How do you feel about sponsors calling you?

[Cleo]

I just had a sponsor call me asking what they could do for me and why I wasn't sending much traffic their way. I told them calling me on the phone was not the way to get me to send more traffic their way and hung up.

[amadman]

I had it happen once right after joining a sponsor. I never did promote them.

[CrazySy]

It happened to me once before as well, Now I have a cellphone number just to use for sponsors when I signup and never answer the damn thing :)

[Cliff]

I had 2 sponsors call me to say how they apreciate my traffic
not big numbers but nice engine traffic
if it was a cold call beggin for traffic then id do what Cleo did

[Rorschach]

They'd instantly be on the shit list...

unless they were calling because they wanted to wire me an extra $10K. :D

[Jim]

I love it and wish they all would :)

[Useless]

It would depend on the sponsor. If it was one of the big corporate sponsors I would tell them I only promote programs that pay me in advance and then ask for their offer. If it was a 'mom & pop' (amateur site) operation, I wouldn't mind that at all. I don't see the point of the big sponsors having their flunkies calling around to affiliates begging for traffic. For every program that I don't send traffic to, I have another 20 just like it.

Since were on the subject, and I am a professional hijacker, do sponsors even care about the free site crowd? Do they understand the inherent value of filtered link list traffic? Every time I search through sponsor content and find that they only release 15 or 16 pics per set instead of 20+, I cringe and say 'they don't love me'. When I see that all of their content is screen craps, again, 'they don't love me'.

[cd34]

This coming from the guy that threw away icq, hired the phone company to disconnect his phone lines, has heat problems at two residences within a month of each other.....

hahaha

[Jim]

But I love those bothersome phone calls :)

[Torn Rose]

Hate it with a passion.

I have had a few content providers call me, and I never have bought content so I think they got the #'s from AVN, since the first time it happen we had just registered for our first Internext and that was the first time I used that # in the "porn world".

Actually have not had an issue in a year or so, after a few calls of asking the caller "are you stupid" and "If I wanted you and your business I'd call you" they stopped calling.

Just dawned on me, I actually had one call me while I was at Internext, wanted me to buy content, and when I said I was at Internext he asked what was that?

I then whipped out my credit card to buy everything he had, but somehow the phone line went dead….. when I hung up.

[Torn Rose]

Actually, I just had an asshole call me yesterday, was asking me personal questions like what I wanted to drink... the nerve of that guy.....

|pokefun| |greenguy| <---- Chad Lewis biggest fan

[Jim]

The worst is the domain registrars calling trying to get me to switch to them :)

[cd34]

But I love those bothersome phone calls :)

so that you know that your phone is working?

haha

[Opti]

But I love those bothersome phone calls :)

Ha! So what's your number? |satan|


Sponsors call you to ask for ad spots Jim... No wonder you love it!

I'm with Cleo!

[stuveltje]

i hate sponsors calling me because i dont expect them to call me...and since english is not my mother language i totally shut down, when i pick up the phone saying: met ingrid....and i will hear on the other side....hya with bla bla sponsor we just decide to call you why you dont sent any traffic yet!... me will go...........huuuuuuu heeee???? met wie???? lol and hang up:)

[Jim]

I actually try to do as little business on the phone as possible. I like having a written document to reference when sponsors want to advertise here.

[cd34]

interesting.... that means that Gabbo probably has a written document on file somewhere......

[Jim]

Gabbo has never written to me. I have written to him several times but no reply

[cd34]

so an advertiser without a contract.... curiouser and curiouser

[Alphawolf]

Caller ID works. If I don't know who it is, I don't pick it up.

I've only had one sponsor call me, AEBN when I had a question about deep linking.

I think most sponsors prefer ICQ, which can be a PITA, but when ya need it- it's very helpful.

