Associate Programs Newsletter #364
Deceptive affiliate marketing makes our world a worse place.
I reckon it’s time to fight back.
CONTENTS:
1. Beware of this sneaky new affiliate tactic
2. Why I didn’t just keep quiet about it
3. Have your say
4. New free affiliate training course
5. Are you new to affiliate programs?
6. Thought for today: Fracturing of trust
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1. Beware of this sneaky new affiliate tactic
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Occasionally we receive some nasty smelling submissions to our affiliate directory.
Here’s one I want to warn you about…
It’s called Affiliate List Controller.
The salesletter recommends a deliberately deceptive tactic.
Affiliate List Controller is software that creates a pop-up which appears on top of ANY website you care to choose.
Here’s how it works…
Let’s say you’re an affiliate vendor and I’m an affiliate directing potential customers to YourSite.com. I can now make a pop-up appear on top of YourSite.com asking people to sign up to MY newsletter.
Some affiliates place a squeeze page between their links and a vendor’s site. That’s OK. It’s a legitimate way of building a targeted list. There’s normally nothing deceptive about it.
This is quite different. Sneaky.
Here’s the salesletter…
https://affiliatelistcontroller.com
(That’s NOT an affiliate link.)
I hope you’re as outraged as I am.
I wanted a second opinion so I asked a friend who’s a very experienced marketer. Here’s how he sees it…
“This software is designed to give visitors the impression they’re signing up for the merchant’s list, not the affiliate’s. There’s no amount of rationalization that can cover that fact. There’s a heavy emphasis on making sure the merchant’s site is the one visible, and the sales copy emphasizes that the pop-up appears ‘on’ the merchant’s site.
“The funny thing is, no matter how carefully they word the pop-up language, this will still create false impressions. They know it, or they wouldn’t describe it as ‘almost’ black hat.”
As he says, it’s not “almost” black hat. It IS black hat.
The script does have potential proper uses.
For instance, you could use it when sending someone from an article to your own site, from your blog to your own salesletter, from part 1 or 2 of a 3-part web-based e-course, etc.
As with any tool, it can be used in ethical or unethical ways.
My friend sums it up nicely: “My opinion? Anyone using this sort of pop-up over someone else’s site should be banned from the affiliate program/network involved and their commissions forfeited. It is deliberately deceptive.”
Just in case you’re still puzzling over the ethics involved here, picture this…
You sign up for a newsletter, thinking it’s published by XYZ Company. You KNOW it’s published by that company because you were on the company’s website when you signed up. However, after a few editions, you eventually catch on – it’s published not by XYZ, but by a spruiker.
I’m not buying or promoting this product. I try hard to avoid buying stuff from people who advocate deceptive marketing.
[UPDATE: AffiliateListController.com has disappeared. Hooray for that!]========================================
2. Why I didn’t just keep quiet about it
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When I see bad affiliate stuff happening, I wrestle with the decision to talk about it or just keep quiet.
GOOD: Writing about Affiliate List Controller warns affiliate merchants that they need to be on the lookout for affiliates who are using it in a deceptive way and are harming the merchant’s image.
BAD: On the other hand, it gives the vendor publicity which could lead to sales.
So should I just keep quiet?
Well, here’s how I see it…
Deceptive marketing makes our world a worse place. Someone has to fight back.
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3. Have your say
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Should I have just shut up about Affiliate List Controller? Am I making a fuss about nothing? Do you think it’s none of my business if you use this so-called “almost black hat” stuff? Do you think it’s harmless?
Or are you, like me, sick and tired of seeing deceptive marketing tactics used online? Do you agree it’s time to fight back?
Do you just shrug off this sort of thing or does it make you angry?
I’d love to know your opinion. Please have your say…
You can always do this when you read one of these newsletters.
It’s easy. Go to https://www.associateprograms.com
You’ll see the latest newsletter featured on the main page.
Scroll to the bottom of the newsletter and add your comment.
(Comments are moderated. I’m in Queensland, Australia, and may be sleeping when your comments are posted. So if you see no comments immediately, that’s probably the reason.)
I really would appreciate some feedback on this.
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4. New free affiliate training course
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Super affiliate Jeremy Palmer is putting on a new free course called the Black Ink Project…
https://www.theblackinkproject.com .
It’s an affiliate marketing training course, aimed at affiliates who are struggling to reach profitability.
The course has just started and has been receiving a lot of positive buzz. Nearly 2,000 people have signed up so far.
This is 100% free, with no hidden upsell. As you can see from the outline, he’s put together a solid curriculum that covers a lot of ground…
https://www.theblackinkproject.com/outline.php
He’s also recruited some experts to help…
https://www.theblackinkproject.com/blog/?p=10
Jeremy is a very smart affiliate – he has an award from Commission Junction to prove it – and a good teacher.
Jeremy is a smart cookie. He’s putting a lot of work into this, offering a lot of genuinely useful training for affiliates.
I’ve signed up to keep an eye on it. I recommend you do, too.
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5. Are you new to affiliate programs?
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If you’re new to affiliate programs and affiliate marketing, here’s the place to start…
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6. Thought for today: Fracturing of trust
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“In the 1960s, if you introduced a new product to America, 90% of the people who viewed it for the first time believed in the corporate promise. Then 40 years later if you performed the same exercise less than 10% of the public believed it was true. The fracturing of trust is based on the fact that the consumer has been let down.” – Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman.
All the best
Allan Gardyne