GAME OVER: Affiliate marketing is dead

monetization · 10-31-2011, 11:11 PM

There will always be an attempt to reach an equilibrium in this industry. You'll have people who will push the limits on what they can get away with until it catches up with them. Things are always in a constant state of flux, but the fundamentals have always been consistent.

Being an advertiser is no joke, even if you are a master at traffic generation. While you may not need any 'affiliates', you are going to need a team behind you to manage all that goes with a large scale organization. You can't effectively focus on super affiliate level traffic generation, oversee support, manage merchant issues, and provide quality content without a team behind you.

The article makes good points, but obviously has its ulterior motives. The fundamentals of Affiliate Marketing are not dead, but best believe some business practices will be getting (and have become) much more regulated. And that's actually a good thing for the guys who are in it for the long-term.

ScottLindsay · 11-01-2011, 11:27 AM

Hi Guys:

Although I have been full time in IM for over 10 years, I am new to this forum! I have really spent most of my time making money and have been reluctant to get involved in any forums. I considered them a waste of time as I see so many spending time on forums but not putting in the work that needs to be done to make money online.

However, after looking around this forum, I can see what I have been missing. I should have plugged in sooner but after reading this thread, decided to finally post.

Affiliate marketing is not dead at all. I have been making strong 6 figures from affiliate marketing for many years now and that continues to this day. I do however see that affiliate marketers need to change some of the ways they have been doing things for years.

The days of crappy one product sniper sites are over. However, if you focus on content and your user first then the sky is the limit! Most people want to take shortcuts though and that is why there is always so little competition in the IM world.

So basically I am saying that affiliate marketing is alive and well but only to those who understand the new "online" world in which we live.

SUPER IM · 11-01-2011, 04:18 PM

My personal take on this is that SEO is becoming much more o a targeted thing. businesses are now able to rank in their local area much easier than before, thanks to google being so tailored these days.

I was never massively into affiliate marketing, but it's always been interesting

Thanks for the link.

creature · 11-01-2011, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badboy_Nick

Insurance quotes, loan quotes, etc is where the REAL money is at and what I recommend ANYONE to do in CPA.

Any questions just hit me up,
Nick

Ok - I'll "hit you up". Aa a total newbie to CPA, I'd like to know if you can succeed with the recommended products (e.g., Insurance quotes, loan quotes) on just about any page that gets decent traffic regardless of the topic covered, or is success here tied to a highly targeted audience drawn to a particular page because of specialized content related to the ad topics?

pacelattin · 11-02-2011, 05:24 PM

That article has one purpose: to get attention.

People have been saying this type of stuff for 10 years about affiliate marketing, about performance based marketing. Every year someone complaints about "brokers" or "middlemen" or "networks" and nothing changes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by GENIX

This is the title of a post I read today - GAME OVER: Affiliate Marketing Is Dead « Direct Response Marketing – Crush Your Competition.

I think they have good points and the guys over at Direct Response sure know the industry inside out.

I don't think affiliate marketing is dead by any means, but don't see it as being a viable long term business either. What do you guys think? I haven't been in the game for that long so I was hoping for some of the veterans to give your insight on how you see the future of this industry.

PPV Affiliate · 11-02-2011, 06:23 PM

About 8-9 years ago when I got into this, I remember reading some message board where someone was crying about the 'glory days' and how there wasn't as much money to be made anymore.

Then there were ringtones..then there were rebills...then there was...

Affiliate marketing won't die because it's such a great deal for advertisers. Think about this - if I have a company or offer I want promoted I can get thousands of 'employees' (aka affiliates) working for me where I don't have to pay them an hourly wage, medical benefits, or rent a huge office and furnish them with computers, etc.

Most of the offer owners I know love having affiliates and basically wouldn't be where they were today without them.

Having said that...affiliates are essentially middle men and essentially working for someone else. Yes, you get a commission, but the advertiser gets all the money made on the customer after that.

After a while you start seeing affiliate marketing as a great way to make money, but being an advertiser (or something else higher up the 'food chain') as the way to make real money.

That's one reason I always encourage people to build a business and not just arbitrage affiliate offers forever.

Kenster · 11-04-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPV Affiliate

About 8-9 years ago when I got into this, I remember reading some message board where someone was crying about the 'glory days' and how there wasn't as much money to be made anymore.

Then there were ringtones..then there were rebills...then there was...

Affiliate marketing won't die because it's such a great deal for advertisers. Think about this - if I have a company or offer I want promoted I can get thousands of 'employees' (aka affiliates) working for me where I don't have to pay them an hourly wage, medical benefits, or rent a huge office and furnish them with computers, etc.

Most of the offer owners I know love having affiliates and basically wouldn't be where they were today without them.

Having said that...affiliates are essentially middle men and essentially working for someone else. Yes, you get a commission, but the advertiser gets all the money made on the customer after that.

After a while you start seeing affiliate marketing as a great way to make money, but being an advertiser (or something else higher up the 'food chain') as the way to make real money.

That's one reason I always encourage people to build a business and not just arbitrage affiliate offers forever.

I agree. There is a lot of money in affiliate marketing, but you need to diversify and create more sustainable income streams as well. Most affiliate campaigns are not the type of campaigns that last for years, so it's important ot have those steady sustainable streams as well.

