Affiliate Marketing - The Future is Honest...

For years, the words 'Honest and Transparent' have been rarely associated with affiliate marketing, or any marketing for that matter. More time has been spent figuring out the greatest angle to hook the consumer than anything else, and we have all fallen victim to the pressures of social media in the not so distant past.

For as long as I can remember, marketing has been about taking a product or service and promoting the best possible version of it that maybe only 5% of people with ever experience. Then adding a little sprinkle of fake to just give it that edge. The most obvious and traditional examples of this include attractive celebs (that are perfectly good as they are) and the editors trusty air brush.

So as marketers, why do we allow these promotions to pass through our gates? The answer is very simple... We all have targets to hit and the 'sustainable growth' mindset just hasn't ever been popular enough to gain traction. Until now!

Becoming More Honest - How?

When a big client, that as a business you rely on is making demands that are simply unrealistic or worse still, unethical, I completely understand the dilemma it's puts you in. We have been there many times over the years and made decisions that in 2019, we simply wouldn't make. It's a learning curve and we are all human just trying to make ends meet.

Education is key when it comes to building sustainable relationships with clients and affiliates. As a network, we see every day what works and what doesn't, placing us in a great position to offer guidance. We have stopped thinking about ￡￡￡￡ as the priority over all else and focused on creating partnerships that will ultimately reward us far beyond any quick win.

I get the fear, but we have proved over the past year that despite the initial resentment and pushback, brands respect us more in the end. Let's look at the facts, why would we turn down or try and change something that was going to make us loads of money? We would have to be completely mad right? Well actually, we are not mad at all. Let's take things a step further...

Would I like to make lots of money for a month or two, or after some challenging conversations, a year or two?

Becoming More Honest - Why?

The biggest reason businesses are seeing spikes and declines in revenue is because of a lack of honesty. A spike happens when we over promise, under deliver and shy away from the very necessary conversation that something needs to improve.

In 2019, brand building has become more important than ever before. People are continuing to build their personal brand which in turn, is supporting everything else they are associated with. This increased focus means businesses have nowhere to hide should they decide that quick wins and dishonest practice is still a worthwhile route to success.

The more I read, the more I see glimpses of change in the industries outdated mindset. We speak all the time at C7 about new ways to support our clients and we come back to the same thing every time... Just be honest and offer genuine value, whether people are receptive to it at first or not.

Tradedoubler recently announced they were looking into Blockchain technology to bring transparency to affiliate marketing relationships. This is a huge move for one of the country's largest and most successful affiliate networks, showing a genuine value in transparent relationships.

Moving Forward - What Now?

You may be reading this post, thinking

'but I need to make money, we don't have the luxury of turning business away'.

I get it, I really do. I am not for a second saying that you don't work with people that do things differently to you. Every business needs to make money and nothing changes over night. My advice is to simply start the process of believing you can influence others to think broader. You will get a lot of pushback, rejection and possibly even some lost revenue, but in the end, you will win.

The affiliate industry is shifting. It may take a while and we will never convince everyone that this is the best course of action. Regardless of that, I know which side I want to be standing on when the shift gains momentum...