IMMania.com

During the Prohibition Era in America when alcohol was illegal, there were underground nightclubs and watering holes referred to as “speakeasys“. Old newsreel footage from the period would show well-dressed men and women knocking on a door in a seedy back alley that had a special peep hole built in to it. A pair of menacing looking eyes would then peer back from behind the sliding peep hole to check out the visitors. Once it had been determined that they were not police or other undesirables, the door would swing open to reveal a wild party raging on the other side.

Privilege had its rewards.

And it still does.

What I’m beginning to discover, however slowly, is that the really successful IMers do things vastly different from the way most of us are taught to go about it. I’m finding this to be particularly true in the PPC arena.

This became apparent to me a while back after learning about Jeremy Palmer’s PPC methods for affiliate marketing. He opened my eyes and those of a lot of others just starting out, that in order to really succeed at the PPC affiliate game you need to get a competitive advantage.

This advantage comes with negotiating favorable terms from the merchants whose products and services you intend to promote. This advantage comes in the form of increased commission payouts and the green light to do trademark and brand bidding on the keywords they place off limits to the rest of the unwashed affiliate masses.

I’m also finding out from speaking with professional PPC marketers, that getting permission to direct link is also an advantage many demand as well. So no more messing around with registering domains and screwing around with building Websites and landing pages that most likely will get poor Quality Scores from Adwords.

Now I should point out that getting these kinds of concessions from affiliate managers is not easy. You need to earn them.

It also doesn’t hurt to carry some “street cred” in the affiliate marketing world. However, in order to move up in this game you need to be aware that this is how the game is played by the big boys and girls.

It’s also important to realize that your goals and that of the merchant aren’t always aligned. After all, it’s your PPC money as well as your time that’s on the line every time you run a campaign. If you allow yourself to be merely an online salesperson for the merchant by settling for the standard payout and bidding terms, then you’ll have to fend for yourself against all the other PPC affiliates fighting over the same crumbs.

I once spoke with a third party affiliate manager over the phone to introduce myself. He was friendly and shared a lot of stories and insider info with me. However, he became somewhat disdainful of affiliates that demanded to be allowed TM bidding and direct linking permissions.

He laughed and referred to what they do as “Scorched Earth Affiliate“.

That term has stuck with me ever since and really hammered home the inherent differences as well as tensions that exist between merchants and affiliates. It really is a cutthroat business and if you just accept what the merchant offers you, then it’s very easy to get eaten alive in the PPC arena.

Million Dollar PPC affiliates got that way because they play by a completely different set of rules. I haven’t gotten inside past the door, but I’ve had a peek at what’s on the other side and it’s a whole ‘nother world.