GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 44 - July 2019

NOTE: Thread was edited for length and clarity. W ith more than 25,000 members all over the world, the GPWA community is made up of different people from different back- grounds, different nationalities and, of course, different generations. For some, there has never been life without the inter- net or social media. Others still remember the days when, if you wanted to correspond with someone, there was no text message, e-mail or Skype available. You had to actu- ally dial a landline phone, or put a stamp on a letter and drop it in a mailbox. So, it’s not a surprise to see differences in approach when it comes to business etiquette and how we communi- cate with each other. In a recent GPWA forum thread, one of our more “ex- perienced” members pointed out how she was annoyed by the casual nature of an introductory e-mail from an affiliate program and the obvious lack of research that was done before it was sent. A venting session ensued, with both fellow affiliates and affiliate managers chiming in. And as is the case with any compelling forum thread, both sides learned a few things, with the hopes that they will keep them in mind going forward. Excerpts from the thread are presented in the follow- ing pages. To read the entire conversation, visit http:// gpwa.org/415 . For more forum posts, industry news, and complete archives of our weekly GPWA newsletters and the GPWA Times Magazine , visit www.GPWA.org. FROM THE FORUMS How NOT to get a Sign image by northallertonman/shutterstock new affiliate to sign up #1 Topboss 17 February 2019, 7:05 p.m. Private Member Is it just me, or has business etiquette gone out of the window? I got the e-mail below today (from a program I won’t mention): Firstly, who starts off an e-mail to someone they have never met with “hey bud,” and secondly, if this person had bothered to check, they would actually see that we are already affiliates of theirs and have their brand plastered all over our site! Are people just becoming lazy and can’t be bothered to draft a decent e-mail or do their research? Or am I just old-fashioned, and this is the new way to conduct business? “ Reply With Quote “Hey bud! I’m the xxxx Affiliate manager, and I’d like to offer you a cpa/hybrid/revshare deal for your site https:// www.topbossgroup.com” 46 G P W A t i m e s . o r g