Affiliates- you are not off the hook…

Actually- from a revenue perspective, genius at internet marketing, and your glowing personalities you are ‘off the hook’- but in terms of being frustrated w/ advertisers- you are not off the hook until you have exhausted your options.

I hear over and over again- my affiliate manager only contacts me to:
A) “Drop my fee”
B) “Tell me to curb one or all of my marketing efforts”
C) “Give me bad news”

And, I will admit- sometimes advertisers are guilty of this. As we discussed in a prior article- they are busy policing the bad guys and unfortunately that sometimes gets in the way of the time to spend with the good ones. And, therefore only critical messages get through – which, unfortunately, often are negative.

My suggestion to you is: Force the issue with them!
Be proactive in your communication:
• Ask them what you can do to help them meet company goals
• Ask how you can become an extension of their company
• Solicit feedback on a marketing effort you are about to launch
• Ask if they are interested in testing a new advertising method and you are willing to be the guinea pig.

This type of communication may be dismissed- but if the affiliate manager is good- they will figure out ways to utilize affiliates to help them reach their goals and delegate some of the things on their plate.

Now, let’s be honest- some affiliate managers just don’t get it, and some are so stressed- they can’t see the value in what you are offering. So, it might not work- but at least you took effort to try to shift the paradigm of the relationship.

Emotional stickiness is a two-way street. I strive to create relationships with affiliates- and it has paid off 10-fold. Occasionally I was guilty of not reaching out to affiliates soon enough and when they extended the olive branch and the relationship was created. I can assure you that it worked in their favor. I was much more lenient on things like required margins, testing thresholds, dropping an unprofitable affiliate, etc., with someone I had a relationship with. Because then I wasn’t just saying ‘no’ to a number- I was saying ‘no’ to a person.

So next time you are about to bitch about your account manager… take a moment to think if you truly took the time and energy to reach out to them in a way that showed value, and a willingness to reciprocate the relationship if they take the time.