"Mornin' ma'am .. I'm from the ABC Oil Company, and we'd like the right of way to your back yard and be allowed to drill there. We'll put in a sturdy, but decorative 'driveway' to support our equipment, and when the drilling is done, we will return your land to as original appearance as possible.
Now, here's a check for $42,000 for this agreement and a contract for you to receive a 2% commission check every month.
(This is not so far fetched ... the gas/oil drillers here in SW Penn. have given my daughter and son-in-law just such a deal and there is no acrual promise it will ever be done ((other feilds are being developed)), but the money became income my s.i.l. had to pay taxes on last year as it is considered income.)