The Evolution of The Super Affiliate Image. (20)
***Disclaimer, my definition of a super affiliate is someone who has made over a million in profit over the past 12 months.
I've been in this industry for around 8 years now.
I've seen people go from broke to being an affiliate millionaire overnight. I've also seen affiliate millionaires go broke over night.
One thing I've recently is the evolution of super affiliates. More specifically, the maturing of the super affiliate generation.
Let me take you back 8 years…
The Sponsored Programmer Super Celebrity Affiliate.
During this time I saw super affiliates to be typically "nerdy" guys who were at their computers all day.
Hover hands were a must.
Nearly all that I knew had programming backgrounds. Didn't seem to have a social life.
Wore sponsored t-shirts to every industry event. They were put on a huge pedestal. Wouldn't give you the time of day. Most were around late 20s - mid 30s.
Fast forward a couple of years on…
The School Bully Super Affiliate.
The number of super affiliates blew up at this time.
Forums started getting popular. Followed by flaming mobs. The affiliate community seemed to be in some primal mode. They needed an enemy to attack and torture. Anyone and everyone was a target for any reason possible. Lord of Flies was based on this period.
The super affiliate image was one of an eThug. A tough talker, threatened to bash people behind the keyboard, had some serious insecurities, most likely bullied at school.
Another few years on…
The Rich Jerk Super Affiliate.
Rolexes, Ferraris, Cristal, Bling, made up the image of super affiliate here.
A swarm of super young (teen) super affiliates were pushed out of the affiliate mothers vagine during this time.
All equipped with the gift of the gab. Endless posts about how one is one million times richer than the other. This period was extremely short lived.
Here we are today…
The Nomad Super Affiliate.
The big difference here is that super affiliates now seem to seemed to be a lot more worldly. Most travel a huge chunk of the year, and enrich their lives whilst working from their laptops.
Meet ups are popping up all over the world, which seems to carve a path for the nomad affiliate fleet. They seem more grounded, and more mature than ever before.
I like the state of the affiliate community these days more than ever before.
It seems more real, humble, approachable, and grounded. Because I of the STM community alone I feel I could travel the world and always have someone to hangout with no matter what country I arrive in.
I don't know if it's just due to the younger generation maturing. Or if it's because the only survivors from 8 years back are those who didn't get caught up in the previous antics and focused on business.
Obviously there are still some survivors today who are still stuck back in the ages, but they are a dying breed.
It's so refreshing to get away from the Ryan Eagle I'm-a-baller fuck-you-pay-me affiliate attitude. Seems like that phase lasted the longest, like 2008-2012 a la Wickedfire. What's especially funny is nobody innovated or earned their arrogance during this entire period. Pretty sure the entire industry ripped the ads and landers from a handful of smart affs! Copy/paste a campaign and talk mad shit, yo! Seemed that way, at least.
I like the state of things now much more too. I'm really excited that it seems like so many people share my love for traveling as well. Growing up it's all I ever fantasized about
The Future:
Originally Posted by godspeed
I'm loving the new mindset.
I wouldnt go near a conference 4-5 years ago, because it seemed i wouldn't click with anyone talking about ferarri's and hookers. So i just never went.
Now the affiliate conferences are a completely different vibe of friendly people, out to network, have a good time and learn from each other.
I think things have changed also due to the fact things are much more transparent now. It's really easy to find out of if someone is speaking shit.
Originally Posted by stackman
It is great though that there's much more networking, agreed there is a friendlier vibe in general, and I'm excited for the STM meetup on the moon
.
Lol @ the hover hand was a must. Hopefully we can go full circle and bring it back into fashion.
One thought I had around the evolution of the industry, is how international it has become. The european and asian affiliates I've chatted with certainly seem to have their heads screwed on right.
I just hate the term "super affiliate".. even if I was one, I'd shy away from that.. lol
I dislike the term too, but it's just one that has grounded itself in the industry. Got any ideas of what we could push instead 
?
nope.. nothing catchy ha..
I don't think a "normal affiliate with his head screwed on".. is going to pick up traction..
The industry has been De-Americanised, which I consider a good thing.
When I was getting started, things were highly concentrated in the US.
From the networks, to the events, to the bloggers, to the lifestyle they spewed. It's fair to say 'subtle' was missing from the dictionary.
You still get that with a few popular figures in this industry. There's a penchant, especially in America, for network owners and public figures who carry themselves like complete arseholes and justify it by their success.
Not every network or affiliate in the US contributed to that - some were (and still are) very good. But as the industry has gone global, different cultures have neutered the arrogance that it had.
And different conditions have contributed, too.
It's pretty much survival of the fittest these days.
The guys who disappeared became less familiar with the situation 'on the ground'. They were spending less time with their campaigns, and more time stroking their egos.
You can't stay competitive in affiliate marketing unless it's the focus of your day. And for many of the guys who failed, it became an afterthought.
I have to agree the state of AM is quite refreshing.
Mr Green can attest I've always had a serious problem with how in the day people acted and completely agree with his evolution.
The industry grew up, and the days of throwing garbage and making easy money are over. Affiliates today are building real business comprising of products and services. For those of us who made it through the storm we were all humbled and to those we pass on our knowledge the "vibe" of appreciate your success is sticking.
And I also agree with Finch on the globalization. It is a great thing especially for those in emerging markets finding an opportunity to make real money without being limited by their native countries financial issues or job market.
In the future I'm hoping fraud and overly aggressive scam tactics will also diminish allowing us to attract more branded advertisers.
Originally Posted by godspeed
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/10/tech/i...lan/index.html
Could it be STM's next BIG Meetup?
Originally Posted by dynamicsoul
I had such a distorted image of affiliate marketers, because all I could picture were the Ryan Eagle types, very shady and flashy, then last year I went to my first ASW and that's where I met Charles Ngo ...my entire philosophy in life changed. He was at both STM & Candy Land (Mundo Media's Party) In a White Tee and Shorts (keep in mind he was my HERO) and he had no problem talking to me (a nobody) and gave me a TON of pointers and helped me out. Such a humble guy! I also met Jim Stark which is also an AM legend and he was the SAME way. I fell in love with the industry from that moment on.
When people call me a super affiliate, I always correct them
We were going to have the STM space meet up next year, but the whole gravity thing put us off. How are you supposed to play beer pong?
Originally Posted by the_professor
Home > General > Affiliate Marketing Forum