Affiliate Marketing Done The Unethical Way
I read an article called “Make $50 A Day With This Affiliate Marketing Strategy” today by an Anthony Lam on Medium, and it’s a great example of how some people either do not know or do not care about ethics. (If the above link doesn’t work, try this archived copy instead.)
The essence of his “$50 a day” method is as follows – and note that I do NOT recommend trying this, for reasons that I shall explain below:
So, why do I not recommend doing this?
Well, firstly, it’s deceptive and unethical because you’re advertising something that you do not have in order to get somebody to click your affiliate link.
The knock-on effect of this is that the marketplaces you use (or abuse) may end up changing their rules so that it is much more difficult for legitimate sellers to sell their items (which they actually possess) there. I’ve seen this happen on Amazon with their FBA program, which has changed considerably since 2013 when I first started selling on there. (That was in part, I think, the result of an expensive training program originally called ASM, which was created by two marketers whom I do not trust, based on how they conducted themselves.)
Secondly, you may find that you are breaking your Amazon Associates Program Terms & Conditions. They have become much stricter about how and where you can promote their products, and if they catch you, you might find they simply close your affiliate account. To me, that’s just not worth the risk.
The author of this dodgy strategy even says you might get temporarily banned (by the marketplaces – not the affiliate programs) for spamming affiliate links.
And his solution to that?
Just create additional accounts and use those – presumably until they get banned too.
His only problem with doing that is that it becomes tedious, not that it’s a spammy way to conduct business. In truth, this is not a business but just another person trying to game the system for quick and easy money – he’s not interested in building an actual business at all.
Finally, he tries to ease his conscience by claiming it’s a win-win for everybody – but that’s not the case.
The entire scam is built on a lie – that you have something for sale (which you do not in fact have).
If, or maybe when, people discover that this is what you are doing, then it creates a lack of trust not only in you, but, more importantly, in the marketplaces you are using.
And there is a good chance the marketplace will find out what you’re up to, not only because you keep promoting affiliate links in your responses to enquiries or sales, but also because if you keep pulling this same stunt (i.e. claiming you just sold it so you can promote an affiliate link) time after time, they may get suspicious and shut you down.
Having been in the online marketing game for 15 years or more, I find it ironic that so many people prefer not to put in the work to create an actual business but, instead, keep looking for easy, lazy ways to make money.
It’s true that these schemes can work – in the short term. But since they don’t work for long, that means you are always having to look for the latest “hack” to keep the income rolling in, all while wondering whether you’re going to get banned and maybe lose whatever money you might have made.
Why not put the work in to create and grow a real business? One where you are selling real products or services, where you can create a loyal customer base who will keep coming back to you because they trust you to deliver what you promise.
