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Twitter Direct Marketing - No Ban So Far!

by David Braybrooke
28 replies
I have to admit that I sometimes have tried some borderline black hat marketing techniques but I'm not certain if the following falls in to that category?:

Learnt from valid sources - not sure if it was Joel Comm or Mark Anastasi? Anyway, you conduct a targeted phrase search in the Twitter search (spyglass) box, looking for tweet evidence of pre-purchasing. e.g. 'I want to get a tattoo', 'I have to lose weight now!' etc.

Go to Clickbank (or other affiliate site). Select a product that offers a solution to the tweet's problem or desire. Cloak your hoplink then tweet it to the appropriate source, using subtle, friendly wording. If you can find affiliate products that are offering Free information and opportunities, then even better. An email capture page, on the affiliate sales page, can lead to future backend commissions for you.

I also add targeted hashtags # to capture a wider audience. A form of savvy niche marketing or am I heading for dangerous territory? I've even employed Buffer to release timed tweets and updates (using Tweriod stats) over multiple Twitter accounts and a Facebook page. All accounts still operational.

My Twitter premier account logo, being visually colourful, seems to get me lots of retweets and favouriting - affiliate links going viral. And the sales are slowly beginning to happen. It wasn't my original idea but it seems to be working. Spam complaints almost non-existent too.
#affiliate #ban #direct #marketing #twitter
  • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
    It reminds of the three little piggies... the houses
    built with substandard materials didn't last long.

    If your "business" relies on whether or not a third
    party bans you... well it ain't a business.

    Your plan does nothing to build any assets that
    you own.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      It reminds of the three little piggies... the houses
      built with substandard materials didn't last long.

      If your "business" relies on whether or not a third
      party bans you... well it ain't a business.

      Your plan does nothing to build any assets that
      you own.

      John
      Point taken John but I was experimenting with different techniques. Marketing is a creative outlet for me, not just a strict exercise in revenue building!

      As I stated, I gleaned this idea from recognised sources. I am the 'pig' then? Does that make you Mr Wolf? ..... we all know what happened to him!
      ...... Off to buy me some bricks
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    • Profile picture of the author Xtronikz
      Banned
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      It reminds of the three little piggies... the houses
      built with substandard materials didn't last long.

      If your "business" relies on whether or not a third
      party bans you... well it ain't a business.

      Your plan does nothing to build any assets that
      you own.

      John

      John that's such a great point! If a 3rd party has a possibility of banning you then its not a business.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketwarrior06
    Banned
    you will not get banned dude. I tried same type of thing with Amazon and Face book and still OK. But my income is not very good.
    thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by marketwarrior06 View Post

      you will not get banned dude. I tried same type of thing with Amazon and Face book and still OK. But my income is not very good.
      thanks
      Facebook isn't Twitter though MarketWarrior06. I have heard of people who have run in to trouble tweeting affiliate links. I have also heard of other marketers who have made big income from this same method over multiple accounts. It seems puzzling to me that some big names in the marketing game have written about this very topic. It's not get rick quick but the topic still warranted a mention.

      I thought forums were meant to cover broad, wide-ranging discussion? Open minds etc. We can't all start marketing with the most 'recommended' methods. Experimenting is fun. And, contrary to the armies of naysayers, people do actually buy from social media platforms. Cheers.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
        Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post


        I thought forums were meant to cover broad, wide-ranging discussion? Open minds etc.
        They do? I'm wondering if your mind is open to
        accepting the advice and opinion of others? I
        may be wrong but you seem to be taking a
        position that defends your approach.

        John
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          While you may not be breaking any TOS, the method is distasteful to me.

          Find someone looking for help, find an affiliate product you know nothing about, send them a cloaked affiliate link offering a solution you don't know works, and try to cash in.

          Sounds a lot like e-whoring to me...
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          • Profile picture of the author Kurt
            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            While you may not be breaking any TOS, the method is distasteful to me.

            Find someone looking for help, find an affiliate product you know nothing about, send them a cloaked affiliate link offering a solution you don't know works, and try to cash in.

            Sounds a lot like e-whoring to me...
            Hey John...

            Let's add a hypothetical twist to this...Let's say you go to Youtube, check out 5-7 videos and find an excellent video about the subject.

            You embed the video on a page on your own site. On this page, you also include ads for a related affiliate program.

            Now, you send a link to the person looking for help. Is this also ewhoring, or does the time you spent reviewing Youtube videos to select the best information change this?
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            • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
              Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

              Hey John...

              Let's add a hypothetical twist to this...Let's say you go to Youtube, check out 5-7 videos and find an excellent video about the subject.

