Does Affiliate Marketing really set us free, or have we become slaves to the freedom we always dreamed of?
I am asking myself this while writing these thoughts flying finally back home. The past three weeks were nuts a wedding, Affiliate World Europe, AWSummit, TES, and an intense project week at Masters in Cash. It is exciting, I love it, but it was also very intense
First of all: I love shows. I love the hustle, the energy, the deals, and especially the people. From the first one I stepped on a show floor, I embraced it.
But here is the second part: this must have been the most exhausting period of my entire career.
Of course, I am an old fart now. Additionally, I was running around with a fractured hand. But that is not the main reason it felt overwhelming. It was exhausting because life in affiliate management, or marketing general doesn’t give you much of a break anymore. The shows are intense enough, but it’s all the work stuff outside the shows that takes a toll on me.
When home, things are a little calmer. At least I can sit (or stand) at my desk, work through follow-ups in order, and not have 25 new contacts popping up every hour. Still, the same problem is there, just on a smaller scale. I started to realize something on this trip: remote work, freelancing, and being part of the affiliate microcosmos does not automatically mean freedom. In fact, sometimes it is the opposite.
Some of you take days off and manage the business perfect, cheers to that. Guys you are a minority, and you do something right. Most of us are constantly available. On the last day of TES, this came up at a table conversation (even a sober one. One dear friend of mine casually said: In 20 years, I’ve had maybe four days completely off. Four days in twenty years. Think about this for a moment. Is that freedom?
We chose this lifestyle. We embraced it. We wear the “I work from anywhere” badge proudly. But is it really the glamorous freedom that social media makes it look like?
Take a regular 9-5 worker. No matter, in an office, on a construction site, or a hairdresser, when their shift ends, it ends. They clock out and, at least in theory, don’t have to think about work again until the next morning. Maybe a bit more cursing on the boss than in Affiliate Marketing, but thats it. They have weekends where nobody expects them to answer work messages, as they most probably dont even receive some. Their free time is free time.
We, on the other hand, are a different beast. An affiliate can’t just logg off for two weeks, they need to check campaigns multiple times a day or risk losing big. An Affiliate Manager can not ignore messages for long because partners expect fast responses. Disappearing completely? Not an option. At the same time, we do have the benefits that many others dream about: no fixed agenda, remote work, and if we put in the grind, our income is also sweet.
Affiliate Marketing can get more stressful with the time
As my own career has grown, the pressure to never really switch off has grown too. The list of people who need something is endless:
• Affiliates who are not on shows and still need answers
• Colleagues at Masters who are waiting for input
• Consultant clients who always have questions
• Content partners looking for contributions
• Candidates applying through Affjobs and Affpal HR
• HR clients needing follow-ups
• And suprise suprise, the most intense one are the fresh connections you made at a show, who are already back home
So yes, this lifestyle offers a lot of freedom, but does it actually make us free? For sure not completely. And yet, despite all of this, I would still choose it over and over again, and most of you too. I choose this grind any day over my old corporate job selling insurances (my suits were not that fancy back than). At least here, the work and the personal life blend together in a way that feels natural. I love what I do. I even love that business and private life overlap, because the people I work with are often not just colleagues or partners, they are friends who feel like more than just professional contacts.
Strategies for handling stress during Affiliate Shows
This trip gave me also some valuable lessons, how I will avoid this problems in the future, as next September the latest the same situation will appear:
• Finalize every speech, workshop, planings, projects min 1 week before the show. One of the bottlenecks that appeared was finalizing the Affiliate Manager Academy last minute as the wedding appeared unexpected
• Dont arrive 2 days earlier on the show just because there is a meetup that is not absolute mandatory
• Dont accept any time critical projects for the days in between the travels.
• Dont say yes to every workshop, podcast and invite that comes up, have every day 1-2 hours to catch up
• Bring enough people to the show. In TES we were very well equiped with 5 people from the Masters team. In Affiliate World we were with the big Affjobs booth quiet understaffed
• When you make the Telegram intro (incl picture) with new contracts, write not only the summary of the meeting but also when they can expect an answer
• Have in every chat where possible min. 1 colleague to not only cover urgent requests but also inform partners when you are back to discuss bigger projects
Right now, I am just happy to get back home. I want to spend quality time with my daughter, focus on living again healthy, and get through tasks waiting on my own desk. But I also know myself. In a week or so, when the routine sets in again, I will start missing the buzz of the shows, the energy of the crowds, and the madness of it all.
