Why I Use Amazon Affiliate Links When Reviewing Items

Chris, people absolutely should be compensated for quality recommendations of products and services. No one respectable, least of all you (and I know you so I say this with a high degree of confidence) is going to risk his reputation by recommending junk.

The little bit of money that you'd get for the affiliate payment would never come close to covering the damage to your reputation. Therefore I don't see how the fact that you might make a buck or two in any way diminishes the quality of the review.

You've worked very hard – for years – to earn our trust. Don't feel any guilt for using an affiliate link when you have something you think is cool to recommend to us. You've earned it and then some!

Isn't it interesting that few people questioned the integrity of traditional print media, which was largely funded by overt advertisement, but have to wonder about an individual who does the same?

And the difference is what gets people's panties all tied up. They see this as a “editorial vs sales” conversation, circa old school journalism.

1.) I'm not a journalist.
2.) I use full disclosure.
3.) I'm not funded by affiliate ads, but I use them for their ease of use.
4.) I refuse to STOP using them, simply because someone wonders if $4 will sway my take.

Just gets to me, is all. Not for the ME thing, but because of the larger story.

Chris, I have no issue with the links as used, keep using them!

I get that. And I agree with you, Chris. Really I do.

Didn't mean to say you were compensated for the review. Just for the “referral” of the affiliate link. IF someone clicks through AND makes a purchase.

It's totally above board and any cash that you happen to get as a result is a fraction of what I think you deserve for steering folks like me to quality products. Anyone who has a problem with THAT has bigger issues in my mind.

Not to mention, I'm very interested in what you have to say about pocket video cameras. With my new video site I know I'll be buying one soon. :)

Oh, brother, seriously people question your credibility because you use Amazon affiliate links? How empty are some people's lives that this is the important stuff they rail against?

If it bothers them that much, they can go to amazon.com and search for the book, by-passing your affiliate link and have the last laugh. It takes more energy to rail against a blogger who may make .20 on a book referral than to just bypass the link. Or is THEIR time so worthless they have to spend it on telling you how to blog ethically.

Forget these people. They are already living a nightmare worse than they are inflicting on you with their comments. Posting a comment take a minute or two; they have to live with their angst 24/7/365.

People seriously are flaming you over this? You make 3-5% on a $20 book sale and people are pissed?

I love your reaction. Well stated.

Warmest,

Jonathan
http://www.ThreeMoneyMethods.com

Chris –
Since one can assume from your writings that if you were compensated to review a product and the product was poor you would still post it with disclosure (and let the provider of said product know) one should not have an issue with you having affiliate links. Those that are shills for a product will, over time, be found out and it's their credibility. Use the links. Beer money is always good. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a choice.Your disclosure list is really well done; you don't hide it in small tiny print – it's out there. If someone feels you are being “paid” to review a product then they don't understand you. I used to be accused of the same thing when I wrote for the paper and did product reviews – even on reviews which panned a product! There are always going to be people out there who think that way. Throw the negativity out of your life and let it skid like water off your back.
Cheers.

I love this:

“Seriously, if you’re still not sure whether or not I’m steering you straight, get the hell out.”

My sentiments exactly. Well done.

“Seriously, if you’re still not sure whether or not I’m steering you straight, get the hell out.”

Best. Line. Ever.

People get all bent out of shape about affiliate links; personally, I don't understand why. It's only with the internet that people get nuts about advertising. When Ford buys time on NBC television for one of their new vehicles, nobody *ever* thinks that NBC is endorsing Ford or that there should be disclosure about whether or not, or how much, Ford paid for the spot – but put an ad, or an affiliate link, on a site, and some people assume that the webmaster is crooked or is being bought off in some way. Ridiculous.

I wrote about this a few weeks back when the FTC-going-after-bloggers news broke at danielmclark.com. It's lunacy. Great post, Chris.

Yes! Chris your ending here is abrupt and surprising – thoroughly effective. Thank you.

The occasional aff. links are a good way to earn a little compensation for quality information while still allowing all of us free access to this valuable resource. Right on Chris!

And the thing is, I don't even mean it in anger. I just don't have time to convince people whether I'm the right guy for them. As one of my favorite bosses ever said to a girl who was threatening to quit, “There are no bars on the doors.”

Hmm… makes me think I should write a little disclosure blurb and dump it on my about page … I use affiliate links to books (always on my own book) and use adsense ads as well. It pays for my web hosting.

