One way that the John Chow's of this world make money is through schemes like Dealdotcom. I will say that Dealdotcom isn't a scam but its selling methods are very much pyramidal.

Here is the idea behind Dealdotcom
Every day, dealdotcom has a sale of some item - it could be software, a book, a gadget - whatever but everyday they have a deal for you and when all items are sold, it's over for that day. In itself, this is a good idea and nothing much wrong with it.

But how do they drive you to their website for their deal of the day? By an affiliate program. It's a two-tiered affiliate program too. Here is what they say about it...(my bold);

"We give you a special link to share with your friends. You strong-arm them into signing up for a free DealDotCom account, and anytime they ever buy anything from us, you get paid. Our affiliate program is 2-tiered, so not only will you get paid for purchases that your friend makes, but you’ll also get paid for purchases that THEIR friends make."

So, you see, the way to make money is to sign up affiliates and lots of them. If you have a website with lots of traffic - and you have a loyal following of devotees this is easily done.

Now - I hear you say - aren't you doing the same thing? Of course I am. Sigh up for the program and use my affiliate id - its included in this link. The difference is that I am telling you how this works and that I will make money from you and you from your affiliates. What I don't appreciate is reading how much money someone makes from this program but they never tell you how.

And if you don't want me to benefit then simply go there and sign up.