Updated 2026: In 2009, I wrote a post about pausing a tutorial series because the CPA offer I had chosen felt ethically wrong. It was a colon cleansing free trial offer that paid well but relied on sneaky continuity billing and dubious health claims. I could not bring myself to promote it, even as a teaching example. That decision, small as it seemed at the time, reflected a principle that has guided my entire internet marketing career: if you would be embarrassed to explain your business to your mother or your pastor, you should not be doing it.
Why Ethics Matter in Internet Marketing
Internet marketing ethics refers to the moral principles that guide how you promote products, create content, and interact with your audience online. In an industry where the barrier to entry is low and the potential for anonymous deception is high, your ethical standards are what separate a sustainable business from a short-term hustle that eventually collapses.
The specific example that prompted my original post was a CPA offer in the health niche. CPA, or cost per action, offers pay you when someone completes a specific action like ordering a free sample. The problem was that many of these offers in 2009 used deceptive practices: burying the recurring billing terms in fine print, making cancellation difficult, and making health claims that were at best exaggerated and at worst fraudulent.
I cited an Illinois Attorney General lawsuit against an affiliate marketer named Larby Amirouche who was sued for using misleading advertising to drive traffic to supplement sellers. The AG sought permanent injunctions and $50,000 civil penalties per violation. That was a real consequence for real deception.
The Ethical Standard I Use
In my business plan from 2009, I included a specific guideline that I still follow today: my internet business should not include things I am embarrassed to talk about with my mother or my pastor. That simple filter eliminates a surprising amount of questionable opportunities.
Beyond that personal standard, here are the principles I apply to every business decision:
- Promote only products you would recommend to a friend. If you would not personally tell a friend to buy something, do not promote it to your audience for a commission.
- Be transparent about financial relationships. Disclose affiliate links. Disclose sponsorships. Your audience deserves to know when you have a financial incentive.
- Verify claims before repeating them. If a product claims miraculous results, verify those claims before lending your credibility to them.
- Respect your audience's intelligence and wallet. Do not use manipulative urgency tactics, fake scarcity, or high-pressure sales techniques that exploit emotions rather than serving genuine needs.
What Has Changed Since 2009
Regulation has increased significantly. The FTC has become far more active in enforcing disclosure requirements and pursuing deceptive marketing practices. The FTC's Endorsement Guides, updated in 2023, require clear and conspicuous disclosure of material connections between endorsers and marketers. Affiliate marketers, influencers, and content creators are all subject to these rules.
Platform enforcement is stronger. Google, Facebook, and other advertising platforms have implemented stricter policies against misleading health claims, deceptive billing practices, and fake testimonials. Getting your ad account or website penalized for policy violations can destroy a business overnight.
Consumer awareness is higher. Today's consumers are more sophisticated about recognizing manipulative marketing. Reviews, social proof, and reputation travel fast. A single deceptive campaign can generate lasting negative publicity that follows you for years.
The “rebill” and free trial scam model has largely been shut down by payment processors and regulatory action. Visa and Mastercard implemented stricter rules for negative option billing. Many of the practices that were common in 2009 would now result in merchant account termination.
Building an Ethical Internet Business
The good news is that ethical internet marketing is also more profitable long-term. Building trust with your audience creates repeat customers, organic referrals, and a reputation that opens doors. The marketers who cut corners for quick commissions in 2009 are largely gone. The ones who built with integrity are still here.
I am still here, 17 years later, because I chose to walk away from that CPA offer and every questionable opportunity since. The short-term money was never worth the long-term cost to my reputation and my peace of mind.
As Stephen W. Vannoy said: “Integrity is how you act when no one is watching, when no one knows what you're doing.”
For more on building an online business with integrity, subscribe to the Late Night Internet Marketing podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Hi Mason,
Sounds like you have a pretty clear cut plan to grow your business.
I am still struggling to adequately define my business model and plan a long-term strategy. Like you I am trying to create something that is not built on just trying to make the next buck. Rather I want a sustainable, long-term business that will give a steady stream of income, while providing my readers/customers/ followers with a high level of integrity.
Enjoying following what you have to say.
Omar
In response to Kent F
“Ok, here’s my other issue. How about a high quality product in an industry that has some scamminess to it – like online dating, payday loans, mortgage refinancing? Where do you draw the line. Is a Making Up info. product a scam because it preys on emotional people trying to get their spouse back and are willing to pay $100 to do it?
I just get concerned if we start labeling everything a scam.”
A “product” is only a scam if it doesn’t deliver the promised quality and value. All marketing relies on people’s emotions to some extent; again, it’s only predatory if the purchase fails to deliver enough quality and value to justify the price.
When whole industries become suspect, marketers of high-quality products within those categories are then faced with 2 huge challenges:
1. Proving their product’s integrity.
2. Overcoming “guilt by association” with a questionable industry.
My personal preference is to stay away from questionable industries in order to keep my own reputation healthy.
Thanks for the timely and appropriate post. I just have been bombarded with some guru’s affiliate stomp promotion and saw some of these questionable products are on the list of things to promote. Luckily the cheesy graphics and the promise “no one would be turned down” that they used chased me off.
You know, seeing these types of scams enables me to help my wife and I steer clear of them. If it’s too good to be true, then it likely is. We’ve been bitten by one of them actually. Thankfully, we got to it and ended it in time, but still trying to get the refund we’re owed.
I’ve also dipped into the acai pool, but only until Squidoo decided to ban such topics. I was frustrated over that, but clearly, if everybody and their dog is into it, then maybe that’s a warning sign in itself.
