Affiliate Program Rules

[Connor]

So I've been kicking around some various affiliate programs, and I stumbled across the one for Abby Winters. I think that a lot of webmasters, especially those that operate TGP sites, end up signing up for a bunch of affiliate programs and then promoting whatever is working best. So when you start signing up for a lot of these programs, it can be a bit of a pain when you have to remember special rules for every program. Fortunately, most programs have similar rules. But some of the rules I came across on the Abby Winters affiliate program struck me... here is the excerpt that I'm talking about....

* We require a written contract, both with us and our primary biller.
* You must present our site and models respectfully.
* You must present other sites' and models respecfully when you use them along side us.
* You may not use freehosts that add advertising.
* Your pages must be entered in a database of URLs.
* You must use ICRA tags
* You must avoid keywords, domain names, and meta tags with words on the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection's List of Unacceptable Words.

I am a firm believer that every affiliate program has the right to set its rules, so I'm certainly not suggesting otherwise here. We all need to do what we feel is best. But I couldn't help but wonder how many people would bother with a program that MIGHT terminate them if their models appeared on a page that said "hot sluts" or something similar (who knows what that "respectful" term means, sounds subjective to me). Additionally, looks like anyone who uses this program has to agree to let ASACP set bans on words they can use, and has to supprt ICRA. Now I have had no problem with ICRA in the past... until their support for .XXX surfaced, so now I'm not sure I want to support ICRA. And of course written contracts and entering a URL in a database just smack of a company that MIGHT be more trouble than its worth to promote them.

So maybe I'm all alone on this, but I can't help but think that they must lose a TON of potential affiliate traffic with that seemingly simple list of rules. I'm sure their intentions are the best though.

[Juilan]

Yep I kind of put them in the same category as Suicidegirls, they felt since day 1 that they didn't need affiliates and that there brand exposure is fine without 'em. Of course, both in the end do permit affiliates with the caveat of draconian branding control! Gotta love 2nd wave feminism in the free market!

[commonsense]

Yeah, they play the "elite" card and it works. Remember they've been around forever and have the luxury of million year old links from dead webmasters and forgotten sites.

Most programs have less than 1000 active webmasters. Shit, most have less than 100. Its not like they are nastydollars/aff/etc and can go on every adult or mature site on the net.

[Connor]

Originally Posted by commonsense

Yeah, they play the "elite" card and it works. Remember they've been around forever and have the luxury of million year old links from dead webmasters and forgotten sites.

Most programs have less than 1000 active webmasters. Shit, most have less than 100. Its not like they are nastydollars/aff/etc and can go on every adult or mature site on the net.

I do like their photography... I just don't like the rules. The kind of rules that make me say, "Next!" and move on.

[Forkbeard]

We require a written contract, both with us and our primary biller.

Dude, that's like, so 19th century! By the time we've mailed each other dead trees, I'll have forgotten you. Pass.

You must present our site and models respectfully.

I always do.

Your pages must be entered in a database of URLs.

What? And what happens every time I change my blog template, and a thousand URLs change courtesy of the Mod Rewrites in my .htaccess? Pass.

You must use ICRA tags

If I wanted to live in a ghetto, I'd be wearing a yellow star. No, wait, you're telling me to put on a yellow star if I want to do business with you? Pass.

You must avoid keywords, domain names, and meta tags with words on the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection's List of Unacceptable Words.

What, you mean that words can be evil all by themselves, without reference to any silly details like context, nuance, or satire? Sorry, no, inflexible keyword blacklisting is for morons. Pass.

Needless to say, I wouldn't DREAM of doing business with a program like this. If there's one thing I've learned in five years as a professional affiliate, it's that program owners need me worse than I need them. And the ones who don't know it are inevitably a horrible pain in the ass to deal with.

[AW-Rainbow]

Originally Posted by Connor

But I couldn't help but wonder how many people would bother with a program that MIGHT terminate them if their models appeared on a page that said "hot sluts" or something similar (who knows what that "respectful" term means, sounds subjective to me).

Enough that we are happy with the performance of our program.

Originally Posted by Connor

Additionally, looks like anyone who uses this program has to agree to let ASACP set bans on words they can use, and has to supprt ICRA.

I wouldn't say "support," merely use their labeling system. We don't require that you display their logo or pay them any money. We are also looking at permitting the use of the ASACP's Restricted to Adults label in addition to or instead of the ICRA label. At the time we wrote the rules, the RTA label didn't exist.

As for the ASACP list, we do have discretion about where and how we enforce the rule, and are sensitive to context when the issue arises. As an ASACP Executive member, we believe that prohibiting the use of keywords that denote child pornography is the right thing to do, even if our material isn't child pornography. If you want to use keywords like "kiddie porn" or "child sex" or "sex with minors" in your meta tags, go ahead. Just not with our material. (The ASACP list is here: www dot asacp dot org slash list dot html , since I've got less than 30 posts on the board.)

As a matter of business practice, we believe that separating ourselves from child pornography is a responsible thing to do, and we don't do business with people or businesses who think that doing otherwise is okay, even if their content is actually legal.

Originally Posted by Connor

So maybe I'm all alone on this, but I can't help but think that they must lose a TON of potential affiliate traffic with that seemingly simple list of rules. I'm sure their intentions are the best though.

I'm sure we do. But we run a program that's very profitable for a fair number of our affiliates, with a few hundred joins a day and a good rebill ratio. We credited over 3000 sales to affiliates just in the last month, and we're building in perks and rewards that are making our program unique.

For example, we're giving away trips to Las Vegas for the AVN Expo in January, 2008, for anybody making enough in sales ($6000 gross for the minimum prize). We have nearly 40 affiliates who have either already won or who are on track to win. This won't be a one-time deal, either, and if you don't want to go to Vegas, or even if you do, we'll be offering other prizes as well.

We make our rules and requirements plain, and the contract form is available for your inspection upon request. We don't have any secrets about what we expect or require, and I'm happy to answer questions or look at sample pages and offer commentary on them with respect to the AW program. We believe in full disclosure and informed consent. It doesn't hurt our feelings that you don't want to be a part of our program, and we wish you well in the efforts you choose to undertake. There's plenty of money around for everyone.

We're a business, and we make decisions in the interest of that business. For us, not offending the sensibilities of our models by having them portrayed as sluts is right for us -- if the models dry up, we're dead, and yes, our models talk to one another and look at themselves on the net. We also require the written contracts to protect our copyright and trademark registrations, which have cost us a great deal to acquire and which are of considerable value to us.

You're in business too, and you make decisions in the interest of your business. Some people choose to work with us within our rules, and many of those people make a fair amount of money in return for their efforts. Some people choose not to, and move to other programs. We don't look at it as a personal insult, merely as a business decision.

Rainbow
Abbywinters.com Affiliate Liaison