[MadMax]

I've gotten a couple calls from sponsors right after joining their programs, and I didn't mind it at all. A couple of them want to get you on the phone just to make sure your'e a real person before approving a new account. If I got constant calls from the same person/program or calls begging for traffic it would drive me batshit, but the occasional "is there anything we can do for you" call doesn't bother me a bit. In the digital age of interpersonal nothingness we live in it's kindof a refreshing change. Plus, usually I have a list of what any given sponsor could do for me :D

[Greenguy]

I rarely answer the phone unless I know who it is & on the odd chance that a sponsor does get a hold of me, I usually blow them off.

[cd34]

ya hear that, Greenguy gives sponsors blowjobs

haha...

don't ban me

[Linkster]

I did have Gabbo write to me - was kinda interesting actually - cant remember if I replied??? :)

I dont mind the sponsors calling too much -IF its someone that really knows what they are talking about - if the first words out of their mouth is something about free hosted galleries - then I usually tell them to go piss on themselves - cause thats what they just did in my view :)

[MrMaryLou]

The hard part is if you have to call them then its a mad hunt for a phone #

[Ms Naughty]

Hate talking on the phone.
I had one sponsor call me and send me ICQ messages with the "can I help you" thing. It seems such a dumb thing to talk about on the phone... especially when I'd only joined that sponsor to promote one of their sites on a specific free site. Thankfully they gave up after a while.
I can see it's a nice thing to call, but it's just not my bag, baby.

[PR_Tom]

Wow, thats pretty aggressive.. I had a call once from sex com asking me about buying traffic, so I asked how much they wanted to buy :D
Seriously I did, but it wasn't all that funny to the person on the other end so I said no thank you and please email me instead of calling in future..
The only other calls I've had were at request by either me or them.

Note to Self: Dont suggest calling webmasters at home to discuss promotions. :D

[terry]

Shoot them all!

[GeorgeTH]

I think I would tolerate it only if they would be offering something special, like support on a particular topic, or a new money making or traffic generating idea they would want to run with only a handful of their affiliates (and not make public)...

But apart from that: I HATE PHONES and ICQ
They're so attention seeking...

[Linkster]

George - thats the real times I dont mind too much - the "beta" test calls and lets see how a $1 trial works for a few WMs :)

[Greenguy]

You know what it is? It's this rush of "mainstream" marketing people coming into the "adult" game - telemarketing is big in the real world & sales calls (on the phone & in person) are a big part of how they do things.

What they don't know is that most of us are sitting in our underwear eating day old pizza while sitting at our basement computers & pretending we're some big company by answering the phone "Greenguy Marketing. How may I direct your call?" :D

[Wazza]

A sponsor called my mobile and left a msg with an icq number (couldn't answer it, was doing the dishes at the time). I msged em back within 5 mins of the call and never got a reply. That plus the call sealed the deal - no traffic for you!

Unless your wm backend is perfect, your members area A1 quality, and your tours spot on - don't waste money on phone calls or flashy new wm areas. Fix the bits that make us all money - then work out ways to burn coin...

[Alphawolf]

They still need to comply with https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx if they are US based.

[Jel]

Only had phone calls from 2 sponsors, 1 was a generic 'this is rep g from company d why don't you try to promote this brand new site blah blah blah' the other is the owner of a ccbill paysite, who I do sell well with, letting me know about some changes in his program, addition of FHGs, and the chance to use them a week before they were announced online.
Which was nice :D
So, I voted it's ok if it's a sponsor I send a lot of traffic to.

[Greenguy]

Alphawolf - all my numbers are on there & the telemarketing calls dropped down to 1 or 2 a month.

Of course, if you are using the sponsor, they can call you, since you're a "customer" of theirs.

[Wizzo]

I don't cold call affiliates, but do get the chance now and again to talk to some on the phone and I find it much better than ICQ or Email to exchange ideas, discuss trends, opportunities and etc...

It's almost as good, as flying them here or me flying to their location and talking face to face. Or both flying us both to nice resort for a weekend. ;)

This is business and having good communication with my "partners" is key. So I enjoy the chance to talk with a affiliates, find out what they need or want and how we can better work together, so we both can make more money! |pimpin

[Jaden]

And there is always the joy of sitting around in "mommy" mode during a mom's club meeting, or at a park play date and getting one of those calls on my cell. Hate that.....

