What I’m about to share in this post may come as somewhat of a surprize to people, some may agree some disagree, that’s totally fine, my intention is to share my thoughts on being ethical when marketing online and also where I feel I have fallen down in this area sometimes myself.
Online marketing offers many great benefits, a few being the flexibility it provides of when and where you can work, and also the scope of customers you can reach anywhere in the world. Many people also prefer not to have to deal with customers face to face, and this again is an appealing aspect of the web.
However there are many things that are not so great about online marketing, in particular I’m referring to ‘ethics’ and lack thereof from many people.
There are a number of causes for this lack of ethics, and I’ll going into specifics later in the post, however I believe a common one is desperation. When people struggle to make money online, they often resort to doing things that they would otherwise not ever do, and especially never do if they had to deal with the customer face to face. It’s this lack of personal interaction, which somewhat makes it easier for people to be unethical in their ventures, because they never see the impact on real people, they just deal with their keyboard.
In addition to this, another HUGE factor that contributes to unethical behaviour is greed. When people start to get a taste of making money, and I’m guilty of this too, it can be all too easy to keep wanting more and more money, and then to compromise on ethics to get it. There is no excuse for this, it’s just simply not cool.
Common Areas of Unethical Behaviour I See
Although I’m referring to unethical behaviour in the internet marketing world, I see much worse unethical behaviour in the corporate world all the time. The banking section is the worse I’ve ever come across, you can’t tell me that ‘fractional reserve lending’ is ethical and fair, and that’s only the start of it when it comes to the corrupt international banksters. Just look at the Federal Reserve Bank of America, most people falsely assume this bank is a government agency…I’m afraid not. Anyway, the point is that corruption is everywhere, and the common areas I see online marketers become unethical is with affiliate marketing and also selling info products as vendors.
Affiliate Marketing Concerns
The main issue that I’ve battled with over the years of doing affiliate marketing, is how to create a content based site that is not overly bias towards the vendor you’re an affiliate for, to the point where you cross over into deception. A lot of this comes down to the keywords you choose to market the site on. For example, if you target ‘buyer keywords’ such brand names, product names and model numbers, these can be great for conversions. The reason they are great for conversions is that people who type these keywords into Google are at the end of the buying cycle and often just looking for one more site to push them over the line to buy, unless their is something they should know to stop them.
So what’s so wrong with that, I hear you ask….well the issue I have is that most affiliates who rank for these types of keywords always place the product in a positive light, often regardless of whether they actually know if the product is good or not. Most affiliates don’t go to the lengths of actually researching the products that they are writing about, and just whack up some content and hope that it does the job and makes sales.
The fact is this does make sales, although not as well as it used to, however I know it works. The reason I know is because I used to do it myself, which I now think is not cool. If you purchased my Rapid Profit Formula, in the first version I showed an example site that did this, however I no longer think that’s the right way to write reviews, which I will go into more detail now.
I think a better way to build affiliate marketing sites is to either buy the product that you are affiliated with, and do a proper review of it, or at least research it very carefully and do real comparisons against other competition products and tell the truth.
You can always be an affiliate for all the options, this way you can be upfront about the product, and if it’s not a great choice, say so in your review and recommend a product that’s better. However this does not mean you should recommend a product that pays out more commission just to make more money. It’s possible to write good reviews on products, as long as you research. The aim for an affiliate should be to act like a friend to the website visitor and help them. If you’re in a niche where you don’t feel you can do this with the products, then I suggest starting a new niche.
Furthermore, if you choose keywords that are not product related ie. info keywords, you can simply provide valuable content on the topic and then tell people if they want to try a product that helps do XZY then here’s a one ==>Affiliate Link<==, or again just use banners and let them do the work.
I think the ideal position of the affiliate is to be a solid resource for a potential buyer, like a mini Wikipedia on a particular niche topic, so their sites actually help the visitor to make a more informed buying decision. Far too often, and again I have been guilty of this myself, I see affiliates building sites solely targeting buyer keywords because they convert well, and producing dishonestly positive reviews, to coerce the visitor into buying the product. There is no way this is ethical, and the worse culprits are affiliates that pretend they have used the product and it falesy claim it gave them great results, even worse is having a fake photo on the site pretending it is a photo of the website owner. You must have seen the reviews that go something like this:
“I used suffer acne, then I bought XYZ product and now my acne is gone and I feel amazing…you can check it out for yourself here ==>Affiliate link<==”.
I can happily say that I never once did that, as I always thought that was going way to far, but I have been guilty of writing positive reviews about products I didn’t research as well as I should have, but will never do it again.
With all that said, there is a place for well-done affiliate marketing sites, but I strongly believe they have to be seen as great mini resources for people, and have real solid, well researched and written content, and even videos if possible, that come along side the potential buyer and help them work out what product, if any, is right for them. This can be done on the site itself, or later through email marketing, or like I said earlier just have banner ads in your sidebar if like.
