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Cheating Product Owners
easyrider
Posts: 248
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07 Apr 12 10:37 am

Cheating Product Owners

I have just discovered that the product which I have made the most sales of on my website ("Men Made Easy" by Kara Oh) now has a siphon on its order page.

The sales page offers prospects a set of three free ebooks along the right hand side of the page, by entering their email in an optin box. And if they optin and then order the product through the links in the ebooks or in the email series that follows, no affiliate commission is paid.

What is worse, the order button at the bottom of the page has an arrow pointing to the optin box, which will fool some buyers into thinking that they need to enter their email to order the book. When I arrived on this new sales page for the first time I was very confused about what I was expected to do if I wanted to order.

Check it out here: http://www.menmadeeasy.com/ (BTW, this does not have my affiliate link attached)


Christian Carter's website http://www.catchhimandkeephim.com/ is even worse. They shove the optin form right in your face and unless the person buys then and there (which is far less likely when you get offered something for free), you don't get an affiliate commission with a purchase. They don't pay out on the newsletter sequence as they consider this as part of the back end. I have never received been credited with any sale by them.

This strongly reinforces the direction I seem to be going in - moving away from affiliate marketing to creating and selling my own products. Product owners just seem to think that they can use and abuse their affiliates to make more money for themselves. But when you are the product owner, you don't have to worry about this.
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Greg
 
PremiumMember
jimcoe
Posts: 259
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07 Apr 12 3:52 pm

 Maybe an article or ebook opportunity for your first product? "What vendors need to know about working with affiliates".

No doubt some vendors knowingly take advantage of their affiliates. But I wonder how many vendors (possibly myself) do things which hurt their affiliates without realizing it?

I haven't seen a lot of helpful material on the "politics" of using affiliates - or at least they seem to be mostly on the "Do's" and not the "Don'ts". That is to say, there's good info on making affiliate resources available and so forth, but I don't see that much about how to develop long-term relationships with affiliates, how to encourage them, etc.

Speaking of which, as a vendor I don't have a lot of affiliates for my ebook (and I know some reasons having to do with the tough market and low price). Nevertheless, I'm surprised that none of them have ever contacted me directly for help, to give me advice or for anything else. I see their hoplinks in my metrics and such, but never hear a word from them.

I wonder why that is? It seems obvious to me that if you're going to promote someone's product it makes sense to talk with them about it.
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PremiumMember
cterao
Posts: 647
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07 Apr 12 5:08 pm

 Wow! That's pretty lousy. That's one reason why I go with Mark Ling's products, when in doubt.

He's an honest guy and made a full-time living from just affiliate marketing alone for 4 years (if memory serves me correctly) before making his first product. He's been in the trenches as an affiliate and he knows how to treat them fairly.

Have you tried Meet Your Sweet's Get a Guy Guide?
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Clayton
I did AffiloBlueprint for one year - http://www.journeyofmyown.com/welcome-affilorama-friends/

Make $100 commissions by being my affiliate - http://exsolutionprogram.com/affiliates/
 
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jmpruitt
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07 Apr 12 5:14 pm

 it really depends on how they set up the newsletter sequence. I know Mark has some of his set up ( I have no idea how they do it...) to where if an affiliate refers someone to their email list, every email that goes out is branded with that affiliates link, so the affiliate still gets the commission even if they buy months or even years later. I know several other vendors (Dugi's guides in the WoW niche does it...) that do this as well.

I have been out of the Wow Niche for over 2 years, and I still get an occasional sale from some of the free stuff that I sent people to when I was in the niche.

Also, the products doing what you are talking about are actually in the minority. If they are ripping you off, drop them and find another product to replace them.

Creating your own products and then building a list of proven buyers is a great way to build your brand anyway. (thats what most of the Super Affiliates do...)
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Do you want to use your online content to Educate others, inspire them to action, and run a profitable business for yourself and your family? I can help you get started
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easyrider
Posts: 248
Joined: 25 Jul 10
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09 Apr 12 3:47 am

 The trouble is that there are very few good products out there in the "attract men" market. As I said, the product I mentioned above is my best-selling affiliate product - which is really disappointing. And the best selling Clickbank product in this market is utter crap (The Woman Men Adore) - I can't in good conscience market this.

Therefore I guess I'm going to have to create my own products. I have one already that is doing okay on Amazon and starting to sell through my own website at the much higher price point.
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Greg
 
cecille.l
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09 Apr 12 7:36 am

 Hi Greg,

I visited the website you referred to and yes, visitors are misled into typing those email addresses. Have you contacted the vendors in question? I think that's the best way to go about it. If you don't hear from them, then best to drop them and move on.

It's a good thing you have your own product. Maybe it's time to consider focusing on building your own brand?

Have a good day!
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Cecille

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easyrider
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13 Apr 12 12:55 pm

 Just as an update, I sent an email to Kara Oh and she was very gracious. Here is her reply:

I Greg,

I'm so glad you wrote. I was under the impression that any time within the cookie period that a marketer's visitor purchased, I believe it's either 3 or 6 months, you would get credit. I will remove the opt-in box because I definitely don't want to disturb the wonderful relationship I have with my marketers. I was following a very successful marketer's new sales page, now that the trend is to go from the long sales letters, to the type of video I just spent three weeks creating.


I'll go fix that right now.
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Greg
 
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cterao
Posts: 647
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13 Apr 12 6:03 pm

 Looks like it was just a misunderstanding on her part and not an attempt to cheat her affiliates.

(though I am very grateful she doesn't use those hand puppet videos on her sales page anymore, if you remember those...)
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Clayton
I did AffiloBlueprint for one year - http://www.journeyofmyown.com/welcome-affilorama-friends/

Make $100 commissions by being my affiliate - http://exsolutionprogram.com/affiliates/
 
easyrider
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14 Apr 12 12:08 am

 No, I don't remember those videos.
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Greg
 
cecille.l
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16 Apr 12 10:26 am

 Hi Greg,

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear that the product owner/merchant is willing to work things out with her marketers.

Have a good day!
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Cecille

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cterao
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16 Apr 12 3:46 pm

 This used to be on the sales page. I'm glad it isn't anymore...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwJI6wNYDqU
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Clayton
I did AffiloBlueprint for one year - http://www.journeyofmyown.com/welcome-affilorama-friends/

Make $100 commissions by being my affiliate - http://exsolutionprogram.com/affiliates/
 
cecille.l
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Joined: 25 Feb 11
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17 Apr 12 7:02 am

 Thanks for sharing the video Clayton! I see what you mean, but I have to say that those puppets help illustrate the various types of men. Karen Oh certainly knows her stuff. :)

Have a good day!
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Cecille

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