How To Get A New AM? (15)
Ok, I know everyone says "Get a new AM" if your not happy with your AM (heck, even I say it), but how many of you have actually walked the walk and done this?
What's the best approach? I mean they are people too, so it's not the nicest of experiences to have one of your affiliates request a new AM because they're not happy. I imagine that most of the time they don't reply to your emails is because they're up to their eyeballs in work and it's nothing personal. But at the same time, when you're trying to grow your business, you want to have a partner that is right up there with you and is not AWOL most of the time.
So how do you request a new one tactfully?
I've done it before. For me it was timezone issues. Why not just set some grounds rules, e.g as in I expect my emails to be replied to within X hours during week days. That way it's on them.
If you don't click, then just say it. This awkward situation comes with the job of being an AM. Also remember your AM will probably pick up affiliates that have left AMs that they didn't like either.
It's pretty easy to tell who is bothered to deal with you and who isn't.
I'd suggest talking to your AM first about your issues and see if you can resolve it together, like Mr Green said by setting rules for response times etc., especially if you are satisfied with his/her overall work.
If it still doesn't work out you can request being switched to a different one and not feel bad about it, it's just part of the game.
If you can contact a network manager, you can ask the manager if you can switch your AM manager. I had this issue with Neverblue. I applied for offers with Neverblue. It took days and days before I get a reply or get the offers approved. Then I contacted my manager on Skype, but I didn't get replies at all. I was so frustrated with the manager.
So I contacted the network manager and explained the situation. She replied within hours, not days and promised to switch my affiliate manager.
Yeah I havent had any problems with this either. I just ran it by the network manager and he had me switched right away. Didnt solve anything though..I'm still getting one word answers every 3-4 days, and close to a week for approvals. Might as well have kept my mouth shut.
You can just ask, you almost don't need a reason. Just say to another AM, or to senior management that you'd like a new AM and it's not the AMs fault. A good network will transfer you easily.
Thanks for the responses! Yeah, I guess it's something that they're used to anyway, so shouldn't really offend them or cause any issues. Think I over-thought that one.
'Thanks' all round.
*CASE CLOSED*
Some times people just don't mesh.
Other times the top AM's are handling HUGE beasts that take a lot of time and littler guys get lost.
Whatever the reason it's not a big deal. Just ask someone that can make it happen.
As an addendum to this thread... why are really good AMs so rare?
Timely communication seems to be the exception rather than the rule. And if you aren't doing major volume, you're little more than an afterthought.
Granted, I get that better AMs have a bunch of major affs... and some of these affs churn more cash than the GDP of certain African countries, and they require more maintenance... but still, you can tell a couple of things about any affiliate that's driving consistent revenue:
A.) They know how to make money.
B.) They're probably serious about making MORE money.
It's wild to me that I consider an AM "solid" if they return my emails sometime this year. Also... isn't an AM, in essence, a salesperson? And shouldn't they know their product inside-and-out?
In a perfect world, it would be amazing to have an AM that goes past EPCs, and really digs under the skin of their offers. But maybe there are too many offers to research like that. If that's the case, why not specialize?
Of course, I'm probably showing my inexperience here. This is probably a case of not knowing what I don't know. And I'm sure there ARE amazing AMs, who are probably working with you guys that are making way more than me.
I'm just jealous! I wish I had one of those superstar AMs that I hear so much about. 
really good AMs are so rare because if they're actually smart enough to be a really good AM, they can most likely make double or triple their salary as an affiliate (albeit less job / income security). I typically don't want a superstar affiliate AM cuz I know they'll just be looking at my click referrers / landers and 99% chance that they're running stuff on the side. I prefer someone who is responsive, intelligent, but I know doesn't run traffic. There are obviously a few exceptions to this rule though and it can occasionally be beneficial to have an AM who knows this, if you really trust them, and you both are sharing information so you're on the same page. It's a razor's edge in my opinion.
Also, as an AM, they have to follow the 80/20 rule to a certain extent. AMs get bombarded with a ton of emails from really really stupid affiliates - you would not believe how many "omg how do I place a pixel" or "I filled out the offer, why am I not getting a conversion" or "omg, the email submit advertiser scrubs??". The vast majority of an AMs time is taken up by "burners" - trash affiliates that will never do more than $100 revenue / day, and even that inconsistently. Their job depends on them maximizing the margin coming into the network. Since the majority of the margin comes from a small % of the affiliates, it's obvious that they're going to focus on those. That being said, if you are a motivated affiliate doing consistent revenue, just hit up the network manager and they'll set you up with someone solid and give them a note to pay attention to you. It's partially on you to make sure you establish yourself to them as someone worthwhile.
You can understand where the bad experience comes from. Like others have said, there are large numbers of affiliates all vying for the same inbox. I don't really ask much of my AMs though.
Things that bother me:
- Taking forever to approve me on offers.
I can understand if my method of promotion requires comms with the merchant, but if I've one-word-detailed my method as 'display' and it still takes 3 days to get approved, that's a needless bottleneck. I've been working a lot with Clickdealer lately who are excellent at approving offers quickly. Sometimes within 5 minutes. They get more of my business because of it.
Time spent waiting is part of the game, but it's still annoying when the application process rarely involves applying and is more akin to 'opting in' to an offer. It shouldn't take as long as it does.
- Lack of a weekly EPC update.
Networks that don't keep their affiliates updated with weekly EPC newsletters might as well cull half of their offer inventory, because most of us aren't going to promote something that we haven't heard so much as a fart in the wind about.
I hate having to request the best performing offer in X or the top three offers open to Y. It's another bottleneck.
If the network doesn't do it, the AM should send out a weekly update to his/her list. Considering so many of us are working in the same space, it's common sense, no?!
In general, it's hard to find people who are passionate about their job and who truly care of you make money or not. Most of the time, it's just a 9-5 job and emails are viewed as tasks rather than opportunities to actually make a difference in someone's financial situation. Most are concerned primarily in making a difference in their own financial future and thus, their time gets allotted accordingly.
My advice is to cultivate the relationship between you and the AM, don't ask stupid time wasting questions (like keepitsimple said) and run as aggressively as you can to show you've got potential. In other words, be a really good investment for your AM. If they know that 15 mins with you will lead to much more results than the next guy then they'll know you're time well spent.
Lastly, leverage your connections. If you know that one of your friends has a good relationship with a good AM, ask for a referral. I know I'll spend more time with friend's friends regardless of their spend or experience.
Why would you want a new AM?
What is it you expect of them?
Originally Posted by kevins
I've seen AMs who msg me once a month asking why i'm not running a C grade offer theyre brokering from another network and i've had AMs send me detailed emails with banner concepts that will work with my traffic and usual type of angles i run.
If your AMs work 10 hours a day and work with you, it can REALLY boost your businesses.
Nice thread. I gone through similar situation:
I sent email to my Affiliate Manager about BankWire Details change. I asked her , if i need to CC this email to financial department. But AM simply told me, its not required.I asked again to confirm. Lolz, she ignored my messages after that, told me " She is going to meeting ".
After 1 week, my Money credited to Old Bank account. She apologized and told me, they will wire again to correct one. After 1 week, she came back And she blamed this thing on me. Even though i had all Skype logs in place to prove my innocence. I had to pay bankwire return fees etc.. And shitty feeling of being tricked.
Reason : First you are apologizing for your mistake and then you are blaming this thing on affiliate.
I haven't report this issue to my network. I got mail yesterday , advertiser is happy with my Quality and wish to see me back. Now i am ignoring them. Not best way i know, but this only makes be happy.
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