If my affiliates spam do I get screwed? How to protect?

21 replies
I am just now doing a soft launch on my membership site.

It is just by luck that I talked with a guy that signed up as an affiliate and was going to send out 100,000 bulk emails with a sales pitch and his full affiliate url.

Of course the full affiliate url is mysite.com/page=hisaffid

Obviously there would be spam reports and I assume I would take the heat since the root url being promoted is mine.

In the affiliate agreement I have put that spamming may result in termination of affiliate account bu that still does not leave me feeling very safe. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
#affiliates #protect #screwed #spam
  • Absolutely this reflects negatively on you.

    What you can do is post clearly your anti spam message. And when the wayward affiliate does spam.... cut them off immediately.

    It's that or just not have a program. People will always try and beat the rules. I see this more in self run programs where for some reason people seem to think they can get away with it easier than on networks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Adams
    @InternetMarketingIQ I respectively disagree. If you thoughts were true than anybody could bring their competitors by doing these SPAM campaigns as affiliates. If people buy, they make money... if people complain as SPAM they "hurt their competition". You still have to realize that SPAM complaints are issues that are taken up by that persons autoresponder, not the sites that they promote.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rich Struck
      Originally Posted by Mike Adams View Post

      You still have to realize that SPAM complaints are issues that are taken up by that persons autoresponder, not the sites that they promote.
      Sorry but this just isn't true. Everyone associated with the complaint is at some kind of risk. The FTC has gone after LOTS of companies because of affiliate spam. Google it and see for yourself.

      But forget about the FTC, many hosting companies will shut you down for even a minor complaint and when people complain, they often complain to the hosting company of the site being promoted.

      So the answer is YES, a rogue affiliate can get you into all sorts of trouble. I would be extremely leery of some guy who I didn't know who was going to blast my site to 100,000 people.
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      • Profile picture of the author ozduc
        I don't know if this helps or not but sometimes I have clicked on a link in spam email and the site has a banner or link that says report spam. When I've clicked on that it usually says something like they take spam complaints very seriously and that if you copy and paste the offending email showing full headers, the sender of the email will be reported and/or removed from the affiliate program.
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  • Profile picture of the author digigo
    you are fine.. and as long as you are not the one sending those SPAMs .. but it does reflect poorly on your brand... ISP knows who the email sender is .. it is your average customer does not understand you are a victim of the spammer too ...

    my advice: credit check your partners? be more careful in screening your affiliates?
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Once again, people answering questions when they, in fact, don't know
      what they're talking about.

      I an affiliate spams YOUR link using whatever method they choose, your
      domain MAY be blacklisted. In fact, I strongly suggest that everybody
      regularly checks to see if their domain is on the blacklist here:

      URIBL.COM - Realtime URI Blacklist

      Because of spammers, 2 of my domains ended up on this blacklist and let
      me tell you, it's not easy to get off of it.

      Yes, spammers CAN hurt your domain, which is why sometimes you're
      better off having a closed affiliate program.
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      • Profile picture of the author digigo
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Once again, people answering questions when they, in fact, don't know
        what they're talking about.

        I an affiliate spams YOUR link using whatever method they choose, your
        domain MAY be blacklisted. In fact, I strongly suggest that everybody
        regularly checks to see if their domain is on the blacklist here:

        URIBL.COM - Realtime URI Blacklist

        Because of spammers, 2 of my domains ended up on this blacklist and let
        me tell you, it's not easy to get off of it.

        Yes, spammers CAN hurt your domain, which is why sometimes you're
        better off having a closed affiliate program.
        that is unfortunate... but how would that prevent your competitors from spam bombing your domain and get your website blacklisted?? it is not something you have control.... I would think the one managing the black list would be smart enough to know there might be the act of a rogue affiliate..
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      • Profile picture of the author DogScout
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Once again, people answering questions when they, in fact, don't know
        what they're talking about.

