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So, Is Affiliate Marketing a Scam Too? · She's On The Money

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, my name's Santasha Nabananga Bamblet. I'm a proud yr
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: the Order Kerni Whaltbury and a waddery woman. And before
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: of which this podcast is recorded on a wondery country,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: through as this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and the storytelling of you to make a difference for
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: She's on the Money, She's on the Money.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: Hello, and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: whiles that helps you dodge the scams, skip the gimmicks,
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: and focus on real ways to create your wealth. I'm
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: your host, Victoria Devine, and if you've been following along,
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: you know that I have been on and will continue
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: to be on a little bit of a crusade against
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: multi level marketing schemes. Yep, those too good to be
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: true quote unquote businesses that promise big bugs but usually
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: end up only making your upline rich. And since I
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: started calling out MLMs. A lot of you have been
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: reaching out with questions about affiliate marketing. Is that the
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: same thing? Is it legit or is it just another
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: scheme dressed up in sleek Instagram stories and seven dollar courses? Well,
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: my friends, here is the thing. Affiliate marketing is a real,
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: totally legitimate way to earn money by promoting products from
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: brands you love. But there are some bad eggs out there,
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: especially on social media, that have made affiliate marketing feel, well,
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: a little bit sketchy. Let's just say there's a side
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: to affiliate market that isn't as shiny as the Instagram
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: stories make it seem, and we'll get into that a
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: little bit later. Today we're going to be diving into
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: what real affiliate marketing actually looks like, and then after
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: the break, I'm going to reveal some red flags to
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: watch for in those social media courses that don't always
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: live up to the hype. If you're ready to sort
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: the real from the red flags, lets my friends get
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: into it all right, Let's get down to basics and
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: start from the very start. What is affiliate marketing really?
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: At its core, Affiliate marketing is a way to earn
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: commission by promoting products or services. So think of it
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: like this. You're recommending a product to a friend, but
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: instead of just giving them a heads up, you're getting
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: a special link to track the sale, and if they
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: buy it, you get a cut. It's a way for
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: companies to reach more customers through people who genuinely like
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: and use their products, and for the affiliate it's pretty handy.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: Side huzzle, you've probably seen a lot of your favorite
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: influences using platforms like lack to Know It or who
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: What Where and their affiliate marketing platforms. It can be
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: a little bit strange when you see your favorite influencers saying,
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: oh my gosh, the skirt that I'm wearing is linked here,
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: and you're kind of thinking, well, I wish you would
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: just tell me the brand of the skirt. But the
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: reality is, if you are wanting to click on that
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: link because they've essentially influenced you to purchase the product
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: or even just look at the product, I think they
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: deserve a cut. After all, they have influenced you, and
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: if you're purchasing a product because of them, I think
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: they deserve a bit of the cut. They've done a
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: lot of the marketing work, right so typically it works
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: like this. You sign up for an affiliate program with
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: a big platform or a big brand. There are big
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: names like Amazon and Lulu, Lemon, and even airlines that
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: offer these programs. So once you're in, what will happen
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: is you'll get a unique code or a link that's
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: tied to your personal account, and when someone clicks that
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: link and makes a purchase, you get to earn a
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: percentage of that sale. That percentage is going to vary greatly,
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: but usually it's between like five and twenty percent, ending
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: on the brand and the type of product. And the
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: best part, you can get started without any upfront costs,
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: so most legitimate affiliate programs don't require you to pay
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: any money to join them. Instead, they're betting that you're
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: going to have some genuine recommendations that will bring them business.
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: So the only way for you to make money is
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: if you do and vice versa, right, because if you're
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: signing up to an affiliate platform and sharing products that
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: nobody's interested in, nobody is going to be making money.
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: Some of the most popular places for affiliates to share
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: their links so obviously Instagram, stories, blogs, YouTube channels, literally
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: all over social media and even in email newsletters. The
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: key here is that you're genuinely recommending a product or
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: service that you think your audience is going to benefit from.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: You're not actually pushing a membership or a subscription to
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: join the affiliate program itself, right, And at the end
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: of the day, if they look at the product and
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: don't purchase, nobody is in a worse off position. Also,
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: there aren't quotas to be met and things that you
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: need to do in order to participate. Brands aren't saying
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: you have to share this link this many times this month,
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: and if only one person purchases, you're not getting paid.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: You get paid every single time it converts. And that's
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: why for big influences and people on social media, makes
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: a lot of sense, but they also make a lot
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: of money. But for smaller creators often affiliate links are
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: only going to bring in a few dollars here and there.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: Sounds pretty straightforward, right. That's because when it's done correctly,
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: affiliate marketing is really straightforward, really ethical, and makes a
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: lot of sense. You're helping people find really good products
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: and you're getting a small thank you commission in return.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: In this space, I don't believe there's any shame in
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: you collecting a commission for the marketing that you've done
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: on behalf of that brand. But here's the thing, right,
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: there's I would say, there's a bit of a dark
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: side to affiliate marketing on social media that's catching a
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: lot of you off guard. It's why a lot of
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: you are asking me, is a fili marketing VI a scam?
