Before I have the NOW or SlutWalk , or any other feminist and/or man-hating group or organization misconstruing this post right out of the gate because they read the title alone, let me get this out of the way: The role of attractive females (and females in general, unopinionated) in affiliate marketing is no different than the role of males. Or it shouldn’t be, and if it is then it’s an individual and personal choice that has been made. This is is a post typed up based on personal experiences and observations. I’m not trying to lump everyone together. I was just trying to write a headline.
This is a subject that I have a strong opinion and stance on. Fairly recently, Arikka Greene (an attractive female close to affiliate marketing) made a post in her Online Media Q&A Facebook Group that gained my attention and had me thinking about the issue more. Here is her post:
What really captured my attention here was the fact that she chose to include the phrases “highly powerful” and “huge client” when introducing her hypothetical scenario. That alone seems to suggest that it is more “acceptable” or excusable to get flirty at that opportunity. I’m not going to be the dude to tell you that it’s right or wrong for a female to do that because it’s her choice and it’s a two-way street.
Barman has published two posts that are dangerously similar to what I’m about to get into. One of them seems to state that there is a portion of women in the industry who are money-thirsty, parasitic wenches. He also throws around phrases like “pussy trap” and “sweet elixir of punany,” very hilarious stuff. In the other, he points out the blatant attempt of an “affiliate assistant” trying to leverage boners for traffic.
To open up the issue a little more, I’ll review just a couple replies to Arikka’s post.
Susan’s reply is very commendable. I’d have replied the same way in her shoes (or heels). Overall, it’d be a personal decision. If you’re confident in your industry-specific skills, I can’t see why a female would want to entertain that type of thing unless she was single and otherwise interested.
This post surprised me. Maybe “most” was an exaggeration from her, but if this is true then I am completely puzzled. I can’t imagine cutting ties with a network or having a fallout with an AM because she won’t return my winks on Skype.
Again, “most” may be an exaggeration here, but the viewpoint from a male is interesting. I feel indifferent about this post. I agree that flirting is generally bounced around, but I can’t give you any hard numbers that would state that she’d be more likely to initiate. With the last sentence there, I agree more than I disagree.
And then mine:
I’m no ladies man by any stretch of the phrase and I’m not giving any scandalous Jezebel a pass here. I’m speaking out to my own people, the bros: We’ve gotta stop that shit.
I’m not asking you to tuck your penis between your legs and forget that females exist in our world of affiliate marketing. There are tons of very beautiful ladies. I’ve got a pretty big base of AM-related friends on Facebook and I can’t remember the last unattractive female I’ve come across. Males even, the general crowd are all handsome and well-kept dudes. The problem isn’t that you recognize that these women are attractive, that’s called being a man. The problem is when you go out of your head and let it disrupt the way you do your work. The problem is when you allow these certain females–well aware that they are attractive and you are a horndog–to leverage that and squeeze pennies out of you.
There was once a little thread on WickedFire dedicated to outing these beautiful broads. Outing them for, well, being attractive. A couple replies are a little bit awkward. The majority seem to understand that not every beautiful AM girly who smiles your way wants you inside of them. There are some who seem a little obsessive and weird about it. Here’s one, directly in reply to me:
Like I said though, a lot of people took the thread pretty lightly (as I’m sure it was intended).
Eleah came up very often in this thread. A poster mentioned that she probably isn’t always flirting with you, she just has a “bubbly” personality. That’s understandable and completely fine. Eleah recently contacted me and gave some feedback on what I thought was one of my lesser-interested posts, and that was very cool of her. She seems like a very polite and professional individual and I can’t yet imagine her eyes turning red as she leaps for my crotch in hopes that my delicious traffic will be sent her way. (The post we talked about was one that conflicts that idea, anyway. She’s cool.)
Some apparently do do that though, in accordance to the gospel of Barman. I believe him.
The bros and babes over at EWA so it very modestly and respectfully. They have a private Facebook Group that I’ve been allowed in and I’ve noticed it every now and then. It’s nothing extravagant or risqué. Nicki is put out there every now and then, thrown to the wolves.
