Andy Beard - Internet Business Systems Discussion - Latest Comments in Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Joseph B. — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:57:08 -0000

Well, Andy that pretty much sums it up doesn't it, or does it?

Some great material in thier for product owners to improve upon, not to mention affiliate pit falls to avoid. Great stuff!

Two things I would say...

1. If your affiliates are using sneaky tactics (you know what I mean, there are plenty and I won't go into them) don't be afraid to "let them know" sort of speak and...

2. Keep your radar open to what they are saying, they are "marketers" and will have a counter argument to this EVEN BEFORE you thought of it and will slide it into thier sales pitches.

3. O.K. I said two, but hey, I'm a marketer at heart! Ask your self BEFORE listening to the pitch "do I really need this?"

Nothing other than that.

Thank You Andy, Great Post

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Jay — Mon, 25 May 2009 11:49:53 -0000

Thanks Andy really good read. I think that this is powerful stuff for us product owners too. We can learn how to keep our Affiliates happy... And keep them making money

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Franck Silvestre — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:48:51 -0000

Very good read. Those marketers who are new to affiliate marketing should find your article very useful. It's important to promote what you like, besides if there is demand for these products too.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

cures for insomnia — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:43:48 -0000

It's good that you have some ethics like this. So many people just sell - doesn't matter what it is as long as they get money from it. And that's a good way to lose trust from followers and subscribers. A few people I bought things from have since promoted junk and now I don't believe anything they say.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Max — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:18:01 -0000

@ms danielle

Acai - good customer service? Not sure about that when a search for acai on complaintsboard.com shows almost 10,000 complaints (many of which have dozens of comments which are also complaints) and almost every CPA offer for Acai has pushed the weight loss angle of which there is no proof whatsoever. Although the complaints about the hidden negative option (recurring monthly billing of up to $100 monthly) FAR outnumber those about the product not being effective as a weight loss aid.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

ms danielle — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:29:37 -0000

appreciate all the feedback. i hope product developers find this article, it really is a great list and wonderful food for thought.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

AndyBeard — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:08:04 -0000

I suppose with many "offers" from the CPA networks, you are being paid per lead, thus the advertisers profit from backend sales, even as affiliate promotions are factored into the price.

What you describe for lead stealing I would collectively group under skimming.

With Acai... hmm, a real tough call - I would be happy promoting it by PPC for keywords like "buy acai" - it isn't an illegal substance.
The remainder is the gray zone - it depends on the sales page and health claims, though it isn't something I have researched.

Real junk products are those that just don't do what they say, or are significantly flawed to make them unusable for practical purposes.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

ms danielle — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:46:06 -0000

re: stealing sales, it's unfortunate that it's easy for companies to steal leads, but can you ever know what %age are stolen? if there were an "assist" tracking (like ysm does) that would be ideal but not probable. cookies are over-written or max commission durations cut short. blah blah blah...
i'm working on creating a product which is why i tweeted this and bookmarked it. i agree junk products is #1 for a lot of affiliates as deal breakers. curious how you would rate a product like acai berry pills that has good customer service, aff service, tracking, and payout schedule?
i.e. would love to see your check list of "junk" products!

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Parrot Cages Plus — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:52:44 -0000

This is an awesome checklist. Choosing the wrong affiliate product to promote is the biggest mistake most new marketers make. Even if a product converts well sometimes the negatives will still outweigh the sales. Id rather make 6 sales and get paid on them on time then make 20 and never see a paycheck because of some bad program management. Thanks for the info and God bless!

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

msdanielle (danielle) — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:39:31 -0000

"Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse to Promote" from @andybeard - http://tinyurl.com/r4us7w

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Wolf Hudson — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:26:58 -0000

This is a good checklist, however I think there is one thing missing, and that is overall conversion often outweighs a lot of negative aspects of an affiliate site. I mean I'll deal with some leakage, difficult payment options, etc. . . if an affiliate site converts excellent. My point is that its a sliding scale. These factors all weight heavy, however they must be placed in the overall context of profitability of the affiliate.

I've made more money on scarcity with poorly set up affiliate program than I have with expert data, tracking, etc. of oversaturated niches. Just my 2 cents

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

AndyBeard — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:24:13 -0000

The sad thing is I left out plenty - lots of things really suck.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Franck Silvestre — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:17:41 -0000

Hey Andy, I think you said it all. Awesome.

Franck

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Dennis — Sun, 17 May 2009 05:00:34 -0000

Thank you very much for this useful information. I printed this page. Great post :)

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Mike — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:22:18 -0000

This DO NOT list could be packaged into a nice product and sold to product owners...

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Jenny at Mail Boss — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:44:21 -0000

Andy thanks for the advice. I think I'll stay away from CJ for now but hopefully some leads from ASW09 pan out...

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

The stay at home mom — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:37:30 -0000

Great post. There are far too many people around that don't really seem to care what they're promoting, as long as they get their commission. Fact is, I'd rather promote a great product and take a low commission because I know I can get it to sell like hot cakes :)

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Den — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:35:18 -0000

It's all about trust - you need to trust your affiliate network, your aff manager and so on.
You have great example with opt-ins. I could easily send a few hundred people to the merchants landing page and he get all the leads to work on. How many sales will he do later? In my opinion, this is the most difficult part to track.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

AndyBeard — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:41:12 -0000

Jenny it is a tough call with hard goods. It really depends on other factors such as whether you want affiliates running PPC campaigns, and whether you will be preventing them bidding on certain keywords, allowing open access to your affiliate program without approval, datafeeds etc.
You will probably be better off talking to your program manager in whichever affiliate network you eventually choose.
They are likely to offer some sound advice on what their top affiliates will prefer, and the likely consequences/rewards.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Jenny at Mail Boss — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:22:40 -0000

Andy - do you have a price range / limit for products/services that you will promote? Do you steer clear of high price tag items even though there is potential for bigger payouts? Any insight on this would be helpful as we are launching our affiliate program soon and I want to be sure I know what challenges I will be facing in recruiting affiliates.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Video Production Bir — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:07:07 -0000

I am just starting with affiliate marketing and this has given me much food for thought.

Thanks for sharing such valuable information.

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Shawn — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:32:42 -0000

There really are many good affiliate programs out there, but some are just terrible. The good ones are a ncie way to make some extra cash too. I will stay on the look out for the scammy ones.
Shawn

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Wes Upchurch — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:39:33 -0000

I've had problems with some advertisers on different sites of mine. I usually email them to get it straitened out. Too often though the bad affiliate programs are going to lie, leaving the publisher with no choice but to drop them completely. The good programs always work with their affiliates.

@Pimpin87 - I just wanted to make it clear to you that different networks can different conversion rates. It doesn't make it fraud for one network to perform better than the other. It could be the quality and relevancy of how the ads are being displayed. Or it could have to do with how long the advertiser places a cookie for. (some pay only for immediate sales, others for sales up to 90 days out, etc.)

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Corporate Life Sucks — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:53:00 -0000

As someone who is just learning about affiliate marketing, this was a good article. It does seem like there's a lot of, er, "shady" things and products out there. It's hard for me, as a noobie, to find legit offers and deals (and affiliates).

Re: Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Bachus & Schanker — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:33 -0000

"Sneaky changes in payment options bypassing affiliates"

Hi Andy, I'm semi-new to affiliates. Could you please elaborate on this?