Why do People Resent Affiliate Links
I recently published a quick post that I had purchased Bookmarking Demon and would be writing a review of it after I had a chance to test it out.
I really thought nothing more of it until I had the following pretty nasty comment show up in my inbox.
“You just got, don’t know anything about it, you’re going to write a review later and you won’t recommend it unless it passes your test. But you’ve got your affiliate link all over it and wouldn’t mind if people bought it from this post, but you’re not recommending it yet, but buy it here.
Why put up a post if you’re not reviewing it? Why put an affiliate link in it if you’re only going to recommend it if if passes your test? Why not wait till it passes your test, recommend it, then put your affiliate link in it?
Don’ bother replying, I won’t be back. Just another scammer.”
What the $#@
I posted an article about a product that I had bought and said I would be writing a full review of it in the future. I couldn’t have been anymore honest about it, yet I am still branded a “scammer.” Why? Apparently because I had the gall to put an affiliate link in the article?
Is that a crime? If someone finds that product and decides to buy it after being linked to it from my blog then shouldn’t that qualify for an affiliate commission? Is that really the bar for being labelled a scammer?
Sorry, but I have to say that’s funny and yet sad at the same time.
Whether my article had an affiliate link in it or not has NOTHING to do with whether you buy it or not. If you click on the product and it is something you’ve been looking for and buy it then where is the scam? Is a commercial on network TV a “scam?” How about an ad in the paper?
A real scammer, would have lied their butt off and told you how great the product was and how you can’t live without it. They would attempt to trick you into buying something by pretending they know about it. Guess what….it’s STILL YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to decide whether to buy or not.
YOU own your actions, not someone else.
Resentment
I like to try and look beyond incidents like this and find the motivation or the reason behind thought patterns like this. If you can figure out what makes people tick then you will be far more successful than most people on this earth.
I think this resentment towards affiliate links signifies something deeper than what may appear on the surface. People are always looking for the “answer,” always looking for the magic bullet to making money online and they often buy products on recommendations from people that appear to be making money.
Sometimes these products don’t provide the “instant millions” that they thought it would and therefore a certain amount of resentment builds. Repeat this process a few times and you have an angry commenter who thinks everyone is out to trick him out of his money.
Understandable? Maybe.
Did it still tick me off? Absolutely.
Dose of Reality
Here’s a little dose of reality for anyone who thinks that buying an affiliate product is the answer to their prayers.
- Making Money Online is not easy.
- Making Money Online is Hard.
- Making Money Online takes work.
- Affiliate products are tools…..NOT THE SOLUTION.
If your average Joe goes out and buys a really nice set of tools, will that make him a good mechanic? Of course not, yet so many people fall for the gimmicks of unscrupulous affiliate marketers. They think the tools are what will make them successful.
This is Insanity!
The tools only make the job easier, they don’t give you the skills you need to complete the job. The work still needs to be done. You don’t become a carpenter because you buy a really nice saw.
So the message I want anyone reading this to get is that Making Money Online is HARD! Affiliate tools are NOT the answer to your problems but they CAN greatly increase your efficiency and your ability to capitalize on the knowledge that you already have.
Affiliate marketers are NOT responsible for your success, you are responsible for that. Just because they link you to a product does NOT mean it will work for you, or that it will even work as they describe. You need to investigate any product you buy to see if it fits in your toolbox.
Conclusion
I am not going to bother trying to defend my integrity anymore on the subject, if someone thinks I am a scammer then so be it. I am going to continue to post affiliate links in my posts, you can buy or not buy, I will still be successful because unlike some….I am USING THOSE tools.
I am DONE with looking for the answer……I am CREATING the answer. I am building sites and blogs that will take me where I want to go, not looking for some $97 dollar product that is supposed to make me millions.
The difference between successful people and those who aren’t successful is that successful people do things that unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do. Unsuccessful people often don’t quite see it that way and seem to think it’s luck or some secret tool that they are using to get ahead.
It isn’t luck….it’s hard work. I work a 12-13 hour day at my day job and then come home and often work on my niche sites or this blog until 1:00 in the morning. It’s hard work but it’s paying off. I am working hard now so that I won’t have to work at all later.
Enough lecturing from me, I have work to do. Let me close with this….YOU are responsible for your own success, not some marketer and certainly not some affiliate product.
Affiliate Products are TOOLS…..NOT the solution.
