She's On The Money - So, Is Affiliate Marketing a Scam Too?

Episode Date: November 22, 2024

Have you seen those bold claims all over social media? Promises to make millions working just a few hours a day from your phone, all thanks to ‘affiliate marketing’? Since we started calling out MLMs, our DMs have been popping off with another big question: ‘Is affiliate marketing a scam too?’ In this episode, we’re breaking it all down—what affiliate marketing actually is, how it works when it’s legit, and the red flags you need to spot so you don’t fall into a trap. Tune in to find out how to tell the difference between real side hustles and the flashy schemes trying to reel you in. Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kurni, Wolperi and Awadjuri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjuri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast that helps you dodge the scams skip the gimmicks and focus on real ways to create your wealth. I'm your host Victoria Devine and if you've been following along you know that I have been on and will continue to be on a little bit of a crusade against multi-level marketing schemes. Yep those too good to be true quote unquote businesses that promise big bucks but usually end up only making your upline rich. And since I started calling out MLMs a lot of you have been reaching out with questions about affiliate marketing. Is that the same thing? Is it legit? Or is it just another scheme dressed up in sleek Instagram stories and $7 courses? Well, my friends, here is the thing. Affiliate marketing

is a real, totally legitimate way to earn money by promoting products from brands you love. But there are some bad eggs out there, especially on social media, that have made affiliate marketing feel, well, a little bit sketchy? Let's just say there's a side to affiliate marketing that isn't as shiny as the Instagram stories make it seem. And we'll get into that a little bit later. Today, we're going to be diving into what real affiliate marketing actually looks like. And then after the break, I'm going to reveal some red flags to watch for in those social media courses that don't always live up to the hype. If you're ready to sort the real from the red flags, let's my friends get into it. All right, let's get down to basics and start from the very start. What is affiliate

marketing really? At its core, affiliate marketing is a way to earn commission by promoting products or services. So think of it like this. You're recommending a product to a friend, but instead of just giving them a heads up, you're getting a special link to track the sale. And if they buy it, you get a cut. It's a way for companies to reach more customers through people who genuinely like can use their products. And for the affiliate, it's a pretty handy side hustle. You've probably seen a lot of your favorite influencers using platforms like Like to Know It or Who What Wear and their affiliate marketing platforms. It can be a little bit strange when you see your favorite influencers saying, oh my gosh, the skirt that I'm wearing is linked here. And you're kind of

thinking, well, I wish you would just tell me the brand of the skirt. But the reality is if you are wanting to click on that link because they've essentially influenced you to purchase the product or even just look at the product, I think they deserve a cut. After all, they have influenced you. And if you're purchasing a product because of them, I think they deserve a bit of the cut. They've done a lot of the marketing work, right? So typically it works like this. You sign up for an affiliate program with a big platform or a big brand. There are big names like Amazon and Lululemon, and even airlines that offer these programs. So once you're in, what will happen is you'll get a unique code or a link that's tied to your personal account. And when someone clicks

that link and makes a purchase, you get to earn a percentage of that sale. That percentage is going to vary greatly, but usually it's between like 5% and 20%, depending on the brand and the type of product. And the best part, you can get started without any upfront costs. So most legitimate affiliate programs don't require you to pay any money to join them. Instead, they're betting that you're going to have some genuine recommendations that will bring them business. So the only way for you to make money is if you do and vice versa, right? Because if you're signing up to an affiliate platform and sharing products that nobody's interested in, nobody's going to be making money. Some of the most popular places for affiliates to share their

links are obviously Instagram stories, blogs, YouTube channels, literally all over social media and even in email newsletters. The key here is that you're genuinely recommending a product or service that you think your audience is going to benefit from. You're not actually pushing a membership or a subscription to join the affiliate program itself, right? And at the end of the day, if they look at the product and don't purchase, nobody's in a worse off position. Also, there aren't quotas to be met and things that you need to do in order to participate. Brands aren't saying you have to share this link this many times this month and if only one person purchases you're not getting paid. You get paid every single time it converts and that's why for big influencers and

people on social media it makes a lot of sense but they also make a lot of money but for smaller creators often affiliate links are only going to bring in a few dollars here and there. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? That's because when it's done correctly, affiliate marketing is really straightforward, really ethical, and makes a lot of sense. You're helping people find really good products and you're getting a small thank you commission in return. In this space, I don't believe there's any shame in you collecting a commission for the marketing that you've done on behalf of that brand. But here's the thing, right? There's, I would say, there's a bit of dark side to affiliate marketing on social media that's catching a lot of you off guard. It's why

