I’m still shaking my head, I’m appalled. I recently started looking into affiliate programs for my site. I am thinking of adding a clothing company for which I’d make a small commission for any sales that happen through my site. To sign up for this one company I had to sign up for this big clearing house place where a bunch of companies are listed. There are a lot of reputable companies here like Champion, Sephora, The North Face. Their commissions for sales that happen as a result of clicking through my site run in the neighborhood of 5% to 8%.
I was sorting through the health and fitness categories and ran across Jillian Michael’s affiliate program. They are offering 70% to 90% commission on her products. What! That would explain why her face is plastered all over the web, the profits from any sale, even a measly sale are huge!
Here’s a sample of some of her products, I’ll use 70% as an example of what the owner of the web site gets.
- Jumpstart, 14 day Cleanse & Burn, Retail $39.99 to the referral site, $27.99
- 30 Day Shred DVD Retail, $10.99 to the referral site, $7.69
- Fitness Ultimate 2010 Wii Game, Retail $39.99 to the referral site, $27.99
I’m assuming the percentage of payout is higher if you get more referrals from your site. But the majority of companies out there pay under 10%. What on earth is the level of quality here if they can give that much to a referring site? The DVDs I can see to a point as it’s pennies these days to press a DVD and package it, but she is also selling food products such as Whey Protein and whatever the heck is in that 14 day cleanse.
This is what gives the fitness industry a bad name. This is one of the main reasons I have this blog, to let people know when they’re being had. Ladies and gentlemen, you’re being had. Please stop supporting this woman no matter how chipper and adorable she appears on TV. You’re getting advice from a very pretty, personable girl who only has an on-line personal training certification and is simply hawking products trying to make a buck. Please stop. And No! I will not becoming an affiliate for her questionable products.
Let me know your thoughts, I’d love to start a lively discussion here.
Lisa