        I an affiliate spams YOUR link using whatever method they choose, your
        domain MAY be blacklisted. In fact, I strongly suggest that everybody
        regularly checks to see if their domain is on the blacklist here:

        URIBL.COM - Realtime URI Blacklist

        Because of spammers, 2 of my domains ended up on this blacklist and let
        me tell you, it's not easy to get off of it.

        Yes, spammers CAN hurt your domain, which is why sometimes you're
        better off having a closed affiliate program.
        There are also legal ramifications. The legal pressures that can be brought to bear on your affiliate can also be brought on you; after all, in the eyes of the law, you are driving the 'get away car'
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Adams
    Yes, but please understand that whether its an affiliate program or not, there is no search engine or autoresponder service that would blacklist you because someone puts a link to your site in an email then SPAMs that email to people who did not solicit the information.

    For instance myself, as I'm sure many others reading this, have received spoof emails from people posing to be UPS.com, PAYPAL.com, MYSPACE.com and DLH.com. By your analysis search engines like Google will now blacklist and thus discredit these site because a select few decided to exploit their name to try to take advantage of them.

    You cant tell me that that makes sense. Also the company that would ban them would be their autoresponder service, not the search engines. Unless you are telling us that Google regards sites like the one you listed as an authority site and then takes that into account when indexing sites. Also, how would the search engines, like Google, know that you are spamming unless you used Gmail to send the emails.
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    • Profile picture of the author DogScout
      Originally Posted by Mike Adams View Post

      Yes, but please understand that whether its an affiliate program or not, there is no search engine or autoresponder service that would blacklist you because someone puts a link to your site in an email then SPAMs that email to people who did not solicit the information.

      For instance myself, as I'm sure many others reading this, have received spoof emails from people posing to be UPS.com, PAYPAL.com, MYSPACE.com and DLH.com. By your analysis search engines like Google will now blacklist and thus discredit these site because a select few decided to exploit their name to try to take advantage of them.

      You cant tell me that that makes sense. Also the company that would ban them would be their autoresponder service, not the search engines. Unless you are telling us that Google regards sites like the one you listed as an authority site and then takes that into account when indexing sites. Also, how would the search engines, like Google, know that you are spamming unless you used Gmail to send the emails.
      It makes sense only if you stand to profit from their actions, so no, if you have no material interest in what they spam and can not profit no matter how successful they are, you can probably get out of it ( for a price), but if it IS your affiliate, your cooked.

      & there are a lot of spam directories.
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      • Profile picture of the author schofieldml
        Before I write this, I am not a lawyer and you should consult with one of course....

        From what I remembered from reading the newest FTC rules that came out both the affiliate and the company providing the affiliate program can be held liable.

        I think it was mentioned you should provide some sort of training to your affiliates about what is spam and what is considered a false claim about the product. Here is a summary of the section that impacts affiliate programs I wrote back when it first came out, you should read the actual section. Take note of bullet #4:

        Section 255.1 General considerations.

        This Section explains how and when endorsements may be used and who may be liable if a claim is not accurate. Testimonials must accurately depict the endorsers views of the product at the time of the advertisement and statements must be used in context. Advertisements must disclose if a person was compensated for their testimonial. This Section also points out that both the advertiser and endorser can be held liable for claims made about a product.

        Examples:

        • If an expert uses one of your products and they endorse the product, but you eventually make a substantial change to your product, you must contact them to make sure they still believe in the benefits of your product.
        • If an expert endorser has knowledge of problems with a product or are aware the supposed benefits of the product are false and they still endorse that product they are liable for the false claims. The advertiser would also be liable for the false claims.
        • If an advertiser provides a Blogger a product to review, the Blogger reviews the product and makes false claims about the product, even though the advertiser didn't provide the deceptive information to the Blogger, the advertiser may be liable for the Bloggers false claims. The Blogger is also liable for the false claim and would be liable if they didn't disclose they had been compensated for her review.
        • Advertisers can limit liability by providing training to their affiliates, monitor their affiliates and take the necessary steps to have the deceptive claims removed.
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        • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
          Originally Posted by schofieldml View Post

