Blogging and Referral-Based Marketing
(Just going back over some old posts and reread my original response in comments to the blogger "webchicky" which I highlighted in my "What Went Wrong?" post. I've decided it's worthy of it's own posting, so here it goes...)
Heard of referral-based marketing? No, how about blogging? Same thing. You sign up, then you recruit people to subcribe to your point of view, who hopefully tell other people about it and pretty soon you have a BILLION readers!
The more clever bloggers, of course, incorporate links to services or products that their loyal downlin-- er, I mean, subscriber base can purchase-- these are done via what's called affilliate programs-- a contractual agreement between a referrer and a supplier in which the supplier agrees to pay the referrer a set compensation for purchases from the referrer's subscriber base, who are identified via an ID number or code.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many other respectable businesses employ this method. Other bloggers register with an advertising service, such as BlogAds or Google Adsense, wherein the same principle applies-- the referrer drives the traffic of his/her blog subscriber base to the advertisements of various products and services and is paid a set compensation for the click-through rate, by the 3rd party agency (like BlogAds).
Others still employ their blog to raise awareness to their eBay auctions, in which they rely on the infrastructure of an established 3rd party company to facilitate the selling of products and collect a set percentage. Some bloggers, resorting essentially to begging, implement Amazon or Paypal tipjars. Some even sell t-shirts, hats and coffee mugs created by a 3rd-party companyfor their blog, which earns them a certain percentage.
Some, the very most clever, use their blogs to teach other bloggers how to make money from blogging they way they have, using any or all of the above methods. The more people they recruit to be loyal to their site, the more money they make. Is Darren Rowse of problogger a scam artist or cult leader?
No? Why not? His blog has money-making tips all over it, and his blog generates income. Is he, in a sense, recruiting? Certainly. Does he make money from his recruits? Well that's the point, isn't it? How scandalously unethical-- oh wait... he's called a leader, a trendsetter, an entrepreneur! Why is that?
All of this is considered acceptable and unoffensive in the blogosphere-- indeed, nearly every blogger aspires to more traffic (i.e. a bigger subscriber base) to their blog, and if possible, enough compensation from affiliate programs, ads, tip jars or memorabelia on their blogs to pay for the blog hosting and maybe a little spending cash.
In addition, everyone engages in product or service referral, online and offline. Taking a casual scan of webchicky's blog, I see referrals/endorsements for the following:
-4 ft pre-lit artificial tree at Target
-an health and fitness regime involving a gym and vitamins
-Maximillian's Grill & Wine Bar
-518 West restaurant
-Firefox 1.5
-Relpax
-Carolina Hurricanes
-Trans-Siberian Orchestra
-Do Not Call Registry
-MSNBC news
-several Starbucks products
Just taking the first two for example, had webchicky established an Amazon affiliate program and linked to the 4 ft pre-lit artificial tree at their partner store, Target; or had linked to vitamins she is taking for her fitness regime in Amazon's health and beauty section, would anyone regard that link as her engaging in scam-like or cult-like activity? Does her linking to her online business carolinawebdev.com via therogans.com strike anyone as predatory or shamelessly opportunist?
Of course not. That's just business. If people happen to establish a sense of acquaintence or trust with her via her blog and then just happen to find a need for a web developer and enlist her company to fill that need, that's just how business is done. Whether good bloggers or good business persons (Quixtar-supplied or otherwise), they are essentially leveraging the relationships they're building (in the process of providing products or services) in order to influence the behavior of the other person for their own benefit. As long as there's also a legitimate benefit for the other party, this is not unethical.
Hmm. Interesting.
So, the only difference I see here is:
1) webchicky, like most people, engages in product/service referral for other companies but fails to take advantage of existing affiliate programs which would compensate her for activities she is engaging in anyway-- she essentially markets for other companies for free. That is her perogative. Others are a bit more enterprising. That is their perogative.
