Hey guys
The following question is probably the most stupid questions ever asked, but...
this is a serious question because I'd like to know whats the difference of a bad and a good AM.
I don't really know whats their job and therefore I cannot tell if I should switch some of my AM's or not.
The source of my questions come from this thread: Any AFF network who actually takes the time with there Affiliates?.
But what I've figured out have 90% of all in common (This is some general list of questions related to networks & AM's):
1.) They don't have a clue about marketing besides the terminology (CPS, CPL, SOI, DOI, ...)
2.) They never respond or just annoy with messages like "Push this offer A, push this offer B, etc."
3.) Networks love to "spam" you with their top offers but their AMs never responds. (Some actually do when you're pushing $ 100 + per day)
4.) I'm mostly in touch with them for payout bumps or if they have to block me from an offer (never happened recently but in my earlier times.)
a) Why didnt they wanted to know why the quality was bad? I don't see it.
b) Why do they work with advertisers who say the traffic quality (therefore gave me a bump) is great and then 2 days later they decide its nothing, after pushing 20 leads daily (for a week)?
5.) On some networks my revenue magically disappeared and whenever I asked back "Whats going on" nobody actually cares to get in touch with me, even after asking multiple times.
6.) Some networks/offers want to review all of my ads & landers. Why would a healthy minded affiliate do that, what would be good reasons? I literally was asking a network if they could provide me ftp access so I can upload my collection of 2gb ads.
7.) AM: How much of help could they be or how far could one go with questions and expect answers?
... and so on.... yes, you're right, some networks & am's really piss me off (some of them are known).
But thats not the main questions... I just wanted to ask if there actually some guidelines in order to switch AMs because I believe that I just got unlucky when an AM got assigned to me. :-)
How to spot good & bad AMS & Networks?
I'm sure other newbie affiliates would benefit from the answers to above questions, too.
Thanks a lot,
SwissFactor
I'll contribute my thoughts on your points:
1) When you get an AM ask them what their experience is - what verticals do they specialise in or do they have minimal experience on the affiliate side. If they don't have much experience pushing offers that's not necessarily a bad thing - an AM and an affiliate do different things...
2) Hit them up on Skype. Always ask what timezone they're in. You look like a douchebag if you leave a dozen "omg help me" messages when they are sleeping. AM's shouldn't really tell you to push offers outright unless they know you might do well with it based on your traffic history. Usually YOU would be asking about what offers are doing well. They should respond in a timely manner - try to keep your questions short and sweet and ask for something actionable from them. They have things to do so a PM such as "hey, I was thinking of doing adult dating, what traffic sources and offers would you recommend" doesn't really garner their undivided attention. Something along the lines of "hey, could you give me a list of your top performing adult dating offers by revenue" will be more effective.
3) Spam with top offers? Do you mean weekly revenue/EPC tables? Because they are useful and standard. However, they can go overboard sometimes. If they are literally spamming you, just ask them to stop or leave the network - you're not bound to them by some unwritten code.
4a) I don't think it's their job to outright investigate your lead quality for every offer you run - they should do so when you ask them to and you should use subids to make it easier on everyone to investigate.
4b) That seems to be anecdotal and really arises from your traffic specifically... if it's repeated then it could be the advertiser sucks, maybe your traffic does, don't know. In the end the relationship of the network with that advertiser might make them money and it's not the AM's responsibility - usually it's the business development people who foster and maintain those relationships.
5) That should only happen if leads don't pan out - and should be stated in the terms for that offer. You should definitely talk to your AM about that. If no one responds to you via email/Skype within e.g. 24-48 hours then contact someone else to get info and/or request a new AM...
6) Lots of networks will require approval of custom creatives for certain offers and/or traffic sources. It is NOT usual for them to want it for everything. However, don't expect to run any ads you want on Facebook, any ads/landers you want for Groupon offers, etc. Some networks have higher quality standards in terms of vetting affiliates and their traffic, this shouldn't be an issue really... Build trust and this becomes less of an issue. But imagine your Matomy and you have lots of newbie affiliates joining to run e.g. some gaming offer. As an AM you may know damn well that people will run the offer on Facebook, rip other game's IP and potentially damage the game's brand and cause legal issues. The result: you vet new affiliates so that they don't screw with your business relationships... In the end the network cares about the advertiser more than you. Affiliates are a dime a dozen. The advertiser for X offer is not.
7) Some AM's are more helpful than others... it can depend a lot on their personal expertise, time, how much work they have on their plate, their attitude, etc. Don't expect them to divert their attention if your questions are not critical... e.g. what kind of landers work for X offer? That's something you can do your own due diligence for.
So, what makes a 'good' AM. I think this is entirely dependent on what you want as an affiliate. Do you want hand holding and help with quite simple questions? Probably want an AM who has a lot of time on their hands and is a helpful person... Want someone who answers quickly and gets shit done for you, the experienced affiliate? Probably want a typical 'hustler' who is dealing with lots of higher level affiliates, knows their shit and just wants to get the traffic flowing for everyone.
Problem is, you often don't know what your AM is like until you get them. You could always try to add some info about yourself when signing up, highlight your newbieness and let them pick an AM accordingly. Otherwise, get to know your AM and ask for a change if it's not working out - and then ask for someone more approachable in terms of simple questions.
One thing I want from an AM/network is for them to 'go to bat' for me when I need info from an advertiser. E.g. can they do this, can they get this lander, can they comment on lead quality per subid range, if they kick me off the offer I want to know about the user average backend CVR versus the average - and if the lead quality was fine on some subids vs others, I expect the network to cover me on leads that don't back out - that's just the game, not every angle/campaign works for the advertiser but it sure as hell better not come back on me - otherwise why would I even bother testing that advertiser's offer in the first place, etc.