Update: the information below is no longer applicable, since the Power of a Dollar program changed how it all works. See my more recent Power of a Dollar Update for the most recent information.
Since Power of a Dollar is an odd sort of program, I thought it would be useful to analyze where the money goes. If you haven’t seen my Power of a Dollar review, it’d probably make sense to read that before continuing, as the following may not make much sense otherwise.
I’ve done a similar sort of analysis before with my Bigorilla review. Power of a Dollar isn’t quite so simple, since you can earn extra positions in the matrix by surfing sites, essentially getting more earning power for the same amount of money.
Let’s look at it from the point of view of the person at the top of the matrix. Let’s assume there are 3,200 members who go on to pay the $11 a month to get into the paid matrix (that is a bit under the program’s current membership, but it makes the math easier later). The person at the top immediately makes $32 (from 1 cent times 3,200 members).
Every day, those 3,200 members surf their three sites in order to get another position in the matrix, which pays the person at the top another 1 cent per position, so another $32 every day, even ignoring the additional positions he’ll get through surfing himself. But then, we always knew it was best to be at the top of a matrix.
What happens to people toward the bottom of the matrix? Let’s look at it from the position of one of the people at the bottom of the matrix. The bottom, level 7, of the overall matrix would have 2,187 people in it.
Level 8 has about 6,500 positions in it. It takes the membership two days to fill it, earning the positions on level 7 $.03. Everyone also gets two more positions, these on level 8.
Level 9 has nearly 20,000 positions in it, taking about 7 days to fill. The original level 7 position earns 9 cents, and each of the 2 level 8 positions earns 3 cents, for a total of 15 cents. Each member also earns an additional 7 positions on level 9.
Level 10 has almost 60,000 positions in it. It takes 19 days to fill. The level 7 position gets 27 cents, the 2 level 8 positions get 9 cents each, and the 7 level 9 positions earn 3 cents each. The total earned this level is 72 cents. Everyone also gets another 19 positions on level 10.
Level 11 has almost 180,000 positions in it. Assuming nobody else comes in from the outside, it takes 57 days to fill. The original position on level 7 gets 81 cents, the 2 level 8 positions get 27 cents each, the 7 level 9 positions get 9 cents each, and the 19 level 10 positions get 3 cents each. Total is $2.28. Everyone also gets another 57 positions on level 11.
Level 12 has over 530,000 people in it and will take 166 days to fill completely. The original position gets $2.43, the 2 level 8 positions 81 cents each, the 7 level 9 positions 27 cents each, the 19 level 10 positions 9 cents each, and the 57 level 11 positions 3 cents each. The total for this level is $9.36. Everyone also gets another 166 positions on level 12.
That should be enough to show a trend.
Level |
Positions |
Earnings |
Days to Fill |
Per Day |
8 |
2 |
$.03 |
2 |
1.5 cents |
9 |
7 |
$.15 |
7 |
2.1 cents |
10 |
19 |
$.72 |
19 |
3.7 cents |
11 |
57 |
$2.28 |
57 |
4 cents |
12 |
166 |
$9.36 |
166 |
5.6 cents |
That makes a total income after 251 days of $12.54.
The above analysis also makes some pretty big assumptions. One is that no new people join the program, another is that the entire membership surfs their three sites a day. The assumptions were to make the math easier, and are probably not going to hold up to reality.
While the amount of money to be made isn’t impressive, the people involved in Power of a Dollar would be surfing other traffic exchanges anyway, and perhaps paying $11 a month for upgrades there.
The main benefit of the program is that your site is not just viewed, but reviewed. You pose a question about your site that reviewers must answer correctly to gain credit for reviewing your site. So people will be reading your site, not just allowing a surf-timer to expire while doing something else. This should translate into more sales for you, especially since the people visiting your site have shown a willingness to pay money into one program.
Only time will tell whether the monthly fee is worth the advertising you’ll receive, or whether the income for late joiners will ever offset the cost.