Endorsements Can Ruin Your Credibility
There’s a person I’ve been following for a while who puts out some good, useful information. And while I haven’t yet purchased anything from her, I have considered it.
But now… I’m reconsidering that thought.
Why? Because yesterday she wrote a persuasive email introducing her followers to one of her colleagues.
She wrote quite a build-up about this person, then invited us to download a free report guaranteed to contain some of the same kind of good information that she’s been providing.
Well… she was wrong. She was either being deliberately deceptive or she hadn’t read the report herself. Either way, her credibility with me is ruined.
Now I think she was just doing some affiliate marketing to earn an extra buck – and hadn’t even looked at the materials she was promoting.
The report consisted of 30 pages – in about a 24 point type. But the only “information” it contained was several reasons why we needed to buy what the man was selling.
I have nothing against someone trying to sell me what they have to offer. That’s what commerce is all about. But when they promise information and only give an advertisement, then I feel like they stole my time.
So what’s my point?
If you’re going to recommend something – be honest about what the person is offering. And always read it first, just to make sure it delivers on the promise.
Posted: November 16th, 2011 under customer relations, effective marketing, expectations, false promise.
Tags: affiliate marketing, credibility in marketing