Affiliates beware, another non paying program - HowIGotRich
 

I don't like drama, but I don't like to see myself or anyone else get ripped off, so I am outing HowIGotRich.

I started doing PPC campaigns for CrackwhoreConfessions back in March. I got paid on those sales for 4 months without a problem. I think it was then that Dirty D could no longer afford to pay me the whopping $150 per month I was making per signup, and decided to stop paying me. No warning, no email, no contact whatsoever. He doesn't even have any TOS that forbids bidding on "crackwhore confessions" or any other terms on Google, so the campaign ran for another couple months. Finally I didn't get a payment for sometime and tried to get ahold of him.

Nearly 2 weeks after I first started emailing him, he replies saying that he isn't going to pay me because the sales I sent aren't legitimate. Mind you the campaign never changed from when I was getting paid. I said no problem, I can stop the campaign immediately, I just wanted the money I had earned and I would stop promoting his sites. He then comes back and says that he will pay me $100 per signup to keep sending traffic, which seems odd because he told me the sales I sent were illegitimate. Nonetheless, I am not going to be scammed out of more money by this crook, so I say no thanks, I'd rather just have the money owed to me and I'll go on my merry way.

Afterall, why would I want to send him SEO sales when he will just say "oh, your site showed up higher than ours, those sales don't count".

So he refuses to pay me. Whatever. Obviously $350 is a big deal for him and he isn't able to pay it, so lesson learned on my part. Hopefully anyone reading this will think twice about sending traffic to that program. If he isn't able to pay me the $350 he owes me its only a matter of time before he stops paying everyone else.

Hopefully Dirty D will come in here and give his side of the story.

The moral of the story - HowIGotRich.com DOES NOT PAY ITS AFFILIATES. You have been warned.

thanks for the heads up. links pulled.

Hes been paying me for years and still does so without ANY issue.
But then again, I do send him legit traffic.
:winkwink:

Give me some :winkwink:

He paid me for a little while too, before deciding to suddenly stop without warning. :2 cents:

I don't see how sending him traffic, bidding on his site name as a keyword, renders the traffic as "illegitimate". Were the sales themselves legit? When the people buying the trials don't convert or are doing chargebacks etc THEN I'd say it renders your traffic as suspect, but solely based on keywords? I'm inclined to think not.

But that's just me and my oldschool thinking.

If it's not in their TOS then they should pay you.

hmm never had any issues with dirty before...im sure it will work out in the end

My thoughts as well. He seems to think that typeins are the same thing as someone going to Google and searching.

They were full memberships.

I'm confused about the $100 and $150 PPS?

Six months ago I would have said the same thing. But now he is officially the first program to not pay me.

Shoehorn - what strikes me as odd is that $150 a signup seems awful high and unrealistic... even $100 seems high for a picture or movie site.....

$50 would be more on the HIGH HIGH end of realistic for a site like that - $30-$40 about right...... $100 on a special promotion day with some strings attached to other sales or the like.........

I was sending traffic to the $30 PPS, the traffic and sales didn't add up to that much, only about $150 per month on average. He owes me $350, which is no big deal, but I just hate to see someone get ripped off for any amount of money.

After I emailed him wondering about the money I was owed he offered me $100 PPS, which I declined, because I just want whats owed to me in the first place.

Shoehorn you can send me some sales, I know you be straight pimpin

Work it out.

I was only getting $30 PPS, never $100. He offered me $100 PPS after I contacted him wondering about the money I was owed.

The $150 is what he was paying me out per month on average (about 5 sales average per month). Apparently huge money that he can't part with.

i think you're confusing us
is this what you are trying to say....

$30 PPS and you made 5 sales is $150 total

he offered you $20 PPS for $100 total???????

bottom line would be over 3 months checking into how many of those sales renewed. if none did, i can see why he'd be changing the deal, iif otherwise, you have something to grip about...

All the sales I sent were at $30 PPS. Below is a screenshot of the payouts I did receive and then what I am owed.

After I emailed me about the money I am owed, he said he wasn't going to pay me because I was bidding on "his" terms on Google. Mind you there was 0 competition for the terms I was using. After going back and forth with him, he said he would pay me $100 PPS if I wanted to continue sending traffic.

http://johnnyshoehorn.com/hotlink/ho...nonpayment.jpg

hope everything works out!

bump bump

I have no problems with Shoehorn's traffic.
hope this gets sorted out.

Ditto.....

Agreed. I hope both parties can settle this

I guess you know how he got rich ..lol
Hope you work it out.

one small step for man, one giant leap for industry

These days programs are looking for ways to keep whatever $ they can. Clearly that money needs to be in his pocket so he is keeping it. If $300 wasn't a big deal he would just pay it.

Pretty pathetic I know, but I am not a hard person to get along with. If its really that big of a deal to him he can pay me in payments.

This issue has not been properly explained here.
Please post all of my many emails to you about the situation.
And the email where you refused to promote our sites using acceptable methods.

I even offered $100pps for a month so this guy could send some valid sales.

NOTE:
We do not pay Google, Yahoo, or affiliates for the exact spelling of our domain name.

This sends no extra traffic and no extra sales.
Newsflash: we already have the top listings for our own domain name.