Related articles
Amen! Thanks for saying that Matt! We appreciate your honesty and commitment to doing what is right…
Along those lines I have a question that I bet others have as well..
I am having a hard time finding affiliate products that I can feel good about standing behind, and that fit my personality or interests…that are also in the “Good Niches to go after” categories.
I believe that some success can be had with less than hot products, and it seems as if the products I really want to market are on commission junction or just some private affiliate program run directly through the creator’s website.
***** My actual question*****
What suggestions do you have for those of us going after middle of the road niches (hobbies, music, home and garden, etc) that aren’t hot selling like health and and marketing … and are not really mentioned in your recent training course?
For ex: Some custom soap or candy maker website that run’s it’s own affiliate program (not really my area of interest… but seems to have the same kinds of sales figures as the areas I am interested in.)
Thanks,
Mark
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:14 am
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Hi Mark
Well I think you can make money selling anything, but some niches and product will convert less, but if you build up a reputation in a niche and an email list like I have done in the IM niche you will be able to choose good products and sell them alot easier, even if they don’t have great sales pages. The thing is that a ‘Candy Maker’ is hard to build a repour wiht a list around, so it becomes more difficult of course.
Mark Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:35 am
Thanks Matt. You seem to be pointing back to the “It’s all in the list” idea, or what Social Media people call “A following”…
Which, in today’s world seems to be the way to go.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:45 am
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Yes I believe it is, in light of all the Google changes over the past 12 months.
Matt
Matt: I read and appreciate all of your blog posts and wisdom … thank you!
I have an unrelated question for you … is there a good site to download pictures (ideally for free) to use in blog posts? I found freedigitalphotos.net, but you have to pay $3 unless you give the author credit and link back to the site. I’m curious if you can recommend a good source.
Thank you,
Chris
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:46 am
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I don’t know any free ones where you don’t have to give credit, sorry Chris
Matt
Glen Thomson Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 10:06 am
Hi Chris,
I usually just try one of the sites on this list. I haven’t tried all 50 (!!) so can’t vouch for them all but it’s a good resource.
http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/50-sites-to-find-free-stock-images
Thanks,
Glen
p.s. And great post Matt! I think we all have a solid moral compass that sometimes gets sidestepped but if you’d be happy to send your parents to your site for advice then you must be on the right track.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:19 am
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Thanks Glen will check that out
Matt,
Great article. I have recently started a bog on Internet Marketing for newbies called the Naked Truth Marketer and honesty is also my hallmark. Maybe even to the point of driving away customers. Not sure yer, I’m too new.
I was in the midst of writing a post on just this subject when I saw your email for this post and I was wondering if I might post a link to your post on my blog as an example of ethical marketing?
Let me know either way. Thanks.
David Bland
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:45 am
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HI David
SOunds good what you are doing with your blog, and sure I would love a link.
Regards
Matt
P.S. Remind me to proof read more. LOL
Dave
Hello Matt, I really appreciate very much your honest article about internet marketing ethics. What a terrifically important subject! I daresay that there are probably a lot more unethically represented products than those presented honestly. It becomes much more difficult to make significant profit online if one is going to stick with products and services one knows by experience are truly top quality. I haven’t made a great deal of money online partly because I want to be honest and not use manipulative tactics to suck customers in. It’s a tough balance to maintain.
I’d appreciate a personal reply from you if you get a free minute some time. Thanks so much for taking an ethical stand. It’s very rare online these days.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:47 am
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Hi Steve
Nice to hear from you, and yes being ethical can come at a cost of making less money initially but i think it pays off in the longer term
Matt
Hi Matt
Once again an excellent post, unfortunately most of the “review” sites you look at one can see immediately its not really reviewing it.
Personally we have never promoted or sold anything that we have not bought and use ourselves.
But most of the gurus send you an email every day or 2 with a new offer and I’ve noticed lately a few started sending 2 or 3 offers in each email.
look forward to reading your next post
thanks Ian
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:50 am
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Hi Ian
Yeah it is pretty strange what some people will do make money, but I must say 2-3 promotions in one email is just crazy!
MAtt
piscinas Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 7:58 am
Yep but they have been immediately unsubscribed 🙂
by the way just finished viewing your video commission formula course.
have to say great info very clear and well presented.
thanks ian
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:19 am
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Thanks Ian
Matt
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Hi Ian
yeah it is pretty crazy, 2 – 3 offers an email!! I mean how rediculous to you get!! ha ha
Keep up the good work
Matt
Whats your view on creating “fake” identities, I have a website that reviews a certain ebook and it is written from the viewpoint of a female. I also plan to make a google + account for “her” so I can have the icon show up in google search (of which I need to find a legal photo i can use).
The review however mentions both negative and positive sides so I try to be as honest as possible.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:20 am
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Hi Phil
Great question, my answer is that I would not do it, but in the past I would have, but now I think differently. So you just need to do what you think is best.
