Home > General > Affiliate Marketing Forum

---

What Does Your Family Think You Do? (28)

---

"My son uses a sophisticated method were he will research using a special engine to find out what the clients want." ...is what my Italian mother said when I asked her how she describes my job to her friends.

This is nearly my 9th year in the affiliate marketing industry. By now my family should have a decent understand on what I do. So I asked what they tell their friends/family what I do for a job. The results were...interesting!


This is the exact question I asked my mother, father and sister:

If someone asked you what I do for a job in the marketing industry, what would you tell them? (The name of the job "affiliate marketing" is not enough).


Mother's Answer (English is her second language, please forgive her):

"My son works in the affiliate marketing industry which is a form of internet marketing/e commerce using different ways to attract sales to retail.

He uses with a method called cost per click. He will attract visitors to different websites with different products. He will be paid only if he was successful in doing so.
He will invest putting is own money so the risk was all on him. He will get paid only if the clients will click in the special web /product. He uses a large network from here to global. Suddenly he will be employing people from Europe/Asia and America...sitting in his flat in New Zealand. Then he started to use a more sophisticated method were he will research using a special engine to find out what the clients want, who will be the best client for the product that the custom want to sell. Affiliate marketers have a very low profile compared with retail merchants...but boy they are very successful making money without the same overheads."

Sister's Answer:

I usually tell them affiliate marketing...and then see the blank look on their faces...I then tell them that you help promote business via a combination roping together of a publisher, advertiser a consumer and the best way in which one can get the most publicity and value for their business. You then have a filtering system and step in when needed.

Im sorry if I got this totally wrong... if people still people look at me puzzled I then say that your a genius.


Father's Answer (he wins):

"My son Lorenzo is an “independent performance-based marketeer” in m-Commerce and e-Commerce. Essentially, the role is to autonomously facilitate part of the marketing and presales process to generate qualified leads without either owning the products or services being sold. The role has no obligation or involvement in the delivery, redemption, payment or post sales process. He is an affiliate not an employee or contractor. He makes his own investment and campaign decisions for the marketing process and gets paid only when particular results come through. He manages his own risks in his part of the supply chain."


It all now makes sense why some of my extended family ask if I can fix their computers, and build their websites...

I'm curious to hear how your family describes your job!

Ask them "If someone asked you what I do for a job in the marketing industry, what would you tell them? (The name of the job "affiliate marketing" is not enough)."

---

Not a single person in my family has a clue of what I do. Whether it be IT-related (my corporate job) or AM/IM, they only know if there's an error on the screen, call me. They at least know to send a screenshot of the (computer/tv/tablet) before asking me to fix it.

---

My dad just tells people I build websites and do "internet marketing".

Me - whenever people ask what I do, I tell them I promote other people's stuff and make commissions off the sales - which is kind of what affiliate marketing is in everyday language. Most people won't bother to ask beyond that. By not going into details I don't get as many blank stares.


Amy

---

haha. mr. G, i want that "special engine"!

I think my family thinks i'm a spammer. which is not entirely incorrect.

This may be a little conceited, but on the whole i'm actually really surprised how not curious people are about my work. Even my close friends, who know i make thousands everyday, literally in my underwear and while i sleep, don't bother to ask how.

If i had a friend in real life who did that, i would be at his door everyday demanding that he show me exactly how he did it.

but i guess that's why i'm here.

thanks STM!

---

my parents know we sell adult porn. but they pretend not to know when asked by our relatives LOL

---

"Why you still single? No grandchild for me yet?"

---

When I started and I invested a lot of money into and after waited for payments, my mom thought I am doing some kind of gambling ... lol ... but she still tells everyone that I am a programmer :-D (I was coding WordPress sites before for long time)

---

I just tell people I build websites for corporate customers, this is usually met with "Oh, thats interesting" and the conversation ends.

Any youngsters I tell them I run the Internet, this is always met with wide-eyed wonder and I suddenly become really cool.

---

lol!

---

This... its just too much work trying to explain to the handyman what non-jobs look like.

---

I think your dad's answer wins the best affiliate marketing description in the world. I would vouch for it to be listed in Wikipedia.

My mum still has no clue what I am doing (it's my 5th year in the industry). Whereas for new people I meet, they often ask "Can you help me to build a website?" after explaining what I do, and I use exactly what Vortex says to tell them.

And yeah, couldn't agree more with hlyghst, sometimes people just don't bother to change their lives despite knowing that opportunity is just next to them.

---

my mom thinks i am a drug dealer.

---

Well my mother , brother and older sister explain saying i advertise on google and Facebook to generate sales for businesses , My partner knows aft marketing , My younger sister just tells in her school i am a tech genious , The village i actually belong to , there some times people think i build websites or others think i make money by data entry jobs and whenever i visit my village ( once a year ) many people come asking if i can help them find best data entry websites lol ... But now my family has basic understanding of what i do and i assume thats all .. My future wife and MIL even attented adsimillis metope with me in Dubai as well

---

Always wondering about that too)
I usually tell that I'm helping other people's businesses to get more clients.

---

My parents don't understand this so for them I do "something on internet and god bless him" haha

My sister & brother think I still do porn websites.

My friends think I'm spanning antivirus on mobile devices



Mehdi

---

+1 on best answer ever! I have copied/pasted that into a file which is going directly into future profile blurbs. To answer the question at hand, my family thinks I am a marketing consultant who generates leads for businesses.

---

What a great idea for a thread!

My Dad tells people i make a living on the internet from my computer at home (sounds so easy doesn't it). He is older, so his difficulty in understanding the details is completely understandable My Mom is happy I comfortably support myself, and doesn't seem to want to get into anymore details.

A lot of other people refuse to accept the fact that success is possible doing this, with comments like "he must have inherited a lot of money", or "how can he afford xyz". Guess it can be tough to accept success exists outside of the "get a job and you will be okay" corporate matrix we are all indoctrinated with in our youth.

---

+1 on this

---

Wow. Ditto actually. My friends bought me a car so she presumes I'm selling meth.

Classic Mum.

---

My dad always asks me how the scamming biz has been lately.

Knowing my dad, he probably tells others that i am the guy sending them those phishing mails.

---

Haha. It makes me laugh

---

I actually hate it when people ask me. I find it very difficult to explain to someone who isnt already familiar with the industry.

So I say "online marketing" and hope thats enough for them :-)

---

I mention online marketing and then when I see their blank faces i just say I'm a website programmer.
I avoid mentioning I'm a website designer so I don't hear everyone asking me to build their websites for free.

If someone tries to dig a bit more and I see they understand I might explain them the main objective is to get leads or sales for internet products and services via my websites.

---

lol +1

that or I just skip it entirely and tell them im a Carpenter

---

This is so true - and has always puzzled me.

As far as my family and friends go, most have a basic understanding that I "sell stuff online".

Dad however says "my son spends all his time trying to fool the google."

---

I usually tell people I'm a sheep farmer

---

Nah actually I've given my father access to some network accounts, he loves checking my stats and calling me what I made that day

---

Make sure he doesn't run off with your campaigns

---

Home > General > Affiliate Marketing Forum