Online Business Intern Programs - Should You Join?
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A number of Internet marketers have introduced online business intern programs. How do they work, and what’s the benefit for you?
There are many ways to learn something new, and people tend to prefer one style of learning over others. For some, reading is the most effective way to learn. For others, watching as someone else performs a task is better. However, perhaps the best way to learn is by actually performing the task - by doing.
Most people already understand the general idea of intern programs. They are a way for students to gain practical, ‘hands-on’ experience. Watch any ‘hospital drama’ on TV and you’ll see interns being overworked and underpaid.
The intern programs we’re discussing, for online business interns, are similar. Students are given the opportunity to perform practical business procedures on behalf of the Intern marketer. Interns would usually be allocated one task a day. They would receive training, usually in the form of a written explanation of the task, and perhaps video training as well. Once they have completed a task, they would email the results to the marketer.
The procedures carried out by interns usually promote the Internet marketer’s business. An intern will later be able to use the same tasks to promote their own business.
This can be a classic ‘win-win’ situation. The marketer benefits by having other people help to promote their business. The intern gains useful practical experience, as well as the discipline of a daily commitment.
Intern programs do have some inherent risks for Internet marketers. Interns should not be given tasks to perform which may reflect negatively on the marketer. For example, a common intern task is posting comments on other people’s blogs. This can be highly effective, provided that the intern understands how to contribute to the conversation. One marketer became known as a spammer when his interns started posting ‘junk’ comments on other people’s blogs.
Additionally, it’s unfortunately a fact of life that only between 1% and 5% of interns will actually complete any given program.
Intern programs need to be carefully designed to bring interns along at a pace they can handle. Some intern programs throw interns in at the deep end, and make excessive demands on their time and effort. This ends up being a frustrating experience for the intern, and doesn’t help the Internet marketer at all.
It’s important that interns receive some long-term benefit from their participation. Interns who complete my intern program, for instance, will have a network of Web 2.0 assets and a number of valuable backlinks which will prove invaluable to their own business.
If you’re considering joining an intern program, remember that it will only be of value to you if you actually complete the assigned tasks.
