In this new age of blockchain mania, ICO’s are spreading as fast as herpes in a 16th century brothel. While some project bring value to the crypto-verse and will undoubtedly succeed, a whole bunch of them will fail and be forgotten.
In this battle for funding, to get ahead projects have to rely on the most nefarious internet salesmen, affiliate marketers.
Yes, you’ve be acquainted.
They deploy their irritating “link in bio” below every damn picture they upload to the Gram.
They lurk in the shadows of your favourite forum, waiting for a question they can exploit to sell the unsuspicious browser on a bill of goods.
But lets face it. As evil as they look. As much as we despise them. We would all like to make a few dollars (or tokens, or whatever) by promoting a project on social media. So I propose that instead of hating on affiliate marketing, we find a way to do it the ethically.
How can you be an ethical affiliate ? A gentlemarketer (not to sure of what I did here)?
Only promote projects you truly believe in
This rule is very simple and yet it is the most important. If you truly believe in the project you are promoting and you feel other people could benefit from it, then go for it. On the other hand if you don’t feel very enthusiastic about the product and you’re just in it for the money, don’t promote it. It’s as simple as that.
If you are invested in it, if you are ready to recommend it to friends and family then you’re audience will see your honesty and they will trust you. Not only will you improve your conversion rate but you’ll also sleep better at night.
Find the correct media to promote them and stick to it
Don’t be the guy offering 10$ discount to his friends on Facebook provided they buy “X” using the “BULLSHIT10” code.
Obviously depending on your product the best media will vary. I have found that Quora is a very good place to promote ICOs. I try not to spam too much (although it’s tempting) and answer honestly but I find ways to discreetly leave my referral link and boom. The fish is hooked, ethically.
Now remember it is only ethical fishing if you stick to rule #1 and promote legit stuff.
Be honest, and transparent
If you want to make a review of a product/service and promote it to your audience, thats cool. But do it properly. Show people why this has so much value to you. Give them all the information they need to make a rational decision.
If you feel that there are some concerns your audience should know about what you are promoting, such as inherent risks involved with participating in an ICO for example, disclose it. Be honest, be transparent.
Do your due diligence
This week, Bitconnect ceased it’s operations leaving thousands of people holding a bunch of worthless coins they will never get rid of. How did this scam get so big you might ask ?
The answer is an incredible army of affiliate marketers organised in a huge MLM structure. The problem with these affiliates in my opinion, is that they were greedy and didn’t care much about the people they got on the platform.
This could have been avoided if people had done their researches instead of investing blindly off of marketers “advices”.
Realise that whether you like it or not, you are influencing a person’s decision. If someone gets into a Ponzi scheme because of your recommendation, you should be held accountable.
Do your research and tell your audience to do the same.
To conclude :
If you truly believe in your product and you have done your due diligence, then by all means promote the hell out of it.
For example, take the latest ICO I’ve invested in, Caviar. I strongly believe in the value of participating in a crypto investment fund that also provides real estate loan. I think people could use a token to hedge this crazy market and that is why I promote it.
Ps: Notice how I discreetly inserted my referral link in the conclusion of this piece. Thats the kind of subliminal shit you want to apply. ;)
Disclaimer : I am not a financial advisor, I am just sharing my thoughts, this should be viewed for entertainment purposes.