|
Author: Keith Rougvie Article source: http://www.sitetube.com/. Used with author's permission.
You've probably heard it a hundred times...affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online.
What if I told you affiliate marketing was basically unethical or that the field is dominated by shady practices?
You disagree?
Well let's explore affiliate marketing from the merchant, affiliate and customer viewpoints.
Affiliate marketing is a revenue sharing partnership between a web merchant and one or more affiliates, where the affiliate is paid a commission for referring clicks, leads or, most often, sales to the merchant.
The affiliate signs up to the affiliate program via an online application form, receives an affiliate link, and can then promote the products and services of the web merchant via his own website, ezine, pay per click search engines or other advertising means.
The affiliate's role, then, is to introduce the potential buyer to the seller acting as a kind of middleman.
In return he is paid a commission of any sales resulting from referrals.
But haven't we always been taught to cut out the middleman where possible?
Well, yes, but in affiliate marketing the customer pays the same price regardless of whether he arrives at the web merchant's site directly or via the affiliate's link.
Or at least that's how it should be.
How does the web merchant benefit from running an affiliate program?
The main advantage to the web merchant is that via his affiliate program he can recruit a large sales team of affiliates at zero cost and make many more sales in a way that his website alone could never hope to do.
How does the affiliate benefit?
The advantages to the affiliate are that he can make money in a business where he doesn't have the upfront costs of creating his own product, and doesn't have to worry about ecommerce, bookkeeping, or customer support because that's all handled
by the merchant.
How does the customer benefit?
The customer gets a solution to his problem (provided the product or service does what it says it does) that he may not have found without the affiliate's help and does not have to pay extra.
So it's a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Or at least it is in principle.
However in the real world both affiliates and affiliate program owners can be involved in some shady practices.
Shady Practice #1
Unscrupulous merchants close down programs without warning and without paying commissions or tempt new affiliates with high commissions then drop those commission rates dramatically a week later.
Affiliates - protect yourselves from this situation by selecting the affiliate program carefully.
Ask yourself these questions.
Has the site existed for more than a year? Is it clear what the site is providing and are the terms and conditions of the affiliate program explained clearly and comprehensively in simple language? Are there good online reviews of the program in websites or discussion forums? Does the program provide realtime commission stats online? Are ready-to-use affiliate marketing tools available?
Shady Practice #2
Affiliates are sometimes guilty of misleading or false advertising - making claims or promises about the product or services which are totally untrue or greatly exaggerated.
Shady Practice #3
Illegal use of logos, trademarks or other branding. This includes infringement of intellectual property rights and violation of copyrights.
Shady Practice #4
Spamming.
While legitimate affiliates are jumping through hoops to comply with the can-spam laws, the shady characters continue to find their way around it.
Shady Practice #5
Affiliate link hijacking is the replacement of your affiliate id with the hijacker's in the affiliate link.
You don't get your rightful commission - the hijacker gets it instead by buying through his own affiliate link.
It's best if you can avoid displaying your affiliate link and affiliate ID in the browser address bar.
One technique uses a zero-frame or invisible frame to make it appear you are sending visitors to a page on your website when, in fact, you are really sending them to your affiliate link.
To prevent the hijacker from viewing the web page's source code to see that you've loaded an affiliate link, use javascript encryption to scramble the page code or software to prevent the source code from being viewed.
Make no mistake about it...
In any area of human activity, particularly where there is money to be made, there will always be people who try to cheat, exploit the gullible and do harm.
The proper way to engage in affiliate marketing is to act ethically, build a relationship of trust with your prospects and customers then provide value by consistently exceeding your customers expectations.
And this applies to any business either online or offline. Keith Rougvie is an ethical marketer. To get the free ebook "How To Pick And Promote Affiliate Programs" and other free resources, advice and recommendations visit http://www.make-money-online-website.com
Cute Cat Names ... And How To Find Them
Cute cat names? Max is popular, Lady a favorite for queens. If you want your cat to have a more original name, you have to use your imagination. Or get some exp...
