5 Things That Affiliate Marketers Do That Really Cheese Me Off!
There are some things that annoy me about budding affiliate marketers!
Before you shoot me down, I understand how difficult it can be to make money online, especially when you are buying into one system after
another and each one promises to make you rich in record time, and in the process, emptied your pocket of more of your hard earned money.
It can be hard, and knowing who to follow or what system teaches the best marketing methods that are both ethical and profitable can be a mine-field.
I understand that through desperation it can be tempting to take short cuts, but if you do any of the following, please stop!
Here they are and in no particular order.
1. DM (Direct Message) on Twitter
Okay, Twitter is a great communication tool but please do not send me a DM with a link to the latest affiliate product you are promoting. I really don’t need help to ‘explode my profits’ or ‘build a massive list’. You see, if you are promoting a product in such a way then the product isn’t working that well for you. Think about it, I got a DM telling me about a sneaky new program that will help me dominate Google. So why is this person sending me a message on Twitter instead of doing as the product promised, and flooding the search engines with his money making content?
2. Instant Message on Facebook
This is just as bad as the Twitter DM. I love to chat with people on Facebook and build worthwhile connections but please don’t pop up in the instant chat with a link to the ‘latest opportunity’ that I may be interested in. If this is your first contact with me then why not start out with a ‘hi, how are you doing?’ As for your product, I’m NOT interested, sorry! The MLM crowd are just as bad when they are ‘seeking leaders’ to promote a ‘new and innovative’ product in England. I’m happy with what I’m doing right now and promoting ‘health products’ or ‘recruiting an army’ of marketers who will ‘promote the products under me and make me rich’ just doesn’t work for me… I’ll leave this one here.
3. Email Marketing
Okay, you’ve just bought the latest must-have product that is going to make you a lot of money but please, test the product before you try to sell it to me. I am on a lot of Internet marketers lists, some are personal friends, others are people I follow in the industry and then there are those that were a part of my ‘early Internet marketing days’ when everyone had the magic key to success (or a great squeeze page 
). I get given lots of products for free, due to beta invites or joint venture deals and it takes hard work to be fortunate enough to get into this position; building relationships the correct way is one of the best ways to get the invites and the offers.
Another thing that is annoying me of late is the level of rigidity that people follow a new ‘trick that will increase conversions’. Example, nearly every affiliate marketer is sending out emails with RE: or FW: in the subject line as this is meant to increase open rates. This makes sense, my close family and friends send me emails with RE: or FW: so why wouldn’t it work for affiliate marketers too. Well, here is where it doesn’t work, when every single email you now send out has RE: or FW: at the beginning. You are now diluting the effectiveness of this ‘proven and powerful’ technique that was guaranteed to boost your conversion rates. Bottom line, do not overdo it (this applies to any marketing method).
4. Pre-Written Marketing Materials.
I have been guilty of this one myself in the past but I wouldn’t dream of doing it today! Why? Cause now I know better. Some affiliate programs have pre-written emails already for you to copy-and-paste into your auto-responder but that doesn’t mean you should just grab the email and send it out to your list.
I get the same promotion from hundred of marketers each and every time a new product is launched. The marketing message that always stands out are those that are original. The guys and gals that have taken the time to compose their own original message for their subscribers; try to be one of these.
While I’m discussing this I may as well also say that just because a guy makes lots of money with PPC and then makes a product teaching you how to do the same, this doesn’t now make him someone who is an awesome copywriter. Sending out emails that are not written with your personal flare may even harm your relationship with your list as the tone will be different to your own.
5. Joint Venture Email Swaps
Joint ventures and email swaps can be a great way of growing a list and making money in the process but please do not ask me to promote a product to my list of subscribers that is not your own. I will NOT send an email with your affiliate link in promoting someone else’s product when I can simply sign-up for that affiliate program for myself. This just doesn’t make sense.
Now I’ve told you what not to do, I want share with you what you should be doing. You should be a member of Opportunity.com because then you will have access to a wealth of affiliate marketing training and resources that ‘can’t fail to make you more knowledgeable about making money online as an affiliate marketer, the correct way!
To your success,
Karl Foxley
I’ll join in with you at being cheesed. Make mine muenster.
I have only very recently gotten into Twitter, and have to say I’m surprised at how many direct sales pitches to the head I’ve been getting this week. Ack.
.-= Alison Moore Smith´s amazing last blog ..Brad the Builder – He Can Do It, Yes He Can! =-.
Direct sales pitches combined with ‘I’ve just sent you a hug’ make the Direct Message unusable in my case.
Karl,
I used to tell myself that this method has to be effective. It’s like the Nigerian email scams. Certainly someone is falling for these, but I have no idea why anyone would. If I don’t know you, and the first thing I hear from you is a sales pitch, you have no chance with me.
Lately, I think that the real victims may be the people sending the emails. Perhaps none of these methods actually work, but what we are seeing are the people who paid for them diligently trying to use them. Okay, maybe they aren’t exactly victims, but they are losing their money following bad programs.
I have about 10 different email addresses I use now. Some of them are just to better organize the myriad of emails I receive, but 3 of them are spam filters. The first account is one that I never check and use for those sites requiring an email for a freebie that looks enticing.
The other two I use to go back to the site to sign up for the newsletter if the freebie lived up to it’s hype. I also use it to see how much auto-responder spam I get. It usually only takes a few weeks to weed out the spammers. If there is real value being provided then I will add them to a real email account.
Great post. All online marketers should read this.
Brad
‘I have about 10 different email addresses I use now.’ I’m with you on this one.
‘Lately, I think that the real victims may be the people sending the emails. Perhaps none of these methods actually work, but what we are seeing are the people who paid for them diligently trying to use them.’ Yes, it’s a shame that people often follow blindly without testing and, often out of desperation, to make a return on investment.
‘All online marketers should read this,’ thanks for the vote of support Brad, very much appreciated.
Karl
RT @karlfoxley 5 Things Affiliate Marketers Do Wrong | FMS The SEO Company http://bit.ly/4tobSA
via uberVU
I have to say that your first one is the most irksome to me. Most of the time, it’s someone you’ve just decided to let into your group of people that you follow, and suddenly you’re getting the big pitch. I immediately unfollow every one of those people; I don’t need that in my DMs.
I think number 2 is the one that get’s me the most and the worst thing about it is I have had the same person add me as a friend 5 times now (that I know of) under different names. He pitches straight away in the Facebook instant chat and the affiliate link always has the same Clickbank id attached so I know it is him. He’s seriously wasting my time and his!
Thanks for dropping in and taking the time to comment.
Karl