Hi everyone, I have just been accepted into a CPA network (I would rather not say which one). I had to go through a phone interview with an affiliate manager before I was approved. So far it looks like they will be watching me very closely. I have previously only worked with Clickbank, so needless to say, I am not used to that! Here's the thing: I realize CPA networks are frequently a target for fraud, so I do understand where they're coming from, but I have absolutely no intention of frauding them or anyone, EVER. I simply don't feel comfortable telling my affiliate manager every move I make because I'm afraid he may tell other affiliates what my methods are. (I have an idea for something kind of unconventional and at this point I don't even know if it will work, but if it does I wouldn't want my AM to create competition for me by telling others what I do.) I would prefer that he not tell anyone, not even other AM's! What are everyone's experiences with things like this? And are AM's under any sort of obligation to maintain confidentiality? Thanks for any input!
I prefer AM's who talk to me, interview me and know my intentions. I trust them and I hope they trust me. It's the ones who you cannot get ahold of and have a "don't care" attitude are the ones I prefer NOT to have.
Our AM's call their affiliates to make sure every thing is going good, and to see what they can do for them. They are not allowed to release numbers or any other affiliate specific information to anyone.
After a few conversations you can learn the intentions of your AM. I never give them anything past my blogs domain name and the IP of where my emails are sent from. You need to remember that they work for you. They get paid when you get paid so if you're afraid to talk to them, they'll never be able to help you. Let them know that you do really good in your niche, you don't need to tell them what you do or how you do it. Make friends with your AM, it's one of the smartest things an affiliate marketer can do!
If AMs knew how to make big money as an affiliate, that's what they would be doing. It's good to build relationships with your AMs, but never trust them with anything valuable that they don't need to know about.
Don't tell them anything that will compromise your earning potential by creating more competition. Tell them as little as possible and if they divulge for more, ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement or something This is why things like cloaking exists, so your AM's can't see your keywords, highly converting landing pages etc. You're entitled to your privacy, as long as the advertiser is not complaining because you're giving them crap leads and is paying everyone - everyone will be happy.
Most Affiliate Networks have a Privacy Policy - Read it. It should say they are not allowed to share your information with any third parties. If they do, you can sue them.... I prefer Skype then phone
I usually don't talk to my affiliate managers much because they always give me the same crap. Like when I only run Free Stuff campaigns, their suggestions are always for Diet and Business Ops, the same email they send to everyone else. I personally, just like to trust myself and runs the campaigns that look good to me, not my AM.
never never trust any one in this industry... they are moving from here to there... and i am sure they will be using your methods/skills/keywords Sam
??? Unless they're a veteran AM with an established network with a huge downline of active affiliates, they're not making anywhere near the money they could as an independent affiliate marketer. If you have reason to believe otherwise, I'd love to hear it. Most AMs are fresh out of college and the turnover rate is extremely high.
I'm not going to air anybody out at this point. Just make sure you cloak your links, keywords and mask your traffic.
I think we had a bit of a misunderstanding. What you're saying is that some AMs use info from their affiliates and run similar campaigns (or blatantly steal them), correct? I agree that that is definitely a possibility and for that reason you should never reveal sensitive information to your AM. All I was saying is that AMs don't make big money strictly by doing their job, except in a handful of cases. However, I'm sure there are plenty of somewhat less scrupulous AMs that will attempt to use info gathered from their affiliates to springboard their own affiliate marketing career (or just make a quick buck).
As an AM...I would say most AM's are trustworthy...but if you're concerned about keeping some of your methods private I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with that. As for AM's not knowing anything...I'd have to disagree... Most know a great deal ...the ones straight out of college may not know much but always have industry veterans guiding the way.