a lot of you are asking me, is affiliate marketing V a scam? It looks really shiny, but behind the flashy promises and influencer success stories, some of these so-called like affiliate opportunities are hiding something really sketchy. After the break, we're going to dive into the red flags that you need to watch out for so you don't get pulled into a side hustle that's more of a scam than a success. So stick around, because I don't think you're going to want to miss this. My friends, we are back. So let's start talking about the darker side of affiliate marketing, because before the break, we determined that affiliate marketing just makes sense, right? This darker side of affiliate marketing seems to be spreading all over social

media. Now, by now, you should know the basics. Real affiliate marketing is very straightforward. It's focused on promoting actual products from reputable brands. It's typically free to join. And if you're recommending products that aren't of interest to anybody, you're not making any money. But there's this whole other side to this that's making waves on TikTok and Instagram and beyond. To be honest, I just live on TikTok and Instagram where certain, quote, affiliate programs are advertised as the fast track way to financial freedom. And you and I both know that that's going to give me the ick immediately. They say things like, all you need is your phone, a laptop, Wi-Fi, and one to three hours a day, they say. But instead of teaching you to promote

products, they're more interested in getting you to buy their course, right? Ick. One example of this that keeps popping up in the news is Legendary Marketer. You can look them up later, and it's a perfect case study on how these schemes work, right? So according to a report from NBC news, legendary marketer starts with a hook that's pretty hard to resist. A super low cost entry, like a $7 15 day challenge that advertises as your first step into a side hustle that could eventually make you millions of dollars, right? At first glance, it sounds like pretty low risk. I mean, it's only seven bucks and like a total win, just $7 and you get to learn the ropes of affiliate marketing, right? I just taught you in the first half of this episode, but moving on,

after a few days, things start to shift. Suddenly you're introduced to a new coach who's pitching their business blueprint package, right? It's a hefty $2,500. They frame it as absolutely essential if you're in the business for making money and they turn up the pressure to invest in yourself. It's so important. But here's the catch. When someone buys that $2,500 package, the person who originally referred to them gets a big cut. It's usually around a thousand dollars. So when you see those influencer or TikTok personalities saying that they're making bank with affiliate marketing and you could too, and they're calling themselves digital marketers, all thanks to them taking a chance on a $7 course. It's not from promoting everyday products like your Lulu lemon tights

that you love or a dress that you wore to the races and you linked it so that other people could buy it because you looked really cute in it. Their income actually comes from recruiting others to buy these high ticket upsells. It's giving multi-level marketing. And what's taught to these new recruits as the way to make big money? Well, of course, it's selling the course to get more people who are then encouraged to recruit others themselves to rinse and repeat. So what do you need to watch out for? Apparently everything in 2024. But how do you actually spot when a program is more about getting you to spend than actually setting you up for success, because so many of you might actually go, but V, investing $2,500 in a coach makes a lot of

sense for me. So here are some key affiliate marketing course red flags that I have highlighted. All right. So the first one is a low cost bait to hook you in. So that initial really low price, so like seven bucks, it's a classic baiting tactic. It's low enough to feel like really risk-free. I mean, $7 these days is basically an oat latte, right? And they lower your guard, but the real intention is to get you in the door and then get you ready to be able to be upsold to. And this low cost entry kind of acts like a gateway because once you're inside, the real pitch begins with essential upgrades that cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars. And that is giving massive red flag energy. The next is the high pressure upsell midway through.

so you've gotten in and you're doing this course and you're like this is a money winner seven bucks this is fantastic and then the course it pivots suddenly a coach or a mentor appears basically out of nowhere emphasizing that to truly succeed in this world and with what you're destined to do you need to buy their business blueprint that costs thousands this upsell is framed as the key to making a big like you can't make a big without this adding pressure to invest far beyond to that original $7 oat latte price. The next red flag is they focus on recruitment instead of real products. We talked about this in the multi-level marketing episode. So many of the women who are involved in multi-level marketing, if you just do a little bit of an audit of their

