m-cause

This time of year the blogosphere gets festive as bloggers come out with excellent lists of things to buy online and offline.

Like many of you out there, I enjoy reading the lists of people I respect and trust.  It’s rewarding to get a sneak peak into what a favorite tech or marketing blogger is buying.  Really, who wants to plow through online retailer gift recommendation lists when you can get solid tips from that trusty blog guy/girl you “know”. After enjoying their posts all year you realize that you are interested in the same topic areas/products…so the gifts they recommend are likely to be very relevant. 

Content marketing online is Über powerful stuff!

One thing to always remember, however, is that holiday lists are often peppered with affiliate links.  So, if you click through a helpful link to an online retailer site and make a purchase, you just might be giving that trusty blogger an additional side gift…below is an example of an affiliate network that you can sign up to as an online publisher.

For the most part, I think it is good to help out bloggers from time to time by clicking through a link to make a purchase.  After all, many bloggers write for free and help you discover topics/ideas, etc. that you might have otherwise missed.  Bloggers have expenses too…someone has to pay for all that web hosting, etc.  What’s wrong with helping someone out who, for the most part, adds value to your life at their own expense?

Back in June, the FTC made it mandatory that all affiliate links (even links to Amazon book recommendations) be disclosed by bloggers.  Below are some fun examples of honest disclosure from “big” bloggers.

• Frank Kern goes to absurd lengths to entertain his followers even while disclosing, using tactics such as this: “<<—– BIG scary affiliate link!”
• Chris Brogan says “If you buy this from me, I get some beer money (not enough for a pony).”

The FTC regulation is new and its hard to monitor.  Unfortunately, there are still plenty of bloggers who don’t disclose their affiliate programs very well.  Or, they do it in a weird kind of way that makes you think they have something more sinister lurking around the corner to hide.

Disclosure is a Really Good Thing…

CDNow developed affiliate marketing way back in 1994 and Amazon has been one of the biggest drivers of the practice on the web (staring back in 1996).   Today, however, people are more cynical and much less trusting of what people recommend on their websites.

So, bloggers just need to start telling the truth about their affiliate connections as per the FTC regulation.    Being honest and admitting that you are going to make a few $$ on a product should not be a problem and will help you to continue building trust with your audience.

And, have fun with it please.  Don’t act guilty or sheepish.   Come out of the affiliate closet boldly; it might even be good to add in a little humor when you tell us you are on the take.

Another idea would be to appeal to my m-cause driven guilt…tell me that you have to put your blog hosting fees on your credit card because you can’t pay your mortgage due to the housing crisis or something like that.  Finally, you can always help the common good a bit by donating 50% of your affiliate cash to a great cause.

Happy (online) shopping this year!  If you are interested in checking out a great article on this topic, head on over to Copyblogger and read this.

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