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
July 8th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
@Dr Wright -
I’m really torn on the title. I like JV Engagement because of the movie “Rules of Engagement” And I like “etiquette” because I think this industry needs a little more Emily Post.
You’re absolutely right that what you do with a JV when you’re just starting and what you do as an experienced person is different. And it should be, by the time you’re an experienced peep you’ve built the relationships.
Fundamentally though, it’s the same. Build the relationship first, grow your list, create your proof on your own dime, then ask for a JV when you know you won’t be wasting their time.
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July 8th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
@James Grandstaff -
It’s an interesting question, whether an introduction warrants continued profit.
I’ve grappled with this one myself. My top affiliate I met at a live event, created a relationship with him. Later, he signed up for my affiliate program, came in under someone’s link. I had a two-tier program. She makes five figures a year by simply having gotten her cookie in my friend’s computer
Is it okay with me? Sure. If having a residual component means that they will be more likely to make introductions for me to have profitable joint ventures, I’ll all for it.
Is it ok to also NOT pay into the future? I think that’s ok too. What’s really important is setting expectations before hand about what to expect. That’s going to be a big part of the Rules of JV Etiquette
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