No one's complained yet, but when they do, I'll have something to point to if i write that. thanks for the tip!

Chris:

I am personally fine with you doing whatever you want. It's a free country. I can choose to believe you or not. And you make that easier through your disclosures.

I don't personally get the ethos that seeks to turn bloggers into saints.

However, I find your post a bit mean-spirited. I haven't seen the complaints you've seen. But maybe someone is just tuning in to your blog. Your post above sort of assumes that someone has been reading your blog for years. I can certainly understand getting peeved at someone who has but still questions you this way. But a newcomer?

Also, isn't there a legitimate question – notwithstanding your disclosures – that someone who stands to benefit in any way is less credible? That is a structural and not a personal issue. One could be of the highest moral character and still be in a strange position when there is financial compensation tied to a review.

Again, I am fine with your use of affiliate links. But I do think it is fair to question people who review products and are somehow compensated. That questioning should be done in a polite manner of course. But your disclosures don't really answer the bigger issue. Human motivation is complex. We don't understand ourselves well enough to be absolutely certain that a potential payment had zero influence. And others can't be certain about you either.

Sure, you're not going to recommend a product that you think sucks just to get paid. But can you be absolutely certain that you are writing your reviews exactly the same as you would have without the potential compensation? Are you sure you're not just a tiny bit more positive than you would have been?…

I think this is why such rules exist. We recognize that this structural situation compromises integrity – not just for people of loose moral character but even people of the highest moral fiber.

If you don't want to engage in the discussion of this issue, that's totally OK. But the “get the hell out” strikes me as mean. Why not simply say: “Folks, I'm comfortable with my beliefs and practices on this issue and I don't plan to address the topic anymore.”

Ah, fer flip's sakes!

Whingers, go read some blogger who blogs for the love of it. The rest of us will exist in the real world.

Hi Adam–

I certainly have no intentions of being a saint. I sin too often to get the application card filled out, for one.

Mean-spirited? Yes. Absolutely. I wrote the post out of frustration for a recurring issue that has been around since blogging has been around, but that has been hovering around me personally since last December.

It's an interesting question about newcomers. Whoever started on my blog at this very post probably thinks I'm an ass. That's okay. I'm willing to accept that, should the opposite be to not voice my frustration. I think it's a calculation. My answer's not right, but it's definitely in line with my comfort.

The question of bias deserves an entirely different post, but let's just start here: I'm not paid to write reviews. I guess you could split hairs and say that when someone sends me a product, that's payment, but I'm not given currency to write reviews. The person who complained did so because he was “disappointed” to see that I offered Amazon affiliate links as pointers to the products. If you count that as pay, then it's a question of whether $4 or whatever is enough to sway me. I'm going to jump up and say “no” before you get to that one.

Is ANYONE unbiased? Hell, no. I'm very biased. However, I also do my best to disclose as many potential conflicts on my About page.

There are no rules in this space. In fact, I'm doing MORE than most people by disclosing.

I always discuss.

The “get the hell out” stands, I'm going to say. Not to you. I'm saying that at this point, if someone wants to doubt me, go find another blog. There are more blogs than there are humans on the earth. I no longer choose to defend my credibility on a post-by-post basis. That's my decision.

I'm grateful for your time and thoughts.

Chris you are oh so right. If you have a privacy or terms of use or other disclaimer on your website. It makes perfect sense to be able to monetize and inform at the same time. Get a life if you dont think so. I remember Michael Arrington from Techcrunch sort of trying to make the snide allegation to Leo Laporte on a TWIT show a month or so ago with a similar vein about products that he reviews. Leo responded back shutting the interview down. Maybe a little extreme, but Arrington was being a first class dink. They have since made up, but bad form.

I like your style and I like your disclosure policy
“I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links to point to books I’ve reviewed. “

BUT I would however, for the benefit of people that don't know you and for the benefit of you being clear to those people on a first time visit put something which actually positions yourself more clearly in terms of the relationship. The statement does not explain this.

Something like as follows that no doubt you can rewrite much better!
“I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links to point to books I’ve reviewed, and this is more for ease than anything else. I write the reviews for free, if there is a directl relationship between me and a product vendo I will disclose it clearly!”

If I take the time to say something good about a product I like and use, why on earth shouldn't I get credit for the sale? Good grief people.

Why is it some people are so good at finding the cloud in every silver lining? I'll be happy to contribute to your beer fund any day.