In that second screenshot, you can hear her talking about traffic. Outright asking for you to send her your traffic, but that’s what she’s supposed to do. That isn’t supposed to be some sexy body shot for you either, I do believe she is showing off her shirt and I think she is pregnant. Fair play.
The post that I mentioned in the Facebook comment screenshot earlier was also one from Nicki. That one had me stroking my chin gently.
For everyone who was saying that Shannon PoF might not be real… I have proof she is! And not only is she real but she’s super nice! Just one more reason to take our offers and run them at PoF.
If your initial reaction was, “Jesus Christ, she is hot,” in regards to either one or both of them, then congratulations on having a penis. Completely normal my friend, I’m not getting on you for that.
I don’t know about this whole conspiracy theory about her “not being real.” I wasn’t around for that. I don’t know what that even means or who cooked up those suspicions. Her appearance isn’t being highlighted in the post either, she is cited as “nice.” That’s another good sign. I guess a nice AM would be one of those reasons why you’d want to send traffic someone’s way. I don’t see it near the top of the list, but it’s always good.
The way I’m reading this is, “Hey guys, Shannon of PoF is really hot. Here is a picture of us being hot together. Take EWA offers and run them on PoF.” I believe (and I’m not 100% certain here) that the nature of the comments in this post began to revolve around Shannon’s physical appearance and Nicki quickly tried to put a stop to it. She did everything right here.
Shannon of PoF cannot help that she is hot. She cannot help that the great majority of her male affiliates would eagerly shower her sweet body with rose petals an make passionate love to her. She’s a girl and she seems intelligent, she is aware that she is attractive. I’ll bet she would appreciate being able to push a photo to Facebook that wouldn’t immediately result in a group of bros jerking it in the comments. It’s sort of disrespectful to the nature of the industry. I don’t think she’s ever going to have an issue with being beautiful, but I can see her feeling as if her technical skills in the industry are being undermined all the time just because we can’t get over how damn hot she is.
Or maybe not. I can’t speak for her. Better yet, maybe it’s part of the reason she is in this professional position today. I don’t know for sure and neither do you. We can speculate though. Here’s another WickedFire reply that had me thinking:
- Being an AM is essentially a channel sales job
- Being a good-looking girl = lots of attention (even as kids, look up “The Beauty Bias” for more info)
- Lots of attention = confident + learn how to get people (especially men) to do what you want
- Confident and can get people to do what you want = very useful in sales
Any sales role where men are a major buyer or channel partner (IT, Medical Sales, Recruitment) has a lot of hot women in it. That’s not to say they’re not also very skilled at their jobs. It’s just they have that added edge which only comes with lucky genes and a double X chromosome.
And yes… they are flirting with you. But only because they’ve learned from an early age that it’s a highly effective strategy to get their way.
That makes a lot of sense to me.
I’m not Dr. Phil, but women would like to be treated with respect, especially around the people they work with. The only excuse you have for treating an AM gal like a blood-sucking leech is if she comes across that way on her own. Don’t make that assumption upfront.
Where Barman addresses such scandalous behavior from the ladies, I want this post to resonate with guys. Be a professional. Be all about work. If having an attractive affiliate manager is seriously a concern to you then you need to restrategize. To me, the most attractive affiliate manager is the one who can be helpful and do whatever is necessary to make sure that affiliates are making dough.
It’s a little bit of a bonus if your affiliate manager is an attractive lady. We like looking at nice things. Recognize when the situation is steering away from business to small talk though. Every AM wants you to make money, because they want to make money. If a female is using sexuality to encourage that, then she’s probably not very skilled professionally. Play along and entertain it if you want, just don’t get sucked in.
This post is dedicated to the 0.01% of affiliate males out there who do seem to fall in love with these ladies so quickly. Also the 0.01% of affiliate manager females who grab you by the collar and promise ASCII kisses for your traffic. It’s only normal to feel attracted, but let’s be mature adults about it and go on about our business.