[Cleo]

I was at the checkout of the grocery store one day when someone called me asking if I would like new feeds for my paysite. Besides the fact that I don't own a paysite if I did I would not have stopped doing what I was doing and discussed getting feeds for a paysite while checking out at the grocery store.

[stuveltje]

I was at the checkout of the grocery store one day when someone called me asking if I would like new feeds for my paysite. Besides the fact that I don't own a paysite if I did I would not have stopped doing what I was doing and discussed getting feeds for a paysite while checking out at the grocery store.that reminds me at the time a sponsor called me when i was picking up my kids at school..........i picked up the phone.....hear the english talk and the sponsor name, i said wrong number and hang up and dropped the sponsor, i cant talk about porn when i am at my kids school.... |cry|

[Tev]

The hard part is if you have to call them then its a mad hunt for a phone #


Exactly! Pain in the ass to find a number for some of these programs.

No one calls me though, except if they ask me first via ICQ or e-mail if it is ok to call, I like it when they do it that way better. Though I did have one call me while I was in line at Costco buying groceries, but that was ok too, cause I knew him, lol.

[BigJohn]

As an affiliate of other programs.... I hate it when sponsors call me. I'm generally very busy doing something and a phone call forces me to interrupt what I'm doing to talk with someone I don't want to talk to, about a subject that's the furthest thing from my mind at that moment.

I especially hate it when someone I'm NOT an affiliate of calls me and wants to know why I'm not promoting them. I had one guy from a company that called weekly even though I asked him each time to not call. It's a solid guarantee that I will NEVER do business with them now!

As a sponsor, I can't think of a single reason I would need to call an affiliate on the phone. It annoys me to no end when sponsors call me, so why would I think my affiliates would like it any better than I do!

[SirMoby]

I love it and wish they all would :) I don't want sponsors to call me but I'd be happy if Jim would call me with a weekly butt pimple update |barf|

[Lunatic]

I don't mind. I think it's great when someone wants my business and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. If I don't want to answer the phone I just look at the caller id. If it's someone I don't know I figure if it's important they'll leave a message and I can get back to them when and if I want to.

[SiMpLe]

ha i would never - shit i don't even cold email

[Tommy]

always record all your buisness phone calls

50 bucks spent at radio shack can be a huge life saver someday

[Opti]

always record all your buisness phone calls

50 bucks spent at radio shack can be a huge life saver someday

Yeah!! never know when a sexy talking rep will call... 5 minutes of her describing their website content, could be uploaded and available by micropayment in moments!! |headbang|

[LB]

I dont mind it so much, but I just wish that Americans could get their head around timezones. Every single call I have ever had has been between 2-5am here in Australia, and I'm not that chirpy when my phone goes off at that time :)

[SirMoby]

always record all your buisness phone calls

50 bucks spent at radio shack can be a huge life saver someday
Were you recording the time I confided in you about the goat, the coke bottle and vaseline? Please delete that I was drunk. |dizzy|

[Cleo]

always record all your buisness phone calls

Not sure what the laws are in NY but here in Florida they tend to provide three hots and a cot for about five years for doing this. I actually know of a few people that got caught and got into a lot of trouble.

Here in Florida it is legal to video tape without knowledge but not sound.

[cd34]

in Florida, you need to mention that you are recording. I don't believe you need the beep every 30 seconds though.

[PR_Tom]

In NY it's legal to record as long as one of the parties on the call knows it's being recorded. You do not have to mention that it's being recorded either.
Got it straight from a state troopers mouth when he came into the radio shack I was managing and bought a recording setup for his own personal use. Was several years ago, so could possibly have changed.

[Opti]

Not sure what the laws are in NY but here in Florida they tend to provide three hots and a cot for about five years for doing this. I actually know of a few people that got caught and got into a lot of trouble.

