You’ll cross paths with a lot of shady people as an affiliate marketer, there are always folks who want to make a quick buck and this industry definitely doesn’t represent an exception. It’s even safe to assume that a day never goes by without someone trying to cause trouble in one way or another.

Maybe it’s an advertiser who’s shaving like there’s no tomorrow, maybe it’s the owner of a network, maybe it’s someone who’s trying to intimidate your host, maybe it’s someone who wants to hack one of your websites and the list could go on and on.

Ready to Put Your Tinfoil Hat On?

Well, you should be. A little bit of paranoia definitely doesn’t hurt and it all boils down to this: watch your back! Let’s analyze two possible scenarios:

1. You blindly trust the people you do business with
2. You don’t trust anyone

Now in the first case, it’s only a matter of time until you’d end up being disappointed and possibly even broke. It happens time and time again. Do you think that blindly trusting an advertiser and/or your AM is the smart thing to do? Let’s assume that an offer converts great today and that your AM is insisting that you invest as much money as possible “until it’s too late”. Let’s also assume that you’re just starting out and only have $5,000 at your disposal. Should you invest everything you have? A lot of people do and end up being disappointed. There are more than a few advertisers who lure you in with an offer which converts great, only to start scrubbing like maniacs as soon as they see some serious volume. If you have a huge budget at your disposal then sure, you can afford to lose $5,000 or even more but if not, don’t get carried away!

What about Scenario #2?

Now as far as scenario #2 is concerned, one thing is certain: if you don’t trust anyone, you’ll never end up being disappointed. That doesn’t mean that you should treat the people you do business with like criminals, not by a long shot. Don’t start burning bridges, be rational.

Paranoia can work in your favor as long as you don’t go overboard. Be polite and professional but not naïve, that’s basically all there is to it. Do everything you can to generate win-win situations but don’t forget to watch your back!