Matt
Matt,
Great rant!
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:19 am
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lol…thanks Tom
Hi,
I recently wrote you about a unethical site that scamed me out of product and money. Not all companies that send you items for $5.00 like Fiverr are ethical. Another company with no way of contacting them sent me the nastiest letter when I asked paypal to contact them. So be aware. It was not the money I lost but the way they acted. For $5.00 they lost a customer and forgot the law of 200. I know 200 people, you know 200 people. If we all tell 200 people then at the end of 6 months you can go into yankee stadium and hear 50,000 people booing you. Now thats viral.
Marty
The advice about using the product yourself gives you the ability to give first hand knowledge and if it’s a product of something like a product attachment, you can take many pictures of how it looks and works with the actual product.
People want to see lots of pictures of the actual product and not just the pictures you use that you found online.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:37 am
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Thanks Richard
Great post Matt… this is an area I definitely have experience and would love to see this addressed more in the internet marketing community.
Around 3-4 years ago I saw many of my affiliate colleagues getting rich in the CPA space promoting very low-value products with advertisers that held very low ethics (common practice was to attach several “bump offers” where customers end up having an additional 2 or 3 hits on their credit card)
I was very very tempted (desperation like you mentioned had a lot to do with this) to get into this type of marketing and go for the “quick money” and rationalize that everyone else was doing it….etc. Payouts were going through the roof and conversions were ridiculous as well as getting traffic on these offers with an Adwords account was easy.
But I held strong and kept my head down at working on an international presence both in SEO and paid search (which no one was doing at the time); in the long run this was the right decision as my due diligence and drive in doing business the right way has put me ahead of the curve in doing business internationally (I currently make most of my money marketing to Brazil).
Now all the marketers that took the easy route are all scrambling having spent their cash and are strapped with high overhead brought on by their lavish spending during “the good ol’ days”.
Thank you again Matt and a post like this raises your credibility in my eyes even more.
Brandon
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:18 am
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Nice work Brandon, remind me of the childhood story of the turtle and the hare!
Matt
Honestly Im at my first affiliate site and im using your theme Matt…
Yes im using a fake picture because I dont like to show my own… I know that showing a face will increase conversions so that’s why I did… But hey I have a fake face but I clearly stated to my article writer that I wanted cons of the product too…
Of course im affiliate and I should be a little “biased” but I always try to be honest.
Also I think the majority of marketers are using too many scarcity tactics, and at the end you get used to apply these techniques too, you think its normal thats it…
I think the worst place about the internet marketing is the warrior forum… I see very few legit marketers there… They all make money from newbies and people who are struggling to make a buck online…
Thanks Matt for opening my eyes but honestly I got used to apply these techniques…
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:17 am
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Hi Alex
Yeah I think if you don’t want to show your own face then I guess its ok…each to their own…and yeah the Warrior forum can be like that, some people it to target unsuspecting newbies
Hi Matt.
I’m a Christian and want to follow good ethics myself. I find the internet a great place to work for that reason. It’s the only place I know where people share what they know freely, then charge only for services and for extras (the freemium model).
At the same time, I agree, it’s hard to overcome personal interest.
Thanks for bringing up the subject of ethics. By actually talking about it, it encourages us to have a think about our methods. Also, good on you for admitting your past faults – it’s not like we don’t all have them, and by admitting them you’re on your way to doing better.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:16 am
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Thanks David,
Yeah I agree with you, the internet is great for the ‘freemium model’ which does make it a great place to build a business.
Matt
Thanks for this article Matt, and for coming clean.
I can honestly say that it’s about time that this whole thing (affiliate marketing) is cleaned up, and a little more honesty is shown, a lot of the emails that I get I now unsubscribe from, as it come accross as total B:S.
I have moved away from affiliate marketing for this reason, and am building a business where I do meet people face to face, and help them in their local business.
This is not as easy as affiliate marketing, but it is an honest way of making a living, you can’t tell lies to people who live in the same area as you.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:14 am
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Good stuff Wolfgang, hope it goes well for you
Matt
The High Road is always the Right Road.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:14 am
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Right on Bill
Matt
Owen Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 10:11 am
Another way I like to look at that, Bill, is “Always take the high road. There’s a lot less traffic there.”
Whether I make a lot of money or not, the most important thing to me is how I sleep at night.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:16 am
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Thanks Owen
Matt
Great article Matt. What I have been doing lately to curb the junk offers and multiple emails from so-called gurus is to simply unsubscribe. If more people in the IM business would do this the point would get across to these people that their marketing blueprint is not acceptable.
