Comments on: Hot or Not? Affiliate Links in Twitter

By: jennine

jennine — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:47:26 +0000

oh my goodness… that’s so crazy, but i’m sure it makes sense that they would do something like that.
jennine´s last blog ..Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup

By: Retro Chick

Retro Chick — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:23:11 +0000

Gosh, going back to an old post from May!

It seems that eBay affiliates at least have made this decision for us. There was an update to their terms and conditions released yesterday that means that you can only use affiliate links on websites you own.

So their terms and conditions now prohibit the use of links on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Craigslist and anywhere else you might post them.

Ho hum,
Retro Chick´s last blog ..DIY – Recycling Vintage Scarves.

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:13:29 +0000

This is how i see twitter: Great way to converse, build a readership, make contacts, and drive traffic. If someone posts the occasional affiliate link then that's fine with me because if I follow you, I know that as your audience, you will be sending me links that suit my tastes. That being said, it's still important to give good consistent content. I think if you put out an affiliate link you should also post at least 10 decent or entertaining tweets. That's a fair ratio. A better way would be a link to one of your blog posts, which would contain the affiliate link there. Like Erica said, tweeting an affiliate link would just make me the middle man and wouldn't drive any traffic to my blog. I hate when people post random affiliate links just for the sake of making a quick buck. I'll definitely unfollow someone for that reason alone. Gabrielle’s last blog post..Fascism Still Prevalent In Italian Education System

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:29:51 +0000

I think it probably really depends on what you view Twitter as - to me, Twitter is about conversations and having sort of a community feel with like-minded bloggers, if that makes sense? So when all someone posts is links, whether affiliate links or links to their blog, I'll unfollow them, even if I might still read their blog on a consistent basis. If they only occasionally post links, I'm much less likely to care whether it's an affiliate link or not. Michelle’s last blog post..Links a la Mode May 21

By: Eileen at daisyfairbanks

Eileen at daisyfairbanks — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:45:42 +0000

It’s all about context.
It’s much easier to trust any recommendation when it comes from someone with whom we are familiar. We all make recommendations to our friends – restaurants, shops, mechanics, etc and we don’t get anything out of it but I don’t think that people who knew and trusted us would feel badly about it if we did.
For me, the same goes for using links online. If it’s a link posted by someone I’ve read before and have come to an understanding of what they represent, I don’t mind it at all. If it gives you a cookie, then good for you. I don’t click on links posted by twitterers I haven’t become familiar with, and if that’s all they’re posting I un-follow them anyway because it’s just not interesting.

By: thefatandskinny

thefatandskinny — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:54:21 +0000

i’m on the fence too. what works for some might now work for others.

By: Stylish Thought

Stylish Thought — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:33:48 +0000

I personally don’t have an issue making money on my blog or helping other bloggers make money through their blogs. I think the issue that comes in is if affiliate links become common practice they run the risk of being overused and twitter will simply become a big marketplace, so to speak.

I don’t mind affiliate links that much as long as it is in accordance with what you would own or already own or your blog’s brand (as Ashe said). The problem comes in when everyone is pushing any old thing just to make money. Part of the issue with affiliate codes is that you have to make sure the product is good enough to warrant your promotion.

By: Erica

Erica — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:40:24 +0000

As a follow-up to my post above, my blog does not ONLY feature sales and celeb fashion – there’s a lot of content in it, too. But, even if did only feature sales and celeb fashion, that’s what I love posting about and my main motivation for the creation of my blog and, essentially, shopping in general. That being said, it doesn’t mean that I’m only interested in the money I can make from those postings. It’s just what I like to post about. So saying that blogs that only post about celeb fashion and coupon codes are only interested in the money and not the content is not really fair. Every blog has it’s identity and there’s room for everyone!

By: Erica

Erica — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:31:31 +0000

Personally, I don’t see the point of Twitter except as a marketing device for a blog/business. My blog features a lot of sales and celebrity fashion and I tweet every time I make a new post because my followers like to know info about sales as soon as it is posted. On a marketing level, Twitter is genius and has definitely upped the traffic to my blog, causing me to make more money with my affiliates. I have never tried posting an affiliate link directly on Twitter. I don’t think I would ever do that because it removes the authenticity of my blog and, essentially, just makes me a middle man to whatever product I’m promoting. The link wouldn’t even direct readers to my blog, which makes no sense and completely defeats the purpose of having a blog.

Except for a few random tweets, I really only use Twitter as a marketing device. Sometimes I’ll integrate personal with marketing (like mentioning that I’m at the mall shopping for whatever then throwing a promo of the product, with an affiliate link, on my blog). Like I said before, there’s no point, in my opinion, to use it for my personal life. I’ve tried making random posts on what I was doing throughout the day but, in the end, didn’t understand why anyone needed to know. I don’t like the idea of people knowing what I’m doing during every moment of my life. “Going to the grocery store now…” “Going to the gym now…” “Taking a crap…” – who cares?!

By: Retro Chick

Retro Chick — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:40:58 +0000

I’m really interested in this.

Personally I feel that the key is in the way people use them, and the network in general.

I stop following people if they fill my tweet stream up with links or repeatedly message me or only ever tweet to tell me to go to their shop, blog or subscribe to something. At the same time most of the people I follow ARE on Twitter in their professional capacity and therefore I have no problem with them making money from it.

Ultimately I think Twitter is about building professional relationshops for me, so as long as people show an interest in me, or others, and don’t solely use Twitter for affiliate links I have no problem with it.

Personally I Tweet my new Ebay listings and blog posts, as do many others, and I use affiliate links when I Tweet listings. My blog and shop are my only business, and my only way of making money, so I had to fight to overcome the guilt we all seem to feel about making money, as I need it to live! If I thoght it upset people on Twitter I would stop because primarily I still use Twitter to communicate and build relationships rather than as a sales tool.