playing the game in reverse

When lenders launch new affiliate partnerships, they often treat them like new Google Ads campaigns.

They launch small. They collect early performance data. They iterate slowly.

That works fine when you’re buying clicks from a faceless platform like Google. If your first campaign flops, nobody notices. You tweak it. You try again. No harm, no foul.

Affiliate marketing partners are different.

You’re not buying impressions from an algorithm. You’re working with real people — publishers — who have to bet on you.

And their patience is limited.

If you show up half-ready, you might not get a second chance.

The antidote is "playing the game in reverse." And it’s critical if you’re new to a publisher and you need them more than they need you.

Here’s the shift:

Don’t tiptoe in with a mediocre payout and a half-baked funnel, hoping to fix it later.

Show up with your absolute best foot forward — even if it feels unsustainable.

Because with new affiliate partners, first impressions aren’t just first impressions.

They might be your only impression.

Let’s make this real.

A few years ago, I watched a lender try to launch with a major publisher.