Like everyone else, I receive a ton of dating site affiliate marketing email. After forwarding offending examples to the dating sites in question so they could presumably fix things, it turns out that dating sites rely so much on affiliate marketing that only a few firms actually perform any quality control.
Once the shock of that statement has abated, look at the screenshot. The subject line “Review Your Matches on eHarmony, It’s On Us!” first made me laugh at its absurdity, then I got upset. I’ve seen ads like this for Match as well, but strangely enough no other sites.
To say this kind of affiliate marketing is outright fraud is a step too far, but its the kind of bottom-feeder marketing that drags down the entire industry. Not that more than a few people care, but I thought I’d say it anyway. Again. I might as well set this up as a re-occurring scheduled post.
The legal types will say the subject line is ok, but it certainly feels disingenuous. Its not like I get to send or receive email for free on behalf of the marketer, its just a link to the dating site landing page like any other.
True, its says “review matches”, but on what planet is the affiliate marketer adding any value? You can go to eHarmony on your own, for free, or you can go for free, and the affiliate marketer gets paid. Same difference to the consumer.
The argument, “It’s not illegal, so it’s legal” is a big reason why the online dating industry has such a spotty reputation. This type of mentality runs rife through most legal, finance and marketing departments, and it sucks. It’s not “how can we create a kick-ass brand that resonates with consumers” (Match, eHarmony), its “What can we get away with to make the most amount of money in the shortest possible time” (most every other site).
Speaking of ads, I have a newly-found respect for dating sites trying to get ads on Facebook. It took 20+ attempts to get a new client up and running with Facebook ads. That said, we’re trying a much different approach than traditional dating site ads. I had forgotten how exciting it can be to run 50 or even 250 ads at a time and see which themes are the most effective and building campaigns on them.
