Ethical Dilemma in my head...

[bornstein75]

Hi Guys,

I just want to find out if anyone has ever promoted an affiliate product that they discovered wasn't the best product in the world and was a bit misleading.

I have set up a site and I have been heavily promoting a digital affiliate product. Then i decided to purchase the product for myself and do a screen video review of the product.

I discovered that the product wasn't the best, but I still went ahead with the review and made it sound like it was worth the investment...I pointed out the negatives which i learnt from Lynns article on how to write a review, but still I made the product sound good.

I'm kind of in an ethical dilemma in my mind, because I think what i have said is a bit misleading, but then again it seems like the only affiliate product of it's type in the niche I'm in, and so many other sites are also promoting it and saying it's good.

If there were better products out there to promote, I would probably change the product, but there doesn't seem to be anyhting as good or that pays as much commission.

There is a 100% money guranatee on the product, so I don't feel so guilty, but I kind of do.

Also I have referred to this product in most of my posts, so if I changed the product I was promoting, it would be a huge task to go through all my posts and change them all.

I guess my lesson is to review a product before I promote it throughtout my site...but then again, like I said it's one of the only ones out there of it's kind.

I'm not sure what to do.....has anyone had a similar experience?

Cheers.

[encsteph]

Would it be possible for you to create your own product in the same niche? Thereby alleviating all of your ethical concerns and potentially making your more profit since you get it to keep it all.

[yuri21]

Interesting. I'm an affiliate newbie here so just a thought: wouldn't you land into a lot of trouble should any disgruntled consumers band together and start targetting everyone who's promoting said product? In which case, wouldn't your reputation be tarnished, should word go out? In my honest opinions, most ethical dilemmas are created simply because someone let them come into existence. You can either step out of the market before you get into really bad trouble or maybe JV with someone(they create the product, you do all the marketing)?

I'm wondering what the rest will recommend/advise: put up disclaimers, abandon the market, or something else? Hmmm... :)

[bornstein75]

No, not really....as i don't know much about this niche....

Thanks for the suggestion.

[wade_watson]

Hmmm.... something smells like ClickBank around here. They have many great products, but sometimes it seems like those are the minority.

Is it truly a bad product or is it just your perspective? Can you check the refund rate or "Earned Per Sale" figure to see if it's getting a lot of returns. It could be that it's great for many of the market's demographic, but just doesn't compare well with products you've seen outside the niche. It might be the best of it's kind available (and still not look so hot).

If you're hoping to build any sort of reputation, it's probably not wise to endorse a product that looks bad to you, even if it sells. In the long run, trust will be worth more than the price of a product or two. And in order for you to be a trustworthy person, you've got to be able to speak honestly-- and be honest to yourself.

Wade

[bornstein75]

You've got it in one Wade...it's a Clickbank product.

Looks it's not terrible...The sales page is a bit misleading to what the actual product really is, and also most of the product is gathered documents from all around the web...it's not a product that has been created soley by the seller...so it looks a bit cheap once you are in having a look.

Also if I were to have bought the product becuase I was really wanting information in that niche, I would have been a little dissappointed myself, but still there are good things in the product as well that are of value, just not all of it.

To be honest, I'm not really passionate about the niche, but I still have set up this site to be informative and of value to the niche, which I believe I have achieved. I'm not too worried about building a reputation, as this is a site with a pen name and isn't my main core business.

I got this dilemma in my mind when i found another review on this product, and it was very negative...which made me realise that i sort of felt the same way, even though I went ahead and promoted it.

I wish i wasn't such an honest person...ha,ha...

Anyway, are there better affiliate sites out there to find better products than Clickbank?

Should I change my whole site and get rid of this product?

It's interesting that you said Wade, ' It could be that it's great for many of the market's demographic' - perhaps it is and I should just stick with it?

[constance]

I think you have to listen to the little voice in your head and figure out what to do so you can live with yourself. No one is going to say pull down your site. You have to look deep inside and decide that.

I really think affiliate marketing has the potential to be a slippery slope and there are many ethical decisions you have to make along the way. I'm fairly new at it too and many things about it make me feel uncomfortable. I'm seeking an honest path in this business and it's not always easy. Best of luck to you.

[bornstein75]

I've decicded to keep it up and continue with wat I am doing....my wife says i think and worry too much about things...ha,ha....I think she's right...:-)

[jkgourmet]

Y

I wish i wasn't such an honest person...ha,ha...




And I wish that there were more people who at least considered their personal honesty and integrity the way you do. If there were, IM would be a far better industry. Hell, it would be a far better country.

That said, and since you've asked for opinions, mine would be this: Only you can decide what feels like the right thing to do. Look at it as you would if you were the consumer. If you purchased this through your site, what would you say about the seller? Whatever the answer to that question is will tell you what to do.

Whatever your decision, I personally respect and commend you for thinking about it.

[David Jackson]

I discovered that the product wasn't the best, but I still went ahead with the review and made it sound like it was worth the investment. I'm kind of in an ethical dilemma in my mind, because I think what i have said is a bit misleading.

The solution is simple:

DON"t EVER PROMOTE ANYTHING YOU DON'T BELIEVE In 100%.

David Jackson

[drmani]

Questions:

Do you know of a better/cheaper product, yet pitch the costlier one?

Do you believe the product in question will be harmful to your audience?

Are you mis-representing the value or impact of the product?

These are important questions to answer before you make a choice to keep
promoting it.

encsteph has a GREAT question affiliate marketers can ask themselves
when sufficient expertise is gained in a niche, and you're looking to
create your own product or service...



