[MadMax]

Since this thread was primarily about what the title says it's about and I don't really have use for those scripts I haven't had much to add up to this point, but since the discussion is hitting lots of other areas now I'll throw in my 20 cents or so

Originally Posted by Far-L

I am cool with a limited supply of hard - but I don't like the idea of giving away the money shots - wdyt?

I agree entirely with not giving away all the money shots. This is the line you walk with free site content (since it must be at least 20 pics): You want some sort of nudity in the first gallery (i.e. 10 pics), then maybe some stripping or teasing or stroking, then have maybe the last 7 or 8 pics of the good stuff (varies up and down greatly by niche). Sales text that supports much more hardcore in the member's area goes a long way. For a gallery I'd agree with what's already been said, maybe 3-4 pics of the really good stuff.

Do you want to see the stats from the sponsors own traffic or see what the top affiliates are doing? Or both? And should what stats in particular? Only fhg traffic or any type of traffic? And which stats particularly?

...We were thinking of posting the top ten performers but keeping the account names confidential would seem less believable and posting the names might piss off webmasters. What do you all think?

Stats mean nothing unless you have a full understanding of where the traffic's coming from, IMO. When sponsors advertise "1:40 Conversions" or something I usually just chuckle, because a) you can make stats say anything you want and b) is that 1:40 from the join page? Could be

Lightspeed Cash shows the top 100 affiliates and what they've made for the month. I find this interesting, and it shows you what webmaster #100 is making every month. Gives the affiliate a real idea of the scope and size of the program, which might or might not reflect well. If you want to be seen as a big program webmaster #100 better be making some decent cash every month, but that's not necessarily true for smaller/niche/amateur programs.

I'd find it cool to see the top ten affiliates' revenue and conversions for the month if their names were not revealed. I wouldn't want my cashflow publicized, but if I could look at my earnings and see that I was in the top 10 or 20 or whatever that would be quite cool.

I like the idea of surfers rating the content though so webmasters can see what performs well.

I agree. The pitfall there would be having every affiliate trying to promote you with the most popular sets and they would get stale and unlistable pretty quickly. Would be a great behind the scenes way to sort out which sets you should release into the free content pool though

I like the idea of having monthly prizes to top converting, top earning, most traffic, etc. but to me a contest is only good if it is very clear that it is fair and auditable. I have seen so many years of rigged contests in this biz and i am sure many others hold the same skepticism. In everything we do, our actions need to be fully accountable and our methods open to review.

I'll agree with tickler on this...the vast majority of affiliates will probably never see anything out of a "most sales" type contest, since they just can't compete with the top of the heap. From the average affiliate's point of view a "most sales" contest is just a chance for people who can afford to buy cool stuff to get it for free. From a program's point of view, though, I can see contests as being a great way to stroke some more traffic out of your big affiliates.

The ideal situation would be to have at least some perks/benefits that smaller webmasters can still get something out of. I'll use WEG cash as an example here. If I make more money with them this month than last month, I get a bonus. Here's the relevant section of their TOS:

LOYALTY BONUSES

We will pay you a "Loyalty Bonus" of up to 8% of your monthly income. In order to receive the maximum 8% Loyalty Bonus, sign-up revenues you generate in any given month must be equal to or greater than the sign-up revenues you generated in each of the previous 4 or more consecutive months. In order to receive a Loyalty Bonus of 6%, sign-up revenues you generate in any given month must be equal to or greater than the sign-up revenues you generated in each of the previous 3 consecutive months. In order to receive a Loyalty Bonus of 4%, sign-up revenues you generate in any given month must be equal to or greater than the sign-up revenues you generated in each of the previous 2 consecutive months. Webmasters who generate sign-up revenues equal to or greater than the sign-up revenues paid by us to the Webmaster in the previous month will receive a 2% Loyalty Bonus added to their monthly sign-up revenue for the particular month. If your sign-up revenues in any given month are lower than the sign-up revenues we paid you in the prior month you will not be eligible for any Loyalty Bonus in that month; however all you will need to do to receive a Loyalty Bonus in the next month is to equal or exceed the prior month's sign-up revenues.

What it boils down to is that no matter how big or small you are, they regularly kick you a bonus if you're selling more for them. This type of structure definitely wouldn't be for everyone, but it's a good example of a bonus structure that can appeal to any affiliate.



So, hopefully I didn't bore you to sleep