Here’s My Question: What’s a ‘Referral Bonus’?

I get sent a lot of information and press releases, but sometimes I get things that confuse me – like this idea of a lifetime referral bonus. Is that like being an affiliate?

Generally speaking, a referral bonus is a gratuity given to an employee or contractor who helps generate new business or contacts by connecting someone to a company’s goods or services. Usually, referral bonuses are not earned (read: paid out) until the connection results in actual business – and money changes hands.

So, for example, imagine a real estate investor is looking to buy property in your neighborhood. They let it be known that they will pay a $500 referral bonus to anyone who gives them a lead on a house that they actually end up purchasing. You noticed a new for sale sign being put up earlier that day, so you call up the investor to let them know – and it’s the first they’ve heard of it! Though you won’t get the bonus just for making the call, if the investor ends up purchasing the home on the basis of your lead, you will!

Another type of referral bonus comes from being an affiliate. Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing wherein businesses reward their “affiliates” for traffic or purchases initiated by the affiliate’s marketing efforts.

So, for example, say you write a blog about traveling. Your blog gets so popular that you decide to monetize it by becoming an Amazon affiliate. You sign up for a special code, pick out some cool travel-related products, and every time one of your readers buys something that they access through your site, you get a per cent of the sale. (Sales are tracked by your special code, which is added to the links you share on your site.)

How does this stuff apply to webcam? Well, here’s an example.

I recently got a press release that said: “Xmodels Offers 40% User Referral Bonus For Their Models.”

Apparently, Xmodels has a new user referral program that pays a 40 per cent lifetime referral bonus for each new customer models connect to their network. This means that if you bring a new visitor to Xmodels via your personal URL — one that has the special tracking code — you as a model receive 40% of ALL this visitor’s spendings on the platform.

In addition to this visitor bonus, models can also refer other new models to Xmodels. In this program, the referring models choose either a 5 per cent lifetime payout or a 10 per cent payout that only lasts for 12 months. Both options are based on the minutes the referred model generates when they’re working.

Here’s the thing: Xmodels isn’t the only site that offers these types of referral bonuses. In fact, referral bonuses aren’t really a new thing at all. But Xmodels’ 40 per cent payout rate is pretty high – and that is rather new. The idea, according to the press release, is that, as a model, you’re now super-incentivized to monetize your social media traffic.

Like all the per cent payout breakdowns that happen in cam, things can get a little confusing with this type of program. You have to pay close attention to a site’s terms of service and the particularities of payout per cents (e.g. what types of referrals get what amount of bonus, etc) — and making sure people access a site via your personalized link is work in of itself. But if you hustle, programs like this can also add a chunk of change to your income every month.

Ultimately, like always, what matters most is how much you work it!

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Got something you want to share? Tips or rage-inducing incidents that other models may benefit from? Email erika@ynotcam.com — I’d love to hear from you!