This is the kind of eye-opening math I was hoping you'd do. TY! Here's another idea for you: Millennials and Gen Z think we are above and beyond the TV infomercials and QVC-style hard sells that were so effective for Gen X and Boomers . . . but I have some bad news for us. The kind of influencer and affiliate marketing you are exploring in your content is EXACTLY the same, just inside of new media. A charismatic personality, lavishing endorsing products that they make money off of, packaged in entertaining content that makes us feel good. It's not new, but it is more ubiquitous than ever, and insidious as consumers don't fully understand the intentions of the content as they did in the past TV-based era.

@angelaa.9915

Ай бұрын

You’re so right. Influencer marketing is so effective, it’s like we don’t even see it happening. The most successful content creators are really compelling personalities, so OF COURSE we want to support them, we want them to keep making content, so maybe, let’s say, I don’t NEED a new sunscreen (or heck, maybe I do) but my fav creator can make “a small commission” on my purchase, and it’s the least I can do because the creator “put [their] skin through it testing all these products,” etc. etc. And it’s even worse when it’s plastic stuff that we don’t really need or can be used up… it can be a really sickening thought

@now_chemical

Ай бұрын

exactly right! i realized this recently with self help books, too. we’re always just repackaging the same things to fit the vibes of what’s popular and reselling it back to make us feel better 😭

@Iquey

Ай бұрын

TikTok live and Poshmark live sales are similar to QVC too.

@coolchameleon21

Ай бұрын

exactly. gen z is even more prone to overconsumption and buying ridiculous products because of algorithms and parasocial relationships

@coolchameleon21

Ай бұрын

@@angelaa.9915exactly. most people don’t even realize they’re being advertised to because it’s done in such subtle ways by their faves. also, if you look up to a creator and aspire to be like them, you’re much more likely to buy any products that they recommend or mention. people want to buy a lifestyle, and they think these products will help them get there

a specific kind of advertising i’ve noticed that is extremely effective on younger demographics is what i call “pretty girl marketing”. when a beautiful woman posts on social media and mentions what products she uses, people are extremely likely to buy it or ask her where she bought it. or people will straight up ask her what kind of products she uses in her routine so they can go buy it themselves. it’s especially effective for makeup, skincare, hair care, perfumes, and fashion. they’ll say things like “this is *the* it girl perfume” or “you’ll get all the guys if you smell like this” or “this is the hot girl lip combo”. its crazy how insidious and effective it is. young girls and women are constantly pressured to look a certain way, and it’s even worse now with social media. they think that if they buy a certain product, they can look like this (probably filtered) woman on their screen, and their life will be better. it’s sad honestly, and it promotes extreme overconsumption because these girls/women are trying to buy a lifestyle fantasy and social currency that they will likely never be able to attain.

A long time ago, when I first moved to New York, my life was bleak and I had nothing. There was barely enough to save up for a couch. When I see people in the situation where I used to be, owning a Mickey Waffle Maker.... I get it. Having stuff is amazing, it makes you feel like you're in a better place than before. But to these people I say, Hello Kitty is cheaper, if you really need your crispy pancake to look back at you.

Thank you for talking about this, I think that it's truly wild that what are essentially ads have become the entertainment/content. It's very manipulative because when people watch their favorite influencer hype something up they might feel more like they're getting advice from someone they admire and trust. But there's a massive conflict of interest that should eliminate any trust. These people are often gifted these items, and it's far easier to like something when you didn't invest anything into it. They also directly profit from convincing people to want it! It's time people realized that going along with this is not in their own best interest.

@shawnaripari

Ай бұрын

Well said! All of the discussion about tax write offs and biz expenses apply here too

So much 'content' is just a dressed up advert, and I understand that people need to support themselves while they make actual content but the people who only make covert ads really annoy me. I don't have tik tok but I've watched my niece scroll and only like 10% of her feed wasn't an advert of some sort

It’s been so interesting to watch a creator over a couple of years, and see how, as her channel has grown (now to about 500k) she’s now almost exclusively promoting Amazon as the source for products she mentions. It used to be a much wider range of sources. Now she’s doing the flat-out “10 Things You Must Have from Amazon for a successful trip.” But the main thing was how many people-and it’s a LOT-were asking for an affiliate link, back when she didn’t provide them so regularly. It appears nobody wanted to search and compare sources for the item, they wanted a single click, right now. That instant action just seemed odd to me. And I have to admit, I wonder a lot more, now, about why she’s making the recs that she does…..it’s kind of harder to believe she genuinely thinks it’s the one best thing everybody “needs” when I know how much money she makes for promoting it.