2) Unlike Amazon's affliliate program, whose compensation plan is only 1-tiered (payment is only made for direct referrals, not referrals of referrals) and often only 1-time (referred customers who return to Amazon for later purchases aren't necessarily credited to the original referrer), Quixtar's affiliate program is infinitely tiered and recurring.
3) Unlike Amazon's affiliate program which accepts virtually any referral link, Quixtar's affiliate program requires personal relationships to precede business transactions, requiring individuals to develop *gasp!* relationship skills and, like, personalities and stuff.
4) Not all persons find such personal development a desirable prerequisite for making money-- although anyone making any sustainable income from any venture online or offline are already engaged in similar personal development activities whether they realize it or not.
5) Not all business owners contracting with Quixtar's affiliate program have quite perfected the necessary skills to engender professionalism and trust in their prospective clients or partners-- apparently the grocery store couple is still in the development phase. I'm sure carolinawebdev.com's very first web project was as exemplary in technological prowess, aesthetic design, navigational efficiency and infrastructurally stability as their most recent project-- wait... no? Hmm. How disgraceful. People shouldn't be allowed to start a business until they have perfected themselves, right? No again? Hmm.
So why all the "cult" and "scam" language?
6) When a person opens a more traditional business, whether online or offline, they have something visible to hide behind-- a store front, a website, a product, a service-- while they gradually develop any skills, personality and self-esteem they may be lacking which are necessary to sustain the business for the long-term. When a person opens an affiliation with Quixtar, whose compensation plan favors those who establish multiple tiers of referrals, that aspect of their business is essentially invisible-- they initially have nothing to show but themselves, nothing to hide behind.
That frankly scares the begeebers out of most people, and in encounters like the amusing scenario webchicky described, this fear is a factor in the behavior of both sides involved. Behavior that is subsequently exhibited in ways that run counter to common business sense until the involved persons get their game together. Does that make this couple scammers or cultists?
No. It makes them a peculiar creature called "human."
Technorati Tags: Home Based Business, Internet Marketing, Internet Business, Quixtar, WWDB, Affiliate Marketing, Problogger, AdSense, BlogAds, Amazon, Private Franchise
Heard of referral-based marketing? No, how about blogging? Same thing. You sign up, then you recruit people to subcribe to your point of view, who hopefully tell other people about it and pretty soon you have a BILLION readers!
The more clever bloggers, of course, incorporate links to services or products that their loyal downlin-- er, I mean, subscriber base can purchase-- these are done via what's called affilliate programs-- a contractual agreement between a referrer and a supplier in which the supplier agrees to pay the referrer a set compensation for purchases from the referrer's subscriber base, who are identified via an ID number or code.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many other respectable businesses employ this method. Other bloggers register with an advertising service, such as BlogAds or Google Adsense, wherein the same principle applies-- the referrer drives the traffic of his/her blog subscriber base to the advertisements of various products and services and is paid a set compensation for the click-through rate, by the 3rd party agency (like BlogAds).
Others still employ their blog to raise awareness to their eBay auctions, in which they rely on the infrastructure of an established 3rd party company to facilitate the selling of products and collect a set percentage. Some bloggers, resorting essentially to begging, implement Amazon or Paypal tipjars. Some even sell t-shirts, hats and coffee mugs created by a 3rd-party companyfor their blog, which earns them a certain percentage.
Some, the very most clever, use their blogs to teach other bloggers how to make money from blogging they way they have, using any or all of the above methods. The more people they recruit to be loyal to their site, the more money they make. Is Darren Rowse of problogger a scam artist or cult leader?
No? Why not? His blog has money-making tips all over it, and his blog generates income. Is he, in a sense, recruiting? Certainly. Does he make money from his recruits? Well that's the point, isn't it? How scandalously unethical-- oh wait... he's called a leader, a trendsetter, an entrepreneur! Why is that?
All of this is considered acceptable and unoffensive in the blogosphere-- indeed, nearly every blogger aspires to more traffic (i.e. a bigger subscriber base) to their blog, and if possible, enough compensation from affiliate programs, ads, tip jars or memorabelia on their blogs to pay for the blog hosting and maybe a little spending cash.
