Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
Yeah MindGeek aka Manwin
Worth a read:
Even content producers that MindGeek owns have trouble getting their movies off MindGeekâs tube sites. The result has been a vampiric ecosystem: MindGeekâs producers make porn films mostly for the sake of being uploaded on to MindGeekâs free tube sites, with lower returns for the producers but higher returns for MindGeek, which makes money off of the tube ads that does not go to anyone involved in the production side.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
No change in strategy. But talking to sponsors who try to get MindGeek’s traffic you need pretty high $$/click to get on their radar and that would be impossible for a new affiliate, which is what MindGeek would be if they were just starting with AEBN. So if AEBN has any hope of getting MindGeek’s traffic, they can’t have a system that favors older affiliates over new affiliates.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
Seems pretty obvious: We’d like to send you thousands of clicks a day from banners on our tubes, but we’re not fond of how your affiliate program rewards the first affiliate (probably some guy who send the surfer 10 years ago) and not the one actually sending you the sale today.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
Interesting how things have changed. Several years ago, as affiliate marketers we were stuck competing with an impossibly large number of bloggers. Today, it’s a handful of illegal pirate website conglomerates, whose illegal business practice - stealing and giving away what you’d otherwise have to pay for - is making everyone poorer.
(Of course, owning Xvideos is a nice marketing advantage if you happen to own the Men.com product. You’re bleeding your competitors to death)
Piracy destroys wealth, folks. Mind Geek literally is the Mafia.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
I’m on the high side of what is normal for me â above my average.
It might be helpful to figure out who’s losing money and who’s gaining and figure out what the variables are.
I don’t think you answered my question before about whether the money you get from AEBN is as an affiliate or as a producer. I’m assuming you’re mostly a producer with them. Correct? Are you still actively sending them traffic?
I’m suspecting the people who are hurting aren’t currently sending a lot of traffic.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
I’m an affiliate sending them the same traffic I always have according to Google Analytics and my sales are down about 60 - 75%. Not sure what you mean by a lot of traffic but I’m sending about 500 uniques per day and that doesn’t include mobile traffic because AEBN doesn’t put your Google Anaylytics code on the mobile page for some reason.
At 500 uniques per day I should have made more than $94 bucks so far this month.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
[QUOTE=mountequinox;156789]I’m an affiliate sending them the same traffic I always have according to Google Analytics and my sales are down about 60 - 75%. Not sure what you mean by a lot of traffic but I’m sending about 500 uniques per day and that doesn’t include mobile traffic because AEBN doesn’t put your Google Anaylytics code on the mobile page for some reason.
At 500 uniques per day I should have made more than $94 bucks so far this month.[/QUOTE]
You’re sending 5x the traffic I’m sending. I’m just averaging about 100 uniques (120 "sessions) per day on my primary theater. (I doubt the others have any traffic), and I’ve made $68.50 so far this month. So yeah, your earnings don’t seem right. If you made per visit what I’m making (which I don’t think is all that much), then you’d be making around $340 so far â which is in line with your “down about 60-75%”.
That answers my one or two of my questions. And yeah, losing 80% sucks. But how much traffic are you sending them these days? Do you have Google Analytics on your theaters?
So if Kevin and Mark are both down 70-80% and I’m holding steady we should examine the differences between us⦠For starters here’s where my traffic come from. I can’t see where this would affect anything, but it’s somethingâ¦
What else could be causing it? I’d hate to think they have a “that person is making too much” mentality and are screwing with the larger accounts. But right now that’s the only conclusion that matches what we’re observing since I send less traffic and make less per month than you guys.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
Yup, you’re sending a 5th of the traffic I’m sending yet your earnings aren’t far behind mine… I’ve only made $94 bucks so far. In 2014 my monthly average was $424 per month.
[QUOTE=rawTOP;156796]
That answers my one or two of my questions. And yeah, losing 80% sucks. But how much traffic are you sending them these days? Do you have Google Analytics on your theaters?
So if Kevin and Mark are both down 70-80% and I’m holding steady we should examine the differences between us⦠For starters here’s where my traffic come from. I can’t see where this would affect anything, but it’s somethingâ¦
What else could be causing it? I’d hate to think they have a “that person is making too much” mentality and are screwing with the larger accounts. But right now that’s the only conclusion that matches what we’re observing since I send less traffic and make less per month than you guys.[/QUOTE]
Here are my graphs.
and here is the traffic I’ve been sending them Jan - Dec 2014. As you can see it’s been a steady increase all last year and going into this year.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
What I’m seeing for me is that I’m making about the same as before, but my situation is similar to RawTOP - I’m actively sending them leads. I’m on track to make as much commission this month as last month. I’m more amenable to the new commission plan so far because apparently all the thousands of signups I’ve sent them over the past 8 years were no longer returning customers.
