Affiliate Program Scams To Watch Out For
by: Chet Brzezinski
Affiliate programs are a great way to earn extra money or even a good living if you do things right. But unfortunately, there are alot of people out there that know this and will do everything they can to swindle you into selling their products while not having to pay you a dime. There are some merchants that view affiliates as a source of free traffic and free marketing.
Here are a few things that should draw up a red flag when you come accross an affiliate program:
No Contact Information
If they don't post their contact information on their site then you should not bother with them. To me this tells me they are trying to hide something.
Commission To High
Yes, it is great when we find affiliate programs that pay high commissions. But you also have to be careful that they are not just trying to draw you into their affiliate program by using big numbers. It wouldn't be good to earn alot of money just to get scammed. If it is to good to be true then most likely it is. A merchant will never pay more on a commission then they would get for the sale. It is just not business smart.
No Replies To Your Emails
If they do have their email address on their site and you send them an email but they never reply then you should drop them like a hot rock. If you can't trust them to take one minute to give you a reply then you shouldn't trust them to spend a few more minutes cutting and mailing you a check.
Returned Affiliate Payment Checks
If they do send you a check and your bank returns it then this would be another reason to draw up the red flag of being scammed. Of course you should always contact the merchant to try to resolve the issue, it could be an honest mistake. But if it happens in conjuction with no email replies and lousy affiliate support then I wouldn't waste anymore of my time with them.
The bottom line is that you should always use your gut feeling when dealing with affiliate programs. If you are not sure about an affiliate program then search the search engines for the merchants name. If they are known for scamming affiliates you are sure to find it in the search engines and affiliate forums.
About the Author
Chet Brzezinski has been in the affiliate marketing and affiliate management industry since 1997. View more affiliate program related articles at any of Chet's sites below:
affiliate-program-review
proudmedia
|
|
You hear a lot about SCAMS in internet businesses. These are stats put
out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
HOW MUCH DO VICTIMS LOSE?
Out of all online fraud reported to the F.B.I.
3% lost over ten thousand dollars;
5% lost $5-10k,
26% lost $1-5k,
43% lost between $100 and $1000,
and 24% lost less than $100 for a 183 million dollars in 2005 - nearly twice the amount for 2004.
WHICH COMMON SCAMS DO THEY FALL VICTIM TO?
Type of Fraud Average Loss % change from 2004
Nigerian Letter $5,000 +67%
Check $3,800 +6%
Confidence $2,025 +103%
Investment $2,000 +220%
NonDelivery $410 +55%
(merchandise & payment)
Auction $285 +93%
Credit/Debit Card $240 none
Look at that -- "Investment" has basically tripled!
Okay - so, now I bet you probably have your guess for which country is #1, right???
PERCENT OF NET FRAUD INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI
(by country of origin)
10. Russia - 1.8%
9. Romania - 1.8%
8. Greece - 1.9%
7. South Africa - 2.0%
6. China - 2.0%
5. Italy - 2.8%
4. Canada - 3.6%
3. United Kingdom - 4.9%
2. Nigeria - 9.3%
and the LOSER is ...of course this is where the FBI's jurisdiction lies.
1. United States - 71%
That's more than ALL OTHER COUNTRIES COMBINED.
The scammers are getting trickier, too. For instance, victims of auction fraud lost twice as much per crime than just the year before. So, for the one hundred millionth time: if the deal sounds too good to be true ...
So, this business, Affiliate Programs, that I am trying to educate the newbies with, is not even on the list. I am affiliated with the advertisers on this site except the Google ads that rotate. I thought I was scammed several times by false advertising, but, if it works for some but not by me then the common denominator is ME!...
The most common SCAMS in affiliate programs are "bait and switch." You are offered something for FREE and when you sign up they keep giving you one last chance to upgrade, to pay for the free program.
Non-payment, is when the merchant refuses to recognize the affiliates click-through and withholds payment.
I get scammed more by people seeking Affiliate opportunities that arrive on this or one of my affiliate sites and change my clickbank or affiliate ID to their's so I don't get credit.
I can't understand the underhandedness that requires, but if that's their SCAM, then I hope they get theirs from others doing back to them tenfold.
The only way affiliate programs will ever work is by honesty from all parties. If you see an ad here that interests you then by all means click and check it out. They are my bread and butter and I appreciate everyone that is honest enough to do it the right way. Someone is going to make a profit. If you bypass me and go directly to the seller, then you have given him FREE advertising. I paid for it and if you should happen to affiliate with that merchant you would expect everyone to honor your commitment to the affiliation.
Don't get taken in with ads that say I've been scammed x number of times and ... What? He's not marketing a product? Check it out carefully. Always start off with one affiliation first and see what other programs they have to offer. I was sucked into buying two at once and ended up getting one FREE, except I already paid for it. Could I get re-embursed? Not a chance!
But the worst part is when the affiliate lies about the product in his advertising pitch in order to get a sale. He ceases to be a good advertising medium when he stops promoting the publisher, merchant or seller of the product in order to make his sale.
A good affiliate should aggressively advertise his affiliates product, but not to the detriment of the merchants reputation.
Like any advertising, it is a dog-eat-dog arena and you should choose a product by the advertising done on the merchant's site over any advertising on the affiliates site.
Who do you believe? I think a program is pretty sad when you have to choose your sponsors over the product. It is up to us to clean it up and make this business reputable again.
If and when you get into an affiliate program, remember that you are going to be an advertiser. Are you going to be honest or are you going to push for sales?
Again I reiterate that you will most likely get SCAMMED by an affiliate than by a merchant. That's why there are people making money developing and marketing programs that hide your affiliate ID. Where is the honesty in a gentleman's forum.
The most annoying thing is the forced opt-in's. They ask for your email before you get to buy or affiliate. It is borderline SPAM. To them it's called list building. That's a whole program in itself. You take and keep, never give or sell it, but use it. Why? Because studies show that most people need to visit your site more than once. These studies show an average of five (5) visits.
You send, mostly with the recruitment of an Auto-Responder, email giving them the sales pitch with the urgency required to join at the ground level. The extra bonuses thrown in makes it even more lucrative. If you have a web site and want to offset the costs, then I believe you will find that affiliate programs are the ideal way.
If you are in it for your main source of income, that is also possible if you find the right affiliate and you advertise successfully. Affiliate programs work well for the part-timer also. You never know, you may hit it lucky by affiliating with the right merchant. It's called affiliate marketing because you have to market, advertise your affiliates product. You only make money when he does!
If you're not going to be financially independent by next pay day, then what makes you think that you will be any better off by the following pay day?
-----------------------------------------------------
Introduction
by E.D. Klyne
|
