Affiliate Marketing isn't a SCAM!

Honestly, I Am Tired of Nigerian Affiliate Marketers.

Before you agree Boss, let me tell you why.

In November 2023, I asked my affiliate friends on 𝕏 what they sold.

Most of the replies I got, both as comments and as DMs, all pointed to the same thing:

Information Products.

Boss, they all sold Information Products!

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with affiliating Information Products like:

• courses,

• mentorships,

• training programmes,

• coaching programmes etc.

What is wrong is that more than 99% of the people who sell SELL THE SAME THINGS.

And that’s not even the bad part.

What's sadder is that they believe this is all they can sell.

That affiliate marketing is ALL ABOUT (predominantly) selling courses.

But Boss… is that true?

Is that how it is?

Is that how it should be?

Has it always been like this?

Or was there a time when things were different?

This made me do the research that led to this truth I will expose to you now, Boss.

(You might hate me after reading this. That's okay. The truth isn't for everyone.)

Before the COVID pandemic of 2019/2020,

The affiliate marketing business model had an extremely low market sophistication in Nigeria.

Yes, it was known but…by who?

Only a few digital marketers knew about it.

Everybody was still carrying CVs around,

Jumping from interview to interview,

Looking for a minimum-wage job.

(You were probably doing the same thing too)

Those who had jobs didn't feel fulfilled.

There had to be something more they could do to take home more than the little salary they were earning.

(Boss, were you also struggling with this?)

Back then, many young people were seriously battling the economic insecurities of a struggling country because they needed to make ends meet.

The closest you could do to earning a dollar online back then… was to own a blog.

Boss, tell me,

Would you have owned a blog in 2017? 😒

Then in 2018, everything changed when one man in Lagos State decided Enough was Enough.

Toyin Omotosho, who at the time was already an accomplished digital marketer, making his money from affiliate marketing, started to think…

“I need to do something to help my people. E no make sense as I’m the only one enjoying this thing.”

So, he established the @expertnaire program,

And affiliate marketing as we know it, was born.

The 72IG course (which you probably have but can’t remember the last time you looked at it) was born.

Affiliate marketing became one of the biggest things to happen to the Nigerian financial space since MMM.

With the 72IG course, A LOT of Nigerians were introduced to internet money.

Nigerians like my first and biggest inspiration, Bruno Nwogu and his of top money-makers gang were introduced into the fold.

Then came that one time History will never forget.

The Age of Sanitizers.

The Reign of the Lockdown.

The Era of the Face Masks.

The COVID-19 Pandemic!

Sometimes, I look back and still feel it was a wild time to be alive.

Boss, do you remember how that time was for you?

The whole world shut down.

Governments shut down.

Many businesses died.

But the internet lived.

With nothing else to do or pay attention to,

Everybody turned to their phones for a sense of escape.

TikTok became viral.

Vaccines became viral.

Donald Trump became viral.

Remote work became viral.

This was the perfect time for affiliate marketing to make a GRAND ENTRY.

Que in the incredibly massive promotion of the 72IG course and an even bigger market reception.

Those who were fast enough:

• took advantage of the opportunity,

• learned the basics of the business,

• created simpler versions of the course and

• sold those materials so others could get started.

It truly was a time to be alive, Boss.

Affiliate marketing was the saviour many people were waiting for.

So, how did this amazing "business model" create one of the most cliché markets ever?

Keep reading.

I dare you to do this, Boss.

Reach out to any random affiliate marketer you know. Any of them.

Ask them what they sell.

I bet you at least 9 out of 10 will tell you it’s one course or another.

And with more than 90% of Nigerian affiliates doing this, one would think affiliate marketing is all about selling other people's information materials.

But is there more to affiliate marketing?

Or is this all it’s meant to be?

Boss, if you're unfortunately webbed into the routine of:

• seeing/buying a course,

• going through the course and then

• selling the same course (or a similar course),

I wrote this post specifically for you.