An Affiliate’s Quandary
By: Terri Zwierzynski (see my bio)
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My relationship with members of Solo-E relies on trust. As does any solo business with it’s customers. And so I was dismayed last week to find that I had inadvertently done something that could betray that trust.
You see, at Solo-E I only recommend services and products and people I trust. I, or someone on Team Solo-E or occasionally a trusted colleague, reviews every article, ebook, and program. And we attend at least one teleclass from all of our teleclass leaders.
One of our criteria for approving teleclass leaders is that if they offer a “free” teleclass, that they deliver true valuable information during the class. It’s ok to promote their paid offerings briefly (after all, that’s why they offer free teleclasses), but it shouldn’t take up more than, say, 10 minutes max at the end of the class. Unless they’ve made clear that the purpose of the class is mostly promotion, offering some value but equally focused on explaining what will be covered in the paid class. So that when members sign up, they know what to expect. These type of “promotional” free classes are rarer, imho, because they aren’t as effective as the “lots of value” free classes.
And so I was disturbed to find that a free teleclass that I promoted last week (offered by a talented professional whom I’m an affiliate of) ended up being a “promotional” class. And I had promoted it as a “lots of value” class.
Ugh. Pit of the stomach, “will they ever trust me again”, ugh. Worst part: I’d started assuming that everyone who had started on the “lots of value” page, would stay there.
Now I know to be more careful. I’ll be reading the class descriptions more carefully, and asking questions if I’m not sure. Because I want Solo-E to be a trusted resource for solo entrepreneurs. And I know I need to earn it.
My humble apologies.
Related Posts
- 7 Simple Steps to Organizing & Hosting a Successful Teleclass
- Create an Affiliate Program That Is Easy For Your Affiliates
| Terri Zwierzynski, MBA (UNC-Chapel Hill) became a corporate refugee in 2001, after 15 years of employment with technology companies big and small. A non-conformist at heart, Terri Z is now The Solo-CEO: a self-employed internet marketing consultant to solo entrepreneurs and a grassroots promoter of the "solo entrepreneur lifestyle". She runs www.Solo-E.com, the resource website for solo entrepreneurs which attracts thousands of visitors monthly from over 100 countries on six continents. |
April 30th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Affiliate Marketing is a tough issue…Some say, “hey, it’s an easy way to make bucks just by promoting others!” Nope. Not for me-I wanna sleep at night! Thanks, Terri, for maintaining integrity.
I, too, only promote who/what I believe in & have personally used! I want to send out positive “vibes” & treat everyone fairly!
Here’s a site I’ve used & found great! http://www.lawofattractionthinking.com
In Abundance!