The Madigan case is interesting Mark, I hadn’t come across it , so thanks.
I guess as an affiliate I ought to be scared or something but I welcome the advance of legal process into Internet Marketing.
Some of the crap I get every day in my inbox seems every bit as bad and I would welcome it if the dolts that send it were busted.
You know what – one of my trainings is in Nutrition and I have not looked into Acai berries but all the hoo haa (on both sides) makes it hard to promote the product.It is probably good – just about all berries are.
Your Colon Cleansing product is probably OK too.
It all depends how it’s done – we’ve all seen what I refer to as “fake” reviews of products but I will continue writing real reviews and I guess you will too.
Maybe the take home on this is to presell stuff you know about and um, treat your readers (as you do) like adults.
Integrity is a biggie – ask affiliates how they choose what to promote and they’ll often cite the % commission and not the quality of the product.
I’ll stop now I’m beginning to ramble!
🙂
If you use Adsense, it might be wise to *regularly* use the Ad Review Center to analyze and filter categories. Unfortunately, the categories are still rather broad (Drugs AND Supplements), and the categories don’t cover *everything*. But, it might help to keep a publisher out of trouble.
I’ve been taking high quality supplements for over a decade, and this is precisely why I avoid marketing unknown supplements through cpa or other offers.
I do have several problems with the article, however. Is the undocumented colon cleanse product that is manufactured in a state of the art facility and sold through direct sales by a respected company like ____ (Shaklee, Nutrilite, etc.) and sells for $40 bottle as much of a scam as the shady company with unknown origins which sells the same “colon cleansing” prodcut for $40, but was manufactured in a dingy warehouse in the middle of nowhere for $1? Remember there is minimal FDA oversight of supplements.
That’s why I say avoid them. But, I do cringe when people look at ALL supplements and direct sales companies as scams.
Ok, here’s my other issue. How about a high quality product in an industry that has some scamminess to it – like online dating, payday loans, mortgage refinancing? Where do you draw the line. Is a Making Up info. product a scam because it preys on emotional people trying to get their spouse back and are willing to pay $100 to do it?
I just get concerned if we start labeling everything a scam.
I think the efficacy of the product is less an issue than the financial fraud aspect–calling something a free trial and then billing their credit card without notice, and not shipping product:
“companies lure customers with free trial offers – through aggressive Internet marketing techniques – and then charge customers’ credit cards prematurely, do not always supply the product and make it nearly impossible to cancel.”
I think that if you don’t abuse people’s cards and actually deliver product, then you should be fine.
Oh, and don’t f*** with Oprah:
“The Attorney General’s office and representatives from Chicago-based Harpo, Inc., coordinated an investigation of consumer complaints – many provided to the Attorney General’s office by Harpo – revealing the deceptive practices of these companies. Neither Ms. Winfrey nor Dr. Oz has ever sponsored or endorsed any acai berry or dietary supplement product.”
Hi Mark,
Thanks for calling attention to this vitally important issue.
As government regulation and “the will of the people” catch up to the explosive growth of the Internet and those who have unscrupulously taken advantage of it, we will be seeing even more stories and court cases like this. Nevertheless, it’s still far too easy to get caught up in the “easy money” frenzy, and in the process, forget things like The Golden Rule and integrity.
One thing that I’m about 99% convinced is the right way to go is to only promote stuff that I personally use and find to be useful. I don’t like the copy and paste emails, carbon copy web sites, and all that, so I tend to listen to people who don’t do it when they do recommend something based on their own experience. I’ll be leaving a lot of money on the table — but there’s still more than enough to be made this way.
Best regards,
Tom
P.S. — Only recommending stuff that we’ve personally reviewed can also help separate the legitimate supplements and etc. from the scam products. If it worked for you, then you can just tell your story and recommend the product; otherwise, leave it alone. Just an idea…!
Mason- That is a very respectable position to take and I tip my hat to you.
Well done mate.
It is about time that the internet marketing field gets a thorough “colon cleanse”. People have been getting ripped off for years and it is only getting worse as more am
nd more quick buck artists try their hand at making money online the way infomercial sleazeballs have been doing it for years.
I say clean up the mess and the good marketers will win.
The main sticking point I’ve run into is if indeed a product and the company selling it is legit. If they treat their customer fairly, not trapping them into a never ending billing cycle. By reviewing the above comments I’m not the only one, which is good to see. Does any one know of a filter to seperate the good from the bad.
No problem Mark, I have plenty to do so I can wait for the next part and I would rather it was ethical…. and that you didn’t get sued 🙂
This is very informative, helpful and easy to digest. Keep this coming. Thanks!! http://www.sabetsu.com
Good post Mark. Sometimes we all need to stop and think about what we are doing and why. There is a reason why sites like Squidoo are frowning on weight loss, health type sites. It’s hard for people to separate the good from the bad. There are so many things out there that we can truthfully promote and stand behind.
You have Newbie Marketers looking to you to teach them ethical methods of Affiliate Marketing. This is definitely something they should consider.
I purchased AAS a couple of months ago but haven’t used it — yet! Your series on the software has regenerated my enthusiasm for it, so thanks. It is a heck of a product.
I’m looking forward to your videos though. Milan (the creator) is a heck of a nice guy but I am having problems with his instructions.
Mark, I know you want to show real world proof that using AAS will assist in our marketing efforts, but honestly, I just want to see how to use it and get the most out of the darn thing!
My vote is to finish up the series with a topic you’re comfortable with. Everyone’s mileage will vary anyway so why not just cover what this puppy can do. Fire it up!
Thanks
Mark
(a fellow Texan and sharer of a noble name.)