Affiliate Marketing | Who’s teaching this strategy?
I’ve received three such requests this week. What idiot affiliate marketing guru is teaching this strategy?
Following is a fictional conversation that’s based on those three phone calls:
(Ring-Ring)
Donna Fox: Hello?Clueless Caller: Hi Donna, I was calling to see if you’d be willing to be interviewed on your topic of (insert credit or marketing to women, and in one case, “whatever you’d like to talk about”) to my list?
Donna Fox: Yes, that would be lovely. What are you thinking
Clueless Caller: I’d sign up as an affiliate to promote your product, it would be great if you’d give something for free too, and we’ll record the call so I can sell the recording and transcripts. I’m just getting started, and I have a small list, only 150 peeps or so, so to really get a lot of people on the call you can mail your list for the
Donna Fox: (interrupting) You mean you want me to send MY list, to a call where the content is provided by ME, and you’ll get an affiliate commission?
Clueless Caller: Well, yes, how else do I build a list?
One of these day’s I’m going to get down and write an ebook. I’m going to give it away for absolutely free as my gift to the world of internet marketing. It’s either going to be called:
Donna Fox’s Rules of JV Engagement
or
Donna Fox’s Rules of JV Etiquette
It will of course cover how JV relationships should work, with an emphasis on fairness, thinking of others, and on creating relationships that secure a second JV opportunity, instead of looking for just the first one. In other words, how to treat JV partners like a relationship, not a transaction.
So, which title should I use? Seem like the first, rules of engagement, is very male centered, and the second, Rules of Etiquette, very female. Maybe there’s a marketing to women test and lesson here as well.
Dear readers, I’m starting the research now. I’d love it if you’d comment and:
1) vote on which title you prefer
2) Tell me your worst “clueless” JV story



August 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Beautifully commentted Dr. Wright! You really said that well. There are different rules, etiquette depending on what you bring to the connection and who you’re approaching and what they bring.
I probably learned the hard way, by being clueless at first. However, the people I asked were so gracious the way they pointed out to me the inequity of what I was requesting. Early on some very amazing people literally let me “practice” on them. And now I almost never have anyone say they don’t want to be on my show. The only person who ever told me no, was also very gracious. Seth Godin very politely told me he was not doing podcasts for his book Meatball Sundae. Ahh, maybe someday.;)
Write the book, Donna, I’ll read it. There’s always more to learn.
[Reply]