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: It looks really shiny, but behind the flashy promises and
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: influencer success stories, some of these so called like affiliate
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: opportunities are hiding something really sketchy. After the break, we're
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: going to dive into the red flags that you need
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: to watch out for so you don't get pulled into
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: a side housle that's more of a scam than a success.
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: So stick around because I don't think you're going to
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: want to miss this. My friends, we are back, so
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: let's start talking about the darker side of affiliate marketing.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: Because before the break, we determined that affiliate marketing just
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: makes sense. Right, this darker side of affiliate marketing seems
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: to be spreading all over social media. Now by now
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: you should know the basics. Real affiliate marketing is very straightforward.
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: It's focused on promoting actual products from reputable brands. It's
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: typically free to join, and if you're recommending products that
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: aren't of interest to anybody, you're not making any money.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: But there's this whole other side to the that's making
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: waves on TikTok and Instagram and beyond. To be honest,
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: I just live on TikTok and Instagram where certain quote
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: affiliate programs are advertised as the fast track way to
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: financial freedom, and you and I both know that that's
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: going to give me the ick immediately. They say things
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: like all you need is your phone, a laptop, Wi
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: Fi and one to three hours a day. They say,
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: but instead of teaching you to promote products, they're more
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: interested in getting you to buy their course, right ick.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: One example of this that keeps popping up in the
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: news is Legendary Marketer. You can look them up later,
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: and it's a perfect case study on how these schemes work.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: Right So, according to a report from NBC News, Legendary
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: Marketer starts with a hook that's pretty hard to resist,
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: a super low cost entry like a seven dollars fifteen
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: day challenge that advertises as your first step into a
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: side hustle that could eventually make you millions of dollars.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Right at first glance, it sounds like pretty low rech.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: I mean, it's only seven bugs and like a total win,
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: just seven dollars, and you get to learn the ropes
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: of affiliate marketing. Right I just taught you in the
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: first half of this episode. But moving on, after a
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: few days, things start to shift. Suddenly you're introduced to
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: a new coach who's pitching their business blueprint package. Right,
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: it's a hefty twenty five hundred bucks. They frame it
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: as absolutely essential if you're in the business for making money,
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: and they turn up the pressure to invest in yourself.
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: It's so important. But here's the catch. When someone buys
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: that twenty five hundred dollar package, the person who originally
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: referred to them gets a big cut. It's usually around
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: one thousand dollars. So when you see those influencer or
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: TikTok personalities saying that they're making bank with affiliate marketing,
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: a new could too, and they're calling themselves digital marketers,
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: all thanks to them taking a chance on a seven
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: dollar course. It's not from promoting everyday products like u
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: Lululemon tights that you love or address that you wore
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: to the races, and you linked it so that other
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: people could buy it because you looked really cute in it.
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: Their income actually comes from recruiting others to buy these
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: high ticket up cells. It's giving multi level marketing and
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: what's taught to these new recruits as the way to
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: make big money. Well, of course it's selling the course
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: to get more people, who are then encouraged to recruit
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: others themselves to rinse and repeat. So what do you
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: hinter watch out for. Apparently everything in twenty twenty four.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: But how do you actually spot when a program is
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: more about getting you to spend than actually setting you
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: up for success, because so many of you might actually go.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: But the investing twenty five hundred dollars in a coach
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: makes a lot of sense for me. So here are
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: some key affiliate marketing course red flags that I have highlighted.
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: All right, So the first one is a low cost
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: bait to hook you in, so that initial really low priced,
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: so like seven bucks, it's a classic baiting tactic. It's
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: low enough to feel like really risk free. I mean
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: seven dollars these day is basically an oat latte, right,
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: and they lower your guard, but the real intention is
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: to get you in the door and then get you
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: ready to be able to be upsold to. And this
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: low cost entry kind of acts like a gateway because
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: once you're inside, the real pitch begins with essential upgrades
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: that cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars, and that
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: is giving massive red flag energy. The next is the
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: high pressure up cell midway through. So you've gotten in
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: and you're doing this course and you're like, this is
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: some money win. It's seven bucks, this is fantastic, and
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: then the course it pivots suddenly a coach or a
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: mentor ap who's basically out of nowhere, emphasizing that to
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: truly succeed in this world and with what you're destined
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: to do, you need to buy their business blueprint that
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: costs thousands. This up cell is framed as the key
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: to making a big, like you can't make a big
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: without this, adding pressure to invest far beyond that original
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: seven dollar oat latte price. The next red flag is
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: they focus on recruitment instead of real products. We talked
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: about this in the multi level marketing episode. So many
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: of the women who are involved in multi level marketing,
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: if you just do a little bit of an audit
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: of their posts. More often than not, they're talking about
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: this incredible opportunity joining the business. Oh my gosh, there's
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: two spots in my downline that you could join. Like,
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: they're not really talking about the value of the product,
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: and to me, that's a massive red flag. Genuine affiliate
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: marketing is all about promoting an actual product or service.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: They're not going, oh, join a course you could learn
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: about this. Like, affiliate marketing is very very simple. They
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: signed up to a website, they got a code, and
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: if you buy the leggings that they are talking about,
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: they're going to make a cut. So they might talk
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: about the leggings all the time, but in that interaction,
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: you as the consumer, you're not misled about what purchasing is.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: You might be feeling a little bit misled because you're
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: like ve, I didn't know that because my favorite influencer
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: was promoting the leggings so often it was because they
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: were getting paid. That's a different front story. I'm very
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: much on the page of influencers getting paid for their
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: recommendations because at the end of the day, that's part
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: of the marketing wheel. But it is very transparent what
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: you're getting. At the end of the day, if you purchase,
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: you will receive the leggings in the mail, right, Like,
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: that's it. But these programs, however, lean really heavily on
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: getting you to recruit others into the same course, and
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: the income structure is built on upselling new members rather
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: than helping you to promote a range of real products
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: that arguably everyone would want. The next red flag I've
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: got listed down is vague earning claims and misleading success stories.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: So the promoters of these courses is often going to
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: showcase really impressive earnings, same as multi level marketing people. Right.
