There is an interesting discussion going on over at ABestWeb on the Oreck forum. Paul Schroader, a founding member here at Super Affiliate Marketing is getting raked over the coals for requesting contact information from affiliates. The question boils down to this: do you let affiliates into a program after just reviewing their sites? Or should you do as Paul does and require updated contact information before allowing a publisher into your program? Paul asked me for my opinion on the issue and I chimed in:
…This is an interesting discussion and will be more and more relevant as this industry matures. This really is a double edged sword. Do you approve affiliates even despite not having current (or verified) contact information? (I know that some of us have it listed on the websites in our profiles, but there are many that don’t update that contact info or don’t have contact info listed at all). If you don’t approve these affiliates, how many super affiliates will you miss out on?
When I got into the business six years ago, I took the approach to stay anonymous. No contact info on my websites, register for all forums under a nickname rather than my own name etc., I found myself making a decent full-time living doing a cross between affiliate marketing and search marketing (both SEO/SEM). The turning point for me personally was reaching out to programs and affiliate managers to understand their program, their goals and putting my name out there.
So what you didn’t get approved. I’m a 5 bar-earner in CJ a CJ Performer etc, etc, and I get rejected on programs all the time or have applications stuck in pending status. Be proactive, e-mail the program. If there is no contact info listed for them in CJ send them an e-mail through the CJ interface. Find out why you haven’t been approved. Offer to call them to find out more about their program. Although counter intuitive to some, there are affiliate managers who are weeding out affiliates by seeing who will put forth the extra effort.
There really is a paradigm shift toward less affiliates and higher performers–especially for major brands. I know that almost all of you can come up with a couple (several) examples where that isn’t the case, but as you rub shoulders with affiliate managers at Affiliate Summit, CJU, etc you’ll find many are starting to take this approach. So for those of you who are content to make affiliate managers “jump through hoops” for you, beware, your days of dominance may be numbered.
As the industry matures we will see more and more requirements from programs so that this will be seen as a more legitimate business. I have one program in my portfolio that I would never have landed if I wasn’t willing to jump a flight and meet the affiliate manager in person. Now this program is one of my top 3 programs that I promote…
I really believe that this discussion will continue to be relevant for a long time. Merchants are finding out that their are a lot of affiliates that seem innocent enough on the surface only to find out that they are doing very sneaky things behind a merchant’s back. You know what I’m talking about, geo-targeting ads in locations where the affiliate manager won’t notice, day-parting ads so they show during hours the affiliate manager won’t notice. Just to name a few. So rather than sacrifice your brand, have to worry about a extra policing of the program, why not only accept affiliates that are willing to provide this information?
What say you?
on Feb 5th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I have been both an affiliate using the CJ (commission junction) interface and an affiliate manager. I believe the problem being debated is difficult to understand for people who have only seen it from one side without fully understanding what is visible on the CJ interface from the other end of the spectrum.
As an affiliate I want my affiliate managers to have my contact information. I have nothing to hide about my promotional efforts and have found that working closely with affiliate managers often results in higher payouts and special arrangements that allow me to bid on trademarked terms that otherwise wouldn’t be an option. I make sure and list my email on my profile page so that I don’t have to rely on CJ messaging and I also include a phone number where I can be reached.
I am a CJ Performer but still find I get turned down for many programs - having seen the management side of the game I think I know why this happens. Affiliates are limited to a small number of categories when describing their sites - many affiliate managers choose to auto reject or only auto approve affiliates from certain categories not realizing they are declining many search affiliates who couldn’t list every category. Affiliate marketing is about relationships - if you are an affiliate who is trying to become a super affiliate the best advice is massage those relationships. I hope many affiliates continue to believe it’s best not to share their contact information - it makes it that much easier for the rest of us to build relationships and establish superior payouts.