In addition, everyone engages in product or service referral, online and offline. Taking a casual scan of webchicky's blog, I see referrals/endorsements for the following:
-4 ft pre-lit artificial tree at Target
-an health and fitness regime involving a gym and vitamins
-Maximillian's Grill & Wine Bar
-518 West restaurant
-Firefox 1.5
-Relpax
-Carolina Hurricanes
-Trans-Siberian Orchestra
-Do Not Call Registry
-MSNBC news
-several Starbucks products
Just taking the first two for example, had webchicky established an Amazon affiliate program and linked to the 4 ft pre-lit artificial tree at their partner store, Target; or had linked to vitamins she is taking for her fitness regime in Amazon's health and beauty section, would anyone regard that link as her engaging in scam-like or cult-like activity? Does her linking to her online business carolinawebdev.com via therogans.com strike anyone as predatory or shamelessly opportunist?
Of course not. That's just business. If people happen to establish a sense of acquaintence or trust with her via her blog and then just happen to find a need for a web developer and enlist her company to fill that need, that's just how business is done. Whether good bloggers or good business persons (Quixtar-supplied or otherwise), they are essentially leveraging the relationships they're building (in the process of providing products or services) in order to influence the behavior of the other person for their own benefit. As long as there's also a legitimate benefit for the other party, this is not unethical.
Hmm. Interesting.
So, the only difference I see here is:
1) webchicky, like most people, engages in product/service referral for other companies but fails to take advantage of existing affiliate programs which would compensate her for activities she is engaging in anyway-- she essentially markets for other companies for free. That is her perogative. Others are a bit more enterprising. That is their perogative.
2) Unlike Amazon's affliliate program, whose compensation plan is only 1-tiered (payment is only made for direct referrals, not referrals of referrals) and often only 1-time (referred customers who return to Amazon for later purchases aren't necessarily credited to the original referrer), Quixtar's affiliate program is infinitely tiered and recurring.
3) Unlike Amazon's affiliate program which accepts virtually any referral link, Quixtar's affiliate program requires personal relationships to precede business transactions, requiring individuals to develop *gasp!* relationship skills and, like, personalities and stuff.
4) Not all persons find such personal development a desirable prerequisite for making money-- although anyone making any sustainable income from any venture online or offline are already engaged in similar personal development activities whether they realize it or not.
5) Not all business owners contracting with Quixtar's affiliate program have quite perfected the necessary skills to engender professionalism and trust in their prospective clients or partners-- apparently the grocery store couple is still in the development phase. I'm sure carolinawebdev.com's very first web project was as exemplary in technological prowess, aesthetic design, navigational efficiency and infrastructurally stability as their most recent project-- wait... no? Hmm. How disgraceful. People shouldn't be allowed to start a business until they have perfected themselves, right? No again? Hmm.
So why all the "cult" and "scam" language?
6) When a person opens a more traditional business, whether online or offline, they have something visible to hide behind-- a store front, a website, a product, a service-- while they gradually develop any skills, personality and self-esteem they may be lacking which are necessary to sustain the business for the long-term. When a person opens an affiliation with Quixtar, whose compensation plan favors those who establish multiple tiers of referrals, that aspect of their business is essentially invisible-- they initially have nothing to show but themselves, nothing to hide behind.
That frankly scares the begeebers out of most people, and in encounters like the amusing scenario webchicky described, this fear is a factor in the behavior of both sides involved. Behavior that is subsequently exhibited in ways that run counter to common business sense until the involved persons get their game together. Does that make this couple scammers or cultists?
No. It makes them a peculiar creature called "human."
Technorati Tags: Home Based Business, Internet Marketing, Internet Business, Quixtar, WWDB, Affiliate Marketing, Problogger, AdSense, BlogAds, Amazon, Private Franchise
posted by anonibo at 17:26
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