I especially like the ones that ask for the reason I’m unsubscribing, I always fill it out.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:34 am
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Hi Keith
YEs I agree, however most of these marketers are targeting complete newbies who are not aware, so by the time they work it out, they have been ripped off many times, very sad…
Hey Matt,
Thanks for your honesty and confessions! Bold move which I believe increases one’s credibility…
Cheers,
Darryl
GetHits.com
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:33 am
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Appreciate that Darryl, and yeah it might do, but that was never my intention, just want to be upfront.
Nice hearing from you
Matt
Hey Matt,
Great article, I tried to start a group to complain about unethical marketers
a few years back but couldn’t get anyone interested. Glad to see someone
turning around. I never buy a product the same day I read the salspage. I
think that might be a good idea for others to follow especially newbies.
It’s easy to get caught up in the Hype and spend more money than one should
spend. When I see a “only 3 more to sell at this price” or an “2 days left”, I just
click off and forget about it.
Hope more people will change their ways and maybe more people will have
more trust in the internet marketers.
Best wishes,
Delton
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:32 am
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Thanks Delton,
Regards
Matt
matt,
i’m glad you decided to lead by example. as you know money is what makes the world go round and it takes a honest man to be able to look greed in the face and do things the ethical way, so hats off to you.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:31 am
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Thanks James
Matt
Thank you Matt for your honesty and transparency. The truth is “you reap what you sow” applies in IM too. If we conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity we may not make as much money as the “false claims” marketers short term, but ALL aspects of our life will be better in the long run. It`s that ripple effect – effects everything and everybody whether we realize it or not.
I had one of those reviews sites also and had to take it down and I`m really glad I did, I feel much better now.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:31 am
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Brilliant Kim
Matt
I’ve been following a few marketers, one being you, one being Travis Sago.
Travis has a trick he teaches. When you are researching a niche and find what you think is a good one, you then should go to internet forums to research what that particular market wants.
I’m developing a site in a subsection of the Work at Home Mom niche. So I started reading on forums to find out what things WAHMs talked most about. What was the number ONE concern overall that I found after checking out around ten of these forums and reading the forum posts that were most active? Avoiding Work At Home SCAMS.
The BS detection in those forums is pretty dang good. I think this says a lot about what’s gone on before, and also points up the truth behind your blogpost. Thanks, Matt!
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:30 am
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Great stuff
Matt
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the wonderful article and for seeing “The Light”. It takes courage to admit mistakes and apologize and I for one want to say bravo !! I hope a lot of people read this and realize that online marketing is not really about making money. When you have the mind set that you want to sincerely help people and you go the extra mile for them, then the money will come. Guaranteed. You don’t need tricks or schemes just old fashioned service and treating people the way you would like to be treated. It has worked for me online and offline for years and it is a truth that will never change.
Opportunity abounds online and it is just starting. I have made money online since 1996 and it is getting better all the time. Easier, more fun and more rewarding everyday.
I have to admit that I have refunded a couple of purchases from you in the past when I caught you being kinda shady in your practices. I never said anything and have read your posts and attended your webinars since you have began this blog. I stuck with you even though you were stretching things from time to time as MOST of the time you have been very above board and honest.
I must say compared to a lot of marketers out there you are and always have been an angel. I have dealt with some slimy characters over the years and I don’t pay attention to any of those guys anymore. Terminated from my life. No need for them.
When you had Shane Melaugh for the SE Cockpit webinar I purchased a year from your link due to the long history of you being honest and helping me and others. I really appreciate that. So here’s to many more years of success mate and it has been an honor and do keep up the good work. We need people like you.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:30 am
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Thanks Charles!!
Regards
Matt
Hi Matt,
I have now bought several of your products because I do believe you are an ethical marketer, in addition to the fact that your products over deliver.(Thanks for that!)
Like one of the earlier commenters, I make a small amount of money every month online, but have found myself limited because of my high standards.(and the fact that I create my own products) Of course I plan to keep plugging away… And as I continue to gain experience, I can now see how important email marketing is… That’s the next area I intend to target so that I can more successfully engage the people on my “list”.
Thanks again
Kerrin
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:37 am
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Hi Kerrin
Yeah I encourage you to build a community in your niche, as this will help you do well. There is a popular saying “the money is in the list” but I don’t agree exactly, I think “the money is in the community” is more accurate. People blast email lists with all sorts of garbage and end up with no list, but if you build community you will do well.
Matt
Hey Matt,
Thanks again for inviting me over here to read such a good article with the topic that should be of interest to all marketers .Some of the ethical marketers thinking that they totally on the straight an narrow are mostly ethical but they don’t take into account the affiliate offer may not be totally ethical with the false scarcity or over bloated bonuses. Thanks for pointing this out.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:35 am
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Good stuff Zora
Matt
Very refreshing Matt. It goes back to the age old saying… take care of your customer. I enjoyed reading this post and your honesty. Thank you.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:35 am
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Thanks John,
Hope all is well with you
Matt
Thanks Matt for this post, I have been studying affiliate marketing going on the one year mark this month and I have learned everything there is to know about affiliate marketing from your teachings I have all your products.