I have suggested PPC terms that were acceptable.
The only thing shoehorn is interested in is sending us our own viral traffic.

"Crack Whore Stories" is acceptable.

Purchasing the exact spelling of our domain is not.

Do any programs allow affiliates to purchase the exact spelling of the paysite domain in google?

The Shoehorn method.
This is a great way to siphon off typeins.

Affiliate programs would be wise to check and see if any affiliates are siphoning off the typeins.

is that stated in your terms?

You do not have a site that shows up higher than ours.

You purchased "Crack Whore Confessions" and directed it to our site with your affiliate code.

This is not SEO sales.

This is a lame attempt to siphon off typeins.

You have not been able to show a link on ANY site that promotes CWC.
You have not shown any site with any SEO.
You have ONLY purchased our domain name from google to grab typeins.

So you think that someone going to Google and typing in a site name, or part of a site name (since I was bidding on 27 different keywords/phrases) is really the same as a typein?

D, What do you mean he purchased the same domain?

would you rather see him bid on your name and send traffic somewhere else?

also, lets see your affiliate terms that state this is against your TOS...

Of course not. He makes up the rules as he goes along and doesn't notify anyone before doing so. :2 cents:

Straight from your terms..


Traffic & Linking Questions

Top What methods can I use to send traffic?
All email promotions must be CAN-SPAM compliant. You can send traffic many ways. We have plenty of banners, hosted galleries, and hosted free sites for you to choose from. You can also use text links, blind links, exit consoles, entrance consoles, 404 traffic and site reviews.

Top Do you have free content?
Yes. We have plenty of free content and hosted galleries for you to use. If you have any special requests feel free to email us.

Top Where do I get my linking codes?
Visit the Link Codes page or the Ad Tools page to get the proper HTML linking format containing your NATS code.

Top Can I put up multiple banners on multiple sites?
Feel free to put as many banners on as many sites as you wish.

Top What link do I use to refer webmasters?
Visit the Link Codes page or the Ad Tools page to get the proper HTML linking format containing your NATS code.

Top Can I promote your website through email?
Yes, provided you use ONLY double Opt-in email lists. All email promotions must be CAN-SPAM compliant.
Spam will not tolerated.

Top What is the difference between opt-in email and spam?
Opt-in email is when a surfer subscribes or requests to have adult content sent to their email. It is done strictly on a voluntary basis, these are surfers who have requested to receive emails from you. Spam is sending email to someone who has not expressed a willingness to receive it from you. All email promotions must be CAN-SPAM compliant.

I worked for a program a while back and they didn't allow affiliates to purchase the exact spelling of the domain name either. Not saying that's what is going on here, but that seems reasonable to use other terms.

All of them allow that. Well, the ones who have a clue.

FOR THE RECORD:

We do not pay on referral sales from google, yahoo, etc. for the exact spelling of our domain names.

Purchasing "Tampa Bukkake" does not bring us any additional traffic or sales.
Purchasing "Tampa Orgies" does bring additional traffic and sales.

Purchasing "Crack Whore Confessions" does not bring us any additional traffic or sales.
"Crack Whore Stories" would be valid SEM



It is a very simple theory.
Bring us additional traffic and sales to get paid.


All of this has been explained to Shoehorn while he was lying about what keywords he purchased. Stating that the domain name wasn't purchased and that he was using other misspelled versions.

After many discussions it has been proven that the only "performance" his PPC campaign had was our own domain name.

So now we have a lying affiliate that misrepresented his campaigns complaining about not getting paid for siphoning our typeins.

He was kind enough to send a screenshot that proved what keywords were purchased and proved that he was lying and misrepresenting his campaign to us.

Very much like the situation is not clearly explained by him.

SEO on a site that ranks better than ours - lol

And that happens all the time, BUT the difference here is that it says nothing about that in his TOS, AND I was paid for the sales on the exact same traffic for 3 or 4 months before he decided to stop paying me.

Exactly...

We need affiliates to bring extra traffic.

Purchasing the exact spelling of a popular domain in PPC is not bringing in any traffic.

I can see both sides of the coin here but I'd still pay Shoehorn and call it a day :2 cents:

And what he failed to mention here is that he told me this two weeks ago. Which was 3 months AFTER he stopped paying me without warning on the same type of traffic I was previously getting paid for.

Unless it's clearly stated in your terms not to bid on specific keywords, then you should pay him the money that's owed. It's as simple as that.

Shoehorn seems a smart webmaster. Most of us who bid on any terms for ppc campaigns will always check the sponsor's T&C's first, knowing full well payment might be withheld.

Its not in your terms, if you want to update your Tos, then that's fine. Pay him what you owe him before your tos was updated and then cancel him as an affiliate, but don't stiff him.

And that was not mentioned at all in your TOS, and you paid me for awhile on that very same thing until one day you decided to stop without warning.

We should have caught your antics sooner.

and that's a common policy for a lot of affiliate programs..

if you had that in your terms to begin this, this issue would have ended before it was started..

pay the guy, update your terms and move on... :2 cents:

Then it would seem to me what you're debating is the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, or in this case, the TOS.

Find a way to work it out. You both sound like reasonable gents.