Sneaky Affiliate Programs - Easy First Sales
This irritates the heck out of me. Picture this: I make a new page on one of my sites, and I currently don’t have anything to sell on there….so I go looking for a new affiliate program to join and sell their product.
Usually within hours, or sometimes within the first couple of days….bingo - a new sale with the new company! Things are looking good. I like this company….looks like they can convert my traffic. The quick sale gets me motivated, even a little excited.
And then nothing for a month. WTF?
I honestly believe that these bastard affiliate programs will give you a quick sale in order to prove their worth…to prove that they deserve your ad space on your site. But they don’t. I’m not dumb. Convert on a fairly regular basis, or buh-bye.
I’ve seen this too many times to count on one hand. Seriously. In different industries as well. I’ve seen it on my sites, I’ve seen it on my wife’s sites. I’ve seen it in porn webmastering, casino/poker, ebook sales, and just about everything I’ve ever tried to affiliate with. There’s always a company out there that’s looking to make themselves look better than their competition with a quick first sale.
If my hunch is correct and these programs are ‘throwing us a bone’ with a quick sale, they’re really just running their own program into the ground. Considering the number of times I’ve seen this ploy, I lose trust REAL fast. Quick sale….nothing for weeks, you’ll lose my business. I won’t trust you. Ever again. If you’re able to play with the stats/sales background to that effect….who’s to say you won’t accidentally ‘lose’ an occasional affiliate commission here or there. I KNOW THIS HAPPENS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
Just leave well enough alone. If your product converts, great…we’ll make lots of money together. If it doesn’t, well….I’ll kick you in the ass on your way out. Don’t try to mess around with stats to garner a little trust, because you’re just looking like idiots. Affiliates aren’t dumb. Especially the good ones who’ve been around the block a few times (we recognize your shitty ploys and will be frightened off). You’ll end up with a bunch of newbie affiliates who keep waiting for that mythical second sale.
If you want to trust a bunch of useless newbie affiliates to try to move your company forward….this is a fantastic ploy. I wish you lots of luck with it!