Techcrunch has a good article on the latest conundrum facing affiliate managers: Izea (formerly PayPerPost) has begun introducing affiliate links to its network of sponsored bloggers.
While bloggers inserting affiliate links into their posts is nothing new (and not even necessarily bad), this particular incident is troubling for brand owners. The FTC has become increasingly focused on disclosure requirements for word of mouth and Izea is certainly a lightning rod for the issue.
We couldn't agree more with David Friend, Carbonite's CEO (quoted in TechCrunch):
An affiliate program requires constant policing because some of these guys will try almost anything and you just have to monitor it very carefully. We have a full time person on it.
The vast majority of affiliates add value, but unsupervised programs allow the small number of ill-intentioned affiliates to have substantial impact.
Techcrunch originally reported that WOMMA founder Andy Sernovitz discovered this particular scheme. Nice work.
