Dennis Yu

TechCrunch post on Facebook: What people are saying

Between my personal blog and that of Content Factory, we’ve gotten about 23,000 hits in the last 24 hours.  The TechCrunch Effect is when TechCrunch covers your site, typically on launch day, and brings it down from massive traffic.  And you often generate media buzz, with many companies then being acquired.

Fortunately, we didn’t go down– as we were prepared in advance for the 100k-300k hits that sometimes strike from a TechCrunch post.

The article drew 315 comments so far– polarized between mudslingers and applauders, with the applauders slightly winning.  Let’s talk about what these folks were saying, bucketing responses into generalized categories:

Applauders

  • Hooray for exposing the spammers.
  • What? Do you mean that Acai Berry doesn’t work and that it isn’t free?
  • When is the next article in the series coming out?

Mudslingers

  • Ads are not spam– there’s a sucker born every minute.
  • Stop outing what I do– I’m trying to make money spamming.
  • Dennis and his BlitzMetrics crew have the cooties and can pound sand (that’s not what they actually said, but you can insert your favorite personal insults in there).

What these people are saying also says a lot about them.  Let’s start with the vocal minority.  There are affiliate marketers who feel the need to defend the flag of affiliate marketing.  Remember back in 1999 when David Howard used the word “niggardly” to describe a stingy budget package?  Jesse Jackson and prominent members of the black community were up in arms, citing racial slurs.  This fellow was crucified over the ignorance of others– since niggardly means small and stingy.  No racial overtones, though it’s similar to another word.

My TechCrunch post was about the ecosystem of ad networks, Facebook, advertisers, and app developers– how Facebook has been striving to shut down deceptive ads (it’s the whack-a-mole game), and how virtual currency can perpetuate this behavior.  It ends with a positive note on how local advertisers and brands would come on the scene and squeeze the current affiliates out.

Is all affiliate marketing bad? No, since an affiliate is anyone promoting an offer that isn’t theirs.  Look at the e-commerce offers on Commission Junction and LinkShare.  Those are products we can be proud of.  Same with promoting local businesses.  If you’re helping small businesses with their Internet marketing, you’re a local affiliate marketer.

The folks who are complaining– are we ruining their livelihood? No, since the article is written from the viewpoint of someone running an ad network.  There aren’t that many of us. But it’s interesting to see folks complaining about a view they don’t even understand– they’re not even the subject of the article.  You might as well boo if your favorite pro football team loses– though you had nothing to do with their winning or losing, as just a faceless spectator.

Hence, a niggardly response– one that exposes children playing schoolyard games and attacks from the shadows.  There is one thing about arguing in Internet forums.  If you stoop to their level, you’re no better than them.

For those who want to post a thoughtful response, feel free to write one using complete sentences and proper grammar– then email it to me and I may post it.  Or call up Michael Arrington and tell him you have a counterpoint. Or post your response directly in the article comments– then see what everyone else thinks.

I knew when posting the article that some affiliate marketers would be offended. But I also knew that this would help solidify BlitzMetrics’s position as a Facebook advertising agency.  The number of media inquiries and large brands in the last 24 hours has been amazing.

A number of folks are also inquiring about joining the BlitzMetrics team– I’d welcome anyone that wants to make a decent living serving real businesses, as opposed to pushing Russian brides ads. It might not be as much money as spam, but it’s an honest living and one that is in an area of growing importance.

I’m grateful for the good folks that I get to work with and friends like James Hong who gave encouragement, as well as Facebook themselves.

Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu

Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations. You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel. You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.
I'm a member of Blitzmetrics Academy and a friend of Dennis to boot. Not only is Dennis highly intelligent and full of great and creative ideas, he's also incredibly generous with both his knowledge and his time. Success couldn't come to a better guy. Thank you for all that you do for the world, Dennis! 🙏

Michael Pacheco

Marketer

Thanks 🙏 for being shining light in this industry. Love what your building for works overseas too network for jobs so innovative. Dennis helped me navigate having bad experiences with marketing agencies and doing dollar a day marketing which has helped my personal brand tremendously. Highly recommend.

Eric Skeldon

Founder at Kingdom Broker

Working with Dennis has been a delightful experience. After meeting him in 2015 I got to collaborate with him on countless occasions. His understanding for state-of-the-art marketing, his implementation, and his leadership put him into the top 0.01% of marketers and mentors.

Jan Koch

Ihr kompetenter Partner für innovative KI-Strategien.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dennis for my podcast in 2021 and since then we have maintained a friendship that grows with each interaction. I have seen Dennis' devotion to his friends and clients firsthand, and our conversations often result in us talking about how we can provide more value to the people around us. He is someone whom I can ask questions on a technical level, and look to on a personal level. If you have any hesitancy about hiring him, get over yourself and do it!

Isaac Mashman

Help scaling personal brands.

Geez, where do I start recommending Dennis? First, he is an absolutely brilliant marketer who understands where marketing is today and where it's going tomorrow. He also has an incredible passion for the International Worker community. The lessons he has taught me from his almost 20 years of experience hiring International Workers have been immense. Most importantly though. Dennis Yu is someone who wants the absolute best for you and is willing to tell you the truth. Dennis sat with me at a point in my business where I was floundering but did not want to admit it. He asked some very straight forward questions to get me to admit my issues, highlighted the issues, and then helped me create a roadmap to success.

Atiba de Souza

International Keynote Speaker | Video Content Superman | Superconnector |

Dennis, which I had the pleasure of working with is one of the most giving, honest and tell you as it is person I ever know. The knowledge this man has is remarkable and he just gives it out freely. He is not pretentious and always entertain anyone big or small in the industry always willing to help. If you ever get a golden opportunity to work with him or mentored by him say YES!. You will notr regret Dennis, which I had the pleasure of working with is one of the most giving, honest and tell you as it is person I ever know. The knowledge this man has is remarkable and he just gives it out freely. He is not pretentious and always entertain anyone big or small in the industry always willing to help. If you ever get a golden opportunity to work with him or mentored by him say YES!. You will not regret

Nixon Lee

The PR Whisperer

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