January 8th, 2009 
Hey guys, I just wanted to make a quick post. It’s not gonna be long or include a ton of information or anything, however, what I’m about to say is extremely important!
Affiliate marketing is great! I love this business, I love talking about it, and I enjoy helping others with it! I don’t believe in black hat or white hat techniques. I believe that as long as you don’t rip off, lie to, or cheat people than it’s a technique you should go ahead and use! However, affiliate marketing and morals is a topic that is discussed frequently on affiliate marketing blogs and basically it comes down to what you are comfortable in doing, however, there is one other thing that you need to realize…
You can get in trouble with the LAW if you are deceiving or ripping off customers. We have seen the government, attorney generals, etc go after people in the past with ringtones and we are going to see this again with Acai, in fact, the BBB just released a statement about Acai (warning consumers to be careful) on January 6th of 2009.
It’s not okay to lie to customers or deceive them in order to get a sale, you can get in trouble legally, and since I said this isn’t going to be a long post, I’m going to leave it at that!
PS: I’d love to hear what you guys think about people promoting acai, grants, etc with personal blogs acting like people they aren’t and whether or not you feel this is wrong and even more so, something that the government will eventually start bringing charges up against people for? Leave a comment and let me know your take!
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Derek,
I absolutely agree with you! Affiliate marketing has so much potential and there is so much money to be made, but just like any other business you have to have some ethics in place to make it in the long run. Sure you can scam someone today, but guaranteed it won’t work in the future. No one likes to be lied to especially if you’re taking their money. People eventually learn and become wary of deals too good to be true. I seen all the Acai, Free Grants, and Google Cash offers and what affiliates are doing with them. It’s so pathetic that people are throwing up these fake blogs pretending to be someone that has made money or lost weight. Even worse, affiliates are copying these shady ideas and duplicating them everywhere. Anyone involved in this madness first needs to man up and listen to their conscience and apply some ethics to their business. Second, they need to think outside the box and be original. Come on! You can’t possibly think ripping off someone’s lame idea and copying it exactly is going to help you in the long run. It’s these types of practices that bring affiliates a bad name and eventually the government is going to step in and start regulating what we do. Believe me, that will not be pretty.
Just my two cents
The biggest problem with most affiliates is that they don’t care about the long run, they are only thinking about the now. I don’t really believe the government is going to step in and change how these offers work. Free Trials/Kits where the user only pays for S&H but then is billed monthly till they cancel has been around forever, on TV way before it was even online.
However, because of the ways it’s being promoted online, I do think people are going to start seeing some lawsuits against themselves possibly.
Hi Derek,
Law or no law, lying to people has its consequences! There’s a point when you’re just marketing and beyond that its just plain slimy.
It shows a mentality that thinks that there’s so much scarcity that he/she has to compete with everyone to get as much as he wants.
All the Best!
Regards,
Erwin Chua
Winning To Win With Erwin Chua – Internet Marketing Advice
http://winning2win.com
Ehhh, I hate to admit it, but I think most sales people lie in some way or another, most of us tell white lies from time to time in order to get sales or conversions.
So I don’t believe you can call people that use those types of blogs or sites slimy when you probably use fake testimonials on your site or fake endorsements like those buttons that say featured on ABC or whatever.
Not that I’m trying to say you are doing stuff wrong, I’m just saying most of us in some way most likely lie a little on our sites…I’m more concerned about affiliates doing it blatantly and getting themselves in the middle of some nasty lawsuits.
I have noticed that some networks work with companies that are not only ripping off customers but ripping off affiliates. One site I have was producing 3 complaints a week but I was only getting credit for like one conversion a week. (CX)
Other networks do a better job screening the companies and you don’t get the complaints and you get better conversions. (PJ)
You’re always gonna have networks that rip you off, maybe not necessarily networks but advertisers, although some networks too.
That however is just part of the business and unless you can prove it and have the money to take them to court, there isn’t anything you can do about it.
It’s one of those things that you need to just factor into your business and expect and move on.
For 1 that link does not even work , #2 quit crying about this shit just cause you max and bryn all market acai berry lol. Straighten yourself out and post some shit that is useful, this blog is nothing more then eye candy and obvious info.
First off, thanks for letting me know that link wasn’t working. I fixed it and it’s good to go now.
Secondly, I’m not crying about it…seriously…in fact, I don’t even run or market acai berry. I just don’t want to see affiliates get in trouble legally because they follow or copy what someone else is doing without even thinking about it.
Thirdly, this blog is just for me to post about anything I want related to affiliate marketing or anything else I feel like posting about. If you don’t like it, I suggest not reading it…
Funny, I just wrote about the fake blogs this morning.
The blogs are sure genuine looking and somewhat convincing so it’s no wonder they convert.
I’m pretty new to affiliate marketing but isn’t this just another quick cash (black hat) tactic.
I had one AM even suggest to me that this was the “best” way to promote Acai right now.
That one AM was a retard!
Of course they work, and most likely you probably wouldn’t ever get caught…why take the chance though when there are tons of other methods that are just as effective if you figure them out in different niches.
Also, I don’t consider it a black hat method. I consider it being deceitful or lying.
To me black hat methods are simply methods that aren’t allowed to be used by a service that if used could get you banned from a service, however, I don’t believe that it’s stuff that could be considered illegal…those types of things I just plain consider are probably illegal…
It comes down to the type of business you are trying to build. A short term fly by night operation or a long term business.
I think that affiliate marketing has gotten a bad rap with lots of “black hatters” seeing it as a vehicle to make a quick buck. Affiliate marketing will only really succeed if both the manufacturer and affiliate marketer make money and feel its a good deal.
By the way was Akai berry market a success? I think each product is worth promoting,this is market and marketing relations.And nobody knows what will out of it.
Uh yeah, where have you been? Acai is huge and tons of affiliates are finding success in it.
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to all the Acai hype, lol. As for affiliate marketing, the marketers aren’t the ones that usually cheat. The clients are
-Mike