Selfishness in Affiliate Marketing?
Paul over at Uberaffiliate wrote a post the other day about how affiliates are selfish and they are actually hurting others to get profit. Yesterday while I was out and about Toronto with Harrison Gervitz, we came across this:
The point is, whether you promote the offers or not, people will still be searching and others will provide it for them. It’s not “selfish” to help people find what they are already looking for, if you’re comfortable doing it.
All affiliates have a set of morals and every affiliate has certain things they don’t feel comfortable promoting. You have to set those guidelines in your mind and stick to them. This being said, I really don’t agree that we are hurting others by promoting services people are looking for. It’s a moral decision on your part if you want to be an “enabler” but the point is these people are still looking for the products that are already out there. Most people are searching for a product they want, and usually will keep looking until they find it (whether it is your affiliate site or not).
The other fact is that of course there are bad cases in the news. The media of course picks up the negative because no one wants to read that everything is fine, they want news!
Although I like Paul a lot and he’s a buddy of mine, I just disagree. It’s up to you as an affiliate to decide what or what not is selfish. Some things in this industry may be “shady” but it’s your call as an affiliate to pick what you’re comfortable promoting.
If you don’t want to promote something, don’t, but if others do that’s their call. It’s not necessarily “selfish” of them, it’s just morally what they chose to do.
Liked this post? Get your daily dose, subscribe to our RSS feed!
I think there will always be selfish people in any venture both on and offline.
When I first started online I looked a various things and got caught up in the hype of something that wasn’t really worth promoting. Eventually I learn that there is legit stuff to promote without having to feel I scammed someone.
Bruno Augers last blog post..Why website promotion works
haha good post max!
Yeah, I think it’s up to the person, and personally I can’t just promote something simply because it will pay me. If there are things I don’t feel are helpful to folks, I won’t promote it.
I didn’t read the article yet so I don’t know what he was touching on.
Normal Joes last blog post..How To Benefit From Product Launches
Well said, Max. This is part of a dilemma, including myself, face everyday
I agree–typically I find the affiliates I work with like to promote products they are fond of, but sometimes that isn’t the case.
It will (and should) always comes down to the individual to make the decision. The interesting thing about the business we are in is that sometimes the products that are the least appealing to the affiliate pay the most. Probably not by coincidence!
Great post Max, keep up the good work buddy.
@ Bruno - There absolutely is and that is your set of morals. I’m just pointing out that others may disagree, but it’s not being selfish, it’s just what moral path you choose
@ Joe - I hear you buddy, and again those are you morals, and good ones at that!
@ Matt - Yup, it’s an industry wide thing he he
@ Kyle - Great point, in the end for most people it comes down to money, but for a few it comes down to principals
I have to say when I first started list marketing I had what I thought were conflicts with it, selling people who were to lazy to go look for information the information they needed to go to the next level and succeed.
But then isn’t that what fast food and wal mart are too? They make us our burgers cause we are to lazy to source the said parts and cook it to eat. You are providing a service to someone and as Max has highlighted its really just a moral choice.
I am with Joe though If I would have never used the product than I will never promote it. Period.
Big Ben Pattons last blog post..Questions + Answers Round 1 The Results
Of course it’s not selfish to provide a product or service that another person wants. I completely agree that it’s a moral compass issue.
Example: I have specific knowledge on a niche that is of interest to a particular group of people. I write an informational ebook and sell it. Am I selfish? Nope. Just a savvy business person capitalizing on my knowledge and experience.
However, what I think was at the core of the other post were the underlying aspects of the ringtones, green tea pills, etc. - that the buyer is being suckered into more than he/she may realize. Should people read the fine print before they buy? Heck yeah! But most don’t. And then it boils down to how comfortable you personally feel promoting goods and services that you know have a “catch” that the buyer most likely won’t notice.
That’s an interesting and food-for-thought post
First, we should differentiate promotion from endorsement. I’d never endorse a product I don’t know about, but don’t see any problem on promoting a product which is not an evident scam.
Do you think The New York Times or The Washington Post (to name some big media publishers) screen all the ads they publish to check if all of them are legit? I bet not.
And would you blame any of them if you fall prey for an scam advertised on their pages? So, why people on Internet demand that affiliates screen their promotions for legit ads? Does Google do that?
We, as adults, should take responsibility for our own decissions and make our own due dilligence before purchasing and not put the blame on the site where we clicked an ad.
Furthermore, even if website owners were willing to screen all advertisement that is shown on their sites, they could not use any type of contextual ads delivery, as nobody knows what will appear on the next ad block.
I dont get the point, why selfish? I mean affiliate marketers make money by promoting and I don’t any reason to get credited as selfish..
Yeh, i see lot of blog celebrities fight inbetween rather than creating a friends networking.
Problogineers last blog post..Web Hosting Pal
Affiliate marketers make money by promoting others products. Its like a walmart making money promoting other brands . I dont see anything selfish in that approach
It all comes down to ethics, either you have ‘em, or you don’t.
I’ll have to check out that other post.
Dennis Edells last blog post..Merging Blogs: Internet and Offline Markeing Together. I’d Like Your Thoughts.
I think this is part of the reason why I wasn’t a big fan of AM… the moral codes and stuff because usually people go with what pays good and it doesn’t matter what the offer is.
So, yes, AM is selfish but there’s really no other way, right?
Jay
The Real Jays last blog post..Introducing the “Elite Ninja Flipping Unit” to the Site Flipping World
I still don’t get it on how could be there are affiliate who are selfish when basically they are working harder for it. In some cases they are throwing more cash just to get what they are earning.
Paul Us last blog post..Update on my health and jobs