it seems as if you can make $100s in a day.  That’s what a good copywriter can do; they can sell you on anything, even an imaginary job.  And, even if the company gets caught, they can move onto another adventure with a whole new name.  Trust me, it’s hard for authorities to catch these enterprises.

As for these link posting jobs, you can find them through a search or often on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

How Does the Link Posting Job Work?

Well, you’re probably wondering that if you’re paying for something, you have to get something in return?  Sure, you do, but what you get is not what you expect.

Most of these scams have different ad copies, but when you purchase a membership, you will find that they mostly work the same.   No matter which “company” you come across, they often operate in the same regard.

#1 They Sell Your Email Address

It all starts with the e-mail.

The minute you land on an ad copy and start reading, it may seem like something of interest.  Well, at the bottom of that page, what you’re going to find is a simple name and email address form, in which you may fill out.  While it may be tempting, don’t!  All this company is going to do is take your verified email address and then sell it off to unethical marketers.

So, even though they didn’t get you to sign up for a product, they can make a few cents in selling your e-mail.  Win-win for them, right?

#2 The Sales Pitch

After you confirm your email, you are then instantly presented with a sales pitch, usually saying you can make $7,100 from home posting links.  I mean, this is great money to post just a link, right?  C’mon, you need to sit back and really ask yourself if this is true?  I know some people can sell a good copy, it just doesn’t exist, I can’t stress it enough.

Some companies will have a cheesy video added, while another may have a picture of them next to a sports car.  It’s yet another sales copy to get you to bite and buy their expensive product.  Again, don’t buy as the story in itself can be convincing, but if you don’t know how you’re going to make your money, then why would you give them money to find out?

#3 The “Members” Area

If you do end up buying (please don’t), you will then gain access to what’s known as the members area.

In this area, the company will provide you with very vague information regarding what’s known as affiliate marketing.  While this method is 100% legitimate in itself, you do not need to pay $97+ to learn how to post links to make money.  There’s so much information out there, I will leave it up to you to search for affiliate marketing tutorials or even watch YouTube videos.  In short, the process of affiliate marketing requires you to post a link on your website, etc and if someone signs up and/or takes action, you get a cut.  This is how most of your bigger websites stay in business.

In some cases, you may be asked to promote the service you just signed up for, often leading to massive spam on social media networks.  Have you ever seen those Facebook comments that say you can make $x in 30 days, etc?  Well, that kind of relates to this.

In other cases, they may give you an ad copy and then tell you to post these ads on Google and Bing with your own money in hopes the money you make from customers offsets what you invest.  In short, you produce an ad, and each time you make a sale from these paid ads, you get a cut.  This is a dangerous game to play if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The problem with these companies is that they won’t teach you how to do it nor will they come close to providing you with a guide that’s worth $99 in value.  Not only that, but you also won’t receive support nor will you get the training you deserve.  Again, most of what you can learn is found online for free! On the other hand, if they ask you to promote a link to make money for a service, then it’s going to be up to you to spam forums, etc, which is something you do not want to do.

Now, they may provide you with a “coach,” but he or she will just continue to up-sell you products to help your affiliate marketing career, but again, avoid it.  Everything they try to push can be found online free, if not for a few dollars through the highly rated affiliate marketing books on Amazon.

Scams to Watch Out For

While there aren’t as many companies out there that pay you to post links, they still linger.  In this section, I wanted to talk about the many red flags you should look out for in the case you come across an opportunity such as this.

While I talk about companies that pay you to post links, you can generally use these tips for almost any money-making adventure online.

#1 Fake Story

Almost all of these sites will have some sort of fictitious character, stating he or she was able to buy a dream house on the lake with a $100,000 sports car.

The story may sound true at first, but if you read it slowly, most of them are laughable.  It’s always the same sob story at first, saying that they could barely get by, but then, by some unknown reason, they met someone who said you could post links on the internet and your life changes forever!

If you ever come across these opportunities, research the person’s name to see if you can find anything about them.  If not, that’s a big red flag.  If it’s a generic name, then they know what they are doing.

#2 Fake Testimonials

Aside from using the fake name and pictures, these companies are known to use fake testimonials as well.  This is a very common scam tactic often found.  Here’s just one of the many I found online…

I mean, on Fiverr, you can buy testimonials for as little as $5, and people will boast about your product, no matter what it may be!

It’s always hard to tell if it’s a fake testimonial, but usually, if it seems pushed or the person doesn’t seem as if they know what they are talking about, it could be safe to say it’s more than likely fake.

#3 The Fake Countdown

As seen in that screenshot I posted earlier, these scams love to rush you to get you to join.

For instance, there may only be one opening left or this offer only lasts for a few hours.  But, what you find out is that these fake offers never change as they were designed to get you to act fast.

A lot of people are guilty of impulse buying and these marketers know that, so they use any tactic in the book to get you to buy fast.

If you ever see a countdown of sorts or it says there are a limited number of spots available, I would run.  No right marketer will ever promote a product, saying it’s only available for the next 24 minutes, etc.  This isn’t how marketing works online.

#4 It’s Vague!

If you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, then why are you signing up?  I mean, getting paid to post a link is quite vague to me.

If you don’t know what the product is offering, then why should you pay?  This is a huge warning flag in itself.

It only makes sense if you know what you’re buying.  So, for example, if you wanted to sell on Amazon, then it would make sense to pay $20 for a guide on Amazon marketing material.  In this case, a good marketer would provide a table of contents and let you know what you’re getting.  Plus, you could read reviews online to see what other people are saying.

Oftentimes, these products won’t have legit reviews, unless you’re digging deep online and they won’t provide you with a ton of information.  It’s a sad state of affairs, unfortunately.

How Much Money Can You Make Posting Links Online?

If you sign up with a spammy company, one like I mentioned prior, then you probably won’t make anything.  You will just be out of your money and will kick yourself for it since these companies don’t offer a refund.

However, if you take my advice and start a website wherein you can post your own affiliate links, then the sky is your limit.

In the “link posting” world, posting your affiliate link is one of the only ways to make money doing this.   This can be done via a website or even a social media following if you’re able to build one. However, it will take time because you will have to rank your content and/or market via the appropriate channels, such as social media, etc.  In short, you build a following/website, you then publish content and eventually sprinkle “affiliate links” that align with your content.  If someone were to follow your link and they take action, such as making a sale, you get paid.

Affiliate marketing deserves its own book.

So, for now, to learn more about it, I highly recommend you start with YouTube, these highly-rated Amazon books or even consider a low-cost Udemy course.  These books and courses can cost money, but I promise they do offer value. Money doesn’t come easy, and if you take the time to learn this market, you can really make some good cash.  After all, you will have the world at your fingertips.  It will just take some time.

Final Thoughts

In the end, you can make money posting links, but it won’t come from the companies you find online.  Instead, you’re going to want to research what’s known as affiliate marketing.  As long as you learn on your own from reputable resources, such as books from Amazon or a simple Google search, you should be good to go.  What you don’t want to do is sign up for a $97 program, only to find out you can’t get a refund and you then get bombarded with spam the rest of your email inbox life.

For now, avoid the posting links for money scams.  No matter how great they sound, a program, no matter the cost will never be worth it.  While the ad copy could sell itself, these are some of the brightest unethical marketers, as I like to call them.  These are the same people that can sell you a $1 bill for $2.  These are the people and companies you do not want to deal with.

As these names always change, I can’t out any, but if you know of any that are popular and/or one you have seen online, you’re more than welcome to talk about them below.