I was just listening to another creator talk about this. I said to my husband "how much money is worth selling your soul to amazon?" BTW, you say it so much better, so I can understand it. 🎉

not sure fake lashes can be life changing.... maybe if my lashes had fallen (due to a medical condition or life event) but otherwise I guess it is a stretch

🤣 "There's no world in which a puffy headband and a pair of earrings are essential." I usually don't wear accessories but I wanted to upgrade my ratty velcro headband I strap on for washing my face and doing skincare. So I ordered a terry one with a pair of matching wristlets off Temu. I felt the wristlets were a game changer stopping water from annoyingly running down to my elbows. One is smaller than the other but I accepted the defect with the cheap price. The bigger problem is my head size is too big for the headband and it easily slips off the back of my head. I saw a puffy headband with another pair of wristlets on Temu and said what the hell, it's cheap enough, and ordered it. All while forgetting I had another fuzzy spa headband with animal ears I packed for the sauna in my gym bag. I immediately tried on the puffy headband when it arrived and you can imagine my dismay when I found it still too tight for my big dome. But being hard, it's easy to get on and off and I'm making it work by positioning it right. In the end, my original old velcro one probably worked the best for me. I have a damn headband each for the sauna, bathroom, and vanity now and a couple pairs of wristlets as a bonus. They didn't set me back a huge amount of money. But an adage for the Amazon/Temu era could go, if it does the job, you don't need a new one.

I’ve been told that creators at certain levels get very detailed information about who their audience is. Not names, but ages, gender, areas of interest, income levels, etc. , all so the creator can “target” their message (and products) better. Most people have no idea about how much information on their habits, likes, dislikes, activities, is available to marketers. And so many of these creators are indeed likable, relatable, fun to watch-ALL characteristics of a good salesman, whether for cars, clothes, make-up and so on. That’s why they’re successful and making money off selling us more stuff. But bottom line, they’re making ads and selling stuff. It becomes lucrative amazingly fast.

i also hate the amazon must have videos! i can’t believe there are people whose entire accounts are dedicated to shilling for amazon. no morals whatsoever

@jababijamovi5088

Ай бұрын

Some people prefer raise and help to provide for their family than caring what others "think" about you. I'm a moral guy myself. if it feels wrong i wont do it. if it feels unethical i wont do it. I would always be the "right" guy and polite guy. BUT once you grow up your realise other step over you if you become like this. you need to kinda GET RID OF that "moral" thinking and help yourself a bit more and develop little ego to boost your life experience. Not saying start scamming people. but if a video helps you raise a family then do it. Unless its extremely unethical like P**n

@coolchameleon21

Ай бұрын

@@jababijamovi5088 🙄 amazon is unethical. period. there’s no “if” it IS. quit using the “providing for their family” excuse. get a job like everyone else. what about the people who are being exploited to create those products and work in those warehouses? is your family more important than theirs? don’t have a family if you have to rely on shilling for a disgusting company like amazon. get a better paying job or don’t bother

I think us as viewers, and followers need to do our do diligence when it comes to things like this. We need to start expecting creators to not treat our time, money and attention as cash for them. Consumers in general, both off and online need to start respecting ourselves more. I don't see an issue with someone making a dollar here and there off of something they genuinely like and use, I am below the poverty line so I understand needing to make money, but big influencers especially, have taken it too far where they would basic lie and cheat their way to get our money.

@shawnaripari

Ай бұрын

this is also true, that at least some ownership falls onto subscribers/followers

Great video! I’ve moved away from influencers and content creators that emphasize selling and affiliates in their content (compared to say the heyday of beauty youtube that I consumed). I also try to avoid shopping from Amazon (and as a Canadian, I don’t find their prices great anyways) so the Amazon-focused influences turn me off 😒

“i don’t know who needs to hear this, but” for better and for worse, probably no one who’s made it 20 minutes into this video 😭

As we say in Spain, Nadie da duros a pesetas: nobody gives dolars for penies

Love your comment on the Mickey Mouse machine. I think kitchen gadgets appeal to people who wish to cook more and think they need a special tool to do it. A cast iron skillet makes most of my delicious homemade meals and all I had to do was learn how to use it. Skills will most of the time trump tools fam!

a lot of people selling items through 'affiliate links' may actually be the ones selling the items themselves. many people make their income by tracking trends, buying items in bulk from overseas, & sending these items into amazon to sell though FBA ('fullfilled by amazon'). so it's not just that someone may make a video trying to make a couple bucks off an item they really like... they could very well have hundreds or thousands of units of products that THEY OWN and are trying to sell by pretending to be an organic consumer of the items. or they could work with specific people that sell though FBA and receive a larger cut of profit beyond just the affiliate link money in exchange for providing sales traffic to specific listings. it's highly competitive. not to mention there are tons of content farms set up to make videos look authentic when they're really strictly ads produced by the companies' pushing products. an account could sell the image of a mom/wife sharing items she organically likes for her personal use but in reality, they are employed to sell through a persona. everything is fake! lol

Great info here. I love when KZreadrs give a home tour of their very expensive homes. Makes you wonder ….

you would love Ramit Sethi! his podcast and book are called "i will teach you to be rich" and the whole point is to have people prioritize spending on the things and experience they actually love instead. he also goes very far into like investing and stuff like that but your videos, his podcast, and Anika Green's videos have changed my spending habits so so much.