          From what I remembered from reading the newest FTC rules that came out both the affiliate and the company providing the affiliate program can be held liable.
          I remember reading about this too. There is a reason responsible affiliate program owners order, beg, and plead with their affiliates not to promote them using spam.
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          Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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          • Profile picture of the author schofieldml
            Originally Posted by Dennis Gaskill View Post

            I remember reading about this too. There is a reason responsible affiliate program owners order, beg, and plead with their affiliates not to promote them using spam.
            ....and watch them like a hawk!
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  • Profile picture of the author digigo
    regardless of the consequence.. who would ever want to be associated with spammer anyway? if your affiliate spams behind your back.. god knows what else he is pulling off.. you have more risk than its worth...
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Adams
    If any of the above is valid then sites like clickbank are open for people to destroy their competition and get "banned" I just believe that those are rules are put in place to make people feel better about getting spammed. I don't believe that anyone from the FTC will be beating down the door of a spammer as most of the time they are protected by proxies, free email addresses like Google or using an autoresponder hosted on foreign servers.
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    • Profile picture of the author theemperor
      An obvious solution is to purchase another domain to act as a middle man site - the affiliates would refer to that not your main domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by Mike Adams View Post

      If any of the above is valid then sites like clickbank are open for people to destroy their competition and get "banned" I just believe that those are rules are put in place to make people feel better about getting spammed. I don't believe that anyone from the FTC will be beating down the door of a spammer as most of the time they are protected by proxies, free email addresses like Google or using an autoresponder hosted on foreign servers.
      Which is why Clickbank now has it in their TOS that you CANNOT include
      Clickbank links in emails. Actually, this was instituted years ago when
      Clickbank DID run into a serious spam problem.

      It's the reason they no longer send out affiliate sales emails. They actually
      got spam complaints from affiliates making sales.

      Hard to believe, but true.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    Make it clear in your affiliate's policy that no spam will be tolerated . Make it clear any and all commissions will be forfeited.

    If you are going to use affiliates , it is a good idea to put the products on a domain that is not connected to your main domain.

    It is a lot better to get a free dot weebly site black listed than the domain you have spent endless hours on getting ranked .

    You can always put the product on your domain and straight sell it yourself and take advantage of your seo work.

    Just never sell your straight link product at a lower price than what your affiliate site is offering it for . This will leave a bad taste in your affiliate's mouth .
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Adams
    @ Steven Wagenheim Does that include cloaked links like yourdomain.com/clickbank-product that redirects to theirdomain.com?hop=affiliate
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  • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
    Originally Posted by plessard View Post

    I am just now doing a soft launch on my membership site.

    It is just by luck that I talked with a guy that signed up as an affiliate and was going to send out 100,000 bulk emails with a sales pitch and his full affiliate url.

    Of course the full affiliate url is mysite.com/page=hisaffid

    Obviously there would be spam reports and I assume I would take the heat since the root url being promoted is mine.

    In the affiliate agreement I have put that spamming may result in termination of affiliate account bu that still does not leave me feeling very safe. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
    Unfortunately, there is no real way to protect yourself, except to enforce your agreement to the maximum extent possible.

    You need to delete that affiliate asap, terminate his membership, and do an IP ban so he can't come back.

    Unfortunately, with all that, you may still get sued. Your only recourse then is to sue the spammer yourself in an attempt to recoup the losses.

    I wish I could tell you of a bulletproof method, but there isn't one. Welcome to life in the fast lane.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Lessard
    I want to sincerely thank everyone for their comments on this. I will take every precaution I can, in the end it would seem one cannot completely insulate against the risks of having an affiliate program and must carefully consider the benefits versus drawbacks like everything else in life :-)
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