After reading a number of posts by bloggers who were incensed and/or infuriated by Jason Calacanis' keynote at the most recent Affiliate Summit, I listened to his speech on Webmaster Radio, and am convinced that the offended affiliate bloggers completely missed the point.

First of all, Jason is known for having a controversial approach and can be (in his own words) “aggressive” as a speaker. Indeed, he comes across as arrogant, especially when he not only mocks Zac Johnson for posting a pic of his 100K+ check but belabors the point about 100K being small potatoes in the circles in which he himself runs. That part of the speech was a complete yawn. During the later question and answer period Jason says that he thinks the practice is “uncouth” and nothing more than a way to make “poor people” buy into a get rich quick or “ponzi” scheme. Obviously, having posted my own earnings, I disagree with his rationale – but I do get the point.

From the outside looking in, that's the first impression that most people have of affiliate marketers and affiliate marketing – and it sucks.

The problem isn't with folks like Zac, Shoemoney, myself and the others who do our best to help others succeed in the business of affiliate marketing by writing copious amounts of good “how-to” information in addition to posting pics of our earnings.

The problem is an endless legion of spammers that try to get rich quick on the backs of people who still believe in the ‘get rich quick' fairy godmother. The problem is autobloggers, autoDiggers, copyright infringers and other crap site generation specialists who spend their days heaping useless junk on Internet users – and the responsible parties / higher authorities who don't do much to either clean up the mess or prevent the pollution in the first place.

What's the solution?

Jason encourages affiliates to think bigger – MUCH bigger – suggesting that many in the community have the stuff that it takes to produce the next StumbleUpon or Facebook. I agree wholeheartedly and have spoken often and at length about the need for affiliates to employ sustainable business practices if they are to succeed in the long-term.

However, if in the process of building a high-quality site and loyal customer relationships, you find that you are completely content while earning a decent income and working only 10 or so hours a week – enjoy! Remember, those who scorn a healthy work-life balance are just jealous. 🙂

Your thoughts?

[tags]jason calacanis, keynote, affiliate summit, affiliate, marketing[/tags]

The PowerPoints from Affiliate Summit have been uploaded to the official AffiliateSummit site.

However, the PowerPoint for the “What SUPER Affiliates Want” discussion panel consists of only 3 pages, so I'm posting our presentation notes here on the NPT blog. You may find them somewhat cryptic, but I'm sure you'll get the idea. 🙂 [Read more…]