Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of five quick affiliate tips by guest blogger Robert Plank. Videos of each are also posted at the end of this article. Enjoy!
– Michel Fortin

No product vendor likes potential affiliates to ask for free “review copies.” It reeks of inexperience and penny-pinching. If you want to promote a product and need to see what it looks like on the inside, just bite the bullet and pay for it like everyone else.

As an affiliate, you have two relationships to work: with your buyers, and with the product originator. When you try to go the cheap route, you burn too many bridges early on.

Let’s also remember that whenever you pay for something, you’re more likely to take action with it. Just imagine you’ve work and saved your entire life for your dream car. Once you buy it, you’re going to actually use it and take extra care of it, right?

Then imagine somebody gives you the car outright. You didn’t earn it, you didn’t work for it, and didn’t pay anything for it. You still might cherish the car but you aren’t going to enjoy it the same way.

The same is true for getting “affiliate review copies” of products. If you actually buy the product, you’ll have more of a drive to promote and make your money back.

There is also no excuse for trying to save money buying from yourself as the affiliate to get your review copy. People have tried to justify themselves doing this for years, but there’s simply no way to explain it without sounding cheap.

Can you really see Michel Fortin, John Reese, or Frank Kern asking for review copies from each other? No way… $20 or even $100 is a drop-in-the-bucket investment for their business. You want to model those people.

Did you know that Russell Brunson and Matt Bacak attend each other’s $20,000 workshops, and pay each other for hourly coaching? There is no “keeping score” to see who makes more money off the other’s coaching.

If one of them needs an extra boost in their business, they pay for the tools and it pays off.

Usually I will pay full price for even my closest business partners’ products, even though I “could” get it for free — I’d prefer to have the tax writeoff, stronger relationship, and extra motivation that comes with paying full price.

I don’t always buy the products I promote as an affiliate… but if you want a review copy, pay for it instead of calling in favors. You owe it to yourself, your product originator, and your customers to actually invest in your business.