When I first started blogging, I was really drawn to affiliate marketing. It seemed like an awesome way to earn some extra cash while doing what I already love to do: writing.
I quickly started researching as much information as I could to learn how to maximize my earnings. I soon discovered that the niche was littered with tons of get rich quick schemes and scams using methods that I just wasn’t comfortable with.
I began to associate affiliate marketing with shameless money hungry villains – it seemed that you’d only earn a lot of money if you were willing to send spam emails with titles like, “Your Check is Waiting,” or “You’ve just earned a commission!” – when in fact there was no check or commission, it was just a ploy to get you to open the email and click the intended link.
I couldn’t reduce myself to tactics like that. I don’t know how those people sleep at night – oh, that’s right…they probably sleep on mounds of cash 
And while that may sound appealing – you can call me a weirdo, but I don’t want any money that is made as the result of a scam. I prefer honesty and transparency. PERIOD.
Thankfully, however, I learned that by blogging you can still participate in affiliate marketing in a trustworthy way. There are some qualities that are indicative of ethical affiliate marketing that separate the good from the bad.
Transparency -
It should be obvious to people that you’re suggesting an affiliate link. People aren’t turned off by affiliate links, they are turned off by tricks to get them to click those affiliate links. I don’t have a problem with an affiliate link when I’m allowed to decide whether or not I want to click the link to find out more – I have a problem with sneaky tactics.
Affiliate disclosure is important, any blogger who could potentially earn a commission from an affiliate sale, should let their visitors know ahead of time.
Credibility-
If you don’t own a product yourself, how could you possibly know if it works? People want to buy products that you use personally and that you actually know about. Why? Because, if you’re successful and it’s one of the tools you used to help you succeed, they’ll want to buy it because they want to get the same results. They are looking to you for the details, advantages and disadvantages before they buy.
Honesty-
They want to know the truth about the product. If they wanted some puffed up version, they could just read the sales copy on the orginal site – why bother with a middle man? It’s because they want to hear from a real person whether or not the product is worth their money.
Identity-
People want to know who they are dealing with. If you don’t have a thorough “About Me” page with a photo and enough details so that others can get a feel for who you are – you are running the risk of looking like an affiliate scammer. I know there are people who want to remain anonymous, but really it just makes it seem like you have something to hide. Anonymity has it’s advantages, of course… no one can beat you up for taking their money if they see you on the street because they won’t be able to recognize you.
Unafraid of Pros and Cons -
There are no perfect products, so don’t be afraid to discuss the cons – it lets others know that you view them as intelligent decision makers and enables them to make an informed choice. Let them weigh their options.
These are just a few of the basic qualities of an ethical affiliate marketer, what other qualities could we add to this list?
Kiesha is the author of A Step by Step Guide to a Better Blog. She’s blogs at We Blog Better and is a blog consultant for small business owners. If you’d like to know more, read her extended bio. Connect with her on Twitter, Google and subscribe to her newsletter for blogging tips & tricks.
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Kiesha,
I like how you talk about people not being affraid to click on affiliate links as long as they know what they are and that you’re promoting something that you’ve used and gotten good results from. That’s something important for anyone using affiliate links to keep in mind.
It’s great if someone else says the product works for THEM but ONLY if it works for you too should you be promoting it to others because you’ve obviously gotten good results from it yourself.
That’s important.
We’re all here to help each other out and we all want to see other people succeed so that we see a chance for ourselves to succeed too. In doing so, we’re all returning the favor.
Do you think it’s necessary to mention something along the lines of (affiliate link) after or before the link on your blog or just post the link up and describing and showing the results you’ve gotten be enough credibility?
Eric´s last [type] ..Other Project At Play
Hi Eric,
As long as you have an affiliate disclosure statement in a visible place on your blog, I don’t think it’s necessary to do that after every link, but it certainly won’t hurt. It depends on what you’re comfortable with.
A lot of make money online products don’t convert well because people in that niche are smart enough to tell when they are clicking on an affiliate link. Unless you have earned their trust, many of them will cheat you out of that commission by opening up the destination site in a new clean cookie free browser. I admire those people who have built a following where they can openly disclose that the link is an affiliate link and still have their people buy without hesitation. That is impressive.
The main quality I think is important is credibility. If you only promote products that you truly believe in, then you should never have to hang your head or feel bad about it.
Kathy´s last [type] ..The Real Money In Freelance Writing Comes From Promoting Your Own Niche Websites
I think being honest and above board in your dealings is the true way to win these days.
I know I just delete myself from a mailing list today after receiving an auto-responder update I thought was too misleading.
Those cheap tactics may have worked for a while (and still do to a point I am sure) but many people are getting too savvy these days and don’t fall for it. In fact, it can make them mad and force the opposite reaction from what you want.
Steve
Steve´s last [type] ..Is “The 4-Hour Workweek” Bullst
Kiesha, I think that’s a great ethos to adopt with affiliate marketing. I get so many bloggers promoting the same products to me that I think here we go…finding products that aren’t the products of the big bloggers is a good idea too…
Matthew Needham´s last [type] ..You Aren’t Expected To Be A Superhero!
Awesome job, Kiesha!
For readers who don’t know how to market without being sleazy, print this out and put it on your refrigerator – lol.
Jillian´s last [type] ..Traffic Report – July 2010
Hey Kiesha,
Great post. I really like your last point “unfraid of pros and cons” great…!!
Thanks for sharing this great Post Kiesha. Keep up the good work.
~Dev
Dev | Technshare´s last [type] ..8 Ways a New Blogger Can Succeed