How To Terminate Affiliates & Make Better Profits

July 25, 2008 by Lee Jones · 1 Comment
Filed under: HOW TO

I suppose the first thing you’re going to ask is

Why would any one want to terminate the account of an affiliate? And become an Affiliate Terminator!

Surely the affiliates you already have and worked hard to get should be cherished as they are busy working to promote your products, are out there from all parts of the world working in the behind the scenes 24 / 7 earning you money from the sale of your product, be it an e-book, software or audio/video multimedia presentation.

The Internet Marketers who promote a product as an affiliate are very well paid for their efforts, and it’s not unusual for the commission paid out to an affiliate to be more per product sold, than you get as the developer. But that does not mean you should not care how your affiliates promote your product, and allow them to advertise your product how they see fit.

A certain type of technique has unfortunately become very wide spread using sponsored Links known as PPC (pay per click) advertising, such as Google Adwords, , and one that is currently being taught by some very thoughtless Internet Marketers.

It really makes me cringe and my blood boil when I read an e-book or watch a tutorial video where the self proclaimed expert, and in many cases even some well know Internet Marketing Guru’s, actively encourage this particular greedy and damaging practice.

Why do I feel so strongly about this unethical practice, and why do I think you should also become an Affiliate Terminator,

There are basically 2 types of people who become Affiliates:

The Builders
The Destroyers

1. The Builder

The Builder Affiliate is the type of person you want on your team, they develop relationships with the potential customer, and if their good at what they do, they will liaise directly with you in developing their affiliate sales. They will do as much as possible to promote, and go out of their way to build a positive relationship with your customers……… and yes, always remember they are your customers and not the customer of the affiliate; this is something that you must always remember.

The Affiliate although a crucial part of your sales team, is only promoting the product on your behalf for financial gain, and in most cases has very little input into the development of the product, So keep that in mind. And in return the affiliate will be rewarded for their efforts when a sale is made. They will continue to become a valuable asset to your business, and will happily promote further products you market as and when they are developed. Unless of course, they are a Destroyer!

2. The Destroyer

The Destroyer Affiliate also has a similar approach to the Builder Affiliate in that their aim is to promote your product on your behalf, to make a sale, and therefore get paid a commission for doing so. But there is a difference, and one that has a dramatic difference in you overall sales, and your online reputation.

The thing is, this type of Affiliate couldn’t give a monkeys about your customers, cares very little about your reputation as a marketer, and is only interested in how much money their going to make on the back end of all your hard work. Is this the type of Affiliate you want promoting for you?……….

Of course not, so why do many marketers allow this practice of negative and misleading PPC ads and organic website advertising. Perhaps their scared of losing an affiliate or two, perhaps they cannot see anything wrong with this gutter marketing technique. In the short term this method will make a profit for both of you, but the methods these marketers use just to get a click to their squeeze page or your landing page will eventually be severely damaging to your reputation and future sales. Remember, they may be using your good name and reputation you have spent a lot of time building, just to increase their own opt in list, and in many cases the sale is just a bonus.

Recently a well know Internet Marketer, John Reese, released a product called Traffic secrets 2.0.

Within the first 2 days, he must have noticed a lot of PPC ads were appearing in the Google listings, and many of them had derogatory remarks and totally negative promotions (seams to be fashionable at this time). Now John being the man he is, obviously looked upon this type of promotion as being damaging, not only to the sales of Traffic secrets 2.0, but also to his reputation. And like many of us that promote or Brand ourselves with their real names as apposed to a fictitious or company name, they want to keep the Branding of their name and products squeaky clean. It’s important, so must be protected at all times.

To give you an example of this damaging type of advertising:………

Traffic Secrets? LIES
Check it, I want a “refund” from him
I am about to diss John Reese

Traffic Secrets Sucks?
Yes. I want a “Refund” from him
Don’t be another sucker, Man!

Traffic Secrets is a SCAM
Reese’s Traffic secrets is a big
Scam. We tell you the Truth.

Now I’m not going to say that this type of tactic does not work, it does, and I will be the first to admit that they make it very difficult for you to ignore and the temptation to click on this type of ad is irresistible, and they know it!

But lets face it, as an Internet Marketer you know why these ads provoke a reaction to click the link, just to get that computer cookied.

Let me ask you a question? – would you allow your name or product to be criticized in this way any where else……… No I didn’t think so, Imagine seeing this type of vulgar advertising on the side of a Bus or in a tube station (subway) or even sprayed onto a wall by some local youths with nothing better to do.

I also know of another very famous internet marketer, who was to appear on a national TV station, only to be told that his slot was cancelled. Why? – it was simply a matter of the reputation of this individual had been damaged by PPC ads

Do you see my point?

Just as John did with his Affiliates, all that is required is a polite email notification to all your Affiliates that you do not and will not tolerate this type of advertising as it is against your TOS, and will terminate the account of any affiliate who uses this type of advertising within 24 hours………Now I realize this is a little difficult to do if the affiliate program is with Click bank or Pay Dotcom, and that’s why I always advocate the use of you own affiliate program when ever possible , as you keep tight control of what is going on within your business,

Do you lose affiliates, very unlikely if the product is a good product? And as you are all playing the field equally, it will be the best and more positive and creative ads that will get the clicks.

So why not clean up your act and become an Affiliate Terminator as well, you owe it to yourself and the continued success of your business, and always remember it is your business not the affiliates and you run it as you feel fit.

Don’t allow yourself to be led by others or any current trend; it may severely damage your reputation as an Internet Marketer.