Affiliates need a fair go

Webmaster Discussion
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#1

Hey- just joined up as a webmaster and was motivated to do so as a result of frustration with a certain pay site that I am an affiliate of.
The issues- :grrr:

  1. The landing page that I send surfers to has not been updated for ages despite the fact that I am being regularly sent updates with new stuff.
  2. I alerted the person who handles the webmaster support about 3 weeks ago and got a fairly weak response claiming that the site would be updated. It is still out of date.
  3. The landing page as it is does not even promote the pornstars who are the most popular- referrals using my links to their profiles show who they are and anyone in the gay porn business would know.
  4. The about page is truly woeful in design and presentation.
  5. I discovered that there is an updated landing page and that a certain well known affiliate’s code was used to access it from a non coded tour page as in thesite.com
    I could go on with more but even having to post this is frustrating- my basic point is-
    “the operators of the site can get the benefit of an updated tour while affiliates have to put up with sending people to a tour that hasn’t been updated” might I add- the operators and others with connections to them get the benefit while affiliates do not get a FAIR GO.
    I’m still working on this and so I will not draw any conclusions or publish the name of the site at this stage.
    Feedback etc warmly welcome. :slight_smile:
#2

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

Well, welcome to GD, nice to see you here, sorry it seems like you are having an issue with a ‘site’

Hard to really comment, without actually knowing the site you are talking about, though I totally agree with not naming it,yet. One does owe the site an opportunity to deal with the concern, in private first.

Though I’d say there are a few sites out there, who haven’t updated their tours, or when they have, seem to have forgotten to inform all of their affiliates of the new url, or landing page.

Do keep us informed of how it goes, and again, welcome to the forum

#3

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

Thank you for the response.
I’ve been communicating with another fairly “big” webmaster player who has given me some good feedback about the organisation responsible for the affiliate system with the site in question and lots more. It seems that the problem lies with the organisation and not with the operators of the site itself.
Basic point= you pay for what you get if you outsource site design etc.
So, I will keep up the pressure on the source of the problem and hope to get some joy soon- if not I’ll publish the names here and see if others have had similar issues with them.

#4

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

Why would you promote a site with lots of issues? Isn’t it easier to pick another sponsor instead?

#5

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

Welcome to the forum Mick.

I guess I’ll be the one to say it… welcome to being an adult affiliate, a business where you sends your traffic and you takes your chances :wink:

I’m not sure which company/site you’re talking about, but there are a few that have numerous issues like this, from tube-style tours that don’t present the latest content, to sites that offer no text on their scenes, or sites that don’t even give basic information about their performers, even some that deliberately implement ways to screw us over to get the traffic without the sale. Unfortunately, many of these sites will completely ignore you. You could waste a month slapping them on the ass with statistics and examples of sites that are doing it right, and they just won’t listen.

I’ve discovered over my time in the business that the only thing that matters is YOUR numbers. What’s your ratios for these sites, and are they good enough for you? I would forget trying to influence a site or company, because it’s about as effective as hitting on a straight guy at the gym - maybe a one in fifty chance of success.

It might be hard to do if you love their content and know that it should be selling like skinny jeans at a hipster convention - if only they would listen - but I would leave them to it, move on to another sponsor, promote something else that presents the content you need and does it in a way that’s fair to you.

There have been a few times in recent years where sites have refused to act, and they’re finally forced to change when their content is no longer being promoted and they start to lose money. Eventually they’ll get to a point where too many affiliates have given up on them, their revenue sinks, they panic, they change everything, and they try to make a comeback. Sometimes they’re Madonna, sometime they’re Britney Spears - some manage to come back and kick some ass, some just embarrass themselves even more before fading into obscurity.

Either way, it won’t be because you told them a year ago how to improve their site, it’ll be because they finally got a point where their accountant was on the phone telling them they were in trouble.

#6

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

Good question but when you’ve got lots of stuff from such a site with links to it dating back 4 years then it’s easier to keep the pressure on them to do the right thing rather than waste time getting rid of it all- that’s my view anyway.

#7

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

[QUOTE=conran;140307]Welcome to the forum Mick.

I guess I’ll be the one to say it… welcome to being an adult affiliate, a business where you sends your traffic and you takes your chances :wink:

I’m not sure which company/site you’re talking about, but there are a few that have numerous issues like this, from tube-style tours that don’t present the latest content, to sites that offer no text on their scenes, or sites that don’t even give basic information about their performers, even some that deliberately implement ways to screw us over to get the traffic without the sale. Unfortunately, many of these sites will completely ignore you. You could waste a month slapping them on the ass with statistics and examples of sites that are doing it right, and they just won’t listen.

I’ve discovered over my time in the business that the only thing that matters is YOUR numbers. What’s your ratios for these sites, and are they good enough for you? I would forget trying to influence a site or company, because it’s about as effective as hitting on a straight guy at the gym - maybe a one in fifty chance of success.

It might be hard to do if you love their content and know that it should be selling like skinny jeans at a hipster convention - if only they would listen - but I would leave them to it, move on to another sponsor, promote something else that presents the content you need and does it in a way that’s fair to you.

There have been a few times in recent years where sites have refused to act, and they’re finally forced to change when their content is no longer being promoted and they start to lose money. Eventually they’ll get to a point where too many affiliates have given up on them, their revenue sinks, they panic, they change everything, and they try to make a comeback. Sometimes they’re Madonna, sometime they’re Britney Spears - some manage to come back and kick some ass, some just embarrass themselves even more before fading into obscurity.

Either way, it won’t be because you told them a year ago how to improve their site, it’ll be because they finally got a point where their accountant was on the phone telling them they were in trouble.[/QUOTE]

I see what you are saying but from my experience in business sometimes a company will respond even to a small player if the pressure is kept up. I have set up my own landing page for this particular site with the updated stuff on it- if they don’t act fairly soon then it’s an easy job to modify it and warn surfers that it’s not worth joining and send them off to worthwhile sites of which there are many.
Also, doing this and naming them will also be effective from my previous experience.
I have a background in accounts specialising in accounts receivable so I know a bit about how to get positive results from recalcitrants!

#8

Re: Affiliates need a fair go

Hey there- update on the issue-

  1. I have had good feedback from the affiliate providers and can say that I am impressed by the speed and content of the responses.
  2. They are obviously highly professional.
  3. I will wait with great anticipation for the new landing pages.
  4. I was given a temporary membership to the site to check that the updates being sent were actually there- and yes, they are.
  5. From info received there are other issues behind the time it has taken to get the landing pages updated and they explain the length of time it has taken to catch up- this comes from an independent source and has been confirmed.
  6. My frustration partly stems from being sort of cut-off from the mainstream in the land down under!
    This concludes my whinge! I’m sure the new landing pages will be great and best wishes to all involved.