Minor Leagues
Perhaps in no other corner of the online advertising industry (maybe SEO) is their as much navel gazing and inner struggles as Affiliate Marketing. The industry itself is hyper sensitive to being called shady, as evidenced by how well Jason Calacanis managed to play the industry like a concerto fiddle. And there are no shortage of folks who tirelessly defend that the industry is innovative.
The problem, I think, stems from one of terminology and expectations. Affiliate marketing houses the unwashed masses, all trying to establish their success. Very few succeed and many fail. Because of the distribution of few successes and many failures, the outside public sees an ‘average’ of someone who is very poor, which pisses off the few who succeed.
Further, affiliate marketing, like ad networks, are like minor leagues: breeding grounds for tomorrow’s superstars. But like top prospects, affiliate marketers don’t stay affiliate marketers - they become ‘publishers’ and ‘partners’. So that positive affiliation (no pun intended) of the successes does not pass down to the word ‘affiliate marketers’.
Affiliate marketing however is a wonderful way for companies to do business development. Offer as much creative freedom as you can, within set boundaries, and see which people do the best. Then talk with the people that matter.
Honestly, if I was in the marketing department at a large company and the scores of providers who were trying to woo me with their promises I would send a form email back:
“Thank you for your inquiry. We’d love to work with you if you can prove yourself in our affiliate marketing program. Nothing is negotiable but I can say if you succeed we’re open to negotiation after that”
Which brings to expectations. Just like successful partners of an ad network will leave the second they get scale, the successful affiliate marketers will become real media companies and because of the countless failures of other affiliate marketers, prefer to be called a publisher or an online media company. For the others in the industry when this happens, just don’t take it personally.
