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I appreciate that the author disclosed it, but the reason they went to all this effort is likely that they expect to make money as an affiliate for the platform
by mtlynch 2y ago
I appreciate that the author disclosed it, but the reason they went to all this effort is likely that they expect to make money as an affiliate for the platforms that they recommended.
Affiliate-driven reviews introduce a major bias into the author's opinion, as they have incentive to speak more positively about platforms that are likely to pay the most.
And email marketing platforms pay a lot in affiliate fees. Just scanning some of the recommendations, if someone signs up for MailerLite through this reviewer's link, they'll pay the reviewer 30% of that subscriber's fees forever.[0] I wouldn't be surprised if the reviewer's top pick is coincidentally the platform with the highest-paying affiliate program.
The thing that really woke me up to affiliate-influenced reviews was the 2017 article, "The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare."[1] The reporter figured out that top YouTube mattress reviewers just gave positive reviews to whichever company paid the most in affiliate fees, and when one company lowered their fees, the reviewers retroactively downranked them for contrived reasons.
[0] https://www.mailerlite.com/affiliate https://www.mailerlite.com/affiliate
[1] https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928/sleepopolis-casper-bloggers-lawsuits-underside-of-the-mattress-wars https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928/sleepopolis-casper-blogg...
- thih9 2y ago> I wouldn't be surprised if the reviewer's top pick is coincidentally the platform with the highest-paying affiliate program. Do we know if that is the case?
- reddalo 2y agoCuriously, all the "best" apps have an affiliate link, and all the "rest" don't. Draw your own conclusions.
- animex 2y agocoughwirecuttercough
- steve-benjamins 2y agoOp here. That’s not even true! Loops is in “the best” and if doesnt have an affiliate link. All “the rest” have affiliate programs too… I was just lazy to sign up for them. Not everything is a conspiracy. The reality in this case is more mundane.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoOp here. I can assure this is not the case. And it’s not as simple as cross-checking their public affiliate offers because these types of companies are always offering higher, private payouts (in exchange for editorial control).
- djbusby 2y agoThanks for the assurance. Show us the numbers.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoOp here. I sort of agree but all these tools offer affiliate programs and I can assure you we chose MailerLite because we think it’s a tool we can use for 5-10 years. That being said: besides running a startup (Atlist.com) I also run an affiliate site (it’s how we funded Atlist) and I would agree there is good reason to read affiliate websites skeptically. I regularly receive offers from website builders to “buy” the top spot in my best website builder roundup. https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/best-website-builder https://www.sitebuilderreport.com/best-website-builder
- hartator 2y agoShouldn’t you focus full-time on Altist instead of affiliate marketing? This seems an actual interesting product.
- haliskerbas 2y agoSimilarly where do you feel like Elon, another entrepreneur should focus, Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, the AI thing, being a bully on X? Should we police the bandwidth of every founder?
- qingcharles 2y agoAnd weirdly the dude is asking his staff to work "80+ hour weeks" on his alt account: https://x.com/cb_doge/status/1858177342436233511 https://x.com/cb_doge/status/1858177342436233511
- blackqueeriroh 2y agoProbably he should focus on seeing a therapist and repairing his relationship with his kid
- theFco 2y agoWhile I think (as others say) we should not police op's time, I would like to know what is the reasoning the used when choosing between focusing and not having all your eggs in one basket. I think arguments by people making these choices would be very educational to me (as a person with a bit of a scatterd brain).
- stefan_ 2y agoWhen all "The Best" sites have the affiliate blob, and "The Rest" doesn't, haha. My god is this a plague on the internet.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoOp here. That’s not even true! Loops is in “the best” and if doesnt have an affiliate link. All “the rest” have affiliate programs too… I was just lazy to sign up for them. Not everything is a conspiracy. The reality in this case is more mundane.
- zo1 2y agoGive it a rest. I have no idea how HN is allowing you to post these many "responses" to people's criticism of an article you posted without throttling you for spamming. 20% of all the comments on this article right now are yours and you're taking mostly very uncharitable interpretations of peoples' comments.
- rammer 2y agoAnd you wouldn't know this incentive until it was through comments here. The listicle tried to paint every other company making money as a scourge and the op as the only good guy trying to find the best deal for users when ophas the most corrupt incentives since those incentives are not even documented in a bloody helpdesk article somewhere.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoLOOK AT THE FIRST SENTENCE ON THE PAGE!!!
- blackqueeriroh 2y agoOne might take a moment to consider why the best sites run on affiliate revenue and the rest no longer exist or have been bought up by giant corporations.
- throwaway519 2y agoI believe there's a strong case for all articles containing a hash (MD5, etc) in the URL a la Bluesky, or verifiable meta data (easily verifiable, like the browser bar padlock for HTTPS), even blockchain, to show something's been edited.
- pembrook 2y agoI see these same affiliate listicles every time I try to find software for any use case these days. Basically every Saas category has now turned into a giant affiliate marketing cesspool. Doesn't matter if it's GPT-written blogspam on Google search or highly produced "creator" content on Youtube...it's all the same motivation behind the content: buy via my link. As much as people hated the display advertising common on the old internet, I'd actually argue this is far worse. Instead of clear delineation between what's an ad and what's content, combining the two together just creates even more sinister incentives. Even the most good-hearted, honest and trustworthy "creators" can't escape those incentives over time. I've seen so many of my favorite creators head down that path I just expect it at this point. Even the formerly trustworthy Wirecutter has lost its reliability post-NYT acquisition, clearly favoring products that offer affiliate payouts.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoInstead of criticizing my article, you’re criticizing me. Does the content of my article seem dishonest? I agree affiliate content should be read skeptically but you also have to be realistic: why would anyone go to all this work if not for some financial incentive?
- plufz 2y agoHe does not critize you. He criticizes making reviews financed by affiliate links.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoI made a review with affiliate links.
- blackqueeriroh 2y agoCan you not separate what you do from who you are? Are you defined as a person who makes reviews with affiliate links?
- 2y ago
- hartator 2y agoI was going to post exactly this. Sketchy review indeed.
- steve-benjamins 2y agoName one thing inaccurate in my article. Happy to update it if you can!
- hartator 2y agoJust add a disclaimer that this article contains affiliate links. I think we will be all happy with just that. And, it’s the law im Canada: https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/deceptive-marketing-practices/types-deceptive-marketing-practices/influencer-marketing-and-competition-act https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/deceptive-marketing-pra...
- mtlynch 2y agoIn fairness to OP, that is the first line on the page. >My work is supported by affiliate commissions. Learn More OP does disclose this more clearly than 95% of other sites, most of whom omit the notice entirely or bury it after the article content.
- hartator 2y agoIt needs to be clearer, inline the article as we have all missed it. Naming affiliated businesses also seem to be part of that Canadian law.