              You embed the video on a page on your own site. On this page, you also include ads for a related affiliate program.

              Now, you send a link to the person looking for help. Is this also ewhoring, or does the time you spent reviewing Youtube videos to select the best information change this?
              If I've spent at least as much time making sure the affiliate offers are as excellent as the video, that changes the game.

              If I choose an excellent video, add a bunch of random affiliate offers and send the link, all I've done is move from a digital street corner to a virtual cathouse.
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              • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

                If I've spent at least as much time making sure the affiliate offers are as excellent as the video, that changes the game.

                If I choose an excellent video, add a bunch of random affiliate offers and send the link, all I've done is move from a digital street corner to a virtual cathouse.
                Isn't adding Adsense adding "random" offers? So this wouldn't be OK? Or do I have to check out every sponsor link as they update on my site?

                Where does the responsibility fall on the reader? Who is to say an "excellent" affiliate offer for one person may not be "excellent" for another?

                One workout program may be good for someone 10-15 lbs overweight and in reasonably good shape, but totally wrong for someone 50+ lbs overweight and in very poor shape.

                Same thing for quit-smoking programs...One may work for one person and not for another, while another program may work for that person.

                Do I have to buy and use every big screen TV before I offer an Amazon affiliate link for a big screen TV?

                And why doesn't my time spent viewing multiple videos count? Are you saying I didn't add value by spending my time reviewing videos and it only matters if I spent the same amount of time reviewing affiliate programs?
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                • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
                  Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                  Isn't adding Adsense adding "random" offers? So this wouldn't be OK? Or do I have to check out every sponsor link as they update on my site?
                  Adsense is clearly identified as advertising ("Ads by Google"), which is a different thing altogether than sending someone a disguised link offering a solution the sender knows nothing about except that the vendor offers commissions.

                  Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                  Where does the responsibility fall on the reader? Who is to say an "excellent" affiliate offer for one person may not be "excellent" for another?

                  One workout program may be good for someone 10-15 lbs overweight and in reasonably good shape, but totally wrong for someone 50+ lbs overweight and in very poor shape.

                  Same thing for quit-smoking programs...One may work for one person and not for another, while another program may work for that person.
                  Ultimately, the responsibility for purchasing does lie with the reader. That doesn't change the fact the recommending products blindly (as I read the OP - 'go to Clickbank and find a product, then cloak the hoplink') means that the person making the recommendation has no clue if the product is right for anyone.

                  Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                  Do I have to buy and use every big screen TV before I offer an Amazon affiliate link for a big screen TV?
                  Depends on how you word the recommendation. If you say "this model has some great reviews", fine. If you tell people you love how 48 different big screen TVs perform in your living room, you're shilling.

                  Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                  And why doesn't my time spent viewing multiple videos count? Are you saying I didn't add value by spending my time reviewing videos and it only matters if I spent the same amount of time reviewing affiliate programs?
                  Let me rephrase that.

                  The video might be excellent and add some value. If that video is followed by a series of dishonest 'personal recommendations' (such as the OP suggested in his tactic), then even if the video is excellent, the post is a form of whoring.

                  There are ways to do what you described in your first post above in a completely ethical way. Fitting the OP's method as described in his post isn't one of them, at least for me.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                    Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

                    Adsense is clearly identified as advertising ("Ads by Google"), which is a different thing altogether than sending someone a disguised link offering a solution the sender knows nothing about except that the vendor offers commissions.
                    I don't believe this answered the "spririt" of my question, which was about "random" ads. And I didn't use the OP's post as an example. Instead, I offered another example where the person on Twitter was sent a link to a page containing a video which had been "hand-picked" by me based on quality of content.

                    Ultimately, the responsibility for purchasing does lie with the reader. That doesn't change the fact the recommending products blindly (as I read the OP - 'go to Clickbank and find a product, then cloak the hoplink') means that the person making the recommendation has no clue if the product is right for anyone.
                    Again, this response is based on the OP's post, and not my example.

                    Does simply having a product for sale on a page mean it's a recommendation? Doesn't the WSO forum do this, since all WSO threads are pre-approved it means some type of selection process is in effect?


                    Depends on how you word the recommendation. If you say "this model has some great reviews", fine. If you tell people you love how 48 different big screen TVs perform in your living room, you're shilling.
                    In my example, I'd only have the ads on the page with the video, without any commentary or recommendation. Same with a Clickbank product.

                    Let me rephrase that.

                    The video might be excellent and add some value. If that video is followed by a series of dishonest 'personal recommendations' (such as the OP suggested in his tactic), then even if the video is excellent, the post is a form of whoring.