Would it be possible for you to create your own product in the same niche?
Thereby alleviating all of your ethical concerns and potentially making
you more profit since you get it to keep it all.

constance said:



I'm seeking an honest path in this business and it's not always easy.

That's so true. But stick to it, and you'll be around for a long time
with your reputation intact. In the 13 years since I've been working
online, I've seen barely 2% to 3% of those who started with me still
around with their good name and authority untarnished.

It is often tough to say 'No' to $700+ commissions. But on the few
occasions where I have promoted a product without knowing the background,
carried away by the commissions alone, I have ALWAYS regretted it - and
felt like a cheat who misguided people who trusted my judgement.

Jay Abraham, my business mentor and guide, has a principle called "The
Strategy of Pre-Eminence", which distills down to putting your client
first, and being seen by your audience as the only viable solution to
any problem.

You can't do that while driven purely by profit at the cost of all else.

This note I shared with my email subscribers sometime in 2006 is still
relevant as a kind of touchstone for affiliate marketers who care about
ethics and values:

http://www.ezinemarketingcenter.com/why-email.htm

All success
Dr.Mani

P.S. - In case this comes off as sounding "holier than thou", I'll confess
that in the earlier days, I too have spammed, promoted shady stuff, and
gone after the juicy commissions - but the lesson I learned is that while
such behavior IS profitable in the short-term, it is seriously damaging
to your long term reputation.

So, if you intend sticking around this game for long, it pays to be fair
and focus on delivering value first.

My 2 cents ;)

[yuri21]

drmani: your post was very informative. :) I think that about convinces me why I feel that I'm on the right path as an affiliate newbie... haha. :) Because people remember all the things about you, no? And in this era of "social media", nothing stops some angry customers from spreading the word. Plus, the world is small and the person you pissed off could be an important person at your local bank.

[msliz]

You could always try to find another like affiliate product that is better, purchase it and do a comparison. You could point out the shortcomings in the original product you are promoting and let your visitors know which one you found to be better and why.

[Clay Franklin]

I beleive that you should restate your review of the product to be your true opinion.
I would go so far to say, this is available, it is not the best, it does not quite live up to the promises in the sales letter, yet it does provide xxxxx. If you need xxxx then this may be ok for you. give it a star rating ***** and give it how many stars you would really give it 2 or 3 of 5?
State that you want the reader to sign up for your email list so that as soon as you find a better product or a better value product you will let them know about it.

I would also rewrite your reviews to be true to your heart.
It is not your wife's reputation on the line and I have found it is better to do my own thing and share my successes than to ask my wife or sister or anyone besides someone I trust like Lynn or a few others in the business their opinion about it because what we do is not what our wives or inlaws think about 7x24 like we do. Also I have found that everyone has their own ethics and integrity standards and if you live by someone else's ethics or integrity that have lower standards than yourself, you just do not feel like a good person anymore. For my success, I am finding that if I share my ideas less, ask less questions, get less opionions, (except from Lynn and the people here) the better I feel and more progress I make.

[Lynn Terry]

Isn't there enough junk & misleading hype on the web already? :)

You hinted that there were other products you could recommend, that had lower commission rates. Lower commission with a lower refund rate still equals higher profit in most cases.

Look a little bit harder, see what else you can find. Your negative review of this product, along with your positive recommendation of a better product, could result in a very nice conversion rate.

Always serve the market. Not yourself.

Golden rule for Internet Marketing.

in my book at least!

[bornstein75]

Thanks for all the tips and advice guys...much appreciated!

I have actually found a better product that I bought and looked at, and I as a buyer would be much happier with them. It's cheaper and the commission is lower, but it is a product i would happy promoting.

Let's say you have referenced a product in your posts on Wordpress, and now you want to change that reference...is there a plugin or something that will allow you to go through every post automatically and change text and the links etc....

Otherwise I will have to do it manually....ouch...:-)

[bornstein75]

[QUOTE=Clay Franklin;24928]I beleive that you should restate your review of the product to be your true opinion.
I would go so far to say, this is available, it is not the best, it does not quite live up to the promises in the sales letter, yet it does provide xxxxx. If you need xxxx then this may be ok for you. give it a star rating ***** and give it how many stars you would really give it 2 or 3 of 5?
State that you want the reader to sign up for your email list so that as soon as you find a better product or a better value product you will let them know about it.
QUOTE]

Hi clay..thanks for this great advice...this is what i am going to do!!

[AffiliateMax]

Hmmm.... something smells like ClickBank around here. They have many great products, but sometimes it seems like those are the minority.

So true - hence the alternative name of crapbank used by some people. :)


-

[constance]

In answer to your question about a plugin for making search and replace edits, I don't know of one like that. Let us know if you find one. I do know about the 301 redirect plugin, in case you just want to add new pages and redirect people from the old reviews to the new ones. Sorry I can't help more than that.

[yuri21]

Btw, now looking at Clickbank... hmmm yep, they really have a lot of crappy products which was why I ignored them. I think one way is to vet the author by searching through Google to see what company they run, how long the company has been in business, etc. and to see if they have been mentioned in other sites and so on.

[wade_watson]

I guess I missed that question about a search and replace plugin. What you want is the free WP plugin called Search and Replace (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/search-and-replace/). I've used it and it's a great timesaver. It really comes in handy if you move a site to a different domain and need to change all the internal links, but it will do any kind of replacements.

Wade

[webmann]

When it comes to promoting products you have to ask yourself if you would want to have this product promoted to you and if it was would you purchase it.

Then there is the fact that if it isn't great you will get refund requests.

Do this too many times and you will find people ignoring your promotions.