Affiliate marketing has taken off as a way to sell goods and services on the Internet. Its an industry that is worth billions of dollars, and is providing a full time living for many people. The problem? It can be so much of an incentive that integrity is thrown out the window.
Here’s an example from the Ultimate Wealth Package, reviewed here on this site. After paying for and receiving the package - in fact, even while reviewing the sales page – the reader is offered a “free money making website.”
Basically this is a sales page for Mark Warren’s Ultimate Wealth Package and a couple of other similar products. No wonder it is being offered for “free”– you are in effect working for Mark Warren, selling his product through affiliate marketing. (On top of that, you do have to pay domain and website hosting fees.)
Warren claims that 5% of all visitors to his sales page buy his basic product at $49.95, and of those, one-third go on to buy the “VIP” upgrade “upsell” for a further $39.95. With Clickbank commissions of 75% of the sales price, no wonder people are eager to flog the products. And no wonder Google is doing so well selling AdWords!
Warren claims that the income potential of running his affiliate website is $100 to $1000 per day, although of course, “results may vary”! Doing business in such a crowded marketplace, we bet they vary!
Let’s examine his website content more carefully. “Work From Home Opportunities Exposed” is the title. The content reads: “Tired of working from home opportunities that do not deliver what they promise? We have reviewed the top selling programs…” But the new affiliate members running this site have not done any reviewing, they are just promoting to get the affiliate commission.
The sales pitch also says: “The following products guarantee your online success, all you have to do is read them and follow their expert advice!”
But of course there is no such guarantee, as any buyer will see after they have bought the product. Here’s what they will actually read in their newly purchased product: “We make no guarantees regarding the level of success you may experience. Any testimonials and examples used are exceptional results, which do not apply to the average purchaser, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.”
The final two words: caveat emptor, or buyer beware. A good thing to remember in any sales environment, perhaps even more so on the Internet.
