Jonathan Leger – SEO And Internet Marketing Blog Internet Marketing Blog

Why I don’t promote the big launches.

If you're like me, you're on a few marketers' lists, and your inbox fills up fast with emails promoting the same product(s) when a big launch happens in the world of Internet Marketing. But if you've been on my list for any amount of time, you may have noticed that I don't promote most of these "big" launches. I wanted to tell you why.

One primary reason is that I know I wouldn't personally use any of those products. I don't mean they aren't of value to some people, just not to me.

If the product is software, as a programmer I usually feel I can do a better job if I create the application myself. This allows me to customize it for my own use, add features I want, etc. There are a few exceptions where I feel the software is truly stellar and can be used "as-is", but I usually don't feel that way.

Most of the informational products I see being promoted are just rehashes of the same-ol'-same-ol'. I'm not interested in promoting a product that teaches people what everyone already knows, or can find out for free just by doing a few searches online. Sometimes a product compiles so much information into one place, or presents it in such a good way, that it is actually worth having. But it's rarely done so well that it's worth paying for if you can find it for free elsewhere.

Another reason I don't promote most of the big launches is that I haven't taken the time to use and properly review the product.

I will never promote something that I have not personally used and found beneficial, so you won't get emails from me about these products. Unfortunately, it seems that many marketers don't mind promoting things they've never really used or reviewed for quality. Short term, you might make some money from this practice, but long term it's a bad idea.

Even if you ignore the ethical considerations of promoting something you've never used (and I don't think you should ignore them), if your contacts buy a product on the power of your recommendation and find out the product is junk, will they trust your next recommendation? Likely they will not.

So you weaken your credibility with your list if you promote products you haven't used or reviewed properly. Eventually your list will stop listening to you at all, and will be a worthless commodity.

Finally, I am usually very busy working on my own projects and products, and simply don't have time to look into what's being offered by everyone else and present it to my list. More and more I'm learning toward creating desktop software and web-based services that serve the needs of the general webmaster community -- not just internet marketers.

The obvious reason for doing this is that a much larger group of people will find the products useful. For example, my Instant Article Wizard software, while very useful for internet marketers, is of use to anybody who owns and operates a commercial web site. And my latest project, 3WayLinks.net, is also useful to anyone who wants their web site to rank well in Google.

It just makes sense for you to focus on what you're good at. For me, that's producing powerful, easy to use software that helps the entire webmaster community.

I really think there are some lessons to be extracted here:

1. Don't promote a product that you could do a better job on yourself.

   If it's an informational product, and you feel you could write it better, create it yourself and promote that to your list. They'll appreciate having a better quality product, and you'll get to keep 100% of the revenue instead of just the affiliate commission.

2. Don't promote products you've never used or don't think are top-notch.

   Short term, this unethical practice will earn you some money, but long term you're only hurting the value of your list.

3. Focus your time on what you're good at -- it will pay better.

   If you're good at affiliate marketing and promoting other people's products, that's fine, but if your talents could better be used in creating your own useful tools and products, that will make you more money in the long run. If you're just promoting what everybody else is, what sets you apart as being different--and better--then they are? Why should people stay on your list at all?

I'd love to know what you think. Please post your comments below.