For a while now, I've noticed a negative stigma that people have about affiliate marketing in general. It wasn't until I read about Jason Calacanis's controversial remarks in his keynote speech at ASW 08 regarding the business that it really struck a cord.

Among all things, stated, here are a few:

"Affiliates are polluting our own well - we should realize that."

"Affiliates need to realize they are at the bottom of the food chain and then work up from there."

"Affiliate marketers' big problem is that they are focused on short-term gains and think too small."

OK, I'll be real. For some affiliate marketers, this blanketed statement holds true. But for those of us who are thinking on a grander scale -- applying the model to traditional businesses and helping them to reach higher levels -- this is a slap in the face.

People like Calacanis consider what we do (not just some of us, all of us) spamming. He even goes so far as to say that people like Shoemoney who hold up their six-figure checks are pathetic for doing so when they could be holding up seven or eight-figure checks if they actually created something.

But haven't we created something? Would there be a supply if there were no demand? And are we spamming if people are coming to us to get what they want?

Aside from all those reasons, let's not ignore the obvious parallel to pyramid schemes. You remember, the schemes where you'd form a down-line who would always send money to you but you'd never move up in the chain. What we do is pretty different, yet we're grouped together with these crazy notions.

The fact is, we create sales where there would otherwise be none and we do so (most of us) through legitimate channels. We use referral programs as incentives to get other people to join the networks we use but it is in no way the primary business (unless you prefer that way).

As with anything else people don't understand, they fear it. Affiliate marketing doesn't sit outside that circle because what it actually is isn't immediately apparent to people. They don't realize it's just a different name for what people do already - referral marketing. Our biggest and most famous example? Amazon.com. That's where it all started, baby.

And to those who say it's like gambling: what business isn't? Over half of businesses fail within their first five years. Is there ever any guarantee you'll have customers to begin with? Or how about a year from the time your business starts? Whether it's online or brick-and-mortar, you depend on the chance that you'll have customers much like we depend on the chance that people will be searching for something in particular. Same idea, different medium.

Hopefully that clears up any crazy ideas people have about the business.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 12:29 am and is filed under Affiliate Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.