At a recent affiliate event I had an interesting conversation.
"Are there any dating affiliate programs that aren't for promoting scam sites?" he asked. "Bumble and Match have them, but they don't pay much. Some of the biggest apps like Tinder and Plenty of Fish don't have affiliate programs at all!" I replied. "It's a difficult niche for affiliates these days."
It was not what the fellow wanted to hear. He had been taking some time away from his regular job to explore becoming a dating guru, of sorts, and signed up for the event hoping to find ways to monetize his knowledge. He told me how he helped some friends with their dating lives. He had a plan to produce regular content and build a following but didn't have a clear idea about how to make money with it.
With our affiliate website building program closed, I didn't have anything to sell to him. I said it was a good idea if he was willing to commit to it, but to manage his expectations with the affiliate stuff. It would likely take some trial and error to get it right. It certainly has for me.
Again, this wasn't what he wanted to hear. After all, he was going to have to work harder and put himself "out there" more than with his regular job and he seemed to expect quick results for that. As the conversation went on I feel like he shifted from trying to get affiliate marketing advice from me to trying to sell me on his dating methods.
I didn't show much interest in that, instead keeping my comments to affiliate-related topics. I had a few years where I tried to make money with online dating affiliates, and we still have a list of a few good paying programs on this website. I also tried to tell him about this blog that I've been keeping for over 10 years.
While there was no hostility between us he became more aggressive in trying to get me interested in his expertise. He started talking about the recent success he'd had with women. He tried to maintain eye contact and used a lot of body language, moving his arms as he talked and putting his hand on my shoulder for his important points.
Then one of his arms connected with an empty glass on the table, sending it to the floor where it shattered. This was obviously not a very smooth move that an expert at picking up women should make. He became discouraged and abruptly abandoned our conversation, moving to another area as the bar staff arrived to clean up the broken glass.
When I thought back on this conversation it occurred to me that maybe I should not have been such a difficult sell for the guy. Why not be more encouraging and open to learning about his dating methods? What did I have to lose?
I've certainly had some failures in my dating life, but rarely have I sought out advice. I have that "I'll get it right next time" attitude. Dating is a very personal thing and, for me, it's difficult to admit someone else might be able to help with it.
At the same time, I didn't feel like the guy was giving me enough respect for my knowledge about affiliate marketing. I think that's what stalled the conversation. He wasn't absorbing my advice as much as I wanted, and I wasn't going to move on until he did.
Affiliate marketing can be a very personal thing too. A lot of people look at it from the outside and have certain perceptions and expectations of it. It's difficult to accept that it is a skill; That it's not just a big cult of scammers you need to sell your soul to get in with. This becomes even more difficult to accept after you've spent countless hours at it and failed. I know!
The point is, I am an expert at this affiliate stuff now. I don't care about proving that to the world anymore.
Since we stopped selling the affiliate website builder accounts, I have kept the content side of this website open. I've been sharing some very valuable knowledge for affiliates here and anyone can access it easily. Maybe it's time to do some monetizing of my own.
I'm moving some of the content here behind a log-in wall. You still don't need to pay anything to view it. You just need to sign up and confirm your email address to get access. That doesn't seem like too much to ask!
Once your signed up, feel free to click the "Contact" button and get in touch with me directly. I would be glad to share some affiliate knowledge with you. I've met a lot of people in this business, especially over the past year, and I'm sure I can point you in the right direction!
"Are there any dating affiliate programs that aren't for promoting scam sites?" he asked. "Bumble and Match have them, but they don't pay much. Some of the biggest apps like Tinder and Plenty of Fish don't have affiliate programs at all!" I replied. "It's a difficult niche for affiliates these days."
It was not what the fellow wanted to hear. He had been taking some time away from his regular job to explore becoming a dating guru, of sorts, and signed up for the event hoping to find ways to monetize his knowledge. He told me how he helped some friends with their dating lives. He had a plan to produce regular content and build a following but didn't have a clear idea about how to make money with it.
With our affiliate website building program closed, I didn't have anything to sell to him. I said it was a good idea if he was willing to commit to it, but to manage his expectations with the affiliate stuff. It would likely take some trial and error to get it right. It certainly has for me.
Again, this wasn't what he wanted to hear. After all, he was going to have to work harder and put himself "out there" more than with his regular job and he seemed to expect quick results for that. As the conversation went on I feel like he shifted from trying to get affiliate marketing advice from me to trying to sell me on his dating methods.
I didn't show much interest in that, instead keeping my comments to affiliate-related topics. I had a few years where I tried to make money with online dating affiliates, and we still have a list of a few good paying programs on this website. I also tried to tell him about this blog that I've been keeping for over 10 years.
While there was no hostility between us he became more aggressive in trying to get me interested in his expertise. He started talking about the recent success he'd had with women. He tried to maintain eye contact and used a lot of body language, moving his arms as he talked and putting his hand on my shoulder for his important points.
Then one of his arms connected with an empty glass on the table, sending it to the floor where it shattered. This was obviously not a very smooth move that an expert at picking up women should make. He became discouraged and abruptly abandoned our conversation, moving to another area as the bar staff arrived to clean up the broken glass.
When I thought back on this conversation it occurred to me that maybe I should not have been such a difficult sell for the guy. Why not be more encouraging and open to learning about his dating methods? What did I have to lose?
I've certainly had some failures in my dating life, but rarely have I sought out advice. I have that "I'll get it right next time" attitude. Dating is a very personal thing and, for me, it's difficult to admit someone else might be able to help with it.
At the same time, I didn't feel like the guy was giving me enough respect for my knowledge about affiliate marketing. I think that's what stalled the conversation. He wasn't absorbing my advice as much as I wanted, and I wasn't going to move on until he did.
Affiliate marketing can be a very personal thing too. A lot of people look at it from the outside and have certain perceptions and expectations of it. It's difficult to accept that it is a skill; That it's not just a big cult of scammers you need to sell your soul to get in with. This becomes even more difficult to accept after you've spent countless hours at it and failed. I know!
The point is, I am an expert at this affiliate stuff now. I don't care about proving that to the world anymore.
Since we stopped selling the affiliate website builder accounts, I have kept the content side of this website open. I've been sharing some very valuable knowledge for affiliates here and anyone can access it easily. Maybe it's time to do some monetizing of my own.
I'm moving some of the content here behind a log-in wall. You still don't need to pay anything to view it. You just need to sign up and confirm your email address to get access. That doesn't seem like too much to ask!
Once your signed up, feel free to click the "Contact" button and get in touch with me directly. I would be glad to share some affiliate knowledge with you. I've met a lot of people in this business, especially over the past year, and I'm sure I can point you in the right direction!
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