I must say I have been on other IM marketers lists not to name names, I noticed they really just juice there lists with garbage offers and don’t really ad any value.
You and Terry kyle are the only other markets list that I’m on to date and you due deliver true value.
After one year I’m fully trained in affiliate marketing but I have not made a sale yet because I did not feel i was ready, plus funds issues anyway I’m staring out this month with a new site and I hope I can let you know when i make my first sale Matt.
Till then I will still be following your teachings till I make some money it has been a hard year of ups and downs in leaning but I know I can do this now for sure, I will be only doing honest review sites.
P.S. Where is the best place to reach you Matt if I have questions to personally ask? is it in the rapid profit formula members area?
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:01 am
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Hi Cory
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
I can’t do one on one support so there is no best place to reach me, but we do of course have support for RPF in there, so ask away.
MAtt
Hi Matt,
Must be close to the longest post of yours that I’ve ever read. I appreciate the open and honest comments! I originally got started in IM trying to do affiliate marketing but became quite turned off by everyone selling just about anything and it didn’t matter what the quality of the product was. Hence I turned to Ecommerce. I quickly began to feel my only value to these many marketers was my credit card number. I can honestly say that I never felt this way being on your list and it is one of the very few I’m on at this time.
Thanks for being an upfront standup marketer! You consistently add value and integrity to the IM arena.
Paul
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:00 am
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Very kind Paul,
Thanks and hope ecommerce is going well
Matt
This is a real sore subject with me, the things that I see marketers do and how much I hate it. This is a continual on going problem and I have hit some these guys hard on this stuff.
Here are a few my pet peeves; one time offers after someone has bought the initial product to me is outright stealing and lying. Here we are led to believe that we are buying a complete product only to learn after the fact that there is more to it and you can get it for such and such amount of more money. This I abhor and detest.
Next is the “only time you will see this offer” to me is outright lying. There is no reason why it has to be the only time I see the offer and many times I have saved the offer to go back later and get it and it is gone. If the product is that good why would you offer it one time. Now when I see a marketer do this I ditch them.
I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a product launch, liked it enough to buy it, and the next day that same marketer is pitching something new, as though me spending the money meant nothing, and that there is an apparent disinterest in continual promoting of the product. I can honestly say that even you who have have had two or three launches since I have been a member have promoted it for the initial two or three days, and then we do not hear about it anymore. If the product is that good it should be promoted continually, like who is doing good with it, absolute proof that the product works, continual over the shoulder promoting of
it through “how to” videos and so on. You let us lose the memory of a good product you created, you lose sales.
There are marketers who promote every single new launch to the point that my inbox gets overloaded with this crap. Why does this bother me??? Because they are lying. There just is no way that they are buying all these launches, using them, and then giving
us absolute proof that they work.
I could go on with this because in my opinion this is a dirty and unethical business no different than any other. As much as I dislike
Google I do not feel sorry for any of these sites that are set down by them because the amount of cheating and unscrupulous ethics that goes on is sickening.
If you have subscribers or people who have been loyal to you, or who have bought your products, or want to buy your products, your responsibility, because you have either made money off of them, or there is a strong possibility that you might make money off or them, is to cater to them in trying to keep them happy without you being abused. Sometimes it is a thin line as to helping people and them being an annoyance, but I know for a fact that you are a hero and have a loyal follower if you really teach them how to make money and better their lives, which means sometimes you have to make exceptions to rules, and that is not unethical, contrary to what you wrote in this blog.
I like you Matt Carter, even though in my opinion there are things you could do differently, but I have learned over time that you are one of the very good guys with good intent toward people and you
just don’t come across as being unethical or unscrupulous, or that you live for the almighty dollar bill, and in my book that’s big.
Paul
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 8:59 am
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Hi Paul
All good points and thanks for taking the time to share your frustrations. I know there are a lot of things that are done bady online, so feel your pain.
All the best
Matt
Matt your honesty is commendable and refreshing in the Internet Marketing arena where underhanded tactics and fake sincerity run rampant.
I can attest to your dilema as i had a product in the health niche that i was ranking well for and was on page 2 for several buyer keywords but i did not feel good about this product so i stopped building up the site.
I believe your suggestion to have more of a information site with options from different merchants for similar products is the way to go.
Great post once again.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:10 am
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good stuff
Matt
Hey Matt,
This is the second post that I’ve read today on this, the other was from Mark Dulisse, a pretty well-known marketer too.
I got on your list when Mark Ling promoted your SEO course, and have found through your blog posts and videos that you genuinely want to help people and add value.
I’ve been in the game almost two years, and know some pretty successful IMers. You’re one of the few people that I remain subscribed to, as most were just selling trash and more bothered about the money.
As you mentioned, I think the lack of “real” contact in an online business makes people far more ruthless.
