For those of you who want to learn about how referral programs work, or who want to clarify the concepts dealing with them, I've included this section to answer the question on your mind.

For starters, referral programs usually rely on a pyramid of people who join together in a community, based on a hierarchy. If you're a historian, you might think of it as feudalism, with lord and vassal relationships. The lords control a section of land, and the vassals work in divisions of that land. The vassals can become lords (remaining under the authority of their original lords) and subdivide their own division of land for their own vassals. This works the other way as well. The lords can be vassals. In history, the highest lord was the king, and the lowest vassal wasn't truly a vassal, but a serf, bound to the land he worked on (similar to a slave, but included with the land, not sold). Referral programs rely on a hierarchy, but it continues forever. The vassals can always be lords.

In a referral program, everyone has to do a little work. Whether it be spreading the news about a new product, pushing a chain letter around the internet, or posting an advertisement on your computer screen, the point is that you have to do something to make money. Some referral programs are set up such that you are paid directly for people you refer to the program. Others are set up so that you are rewarded for other people's time with a certain product. Some include payment for your referrals' referrals, flowing down the hierarchy. They all encourage you to refer more people to the program by rewarding you with more money, more points towards some goal, more free products, or some other reward used to get people interested.

Referral programs have won a bad name for themselves. This makes sense, considering that many scams have been executed on-line through referral programs and pyramid schemes. You have to look out for this, and don't trust any that haven't been around for more than a few months, and don't ever just jump into any. Take some time to look at them, and see of they are worth their time, effort, and in some cases, money. Make sure that they track you, and that you receive credit for all of your referrals.