Originally Posted by
Roelof
Opening the 1st video, see a lot of affiliated links under the vid. Nope, I have no trust in reviewers promoting stuff with affiliated links because they get payed by every click and sale. In that case reviews are most of the time positive.
To be honest, if there is an event it should be mentioned in the local media. Over here that is w/o any costs as long you deliver the text and a picture. Sad enough most clubs don't do it. Then over here every village and city has an own facebook group. Spam your events on those groups in the neighborhood, it is free, takes almost no effort and you will reach a lot of people. Once my track had an ENS, I did send an email with an invitation to a bunch of local and national media and some of them did come and we made national TV at prime time! The next day we had a lot of spectators.
Fair enough, but this is my rebuttal. Not all people who review product that have affiliated links let that influence their review. Some of them like Model AV8R and Mark Santa Maria actually pass on things they are not interested in reviewing and they also don't post negative reviews because they don't want to spotlight that product, among other reasons they have stated in their videos. Unlike most reviewers of RC, Model AV8R gives the pros and cons and explains in his videos why he has affiliated links, it helps him pay the bills, he makes it clear he's not trying to sell you anything, but buying from him really helps out. I firmly believe that if the product he is reviewing has a downfall, he'll let you know and he'll also let you know how to overcome that downfall if possible. Have you ever done any type of semi-professional - professional production work that involves a camera and editing, it's very time consuming and most people like to be paid when they are doing that type of work. Trust me when I say this, it was my profession for a period of time.
I have high hopes of getting into off roading. My favorite off road YouTuber,
TrailRecon not only has affiliated links, he also has his own
website with product for sale, but I trust his opinion and reviews, because he comes off as authentic and he does what he does to help inform people. Can't really blame someone for trying to make a buck if they have the opportunity to do so, especially in this day and age.
Roelof, I have read a lot of your posts and there is no doubt that you are one of those people that appears to do whatever it is you can to grow the hobby and I admire your efforts. You are incredibly fortunate that promotion is free where you live, in the United States promotion is incredibly expensive.