I agree with many points in the article, but I do think it was written partly to get attention but also they should clarify that this isn't a new development. People read stuff like that and get scared and run for the hills, not knowing that this trend has been happening for years and years and it won't be for years and years that the industry has any major development that is a game changer.

Still PLENTY AND PLENTY of money to be made in CPA and elsewhere!

profitmaster7 · 11-04-2011, 10:35 AM

I agree with Scott. AM is not dead; it's just in a coma. The proliferation of so many get-rich-quick schemes makes the average user very leery. IM is a wave in the ocean; another wave will come along to change it, and if you're not paying attention, it will simply knock you over and get salt up your nose.

ScottLindsay · 11-06-2011, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by profitmaster7

I agree with Scott. AM is not dead; it's just in a coma. The proliferation of so many get-rich-quick schemes makes the average user very leery. IM is a wave in the ocean; another wave will come along to change it, and if you're not paying attention, it will simply knock you over and get salt up your nose.

Affiliate marketing may be "in a coma" more in the IM niche because of so many of these "push button riches" scams. People should know there is no such thing as "push a button" and get rich. It will always take work.

However, if you market in niches that have nothing to do with IM such as health markets there is still big money there and it works very well. The skepticism is not there in these type of markets.

10-31-2011, 11:11 PM	#51
monetization Monetization Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: the internets Posts: 29 Thanks: 3 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts Contact Info	Re: GAME OVER: Affiliate marketing is dead There will always be an attempt to reach an equilibrium in this industry. You'll have people who will push the limits on what they can get away with until it catches up with them. Things are always in a constant state of flux, but the fundamentals have always been consistent. Being an advertiser is no joke, even if you are a master at traffic generation. While you may not need any 'affiliates', you are going to need a team behind you to manage all that goes with a large scale organization. You can't effectively focus on super affiliate level traffic generation, oversee support, manage merchant issues, and provide quality content without a team behind you. The article makes good points, but obviously has its ulterior motives. The fundamentals of Affiliate Marketing are not dead, but best believe some business practices will be getting (and have become) much more regulated. And that's actually a good thing for the guys who are in it for the long-term.

11-01-2011, 11:27 AM	#52
ScottLindsay Warrior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post Social Networking	Re: GAME OVER: Affiliate marketing is dead Hi Guys: Although I have been full time in IM for over 10 years, I am new to this forum! I have really spent most of my time making money and have been reluctant to get involved in any forums. I considered them a waste of time as I see so many spending time on forums but not putting in the work that needs to be done to make money online. However, after looking around this forum, I can see what I have been missing. I should have plugged in sooner but after reading this thread, decided to finally post. Affiliate marketing is not dead at all. I have been making strong 6 figures from affiliate marketing for many years now and that continues to this day. I do however see that affiliate marketers need to change some of the ways they have been doing things for years. The days of crappy one product sniper sites are over. However, if you focus on content and your user first then the sky is the limit! Most people want to take shortcuts though and that is why there is always so little competition in the IM world. So basically I am saying that affiliate marketing is alive and well but only to those who understand the new "online" world in which we live.
	Learn How to Make Money and Make Money Online at How to Earn Money 101.

11-01-2011, 04:18 PM	#53
SUPER IM Adsense Is My Job. War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: #1 in Google Posts: 91 Thanks: 3 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: GAME OVER: Affiliate marketing is dead My personal take on this is that SEO is becoming much more o a targeted thing. businesses are now able to rank in their local area much easier than before, thanks to google being so tailored these days. I was never massively into affiliate marketing, but it's always been interesting Thanks for the link.
	SEO is everything

11-02-2011, 06:23 PM	#56
PPV Affiliate HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 275 Thanks: 14 Thanked 69 Times in 43 Posts Social Networking	Re: GAME OVER: Affiliate marketing is dead About 8-9 years ago when I got into this, I remember reading some message board where someone was crying about the 'glory days' and how there wasn't as much money to be made anymore. Then there were ringtones..then there were rebills...then there was... Affiliate marketing won't die because it's such a great deal for advertisers. Think about this - if I have a company or offer I want promoted I can get thousands of 'employees' (aka affiliates) working for me where I don't have to pay them an hourly wage, medical benefits, or rent a huge office and furnish them with computers, etc. Most of the offer owners I know love having affiliates and basically wouldn't be where they were today without them. Having said that...affiliates are essentially middle men and essentially working for someone else. Yes, you get a commission, but the advertiser gets all the money made on the customer after that. After a while you start seeing affiliate marketing as a great way to make money, but being an advertiser (or something else higher up the 'food chain') as the way to make real money. That's one reason I always encourage people to build a business and not just arbitrage affiliate offers forever.
	CPA Training - PPV, PPC, Mobile, Facebook, POF & More! Case Studies - Lessons - Guides

11-04-2011, 10:35 AM	#58
profitmaster7 Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 50 Thanks: 3 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts	Re: GAME OVER: Affiliate marketing is dead I agree with Scott. AM is not dead; it's just in a coma. The proliferation of so many get-rich-quick schemes makes the average user very leery. IM is a wave in the ocean; another wave will come along to change it, and if you're not paying attention, it will simply knock you over and get salt up your nose.