                    There are ways to do what you described in your first post above in a completely ethical way. Fitting the OP's method as described in his post isn't one of them, at least for me.
                    Again, my examples aren't the same as the OP's, other than using Twitter.

                    And to be clear, I never said in my examples that there were any recommendations for any products. The only recommendation was for the video posted on that page. And, you could substitute an EZA syndicated article for the Youtube video, etc.
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          • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            While you may not be breaking any TOS, the method is distasteful to me.

            Find someone looking for help, find an affiliate product you know nothing about, send them a cloaked affiliate link offering a solution you don't know works, and try to cash in.

            Sounds a lot like e-whoring to me...
            How do you know that I don't know about the affiliate products? I research and try many for myself. Next?
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    • Profile picture of the author JabMonkey
      Originally Posted by marketwarrior06 View Post

      you will not get banned dude. I tried same type of thing with Amazon and Face book and still OK. But my income is not very good.
      thanks
      Your income is not good because Twitter gives a warning to Twitter recipients of your spam. Don't you keep up with things, dude? Spamming Twitter with ANY link now is a dead strategy.
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  • Profile picture of the author JimDucharme
    Often when I travel to conferences, I'm asked by security what I do for a living. When I mention email marketing, I sometimes get an odd look or even a chuckle and a joke about spam. Someday, people who try to game the game in online marketing in general are going to be responsible for me being hauled into a little room by some resentful agent and introduced to a rubber glove wearing officer named "Big Willy" and then I'm going to get angry.

    Regards,
    jim
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Hi

    Someone posted this exact method in the Main Forum a little while ago. I looked to see if I could find it but I couldn't.

    She said she sends more than just the promo tweets and works on engaging in conversations and contibuting general tweets along with the promos.

    But she does the same thing:

    1. Search for tweets by people looking for solutions
    2. Find a solution to their problem and cloak the links
    3. Send the link along with a friendly tweet informing them you found the following link useful

    Mahlon
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    I think, in part, it depends on what else you might be tweeting. If most of your tweets are affiliate links you'll eventually get people unfollowing you and spam complaints, which will eventually lead to you getting the boot. You'll also have people who will see what you're doing and won't want to follow you in the first place.

    I don't think what you're doing is black hat but as John has mentioned, it's not sustainable. Though that's certainly a business model. In my mythology it's called slash, burn and repeat. I really do wonder why people opt to do stuff like this when building a real business based on providing value is so much easier.

    As for who recommends it, why would that matter? Does doing something marginal legitimize it because it's endorsed by someone with a marquee name?
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      I think, in part, it depends on what else you might be tweeting. If most of your tweets are affiliate links you'll eventually get people unfollowing you and spam complaints, which will eventually lead to you getting the boot. You'll also have people who will see what you're doing and won't want to follow you in the first place.

      I don't think what you're doing is black hat but as John has mentioned, it's not sustainable. Though that's certainly a business model. In my mythology it's called slash, burn and repeat. I really do wonder why people opt to do stuff like this when building a real business based on providing value is so much easier.

      As for who recommends it, why would that matter? Does doing something marginal legitimize it because it's endorsed by someone with a marquee name?
      One doesn't usually get a 'marquee name' by recommending bad ideas. The rise of social media is demanding new ways to effectively conduct online marketing. I am willing to experiment and be corrected where needed. Thank you for all input on this thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
    Kurt,

    Surely there's a distinct difference between an individual's
    Twitter Stream and a website or blog that they can choose
    to visit?

    The kind of "marketing" being suggested here has the effect
    of polluting the end users experience; whereas adding affiliate
    offers to your own site gives the end user the choice to stay,
    leave and re-visit.

    There's a simple test... Does your action effect the end user
    in a positive or negative way?

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      Kurt,

      Surely there's a distinct difference between an individual's
      Twitter Stream and a website or blog that they can choose
      to visit?

      The kind of "marketing" being suggested here has the effect
      of polluting the end users experience; whereas adding affiliate
      offers to your own site gives the end user the choice to stay,
      leave and re-visit.

      There's a simple test... Does your action effect the end user
      in a positive or negative way?

      John
      My posts weren't about the type of marketing suggested by the OP, which sends a link directly to an affiliate program. Instead, my examples send the individual to a page with "good" info, that also includes relevant advertising.

      The common theme is both use Twitter. So, if someone on Twitter has a problem or interest in something, we shouldn't ever send them a link that may help?

      Note that I've never done this, only posted on my own Twitter stream. But what if the direct message or @ could be truly useful? Wouldn't this pass your "positive or negative" test?

      And would it be OK to send them a link to a third-party site that contained essentially the same info?