Unlock the Hidden Creativity of Your Employees
We've learned that we can use the energy of the wind and the sun. We've also learned to harness energy stored in the form of coal and oil. Creative energy, like...
1 Step You Should Take to Alleviate Anxiety When Meeting Women
Learn how to pre-plan your conversations when meeting women using this method to alleviate the anxiety...
The Ten Biggest Processor Mistakes
A loan processor has a critical role in the home loan process. Consequently, it is often the processor who makes or breaks the deal. This burden of trying to be...
Credit Card Purgatory - A 7 Step Comprehensive Plan to Get and Stay out of Credit Card Hell
Does this Sound like You? There are 100 shopping Days left until Christmas and your Credit Card Balance is Higher now then it was in the beginning of the year. ...
42 Deadly Ad Copy Sins That Ive Made
Writing good ad copy for your online business, some of the do's and don'ts that I have discovered in 5 years of being online. I hope they help you.
A Simple Guide to Analyzing All Those Web Traffic Ideas - Part 1
There will be a lot of people unhappy about what I am going to reveal in this article. However, I think it is time somebody spoke out about what is happening on...
Our Body is a Hologram of Living Light
A Layman's look into the Holographic Body of Light and Matter, which we are...
Timing and the Right Product Will Make Your Dreams Come True
Seldom do you find a product everyone needs and the perfect time to market it. Millions of U.S. citizens have been relying on Canadian pharmacies to buy cheap ...
Thank Catholic Schools For Faith in Every Student
While government schools scream about small cuts in their state funding, Catholic schools will celebrate the great work they do with half the per-student spendi...
Tech Tips: PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for PowerPoint Slide Shows
Whether you use a mouse or a remote to navigate through a PowerPoint slide show presentation, it is often faster and easier to use keyboard shortcuts.
How to Choose the Right Coach for You
So you want to hire a coach but with so many choices it's easy to feel overwhelmed.
How do you find the coach that is right for you? It can seem like a dauntin...
Cause and Solution to Obesity
Today, 64.5 percent of adult Americans (about 127 million) are categorized as being overweight or obese. Each year, obesity causes at least
300,000 excess deat...
The Morality of Child Labor
From the comfort of their plush offices and five to six figure salaries, self-appointed NGO's often denounce child labor as their employees rush from one five s...
Hyperpigmentation - Skin Discoloration - Pregnancy Mask
What can I do to help them fade?
Free Resume Cover Letter Examples : Worth What You Paid?
There are free resume cover letter examples all over the web. Are they any good? More imporantly, will they cost you an interview?
Controlling Behavior, Loving Behavior
When Zack and Tiffany started counseling with me, they were on the verge of divorce after 16 years of marriage. Neither really wanted to end the marriage, yet b...
Sage Advice from a Marketing Expert!
The Cheapest Price does not ensure success!
Traditional Chinese Medicine
"Traditional Chinese Medicine, over 2000 years old, is an ancient form of medicine. Consisting of acupuncture, moxibustion..."
11 Of The Best Places to Find Items to Sell on Ebay
Last Year over 20 Billion Dollars worth of product was sold on Ebay. (Yes Biilion with a "B"). Many people are earning $10,000 or more selling on Ebay. Many m...
Structure Of A Successful Music Website
Ideally each page of your website should serve a specific purpose.
The main purpose of the sales page for your cd is to sell the cd.
If have a page with Google ...
How to Pick the Best Name for Your Baby
Expectant parents spend hours preparing the nursery, poring over pregnancy and delivery books and going to childbirth classes. Yet surprisingly, many decide th...
The REAL Key To Successfully Marketing Any Product!
Don't attempt to sell your prospects a bill of goods for profit and thereafter leave them high and dry when the sale is done! Today's prospect is more intellige...
The Anatomy of An Identity Theft Scam
In this Ever growing Electronic Era Identity Theft is fast becoming the choice of white collar criminals. The Internet is making Identity theft a global proble...
|
Print this page