Because of the change, now at last I have something to compare statistical data with - and I see that my customers mostly stopped going back to AEBN. Seeing the individual transactions now is also helpful. I never understood why this industry hides prices so much. What are people buying? $50 DRM free downloads or $12 unlimited streaming rentals? Now I have a little more information. (MORE would be even better, guys)
I think this gives us some insight into AEBN’s business model. Whatever it is, they aren’t making money on returning customers, or possibly they aren’t able to persuade customers to come back and buy more things. Either way, the commission plan is an attempt to motivate us to do it.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
[QUOTE=desslock;156800]What I’m seeing for me is that I’m making about the same as before, but my situation is similar to RawTOP - I’m actively sending them leads. I’m on track to make as much commission this month as last month. I’m more amenable to the new commission plan so far because apparently all the thousands of signups I’ve sent them over the past 8 years were no longer returning customers.
Because of the change, now at last I have something to compare statistical data with - and I see that my customers mostly stopped going back to AEBN. Seeing the individual transactions now is also helpful. I never understood why this industry hides prices so much. What are people buying? $50 DRM free downloads or $12 unlimited streaming rentals? Now I have a little more information. (MORE would be even better, guys)
I think this gives us some insight into AEBN’s business model. Whatever it is, they aren’t making money on returning customers, or possibly they aren’t able to persuade customers to come back and buy more things. Either way, the commission plan is an attempt to motivate us to do it.
Steve[/QUOTE]
So you’ve changed nothing on your end and your making about the same. I’ve done nothing on my end and I’m making a shit ton less.
I was thinking that my lose was because my old time customers aren’t using my theater and are using another but according to you you’re speculating customers aren’t coming back at all? If that’s the case then where did all my money go that I’ve been making consistently for years month after month? The only logical thing that makes sense is long time customers that were once mine would just go to aebn.net and purchase their videos there. In the past I still got credit for those sales… Now I’m not. I never had a white label theater for all these years so it would be pretty simple for customers to jump from my theater right into aebn.net. I had no need for white label… They were suppose to always be my customers. Obviously this is all speculation but until someone can give me a better scenario that’s what I think.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
Correct… I’m just speculating. But think about it - we’re in a situation to A / B test and you can draw information from that. Of course, everyone’s different, so your mileage may vary.
Don’t forget, AEBN’s one email announcement begins by describing this as a “a much needed re-boot” because it continues “our uniquely competitive history.” THEIR history. THEIR new business model.
Also, don’t you guys remember Maleflixx did this exact same thing years ago. It’s been “You are paid 20% of gross revenue generated within a 365-day period following the referral.” for awhile. And look at what’s happened to that company since then.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
Kevin â One theory based on those graphs is that, under the new scheme, direct traffic makes money and referrals don’t. I have a much higher percentage of my traffic as direct. You have more referrals.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
I noticed that as well. What is the difference between direct and referrals? I’m assuming direct is typed in/bookmarked and referrals are linked in traffic I’m sending?
Yes I have very little typed in/bookmarked traffic because I never had a white label theater… There was NO NEED for one as all customers I created were suppose to be mine for life no matter where they shopped…
10 years later AEBN feels it totally acceptable to pull the rug out from under my feet and take all those sales from me.
Either way if you have a white label or not your customers are going to end up at aebn.net’s default theaters sooner or later… Either because of email communications or credit card statements with the AEBN brand name on it and not your white label…
It’s a win win for AEBN and has nothing to do with giving the money to other affiliates. Just to be clear again, I’m purely speculating.
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
I would also like to add that according to AEBN’s original press release this was suppose to make things better for new affiliates sending (Referrals). So if referrals aren’t creating sales then that’s proof in the pudding that no one is hardly purchasing anything from AEBN and the only reason I made any money at all from them was by collecting a large # of customers over the last 10 years. Even then it only worked out to $400 per month.
I may be able to improve upon my bottom line with their new scheme by creating a white label and making it easier for my new customers to come back to my theater but it certainly isn’t going to compare to what 10 years worth of customers were generating… If 10 years worth of customers who can shop where ever they want only nets me $400 per mo then starting from scratch with customers who must shop at my specific theater I don’t see how I will ever get back to that level again?
Re: AEBN Affiliates - What Do You Think of the Changes to the Affiliate Program?
[QUOTE=rawTOP;156814]I think you may have discovered the issue â whether the affiliate sends traffic to a white label theater.
But a question â how do you get GA stats without a white label theater? Those stats I shared were for my theater.[/QUOTE]
Sorry I miss spoke… I have a white label theater but I wasn’t using a cname with my own domain. I instead was sending traffic to an ugly long aebn URL. I’ve since switch to a cname with my own domain but little good that does me now… In the past I didn’t see a reason to do this because AEBN’s policy was once the customer was yours they are always yours.