      BTW, anyone find it funny that two "Johns" are concerned with e-whoring?
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      Kurt,

      Surely there's a distinct difference between an individual's
      Twitter Stream and a website or blog that they can choose
      to visit?

      The kind of "marketing" being suggested here has the effect
      of polluting the end users experience; whereas adding affiliate
      offers to your own site gives the end user the choice to stay,
      leave and re-visit.

      There's a simple test... Does your action effect the end user
      in a positive or negative way?

      John
      Nonsense! Displaying advertorial content that matches a person's interest is a crux of marketing. It needs to be done subtley but why not!?
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      • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
        Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post

        Nonsense! Displaying advertorial content that matches a person's interest is a crux of marketing. It needs to be done subtley but why not!?
        Nonsense?

        Displaying advertorial content when the recipient hasn't
        requested it is at best misguided and at worst spam.

        Read Permission Marketing by Seth Godin.

        John
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    I think it's a bad sign when the post title includes, "No Ban So Far".
    Keep your hat white.
    I don't know if that violates TOS of Twitter.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      My posts weren't about the type of marketing suggested by the OP, which sends a link directly to an affiliate program. Instead, my examples send the individual to a page with "good" info, that also includes relevant advertising.

      The common theme is both use Twitter. So, if someone on Twitter has a problem or interest in something, we shouldn't ever send them a link that may help?

      Note that I've never done this, only posted on my own Twitter stream. But what if the direct message or @ could be truly useful? Wouldn't this pass your "positive or negative" test?

      And would it be OK to send them a link to a third-party site that contained essentially the same info?
      Give me a minute to wipe some yolk out of my eye...

      I read more into the post than was there. Before my first Twitter page got killed, I did have a few @ messages with links I appreciated. I think it goes back to something I say often, that execution counts for a lot when determining if something is 'good' or not.

      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      BTW, anyone find it funny that two "Johns" are concerned with e-whoring?
      To quote Larry the Cable Guy, "I don't care who you are, that's funny!"

      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      I don't believe this answered the "spririt" of my question, which was about "random" ads. And I didn't use the OP's post as an example. Instead, I offered another example where the person on Twitter was sent a link to a page containing a video which had been "hand-picked" by me based on quality of content.

      ...snip...
      In my example, I'd only have the ads on the page with the video, without any commentary or recommendation. Same with a Clickbank product.

      Again, my examples aren't the same as the OP's, other than using Twitter.

      And to be clear, I never said in my examples that there were any recommendations for any products. The only recommendation was for the video posted on that page. And, you could substitute an EZA syndicated article for the Youtube video, etc.
      Like I said above, I read more into your question than was there, and reacted more to what the OP proposed.

      I see nothing wrong with recommending/sharing solid content. As one who seeks to actively syndicate their content, I encourage it.

      I think that had I read your post as a standalone thread, I'd have responded differently...
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    • Profile picture of the author David Braybrooke
      Originally Posted by Michael55555 View Post

      I think it's a bad sign when the post title includes, "No Ban So Far".
      Keep your hat white.
      I don't know if that violates TOS of Twitter.
      The problem for me is that I'm not sure if the technique described is white or black hat? Maybe grey hat? I want to do what works! And I am happy to experiment. I got the Twitter marketing idea from a well-known, bestselling marketer and author - Mark Anastasi. Are you going to criticise him too?
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  • Profile picture of the author seobuzz
    When online or offline business idea is concerned, stability is one factor that should be considered. And according to me this is completely ignored by OP here.

    There is no doubt that power of Twitter is enormous and can fetch you decent conversion. But at the same time you have to think if the system works for long term or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post

    How do you know that I don't know about the affiliate products? I research and try many for myself. Next?
    David, here's what you wrote, which is all I had to go by:

    Go to Clickbank (or other affiliate site). Select a product that offers a solution to the tweet's problem or desire. Cloak your hoplink then tweet it to the appropriate source, using subtle, friendly wording. If you can find affiliate products that are offering Free information and opportunities, then even better. An email capture page, on the affiliate sales page, can lead to future backend commissions for you.
    I didn't see anything about 'research and try before recommending'. If you can find that info in your original post, point me to it.

    Your turn...

    Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post

    The problem for me is that I'm not sure if the technique described is white or black hat? Maybe grey hat? I want to do what works! And I am happy to experiment. I got the Twitter marketing idea from a well-known, bestselling marketer and author - Mark Anastasi. Are you going to criticise him too?
    If he's going to recommend black hat crap like this variant of e-whoring, yes I will. I really don't care if he's "a well-known, bestselling marketer and author", if he's going to recommend ethically dubious tactics.
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