Much to some peoples’ annoyance…
I don’t do affiliates for “Email Players”.
And this surprises people sometimes. For example, just last week Andre Chaperon (of Autoresponder Madness) asked if I had an affiliate program and seemed kinda shocked when I said no.
It’s a good question, too.
I mean, why NOT have affiliates for it?
Here are a few reasons:
1. Physical product
“Email Players” is a paper n’ ink newsletter.
I have a strict no-PDF policy.
And, I’m gonna keep it that way.
Plus, after dabbling with affiliates selling other physical products, I realized what a headache it is compared to selling digital products.
(Where it makes more sense to have affiliates).
2. FTC
Due to various FTC rules (the way I understand them, at least), I would have to monitor what my affiliates say when selling my product.
Otherwise, I could be held liable for false claims.
Not very appealing…
3. Crappy money manager
I suck at managing money owed to others.
It throws off my accounting mojo, and makes my brain itch just thinking about it. Not to mention the freaky trend of anti-capitalism state sales tax laws emerging (i.e. “Amazon Tax”) that could soon make it extremely burdensome for any publishers using affiliates.
4. I preach to the choir, not the uninitiated
This is the most important reason:
The “Email Players” sales letter is written to people who are “pre-sold” on me, and are on my list already. I do this deliberately. And (for many reasons), I’m not interested in selling it to cold (or even lukewarm) prospects.
This makes it unsuitable for most affiliates.
So those are a few reasons.
I may license it (to qualified people) some day.
But it’ll probably never have an affiliate program.
Now don’t get me wrong.
There are pros and cons to having affiliates, and I would not tell anyone they should or should not use them. (Contrary to popular opinion, there are many high income earning online marketers who do NOT use affiliates.)
For some it makes perfect sense.
For others not so much.
Anyway, so there ya go.
Why I don’t do affiliates.
You can read more about “Email Players” here:
Ben Settle