I got my puffy headband at Marshall’s for $3……😂

I'm not from the US, Canada, UK, Australia and I watch content creators from those countries but since I'm not exactly the target audience (shipping costs being a major factor) I guess there's a barrior protecting me, however, I did fall for buying a lot of stationery online 😅.

I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets 😂

Also a lot of the “hooks” are lies too

@shawnaripari

Ай бұрын

also true!

To add some unneeded context - 240K a year would be $115.38 an hour (at 2080 hrs., which is 52 weeks of 40 hours) Some people only make that in a day at $115.38 a day is $14.42.

Doesn’t Amazon have some responsibility in this too? I often feel like creators can be taken advantage of by these big companies who look for cheap/free adverts. I don’t know, just a thought. Love your videos! They always make me think. TY!

@shawnaripari

Ай бұрын

Amazon absolutely holds responsibility in this, but not in the same way as if they were sponsoring creators. I would call it more of corporate greed and promoting overconsumption opposed to taking advantage of creators that happens with sponsorships

Another fantastic video! My question is-how will creators make money if they were to theoretically remove all advertising?

Also discount codes! People get paid every time someone uses the code. But at the very least you save money. I know a lot of people will just search for a haul of some kind to find a discount code to use so they save 10-20% in their purchase

not me watching you talk about Amazon's affiliate link program and getting an ad for amazon 💀 💀

Idk if anyone else said this but as far as I understand one you click their link, they are making money on what you buy. So…. If you click on an ice cube mold and buy dog food, the purchase is eligible for commission. (If things have changed or if I am wrong, someone can set me straight). I believe there is a time frame on purchases getting commission. Or if you click someone else’s link after , then that person would get commission, not the first affiliate.

@wendycoop

20 күн бұрын

There is a timeframe on purchases. It's called a cookie. Each retailer establishes their own cookie duration. For Amazon, it's 24 hours and any purchase counts. For other sites, only the link that is clicked counts. But if you click someone else's link after you add something to the cart, then the last link clicked gets the commission.

I know that some of my favorite Lewes do not take sponsorship from people unless they really like and believe in the product, which is a good thing!

As add cpms have plummeted, especially in the last ~6 months I've seen some of my fav creators go from making enjoyable and informative content to making ostensibly normal videos that actually have 4 affiliate links attached, but this is not declared when the algorithm shows me the video.

I don’t have tik tok or any of those fast social media platforms and I’m thankful I don’t 😂. Even though I buy a lot on Amazon I never used affiliate link and don’t go on just to look. If I need something I look for it but nothing else. Even though I see those videos on KZread

I think affiliate is fine because there's usually a promotion behind their unique link, IF it's something i was doing to buy already, them i don't mind someone getting a small kickback from my purchase. BUT, i avoid stuff i don't actually need. My personality just doesn't like pushy sales tactics.

@lauralaforge558

Ай бұрын

Not for Amazon. And if you can google and always get a promotion off someone’s link, it seems like the products are that much overpriced. Or they are just trying to get you with a subscription

It’s insane!! Sooo many mommy vloggers ( another form of content I despise ) they show these Amazon clothes priced at like $80 when the dress is $10 on temu! I wouldn’t shop on temu ! But I’m just saying what these ladies are doing is insane! They’ll wear a dress show it and say comment if you’re interested!! And I’m like umm no I’m going to screen shot with my phone! And that’s how o found the $80 dress was $10! 😂 insanity

👍🏼

☝🏻

Such a good video!!! KZread (and most social media) has year after year become more of an advertising platform and data collection application than an outlet for creativity and connection! I've had moments where I found myself getting annoyed (?) that a KZreadr *didn't* have affiliate links when she mentioned something, because I was so used to instant on-demand access to a product that was mentioned. 😬💸 This was such a good discussion, I feel like you should be on The Financial Diet one of these days!!! @thefinancialdiet

@shawnaripari

Ай бұрын

thank you!! you raise a good point about the expectation of links as well. I'd love to be on TFD so this is so sweet 😭