Lately there has been a lot of controversy and debate about the concept of downline integrity. Normally I wouldn't care, but since the proponents of this idea have started tossing around words like unethical, illegal and downright calling other business owners thieves - I thought it was high time that someone put a few facts on paper. This article will be very traffic exchange centered. Not because I want it to, but simply because exchanges are the only place where anyone has embraced the idea of downline integrity.

Traffic Exchanges aren't special.

First of all you need to understand that traffic exchanges do not differ from any other kind of affiliate program. It is the same basic principle, you promote an affiliate link and when some one enters the program through your link you get paid for your efforts, either in credits, cash or both. Although residual commissions are common, the owner/affiliate contract ends when the new members steps through the door. Just as it does when you sell a Clickbank product. Think about it, would you expect Ewen Chia to refrain from selling to his list of customers? Would you expect him to sell stuff to them using your link? Of course not, you got paid for the sale and that is the end of it - and traffic exchanges aren't any different.

How any affiliate program decides to monetize their site and backend is their business, if you don't like it then you don't promote it. But a traffic exchange owner mailing his list is no different than a CB vendor mailing his customer list...period. In fact here is an interesting quote from Mike Filsaime's Butterfly Marketing Manuscript:

"The way it works is this. It is my site and I offer you a free service. I am entitled to monetize the site in exchange for my free service".

The downline mentality.

Believing that downline integrity is necessary naturally implies that building downlines is the best thing since sliced bread. And that notion is exactly what will stunt your growth.

There is a good reason why everybody tells you to build that all important email list - and that is because it works. Build a list and build a relationship with your subscribers. They then become your personal downline and a pool of traffic you can send to all the products and programs you want to. You don't care how the owner monetizes your people when they sign up, because 1) you have been paid 2) you still have them on your list 3) you already have a relationship with them (after all they followed your recommendation), so you have an advantage over the owner you sent them to.
On the other hand, if you don't build a list you will forever be at the mercy of product/program owners. And worse, you will fight a constant uphill battle to build and replenish that downline - that is a battle you can not win because your efforts can only take you so far. The only people that win from that approach are the program owners, and that is why the downline mentality will stunt your growth.

So why have affiliate links?

Most of what I do is centered around list building and I try to pass that on to people at any given chance, and a prominent downline integrity crusader have started asking the question. "Why do you have affiliate links then?"

Well duh, if people are building a list and they wanted to use that list to promote my products and programs they would need an affiliate link wouldn't they?

Furthermore, even though I would like nothing more than having all my affiliates building huge lists and using those lists to promote me, I'm not stupid. If affiliates want to promote my business directly I'm not going to stop them - I will provide them with everything they need to do so, anything else would make no business sense whatsoever.

Team, business model or cult?

There is one thing about this whole downline integrity debate that really bugs me, and that is the fact that people can't see that it is just a clever business plan some owners use to keep people in their place. Downline integrity is not about sticking up for the little guy, it's about keeping the little guy in his or her assigned place in the downline structure. So they don't run around joining other things, or *gasp* break out of the shell so they don't need to be a part of a given program any longer.

It's about making you believe that you are part of a team or community, nothing wrong with that per se. But you need to understand that a program owner does that to build loyalty and in the end to get you to spend more money and/time with the program.

These exchanges become useless.

In my opinion traffic exchanges that actively pursue downline integrity are useless. Think about it, if members are trained to join everything from inside the downline structure, what is the point in advertising to said members?

These exchanges become a gathering of yes-men that stick together and are happy to live off the scraps that falls from the owners "downline table".

On the other hand they are forced to go out in the real internet marketing world to advertise their little club in order to bring in new people. When they do so they are forced to face the harsh reality of a marketing world that does not play by their rules. And because they have been lulled into the false sense of security their downline integrity program gives them, they start crying foul play.

But there is nothing wrong in internet marketing, these people have just been kept in the dark for the benefit

Final myths and points.

Some of the downline integrity people will try to tell you that the fortune is the follow up, but they are only telling you half the truth. They want you to do the follow up and relationship building from inside their programs because it benefits them and prevents your ability to promote other things.

Build your own list and do your own follow up. Don't rely on a traffic exchange to do any of that for you. Use the downline mailers and PM systems in traffic exchanges as they were intented - an extra perk that will help your relationship building, not do it for you.

... and finally take a good look around the internet marketing scene and see what the successful people are doing. Following the path of downline integrity will lead you down a certain path and that path won't end anywhere near where I am!