Thanks for being so honest about your past mistakes. They weren’t particularly immoral but you’re right in saying that they weren’t 100% transparent either.
There will always be a new wave of naive and vulnerable newbies that think that there is an easy way to make money online. Hopefully we can work together as a community to expel the scammers.
I’m sure this blog post will help you and your business out tremendously.
Robert
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:51 am
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No problem Robert
Thanks for commenting
Matt
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Those strategies that you refer and regret are unfortunately used by almost every seller in the world. Infocomercials are particularly atrocious, all the products are said to be perfect and have no cons – how can it be true?
Although this is a blog about Affiliate Marketing, I believe we could expand the ethical question to SEO practices. One of the things that makes me angry the most is SPAM – by using authomatic tools unethically, a small group of lazy people are polluting the internet and making ethical SEOers’ work simply intolerable. This is particularly noticeable in blog comments: I used to include them in my SEO strategy, but I just gave up. Thanks to a massive submission of garbage by these people, blog comments were devaluated and the nofollow tag is now omnipresent.
The worst thing about the most of unethical SEO practices is that they simply don’t work: the only result is that things will become increasily harder for those who want to work seriously on the internet.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:50 am
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Great thoughts here Filipe
Matt:
Proud of your comments and just wanting to let you know my life has been about ethics to the point that I lost over a million dollars in property value and ended up on the street for a year. Almost lost my life 3 times and yet I have no regrets doing the right thing, although I wish it could have been easier. I would rather have 1000 dollars a year honestly than have a million dollars scamming. Now if we can get more people being honest in marketing, we may be able to salvage our pride in network marketing. Believe me I have a collection of some names and there will be some nasty surprises for them in the next couple of years. You see if you have ethics, you never worry about the trouble that will be started. Good on you. Rudy
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:49 am
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Thanks Rudy
Matt
Matt I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for your honesty, I am a Christian I believe that when a person understands that they have sinned, confessed his sins that we should forgive him as many times as it takes, I hope these verses below provide some comfort to you and others.
To everyone else when you forgive, bury it and forget it, don’t leave the handle up out of the grave to go back and get it later.
In regards to the training, I’ve had a problem with the very things that Matt mentioned, for over 2 years now I have persuade a mentor that has the honesty to do the right thing, all too often I’ve been let down.
I’ve purchased many courses, returned a few, learned a lot about affiliate marketing because that’s what I wanted to do. It’s sad on one hand that I have not been able to make it work. But as I saw the same things that Matt mentioned I did not promote those products. Thus I’ve made a very, very small amount from affiliate marketing.
Matt I learned the lesson that you taught on researching and how to put the content out there, but that page is still sitting on my hard drive, never published. I saw a link on this blog for how to do the research correctly I hope that’s what it’s for I did not follow it because I wanted to say thank you.
Sometimes teachers assume the students are lazy or don’t want to do the work, issues like the ones you pointed out may be the problem.
I made a post on a forum about this very same thing and was out cased, abandoned, not answered any more from the powers that be. I hope your list shows compassion and forgiveness.
I think there are only a few people that I look to right now that shows honesty in what they are doing that I can look to for good advice and take the good from the bad. I can count them on one hand and Matt you are still on my list. Another person is Jennifer ‘PotPieGirl’ and Lisa from Authority site model.
Personally I’m not lazy and I want to do the right thing online so I’ll keep following your lead to see where it goes.
TRowe
Luke 17:3-4
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Matthew 7:1
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Psalms 119:42
So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
Romans 14:4
Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Romans 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Romans 14:12
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Chapter 2
1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.
2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:49 am
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Almost stuff Tim
Thanks for sharing from your heart and scriptures hope your sites do really well.
Matt
Hi Matt, I’ve been following you for a long time and appreciate your honesty and candor.
I can relate to the reply above regarding a slow start in affiliate marketing due to concerns over ethics. My introduction was a Clickbank course and there was just so much crap out there, I couldn’t get past that in my mind and think it had a definite (negative) impact on my results.
Re: the use of aliases… I am struggling with this right now. On the one hand, I think it’s okay AS LONG AS your site content is honest and you’re not trying to hide behind a persona because you’re fleecing people. For safety reasons, I just don’t like the idea of my picture, name, address, and other personal information being so readily accessible on the Internet.
On the other hand, something about it makes me uncomfortable because it does feel somehow deceitful, even if your intentions are good.
I’ll work through it eventually I suppose, but will be checking back to see if other people have thoughts on this.
Thanks again for all you do. I’ve gained a lot from your blog and courses.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:47 am
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Good points, and yeah it a decision you have to make, but I personally don;t have fake names anymore,
Good luck
Matt
From your rpf course you used to promote a lot of market health stuff…I always found it incredibly hard to “review” products like these (and still do) as there seemed to be nothing to review. It was simply a list of benefits and the ingredients. So unless you have actually used all or many of the products…or have a laboratory of Vervet monkeys to run tests on..you don’t have a business. How do you promote these products nowadays ? I am thinking list building is the way forward as you have alluded to. Are you building lists and communities outside of the im niche now ?