Have you seen the movie Forrest Gump? Of course you have, and you probably remember the bumper sticker that came out of it. “Shit Happens”. I’ve been known for expanding on that quote to a lot of friends of mine. “Shit happens, Deal with it”. I think in this post you handled that.
Shake it off.
Kyle Jamess last blog post..Firefox Add-ons for Higher Education Web
Well said Bill. I like how you said it was a tool and not a solution. So true indeed.
Monika Mundells last blog post..Setting Your Rates – Freelance Writing Guide
My guess is that the MMO is saturated with a lot of bad apples who overpromise. So now there are a bunch of angry people out there and one of them took it out on you =|. I fear it might get worse later on.
MarketingDeviants last blog post..Make your Business Overdeliver
I would imagine the person who left that comment has been “scammed” before and it has left him thinking all affiliates are the same. Quite a shame, as you said there are many of us out there with integrity who only post what is tested AND used by ourselves. Otherwise a recommendation wouldn’t be made. One’s reputation is worth more than a $97 product.
@Kyle – You’re right….consider it shook.
@Mo – No miracle in a can and certainly not for 97 dollars…that’s for sure.
@MD – There is no doubt the MMO niche is saturated with a bunch of dummies hawking products that they know nothing about and wouldn’t have any idea whether its any good or not. I agree there….BUT….even still it’s up to the BUYER to investigate the product and decide if they need it.
No different than a commercial for a product on TV….you don’t just buy everything that someone pitches to you…..Affiliate tools should be no different.
@Janet – Agreed….100% agreed. I know it’s hard to know someone through a blog but anyone that knows me in real life will tell you……I will tell it like it is. Even if you don’t like what I am saying, I will tell you what I think and a few bucks for a commission won’t change my mind.
I don’t need the money….I want the money. That gives me the luxury of being able to stay true to my integrity, if that makes any sense.
I use affiliate links and often have concerns over whether some folks would be put off by that. But if you mention a product or service that ends up being useful to your readers, there is nothing wrong with benefiting from that. You have created social value, so trading that social value for capital is valid.
And since readers don’t have to pay for the content you spend hours researching and writing, and they don’t have to pay any more for the product or service… you’d think they’d want you to get affiliate payments as gratitude for pointing them in the right direction. Too bad it often isn’t seen that way.
Sure some authors misuse affiliate links, or just write articles around affiliate links, but those are fairly obvious if you read a couple of posts.
Great thoughts, thanks for sharing,
Clif
Well done and a much needed blog post!
Maria Reyes-McDavis
Web Success Divas last blog post..Savvy Saturday Online Marketing Links
Bravo! Well said old chap! I could give two craps if you have an affliate link. Furthermore I have been scammed online, and I have had unrealistic expectations and in both cases I blamed myself. I read your other post about bookmarking demon, and it took more integrity to say you hadn’t tried yet. Cuz the truth is, if you hadn’t said it, no one would have know. So those other two cry babies need to go and grow a set.
I would have never gone on someones blog who I was disappointed with the product I bought and complain about getting scammed unless I thought I was buying an apple and got a turtle.
Antonios last blog post..Facts About Barack Obama
Yes, I agree… Great post
.
I used to join affiliation until when I realised that it is not helping me to achieve anything. Then I just dropped it.
Making money online IS hard work. Thank you for saying that so forthrightly.
That said, I do think affiliate relationships are a big part of the solution if you are bringing a value add to that relationship. You can’t just throw a link up there and hope to make money from it. I think this is what you are saying.
Spot Cool Stuffs last blog post..Megapixels:Photo Print Size
I agree with you completely as to why some people despise affiliate links. However, I think there are more reasons people are hesitant to click them.
I would surmise to say that the vast majority of people who won’t click affiliate links are those who know just enough about the internet to look at the status bar text when they hover over a link… However, they don’t know quite enough to know what any of that garble means. So, they assume it’s some sort of hacker trying to steal your identity as they so often get in their Yahoo inbox…
I do agree though, that a very large percentage of people who won’t click affiliate links are doing it purely out of “spite” or “anger” due to being burned in the past.
Joshs last blog post..Turning Lists Into Trees (exclusive addons)
Thank you so much for this post – it speaks to so much more than affiliate marketing – it is also a huge issue in the Spirituality and self help markets. How many people are looking for that Teacher or Church or book or… to give them the answers. All of it is just tools…
all of it.
What a great post – thanks for sharing….
Cyndis last blog post..A Boat Called Freedom
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