posts, more often than not, they're talking about this incredible opportunity, joining the business. Oh my gosh, there's two spots in my downline that you could join. They're not really talking about the value of the product. And to me, that's a massive red flag. Genuine affiliate marketing is all about promoting an actual product or service. They're not going, oh, join a course, you could learn about this. Affiliate marketing is very, very simple. They signed up to a website, they got a code, and if you buy the leggings that they are talking about, they're going to make a cut. So they might talk about the leggings all the time, but in that interaction, you as the consumer, you're not misled about what purchasing is. You might be feeling a little bit misled because

you're like, V, I didn't know that because my favorite influencer was promoting the leggings so often it was because they were getting paid. That's a different story. I'm very much on the page of influencers getting paid for their recommendations because at the end of the day, that's part of the marketing wheel, but it is very transparent what you're getting. At the end of the day, if you purchase, you will receive the leggings in the mail, right? Like that's it. But these programs, however, lean really heavily on getting you to recruit others into the same course and the income structure is built on upselling new members rather than helping you to promote a range of real products that arguably everyone would want. The next red flag I've got

listed down is vague earning claims and misleading success stories. So the promoters of these courses often going to showcase really impressive earnings. Same as multi-level marketing people, right? I saw so much content online the other week about people saying, oh yes, but there are 22 millionaires that have been created in Australia because of this business. Yeah, great. But there's also 22,000 of you doing that. Those numbers don't stack up. Those numbers are not impressive. But these promoters of these courses are going to often showcase super impressive earnings or talk about the freedom that they've achieved. But they're usually really vague on how they're actually making that money. They might imply that their income comes from traditional affiliate

marketing, sometimes even claiming it's from a separate account or a product link that they never clearly reveal. In reality, most of their income comes from recruiting others into the same course and upselling them on really expensive packaging. At the end of the day, influencers who are really promoting and making money through affiliate marketing, they're not really talking about it. And they're not talking about it, not because they're not transparent. Influencers who are using affiliate marketing know that the reason affiliate marketing works for them is because they have a very large and engaged audience. They know that this isn't something that anybody could get into. I mean, you could, you could sign up for affiliate marketing platforms and start promoting

the leggings or the dress or the shoes or whatever fashion you've got. And I mean, if you're doing fashion content, that makes a lot of sense because a few dollars here and there do add up. But if an influencer is making bank through their affiliate links, it's very unlikely that they are going to be talking about it because they know it's not easily obtainable for the average Instagram user, right? If you're finding it really hard to tell what products they're promoting, so if a company is really like a bit wishy-washy on what they're promoting or the details about their earnings seem a little bit unclear or like overly broad, to me that's a very strong indicator that recruitment, not general affiliate product sales, are at the core of their business model.

So you're asking me, V, what's the bottom line? As always, I need you to do the is it too good to be true test. If something promises to turn you into a millionaire working just a couple of hours a day or claims that you'll achieve financial freedom with zero experience or effort, it's probably time to pause and think critically. Quick and easy paths to wealth are very rare and programs that oversell simplicity are often masking what's really involved. Before you decide to dive into any course, take a few minutes to Google the course name along with the word scam and see what comes up. Scanning through real people's experiences can reveal a lot about what's behind the flashy marketing. Works with multi-level marketing as well, my friends. Also

very spicy, good for a drink on a Friday night. Are there consistent complaints about these high sales tactics? Do people mention unexpected upsells or maybe like some hidden costs? Seeing these patterns is going to be able to help you spot red flags early and avoid the trap of spending more than you'd planned or even being sold a dream. If the main pitch is less about promoting real products and more focused on recruiting others into the program, to me, that's a definite red flag. When the emphasis shifts from actual product promotion to recruitment, it signals a structure where the real money comes from getting other people to join, not from genuine affiliate commissions. It's never about the product in that situation.

This recruitment-based model is often a warning sign that you're dealing with a scheme that has a lot more in common with a multi-level marketing company or MLM than legitimate affiliate marketing, right? My friend, if you enjoyed this episode, because I'm done now, and want more content that keeps you one step ahead of the latest money scams make sure that you are subscribed to she's on the money and if you want to see what else i'm exposing in the world of scams and multi-level marketing and get rich quick schemes you probably should be following me on my personal instagram which is victoria underscore divine and i think you'll be shocked at what i'm finding and sharing have a good weekend guys

the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances she's on the money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision if you do choose to buy a financial product read the pds tmd and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.