Are We Affiliate Marketing Hypocrites
Shane (from DomainShane.com) left a good comment on a post I did earlier today (The Art Of SEO) about using affiliate links in blog posts and the risk of starting to seem like an affiliate marketer and then no one believing what you have to say anymore. He was not saying that I was necassarily doing that but did mention that people do start to be turned off when affiliate links are used.
I get that, and funny enough recently I even went back to some old posts and removed affiliate links to certain products that I do not actually use (or use no longer) so it was funny to think about how that relates to a post I did where I actually believed in the products I had links too. (Before you start looking I am sure there are some stragglers left but I did try to remove those from products I do not use).
Are we hypocrites when it comes to affiliate links? We as domainers and web developers like to talk about monetizing our traffic, etc but when we see one of our own actually make money off of something they actually used and recommended why do we complain. I have to be honest I have actually had the same thought when I went to other peoples blogs and realized we are a bit hypocritical when we dismiss domain bloggers for having affiliate links in their posts.
The funny part is that the money I make off affiliates is so low because I really do not use them all that much, most of the advertisers on my blog are paid spots, there are some affiliate spots but all of them are actually products or services I use.
So, is it wrong to actually profit from content that I, or other bloggers, generate (for free) when I actually believe in a product, is it wrong for a fellow blogger to benefit from affiliate links on their blog?
I guess what I am saying is that with all the talk about monetizing traffic most of us have sites out there with affiliate revenue coming from them and I guarantee that most of us have never used the products on those sites so why is it wrong for a blogger when they actually believe in the product?
This post is not really about me or my specific post, it just brought up some hypocrisy that I have had happen a couple times, my Hostgator post about upgrading servers and the great service I got from them also had the same conversation come up. Weird that people think it is wrong to have affiliate links in when you are actually saying things you experienced but they do not have a problem with it on sites they have developed themselves when they have not used the products.
We think it’s great, especially considering the affilliate links you’ve listed you’ve used and believe. There are a ton of sites/blogs that have affiliate links who have never used their products. Would people rather you write about products that you don’t believe in? Keep up the great blog and content.
I’ve never dismissed using affiliate links so long as you are not running a flog. In fact, if I have never seen, heard nor read of a particular product or service before and I follow a link from someones blog post, tweet, banner ad, or whatever, and I actually find the product/service useful and decide to purchase it I consider that person has done me a service by providing me with useful information that I would not have come across otherwise. So long as it is not done in a spammy way I am happy to purchase through their affiliate cookie. Some people actually go out of their way to delete those cookies before purchasing which I consider asinine. Theres a stigma somehow as if people regard any affiliate link as spam no matter what the context
@Fusible – Thanks as always for the support!!!
@Mike – You are correct, I have actually heard people say the check the link then find the product directly. That just seems stupid, why not let the person make a buck for helping find something of value.
Thanks for the comments!
I usually go out of my way to purchase through an affiliate link if a domainer recommends a product or service, especially if it seems like a genuine recommendation.
That only burned me once, the product was garbage and I asked the company for a refund. When they refused, I filed a dispute with PayPal, but because it was software they denied it (even though it required a product key and they could know I wasn’t using the software any more). Because I filed the dispute, to spite me the company disabled my product key and kept my money. I’m still irritated that the recommendation was made, I can only presume to make a quick buck.
However, as long as you really believe in the product, I see no problem with it. Just don’t start being spammy with it, where you make posts only to promote an affiliate link and make money from it. People used to get on Elliot about using affiliate links a lot, but I think it is a ridiculous thing to complain about. It’s your blog and you deserve to make money for the effort you put into it. Anyone you tells you otherwise should be ignored.
I would argue that you should look at your analytics and find posts that get a lot of traffic, and find affiliate banners to add to the page. I wouldn’t make an effort to remove affiliate links unless you don’t believe in the product any more.
First, thanks for the mention and I think you put it well. My main point was for you to NOT become a John Chow and to stick to putting up affiliate links of things you actually think are worthwhile. He’ll put whatever he thinks he can sell the most of. Sure he make tons of money but he sold out to do it. His word is no good and he’s a giant selling machine, and I don’t believe a word he says. He’s selling me, not telling me. I think you truly can make money with affiliate links but as I keep saying, the real money is coming up with the product itself. If the people selling it make great money, imagine what the actual product owners are making.
Bruce, I plan on being right there with ya but I have to prove myself for a while before I push anything. I’m a newbie but in due time. All it takes is a plan and patience
I don’t mind affiliate links and don’t begrudge anyone who uses them. As long as they don’t require the user to do something or interfere with site browsing.
I visit sites for the writer’s point of view, news, content, etc. Most of the time I automatically block out anything that resembles an ad anyway. As far as someone having a simple affililiate link that might create revenue for them, I would not make a big deal out of that.
Hey Bruce,
@Shane the highest earners on clickbank are website owners not the actual product owners. They are close though. With building websites you can literally have one in days working and with the right adwords program you can have instant traffic/money. With products you have to write them and then wait for them to be approved while joe bloggs is pumping out 1 websites a week focused on popular products on clickbank etc.
Domainers are too smart and skeptical at the same time. They are the few internet users that can see the its an affiliate code. They would be paying the same price but no will find ways around it. Like hover over the link and then type the website url in a new browser window. Silly really. I think in the future if you did take a photo of you holding the books it would be a good idea. ( If you have finished reading them? Have you thought about giving them away? Postage to New Zealand isn’t that bad
. )
If you can’t add affiliate links here and there, especially when you use the products. You might as well get a popular product on clickbank like the dog training guides that pay 70% commision and build an authority site with a forum etc. Spend the your day writing a blog post for that instead.The average dog owner doesn’t know what affiliate links are which makes a big difference. $$$$$
LOL, Rosco, shipping to New Zealand:)
That said, you gave me an idea, maybe a contest in the future…..
Actually for books like this that I find valuable they go straight to my team, we keep a bookshelf in the office of useful books and I am very happy to say the good ones end up being gone for weeks or months as they get passed around.