Originally Posted by Mickey_ (Post 22805743)

When an activity gradually changes from opportunity to liability you tend to stop doing that activity if you're an able-minded business person.

The people working aren't chit-chatting for the most part. And if they are, they're doing it elsewhere (E.g. Whatsapp and Telegram groups, smaller, more filtered boards, workshops). Others' inability to control their emotions over topics like politics and continuing to bicker and beat a dead horse drove many of us away. Not just from boards, but from social media for the most part.

As online marketing and ecom in general shifted over the years from "a blindfolded monkey could make a living" to "this is actual work that requires focus, effort and a team" people have less and less time to waste. Consolidation within these industries (ours included), newer platforms and ways to engage also play a big role.

Some also smartened up to the anticipatory dopamine effect.

If you're still doing the same old same old, it's time to remind yourself of the simple truth that's highly relevant to anyone running an online business - "The only constant is change."

Originally Posted by TheLegacy (Post 22806206)

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Originally Posted by mce (Post 22811173)

It could also be due to BAD MODERATING.... case in point: ************ used to be THE giant mainstream aff forum. Now dead.

It could also be about CLUELESS restructuring .... The********** was sold to a freelance platform and most traffic pulling members left

Originally Posted by cordoba (Post 22808886)

Is the Xbiz forum not open to affiliates? I applied last year but was rejected... :(

Originally Posted by S3X_Jay (Post 22811955)

Yes, XBiz.net is open to affiliates.

Originally Posted by nikki99 (Post 22811957)

oh no against the rules

Originally Posted by cordoba (Post 22808886)

Is the Xbiz forum not open to affiliates? I applied last year but was rejected... :(

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober (Post 22811969)

Back when I was attending the Xbiz event in 2011, I was rejected a few times, despite having paid for tickets for the event.

Originally Posted by NoWhErE (Post 22804731)

This sums it up really well. Most of us who want to help usually end up being drowned out by Paul Markham type posters. For the new people coming into the industry, it's hard to tell the difference between actual webmasters and the trolls.

Originally Posted by Paul Markham (Post 22812426)

Most of you wanted help and sites were happy to give it. Because it was in their interest, today it's not. 99.99% of the traffic flows via the big Tubes, so doing deals with cuts out the need for affiliates. Most of the smaller and medium sites have gone, except in minor niches and you can't all survive on those, a lot of companies are doing their own promotions because there is no great skill in being an affiliate.

Since no one cared about the decline in porn content creators, don't expect any tears from us over your decline.

Adapt or die.

Originally Posted by NoWhErE (Post 22804731)

This sums it up really well. Most of us who want to help usually end up being drowned out by Paul Markham type posters. For the new people coming into the industry, it's hard to tell the difference between actual webmasters and the trolls.

Originally Posted by tornell (Post 22814840)

Because the world is changing and the only way an affiliate manager is to buy traffic ... is sick

Originally Posted by mce (Post 22819731)

There are still affiliate managers around?:helpme

Originally Posted by Forkbeard (Post 22803217)

Fundamental changes in the business. Being "an affiliate" as a primary business model was always fraught; the power imbalances are too large, the opportunities for the affiliate to be screwed are too many. In a fast-growing highly-competitive era, this was balanced by competition for affiliate traffic, and program reputation (among affiliates, especially on boards) was important, which limited the scope for programs to grasp and steal. Once the growth and competition went away, in a world of declining margin, too many programs (not all by any means, but vast majority) came to see the affiliate percentage as an unwelcome cost. Perceived affiliate value declined, temptation to steal (because hard times) went way up. Result? Strong pressure on affiliates to diversify into other business models, and (for those of us who retained affiliation as part of our model) vastly reduced incentive to participate on boards, because their primary value (social and tech conversation aside) was to keep the programs honest. That's gone now. Nobody's honest unless that's their actual business ethic (somewhat rare) and even they don't care about affiliate boards because affiliates are a much smaller chunk of their revenue. All this vastly oversimplifies, but it explains a big chunk of the change, in my opinion.