The Guilt Factor - Winning Over Letdown Affiliates

[Joel Holtzman]

I had a jv partner that, for whatever reason, could not get one sale in my firesale. He was the only one that I know of that sent any traffic and could not receive a sale. Truth be told, the entire thing had a higher than 5% ratio AND the oto delivered near 7% if I recall correctly.

I felt bad for him. But I will leave him alone. The last thing he wants is an update on another variation of my website promotion (Going from firesale to future membership site). But I want him to have something. I might even send a note and gift to all jv's, even those who failed.

What would you do in my spot if somebody ripped you a new one for not producing? Cut bait? Try again? Or just ignore them?

For the record, I am not upset. I actually get mad at myself if I don't feel I did well for my partners.

Just wondering if you have experienced this before and curious to see how a more experienced 'jv master' handles this situation.

Thank you for your time

Joel

[Richard Legg]

Hi Joel,

I'm not sure from your post if the partner actually got mad with you because your offer didn't convert, but you said "what would you do ... if somebody ripped you a new one"

I'm nowhere near a "JV master" but in my opinion, just because somebody sends traffic it does not guarantee that sales will be made, or that everyone will experience the same conversions.

As you know, not all traffic sources (or even lists) are equal and it could be that the product was not a great fit to the product, or perhaps other people gave their own bonuses etc which tipped the balance of who they bought from.

I've taken part in promotions before where I've sent traffic that didn't convert as well as the average, and then there have been times when it has been above the average.

What I would recommend is thanking the partner and offering some gesture of appreciation. One time I received an Amazon gift certificate as a "thank you" from the owner. I wasn't expecting it and the owner didn't have to do it, but it was a nice gesture - and I've continued to promote his products. (But then again I wasn't mad to begin with)

I would do my best to be polite and grateful to the guy - you never know but he may still turn out to be a valuable contact in the future.

Hope this helps,

Richard

[Mike Merz]

I agree with Richard's opinion, Joel.

That's why it's a good thing to keep a close eye on individual partner results so you can try to bolster poor conversions with free content ... such as offering to do a teleseminar with those list owners as extra incentive ... I'd also give them conversion tips and tools from the get go (pre tested ads, teleseminars, video, advise adding complimentary bonuses, etc.) to better their chances.

Often times folks confuse simple affiliate programs with endorsed mailing JVs ... affiliate software is used to track both because they are very similar in the way they are promoted ... but beyond that, the latter is a one on one relationship ... and should be treated as such.

Best,

Mike

[Egidijus Andreika]

Do you know the performance of that JV partner for other products? If he sent you the traffic, doesn't mean that it would convert. Maybe his list or promotion methods are not suitable for your kind of product. Of course, sometimes it looks like you are only the one 'guilty' for not successful JV, but I think you shouldn't blame yourself. JV just didn't work for your product. In this case it would be great if you could send a small thank-you gift to that JV partner for his efforts and thank him for participating. So next time you make a product launch that partner would still be interested to participate.

Have a nice day,
Egidijus