The $900 sale I gave back

Years ago, I woke up one morning and found almost $900 in my account.

One sale. Overnight.

That's the morning everybody in affiliate marketing is waiting for. I don't remember the name of the product. But I remember what happened next.

For whatever reason, I ended up talking to the buyer on the phone. An older lady.

It didn't take long to realize she had no idea what she'd bought. Or what to do with it.

It was an affiliate marketing program. To earn a commission, you had to get referrals, and they had to buy something too.

I told her I didn't think it was something that would help her, or something she could use. And I told her I was refunding her money.

At first she said no, no, she wanted it.

So I explained what she'd need to do to make money with it. Then she thanked me.

I sent her money back. She didn't ask for a refund.

👉 A sale isn't a success if the person who bought it isn't better off.

Here's what that call taught me.

When you share a link, it's easy to picture a crowd. Clicks. Sales. A number on a dashboard.

But every sale is one person. Someone a lot like that lady, sitting at her kitchen table, trying to figure out what she just paid for.

So before you recommend anything, picture that one person and ask two things:

If the answer is no, the commission isn't worth it.

Ever since then, I've looked a lot harder at anything before I put my name on it.

I ask five questions first, like whether the math makes sense and whether you can reach a real person when you get stuck. All five are in How to recommend without selling out.

Have you ever bought something online and then realized you had no idea what to do with it?

Hit reply and tell me what it was. One line is plenty. I read every reply.

— Bob