So I do double duty as an affiliate marketer and a youth pastor. selah

About two months ago I saw a drastic and depression-evoking drop in my ringtone earnings. We all knew this was coming, but nobody wanted to believe it.  Lets look at history for a minute.

I was in the mortgage business right after the peak of the refinance boom. The average homeowner had become a little more savvy. No longer could you cold call someone and say, “Would you like to lower your monthly mortgage?” and have a sale. You were stuck with a few less pleasant options.

1. Get out of the office and make contact with realtors who had clients. These mortgages paid less and often the realtors wanted a kick back.
2. Network extensively through friends and family. Tip: never do a real estate transaction with friends or family. They expect more of your time and want to pay less.
3. Â Trick people into getting mortgages that they either did not need or could not afford.
4. Lie to people to get their business then the day of closing call and say, “Oh, by the way, that 5.5% is going to be 7.25%. Your payment is going to be $600 more than we said and I need you to bring $4,000 to the closing. People could only get deals by lying about what they could deliver then reveal the truth right before closing.
5. Realize that you were not going to get rich overnight and slowly build your business by delivering a steady and reliable product and getting more business by positive referrals. Slowly, over time, your efforts and integrity would pay off with a successful business.

This trend spurred two things.

1. Reputable financial institutions pushed back and kept their good customers and increased their market share. When I would send a notice to a certain bank requesting a payoff, they would ignore it, contact the borrower and lower their rate. The bank decided that some is better than none. These customers would tell about their awesome bank and the bank’s business would increase.
2. Consumers got so jaded by the industry that they became distrustful of independent brokers. I would hear customers say, “I don’t want one of those adjustable mortgage scams.” Adjustable mortgages are not for everyone but there are circumstances where they are the absolute best option. It did not matter. The customers were scared of them and you could not give them away.

In the end, the mortgage industry got so greedy that the economy of the nation is threatened by the skyrocketing default rate. There are now countless millionaires that were made during this boom but at what cost? I reject the notion that the only guiding principle is the financial bottom line. If you are worried that you might run into a former client in the grocery store your conscience is telling you something. Do not ignore it. </sermon>

Lots of people are running into a similar trend in online marketing these days, as specifically revealed in the ringtone market. There was a deluge of folks that had no idea (mostly through their own ignorance) that they were going to be charged over $100 a year for “bonus ringtones.” So the same trend happened:

1. The industry reacted
2. The customers reacted

We had a lock in the other day at church. One kid came over and asked another if he had any ringtones he could bluetooth over. I instantly understood why my sales had died. People can now go P2P for ringtones.  The music industry killer has invaded the ringtone market. People were looking for an alternative to getting duped by the ringtone after market and the industry was looking to make money. Though they would rather sell ringtones, they decided that cellphone sales (the some) was better than losing customer all together (someone else was going to do it).

This leads to the same options that were there for the mortgage broker. Either run to the next big thing, or build your online business through a quality product that people will tell their friends about. Slowly, over time, your efforts and integrity would pay off with a successful business.