AMs, like all things in life, differ in quality from place to place.
Some sincerely want you to succeed, but don’t know how.
Some secretly think you’re an un-intelligent fool taking up his/her precious time, AND have no idea how to make you a better affiliate. (Not that he really cares about that either.)
The only ones that you should be spending any significant amount of time with are ones who sound like they care and actually provide you with useful information.
We’re all in it for the money.
I’ve not heard of a human being that could be labeled a “passionate affiliate manager” yet.
I don’t mean this in any de-meaning sort of way.
Heck, I don’t call myself a passionate affiliate marketer either.
I just want to make some money, build some businesses, and enjoy my life.
Good AMs are few and far in between.
Fortunately, you can smell an incompetent one easily enough.
Here’s an example. (Conversation has been altered slightly to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent.)
Me: Yeah so I just joined your network and would like to know your best-converting offer so I can get off to a good start.
He: Oh yeah? That’s great! Go promote this: DASHIT.com
Me: Oh, okay. Any tips for a start?
He: Yeah of course. Go check out wickedfire.com They have tons of useful information on how to make money as an affiliate.
Me: Lol. Okay. Thanks. (Really.) I don’t suppose you have any “insider” information to share? (I’m slightly crossing the line I guess, but I think this question is a good test of how much your AM knows.)
He: I can’t say too much, ya know. *winks* But here’s a great (yeah I think he meant it) tip: Go to google, type in “DASHIT”. The first couple listings MUST be some of our top affiliates. *Winks*
Me: Oh okay. Brilliant. (Never mind the fact that the number one spot is probably owned by the merchant and the spots following have a high chance of being owned by folks who will be quitting affiliate marketing the next day because “PPC doesn’t work”.
Me: (Giving in a little) Alright, I think I know how to promote DASHIT. I probably need a list of all the “DAS” and all the “SHITES” in the United States to compile a targeted list to drive some traffic to with PPC and PPV.
Would you be able to provide me with one?
He: Lol. (He’s probably laughing at my ignorance of affiliate marketing.) I guess that would have to be done by you yourself! I look forward to hearing some good news from you in the coming few weeks! Good luck! *Winks*
And then I stopped asking him for anything ever again.
Oh yeah, I did ask him to place some conversion pixels for me, but apparently there “were errors" in TWO (I copied and pasted the code for goodness sake) of the codes I’ve given him, so I just sort of gave up.
