Get Off Your Anti-Affiliate High Horse - BobWP Monetizer Podcast

In any industry, you will find the good, the bad and the ugly. But so many people put all affiliate marketing into “not good” bucket. They figure since they don’t have affiliate links in their content, nobody else should. Well, I tend to disagree.

There has always been a good number of people who rant about affiliate links and affiliate marketers. Yes, it’s a legitimate gripe when a site is filled with spammy links placed for the sole purpose of making bucks.

But there are many affiliate marketers who do not fit that mold. And, anyway, what right do we have to judge? Some make money one way. Others make it in other ways.

But then there are the people who say things like:

My content is better because I don’t use affiliate links.

You can trust our content because we are not affiliates of any product.

These are the holier-than-though people who say they are better, their content is better, heck, life is better because they don’t use affiliate links.

Get Off Your High Horse

The other day,  I was on a site where the blogger had written a post about their free newsletter. What caught my eye was this:

No affiliates ….  just good stuff.

I removed some of the line because I didn’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers. But really? Can we not have good stuff and affiliates? I have not had one person ever say to me, “Hey Bob, your stuff is crap because you have affiliate links in it.

So the people I referenced above make money to do their newsletter through sponsorships. And that is their choice.

Be Nice and Think About It

You may think that this is a good sales pitch for you. That people will go, Oooh, they don’t use affiliate links. They must be good. But essentially you are sending two overgeneralized messages.

1. People Who Use Affiliates Are Crap

You are telling your readers that all people who have an affiliate link or two in their content are sleazy bottom feeders. It’s an impression that isn’t justified.

2. You Can’t Have Good Content if You Use Affiliates

What about those people who are just diving into affiliates and affiliate marketing?. You are sending them a message that, Don’t use them, they are crap and your content will be viewed as crap. That’s just not fair.

Keep It to Yourself

You are using bit of a scummy tactic yourself by making these pre-judgments. Sure, there are people who abuse affiliate marketing as there are people who misuse any sales strategy. Just take a look around at all the hyped-up, get-rich-quick schemes on the Web. Heck, they are everywhere.

But the majority of people are just trying to make a living. So, if you are reading this and you are on of the ‘judgers,’  give us a break and get off your high horse.

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