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:46 am
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Hi Ade
Yeah you really can’t review these Market Health products, so my opinion now is to build a list and promote things, but make sure the products are good of course, OR you can do sites that are not ranking for review keywords and still have links on the pages, but just rank for more info keywords
Matt
Matt,
I have purchased your products before and even provided a heartfelt testimonial to you regarding the solid, useful, no BS way your programs were presented. I also rarely miss one of your webinars because I have grown to expect the best of the best in content and (usually) a pretty good deal on a valuable program, or two at the end; again I have made the purchase of some with no regrets.
What I want to say, and what I have felt for a long time is . . .
. . . You are the Internet Marketer I want to be when I grow up.
My IM business is more of a trudge at the moment, than a soar. But, I think and truly believe that by following your advice and that of those that you have recommended, the drudge will evolve to a quality income and lifestyle over time.
So, do not beat yourself up too much. Having ethics or not is the greatest test of us as Human beings. Character is said to be “doing the right thing, even if no one is looking.” I think you have demonstrated the propensity to do the right thing, and I for one am grateful and thankful for you.
All I can say is keep up the good work.
Paul W.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:44 am
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Thanks so much Paul
Hope you start to soar soon
Matt
Great post Matt, any update on your members training club that you mentioned on your last blog post?
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:21 am
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Hi
YEs that will be coming out later this week…I hope..lol…or next week for sure, sorry for the delay
Matt
It’s good to think about these things, but than again people just love BS, and especially ‘magic bullets’. Look at all those weightloss and diet nonsense products. People say that they want a ‘serious’ product to solve their problems, but is that the truth? Don’t they actually prefer a ‘magical’ solution, so that don’t have to go through all this sweat and willpower exercises? And what is so ethical about denying them this fairy tale? Everybody adores Santa Claus. Look at the power of religion! We need a dream to believe in, to help us face reality. Because the reality is often very ugly. Just like people enjoy reading pulp novels, as an escape, or watch some tv show, they also enjoy buying stuff on the net. As long as you entertain them that’s fine. Because that’s what they want!
As long as you don’t pretend to have miracle solutions for cancer or give people real false hope, I think there are quite a few shades of being ethical.
You rightfully say, is the banking system ethical? You can wonder about religions as well. So why would the internet be any different? It’s just life. People are not perfect.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:21 am
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Thanks for your opinion Jan
Regards
Matt
Paul, Mark, Chris, David, Dav, Marty, Brandon, all of you that have posted on this blog post I see that I’m not alone anymore, love you all keep it up!!!
Now that we all have faced this problem how do we that want to do better proceed? I’m tired of jumping from one guru to the next hoping they will be the one that actually shows me what to do, someone who checks to make sure that it is correct and guides you to get it done properly.
The post that I made that got me out cased was along this line, everybody promises support and help to get the sale, but soon after the sale is complete they vanish, their next move is to put up a forum so that members can help other members, right. I don’t mind in fact I would love the opportunity to communicate with fellow marketers about what’s going on.
But when it comes down to getting the help from the product owner, or software owner about how to make it work the way they said it would work. I don’t think that a person that don’t know(me) should have to ask someone else that also just made the same purchase and they don’t know either.
Yea I know it is not possible that the product owner can respond to every single person, but many times the questions are the same. At some point the person who knows should step in. I’m going to turn this loose for now and get back to work.
TRowe
Matt, thank you for opening up this topic of ethics. The biggest offender to me is OTOs. OTOs are unethical, manipulative, and dishonest. Yet, the Warrior forum offers are full of them. These vendors don’t tell you upfront that the product is not complete until they have your purchase money in hand. Honesty, is when you disclose your 2nd, 3rd, &4th product (OTO’s) up front, not after you are holding the customer’s money. Vendors call this practice sharp marketing. I call it dishonesty and a very poor way to start a long term relationship with a prospective future buyer of list products. I not only refuse to buy the product, but I ask for a refund immediately when I am exposed to such chicanery. Further, I refuse to do business with people who send me emails touting products sales literature containing OTOs. I would hope that you would expand your definition of unethical internet marketing to include OTOs. Thx, Jerry
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:19 am
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and yes the OTO thing does suck, ONLY IF the product is the better version of the one your bought, but cross selling for a related product is ok…but these upsells are a joke, as they trick people and they stinks!!
Hey Matt much respect to you for this amazing post, very seldomly you find people being honest and share this type of content, this motivates me to fully get away from any and all forms of unethical marketing, not that I do it, but you’ll be amazed at how you can be influenced from other marketrs\guru’s and pick up some of those habits, I know I’ve done a thing or two in the product reviews arena, as well as MLM arena, and it’s just not a cool thing to do when you think about. I must admit though, at times I have reviewed products before I build a site around them, but there are times when I didn’t.