Here in Florida it is legal to video tape without knowledge but not sound.

Video laws are the same in Sydney.. Sound is a big no-no.. and "bugging" anyone illegally is a pretty stiff sentence. (My family business performs de-bugging scans if anyone is ever worried in AU btw) but recording your own conversations is not illegal... same as NY, you can record a telephone call as long as one of the people know about it.

Not really sure how it would fly selling them though! |pimpin

[maharaja]

i never got any phone call from them

[Meat]

i had a sponsor call me a few years ago, only time i ever got a phone call from one lol...the guy calling was just new but the company owed me some money for awhile...as soon as he said where he was from i told him i was coming down with a baseball bat to shove up his ass lol, he still talks about that phone call i think i scared him for life:)

got my money tho lol

[GenXer]

Sponsor phone calls:

The only sponsors I've ever had call me was the peeps from flirt4free, and I don't really send them much traffic either. It didn't make me mad, but it didn't provoke me
to send them more traffic either.

[KCX]

I try to avoid having to call people unless they have asked me to call them, if their check came back and I can't get an email through to them, or I need information NOW i.e. tax reasons.

Also, I try not to leave a message unless I know the number I am calling is adult related. The last thing I need is to leave a message for an affiliate only to have their significant other get the message and discover a "secret lifestyle". |shocking|

What about mailings (Besides checks)? Would you pay more attention to mail from a sponsor or an email with the same information?

[Cleo]

What about mailings (Besides checks)?
Unless there is a check in there I tend not to read anything from a sponsor.

I do read the messages when I login to grab promotional or check stats. Really that is the best place for me to get my attention.

[Greenguy]

The best place to get my attention is thru advertising on this board, but KCX already knows that :D

[Robbo]

I`ve only had I think one actual sponsor(board sponsor too) call me a efw years back to pitch thier services. After a few successive followup calls I blew them off. I hate being sold too. But I don`t hold a grudge. I just went back recently to sign up and now promote them. They are well known reliable and filled a niche for me now.

My blanket policy. Don`t patronize anyone that calls or comes knocking on my door. If I need it I go looking. Seems to work well for all types of solicitations.

[nistka93]

I prefer to do all buisness over email, icq, ect. No phone calls for me Please.

[TopbucksTrixxxi]

I actually had one that used to call me daily - YUP DAILY! The thing is I'd be quite frank like - HEY Buddy, I don't have the type of traffic that warrants a call DAILY - but he didn't understand until I told him he'd be better off going to some boards to get new business (gave him my ref of course) heheheh :)

So I agree with Cleo and all the rest - I don't like calls and would only contact a person by phone if they asked for it. Not everyone works from the comfort of their home & with everyone in the home knowing what they do. If they have a day job, I'm sure their bosses don't like them getting calls from something they're doing on the side. It's just too touchy in my opinion and only something acceptable if it was asked by the affiliate.

[pcum]

No problem but it must important enough to talk to them...

[digifan]

I have never ever been called by a sponsor yet so couldn't vote.

[KCat]

The only call I've received from a sponsor is one that I wasn't using. The guy was trying to convince me that my site would be perfect for their program, blah blah blah. It caught me so off-guard I just kept agreeing that I would look into it until I could get him off the phone. He phoned back 2 or 3 times after that but I was so turned off, there was no way I would consider working with them. Felt like a total invasion of privacy since he'd obviously got my phone number from my whois.

[BlueQuartz]

eroticy called me at 5am - the guy knew I lived in Australia but hadn't bothered to worry about timezones he said...

this was after he had ALSO emailed me a day earlier suggesting I use them then also

didnt like the email and after the call....... well you can guess the rest lol

[Jim]

LOL
I got a call this morning at 6 AM EST from someone wanting to advertise. For some reason, I took my office phone to bed so I was woke up with someone sounding like a Radio DJ screaming at me, "Yo Jim...We want to advertise on GreenguyandJim. How do you like that shit?' I hung up and after him calling 3 more times, I think he got the message :)