• 12:46
  Speaker 3: I saw so much content online the other week about
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: people saying, oh, yes, but there are twenty two millionaires
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: that have been created in Australia because of this business.
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah great, but there's also twenty two thousand of you
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: doing that. Those numbers don't stack up. Those numbers are
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: not impressive. But these promoters of these courses are going
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: to often showcase super impressive earnings or talk about the
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: freedom that they've achieved, but they're usually really vague on
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: how they're actually making that money. They might imply that
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: their income comes from traditional affiliate marketing, sometimes even claiming
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: it's from a separate account or a product link that
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: they never clearly reveal. In reality, most of their income
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: comes from recruiting others into the same course and upselling
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: them on really expensive packaging. At the end of the day,
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: influencers who are really promoting and making money through affiliate marketing,
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: they're not really talking about it, and they're not talking
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: about it, not because they're not transparent. Influencers who are
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: using affiliate marketing know that the reason affiliate marketing works
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: for them is because they have a very large and
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: engaged audience. They know that this isn't something that anybody
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: could get into. I mean you could. You could sign
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: up for a few marketing platforms and start promoting the
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: leggings or the dress or the shoes or whatever fashion
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: you've got. And I mean, if you're doing fashion content,
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: that makes a lot of sense because a few dollars
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: here and there do add up. But if an influencer
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: is making bank through their affiliate links, it's very unlikely
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: that they are going to be talking about it because
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: they know it's not easily obtainable for the average Instagram user.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Right if you're finding it really hard to tell what
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: products they're promoting. So if a company is really like
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: a bit wishy washy, or what they're promoting or the
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: details about their earnings seem a little bit unclear or
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: like overly broad, to me, that's a very strong indicator.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: The recruitment, not general affiliate product sales are at the
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: core of their business model. So you're asking me Va,
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: what's the bottom line? As always, I need you to
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: do that. Is it too good to be true?
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: Test?
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: If something promises to turn you into a millionaire working
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: just a couple of hours a day, or claims that
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: you'll achieve financial freedom with zero experience or effort, it's
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: probably time to pause and think critically. Quick and easy
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: paths to wealth are very rare, and programs that overseell
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: simplicity are often masking what's really involved. Before you decide
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: to dive into any course, take a few minutes to
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: google the course name along with the word scam and
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: see what comes up. Scanning through real people's experiences can
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: reveal a lot about what's behind the flashy marketing works
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: with multi level marketing as well. My friends also very
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: spicy good for a drink on a Friday Nash. Are
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: there consistent complaints about these high pressure sales tactics, Do
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: people mention unexpected up cells or maybe like some hidden costs.
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: Seeing these patterns is going to be able to help
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: you spot red flags early and avoid the trap of
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: spending more than you'd planned, or even being sold a dream.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: If the main pitch is less about promoting real products
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: and more focused on recruiting others into the program, to me,
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: that's a definite red flag. When the emphasis shifts from
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: actual product promotion to recruitment, it signals a structure where
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: the real money comes from getting other people to join,
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: not from genuine affiliate commissions. It's never about the product
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: in that situation. This recruitment based model is often a
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: warning sign that you're dealing with a scheme that has
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: a lot more in common with a multi level marketing
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: company or MLM than legitimate affiliate marketing. Right, my friend,
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: if you enjoyed this episode, because I'm done now and
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: one more content that keeps you one step ahead of
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: the latest money scams, make sure that you are subscribed
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  Speaker 3: to She's on the Money, And if you want to
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: see what else I'm exposing in the world, of scams
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: and multi level marketing and get rich quick schemes. You
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: probably should be following me on my personal Instagram, which
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: is Victoria Underscore Divine and I think you'll be shocked
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: at what I'm finding and sharing. Have a good weekend, guys.
• 16:54
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