Antway man I really admire this post, and respect you as one of the best marketers that I’ve had a chance to learn from online. Whats amazing is that you’re not only teaching ethical marketing, but actually doing what you teach and keeping it ethical at the sametime, much respect!
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:17 am
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Thanks for your kind words Ralpheal
Matt
Here’s what I think for affiliate marketers, if the product owner says this will work, and they want me to buy the product, why not let me try it out and see if it works, if it does I pay him/her for the product and we both are satisfied.
This only works for the people that will actually do the work, get their questions answered, but some mechanism needs to be in place to make sure it’s set correctly and then off we go.
Every time a sale is made the owner wants the money first, with promises that it works. The buyer acts on faith and makes the purchase. And when it does not work well you know what the buyer must go through to get their money back, if they ever do.
Matt you said we should do the review the right way, the only way to do this is make the purchase, but I submit to you that the affiliates should be the exception to the rule because they are the ones that must provide true information, they should not have to pay for something they really don’t need.
Example if I want to promote children ‘baby bed’s or furniture for babies, I need to do a review right, why would I make that purchase? What would I do with it after I have done the review? Now digital product reviews are different I can just delete it from my computer, or keep using it, but the more I use it gives me more content to write about to send another person to check the product out. The product owner may lose some profits following this path with people that will not do right, but what % is that?
That’s the path that I’m following with my new venture.
TRowe
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:16 am
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HI Tim
Yes you make some valid points, and many merchants will give out free products to affiliates, but you have to have credibilty first. If you can show them you have a following or good traffic, I think you have a good case. I saw something do this really well for watches.
Matt
Ok great post matt. Now, how can we stop the corrupt international banksters from crashing the dollar as Bob Chapman says they are doing. It’s not going to matter how much we make if the banksters keep printing money, as you know this will lead to a crash of the currency. Oh well, all the people will have to start all over again. At least we have the tools. Since most people are asleep at the wheel in this country. It gives me hope when i see people who are awake to what is going on. I always feel very alone in seeing what is happening with them steeling our cash.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:14 am
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Yes they international banksters are doing what you say and Bob Chapman is a very good voice to listen to as he knows his stuff.
There’s isn’t much we can do to stop these people doing what they intend to do, other than stop supporting their corrupt system.
The dollar will colapse, and yes it will be done on purpose, in order to usher in the new global currency, so all I can say is for everyone reading this, its time to wake up before its too late for you…I mean this on a spiritual level too. Many many people are doing just this on a massive scale right now which is good.
Cheers
Matt
Thanks Matt, for coming clean and discussing the unethical tricks marketers like to use. I remember back when I first got into anything having to do with IM a common trick was using a little java script that changed the date, like the person wrote me the letter today. Then eventually came the scarcity tactic and the ridiculously inflated “values” assigned to bonuses that either didn’t sell as products or were created just to give away. In other words, they really have zero value but they like to tell us they’re worth $97. I never buy anything from people who treat me like they think I’m stupid.
On the problem of writing glowing reviews, I just stick to products that deserve it. But nothing’s perfect so I point out the flaws, too. Then throw in a review of one that’s not so good for comparison. I’m being honest and informing the visitor. I don’t make a lot of money, but I also don’t feel guilty about my reviews. Oh, and why don’t I buy the products? I review expensive stuff and can’t spend $600 on each one of them.
Quality content is king.
Owen
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:11 am
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Great points here Owen, and yes all those tactics with the date script etc…are a load of crap indeed!
Take it easy
MAtt
Matt this was a great article for a newbie such as myself. I do have a couple questions. What made you decide to change your ways of marketing? Is it that google way has changed and your rankings have falling? Then do you still recommend the way you backlink with making profiles on forums but never post anything, or the blog way or any other way. Since I’m just starting out I agree with the ethical part but its easy to say that a person needs to be ethical after you make big money and this is something you love to do not something you have to do. I don’t mean to sound rude or nosey but like you say in your videos you have nothing to hide and if we follow your way we will make money. I just want to make sure I do it your way and make money the right ethical way.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:09 am
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Hi
I am holding a webinar this week with my customers to inform of my new strategies.
Also yes I will always put out stuff that I know works, but its up to you to take action
Matt
Matt,
I appreciate your honesty. This is the one thing that attracted me to your blogs and internet marketing tips. I feel you are really trying to help us make honest money online. Thanks again for being honest in all things.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:23 am
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Hi Trey
Yes I am doing my best to help you all, thats my main focus, as I refuse to recommend crap that doesn’t work
Matt
Too bad there aren’t more people like you out there Matt! That’s all I wanted to say.
Matt Carter Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:22 am
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Thank you John,I am not perfect by any stretch, I do my best.
Matt