Promoting Affiliate Programs without using them - Ethical?

I was wondering if it is ethical to promote an affiliate product without having first used the product? I have noticed that most people make money by using a pay per click search engine to promote a product with the referrer link as the linked title but what I do not understand is that is it fair to promote something you have no clue about?

 

It's called marketing and advertising, and it's done all the time...

 

Yes I know that but how can you market something the validity of which you have no proof off?

 

Easily.

Sorry for the concise answers, but this is what advertising is all about. You don't have to make any claims about the quality or anything, just use the merchant's own marketing materials. They worry about building their brand & their message, you just promote that.

Ad agencies and marketing companies do this all the time. For example - cigarette ads. I think everyone knows that smoking can cause cancer, but somebody still makes ads & promotes the product anyway.

 

If you believe it is unethical, don't do it. Meanwhile the other 99% of affiliate marketers will continue as it brings them money, even if it is unethical. I personally wouldn't promote anything that is illegal or I know is an absolute piece of crap, however I promote most other products that I want.

 

It is not unethical, but I think you "speak with authority" when you have bought, used and know the product. And, this will come across to your viewer and help you build a business that will last...with happy, repeat customers who feel they can trust you.

Now, if you don't care about about building a business that will last, just want to get money from people no matter what the fallout might be for them from the crap you are pushing....just hawk any of the junk most people are these days and don't give a rat's ass about your customer...and, then, just justify your actions as so many others do....and, call it "business".

BTW...your question should really be in the general affiliate forum. This forum is for CJ specific topics.

Jim

 

Well, if its reputation is solid, then there should be nothing wrong with it. But if their rep is iffy, and you don't promote them yourself, how can you feel like you are promoting something that is good?

 

If a product/company has an iffy reputation, most affiliates with morals (who care about more than just money) will not promote products/companies that they feel do not conduct business properly.

 

if you don't sell it someone else will.

 

I honestly think if you are selling a product in the offline world, you need to be a user of it. In the online marketing world, you are not selling face to face at all, so I feel there is no need to be genuine about the product b/c you are not face to face trying to convince someone. I market products all day long that I would never use b/c I have no need for them whatsoever.

 

There are many other ways to evaluate a product. The question is, do you believe in what you say.

 

guru how do you know if something is absolutely crap or not unless you use it? You are using perception which is unscientific and unethical in itself. Plus you say you wouldn't sell anything illegal. You don't sell illegal things because it is unethical to do so. Then how can you say it doesn't matter if advertising something you haven't tried is unethical or not and that you will continue to sell it. That is in itself a contradiction.

 

It's really up to the buyer to decide if what the advertiser is providing is true. That's why I always try to be up front and honest when promoting something. I'll also pick products to promote that I know are quality and worthwhile. It's easier to promote something if the person has heard about it and read about it elsewhere. You then have a better chance of catching someone after they have been just reading about it, and when they are more inclined to buy!

So it actually makes more sense to me just to be honest and truthful. Also promoting products that are popular in the niche or are of good quality. It also doesn't hurt to purchase the product or try it out first.

 

hmm good point islars

 

Would that mentality justify selling cigarettes/drugs to children or teenagers?

Back to the main subject:

The information is available for the consumer, and if they decide to go to the first/second page they find for a product and buy based solely off that one opinion it is their problem, but more importantly their choice.

It's not like you are selling prescription drugs, it won't be life/death situations. Unfortunately most consumers are ill-informed, or simply don't care enough to thoroughly research every single purchase they make. Also what seems like a trash product to you might be the perfect item for someone else.

I am not saying you should make every product you market sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. Also the best product is never the only one that sells. If that were the case there would be one brand of everything and that's it. The simple truth is that the average website/business doesn't have the means to be able to try out every product they want to sell. Look at book stores or video game stores, it would be near impossible. If you were interested in trying to get test products from these companies though you can do a PR campaign with all of them. PM me if you have any questions about that, I did it for years.

You can also make a note in your privacy policy (or on each product page) saying you have not necessarily reviewed every product mentioned on your website if that makes you feel better. Or just make a point of saying in each description if you have or haven't tried it. Being upfront with your readers/customers will help in the long run, and keep them coming back.

 

You have to. Too much time and money would be spent on research.

 

I bet the vast majority of people pushing the text link ads program didn't qualify for it (Record first post where TLA was mentioned but no affiliate link attempted!!!).

 

Exactly my point!

But then you are cheating your customer by advising a product which you have no knowledge about. So you are making him do the research and spend the money although he/she trusted you!?

 

If you walked into a shop would you expect the shopkeeper to have tried every product? I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to try out every product that they advertise on their websites. I just show people a selection of products to choose from and they can go to the advertisers website if they like the look of something.

 

I think it also depends on how you are marketing items that you have not tested:

Examples -
Ethical
Q? Where can I find products for ***?
A: Products can be found at ***, ****, and ***** click on the link for product information provided by the manufacturer/reseller.

Unethical
Q? I need a product to do ***, what should I buy?
A: Go to ***, they make the absolute best product for what you want!!!!

Ethical
Q? I need a product to do ***, what should I buy?
A: While I have never used ***, polls from yyy, market research from tttt, and sales figures for the past fiscal year in this market suggest that *** provides the most used product for what you want.

I guess the question is are you marketing the item or testifying for the product? Are you trying to convince somebody to buy it, or just putting it in an easily accessible location? Do you think WalMart store owners try every product that comes through the door? Hardly. Even the corporate buyers probably only saw the product demonstrated at a trade show at best.

[EDIT]Looks like Trisha beat me to the punch[/EDIT]