What Would Happen If?...

Jeremy Kelsall

15 years ago

lol....

Damn Allen! You have the creative Juices flowing, huh?

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Intrepreneur 15 years ago

Um that sounds a pretty cool idea. I have written many articles that mention the Warrior Forum and would be great to be able to mention particular WSO's while profiting from them.

But I'd be more intereseted in profiting from the War Room Fee
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Kelly Verge

15 years ago

It's a great idea.

Not only is it a way to make more WSO sales, it could be another way to pick up affiliates for the public sales page.

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John Taylor

15 years ago

Allen,

Originally Posted by admin

You were able to mention a WSO in your blog or site and make commissions on any sales you caused?

I'd think all my birthdays had come at once.. and, before
the zen redneck butts in.. yes there have been a lot of
birthdays. ;-)

That would only be if the WSO poster allowed commissions to be made of course but on those that do, what would you think?

I'd think that anyone running a WSO without a commission
would be losing a lot of potential for growing their business.

Further, what would you think if you as a WSO poster were able to allow people to make commissions by referring people to your WSO thread?

I'd be exceptionally happy to be paying out commissions
to people who were bringing me new business from outside
an already successful marketplace!

Just curious...

Curious.. No, I think you've gone way off the curiosity scale
in the last few days. Whatever you're taking.. I want some!

John

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Lance K

15 years ago

Further, what would you think if you as a WSO poster were able to allow people to make commissions by referring people to your WSO thread?

Originally Posted by John Taylor

I'd be exceptionally happy to be paying out commissions
to people who were bringing me new business from outside
an already successful marketplace!

Amen to that.

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jacktackett

15 years ago

I think its brilliant. Could we specify who could be affiliates and set different rates ;-)
--Jack

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Jill Carpenter

15 years ago

I already recommend certain WSO's to people. I wouldn't complain if funds magically appeared in my account.

Heck, I even refer people to some of the FREE WSO's. Maybe for referring those I could get a gold star or something. Even that would give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Originally Posted by avenuegirl

I already recommend certain WSO's to people. I wouldn't complain if funds magically appeared in my account.

Heck, I even refer people to some of the FREE WSO's. Maybe for referring those I could get a gold star or something. Even that would give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

You're the type of Warrior I have in mind :-)

You're already doing it, why not make it a win win?

Sounds good to me..

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Lance K

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Brian McElroy

I think that can happen already...

For systems like 1ShoppingCart or InfusionSoft,
you can specify any url (as far as I know) as the
destination url for affiliate links.

So if you have a 1SC or IS payment button in
your WSO, affiliates could drive traffic via your
affiliate program and make sales.

Unless I'm missing something :confused:

-Brian

Brian, I'm guessing you would need to direct them to the offer through the WSO section of the Warrior Forum. Otherwise, it wouldn't be any different than making an offer to the "public at large". Besides, I'm sure Allen wants people to at least come through the WF so they're exposed to the sign up form.

2. A Warrior Special Offer Means The Price You Give Must Be Better Than The Price The Public At Large Can Get. (This is not a "buy my product" forum, it is a "Special Offer" forum)

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Jo_Shua

15 years ago

You can already do it as Brian noted.

However, if it was a known fact and more Warriors jumped on board... when you do wish to release a WSO with affiliate commissions, it will be easier to find ACTIVE and ENERGIZED affiliates already setup promoting AWESOME WSOs

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Brian McElroy

I think that can happen already...

For systems like 1ShoppingCart or InfusionSoft,
you can specify any url (as far as I know) as the
destination url for affiliate links.

So if you have a 1SC or IS payment button in
your WSO, affiliates could drive traffic via your
affiliate program and make sales.

Unless I'm missing something :confused:

-Brian

Doable, but not approved.

I really don't want anyone running around trying to recruit affiliates on purpose.

I'm thinking more along the lines of something like this:

Young lady named Linda is browsing around the WSO section.

She sees and buys a WSO of interest and really likes it. She also notices in the WSO that it is affiliate enabled. So she simply creates her affiliate link (very easily) and blogs about it on her blog.

Something like that...

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Intrepreneur

15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

She sees and buys a WSO of interest and really likes it. She also notices in the WSO that it is affiliate enabled. So she simply creates her affiliate link (very easily) and blogs about it on her blog.

Something like that...

Yes I was thinking that too. Let it be at the sellers discretion to offer their customers affiliate links.

Although I think being hungry for $$$ everyone will want to promote the life out of it having affiliate status without purchase.

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Lance K 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Intrepreneur

Although I think being hungry for $$$ everyone will want to promote the life out of it having affiliate status without purchase.

I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to only allow customers to be affiliates.
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- Jo_Shua 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Lance K
  
  I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to only allow customers to be affiliates.
  
  Would be nice to have the option IF this takes off...
  
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- MikeLantz 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Lance K
  
  I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to only allow customers to be affiliates.
  
  A little tricky, but definitely doable.
  
  Mike
  
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R Hagel

15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

I really don't want anyone running around trying to recruit affiliates on purpose.

I'm thinking more along the lines of something like this:

Young lady named Linda is browsing around the WSO section.

So to be an affiliate we'd have to rename ourselves to Linda? And for some, get a sex change operation? And for others, go back into a time machine to be young again?

Whew, complicated.

But I do like the idea of having WSO affiliates. People are already blogging and tweeting and publishing their newsletters with WSO links -- would be cool if they got paid for those referrals.

Cheers,
Becky

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Steven Fullman

15 years ago

Originally Posted by R Hagel

So to be an affiliate we'd have to rename ourselves to Linda? And for some, get a sex change operation? And for others, go back into a time machine to be young again?

Cheers,
Becky

Done.

Just in case.

Phew, I'm glad I live on the bleeding edge.

Yours truly,
Linda Young

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Elmer Hurlstone

15 years ago

Originally Posted by R Hagel

So to be an affiliate we'd have to rename ourselves to Linda? And for some, get a sex change operation? And for others, go back into a time machine to be young again?

Whew, complicated.

But I do like the idea of having WSO affiliates. People are already blogging and tweeting and publishing their newsletters with WSO links -- would be cool if they got paid for those referrals.

Cheers,
Becky

Looks as though it would be much easier for you, Becky, than say, JT, PM, CS or myself.

Not only are we not girls we ain't young either. All you have to do is use a pen name and an, ever-so-slightly, earlier picture. No surgery required!

On a more serious note I wonder if the price of WSO's would have to increase to cover the differential?

Typically every stop along the supply chain adds cost to a product.

Having said that it's possible the added exposure and potentially greater volume would serve to keep costs down.

Most of my other concerns, including the ability to approve affiliates appear to have been answered in other posts.

Elmer

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Paul Myers

15 years ago

Mike,

Lots of excellent features, that could easily clear up most of the potential for problems. One thing...

Sellers will be able to make exceptions to this rule for trusted users, too. We don't want to punish the good folks just to get rid of the bad apples.

This will need watching, if the system is opened up for general use. The people with the least discretion and experience are also going to be the most desperate. It may not become a problem at all, and it's easy to stop if it does, but it'll need watching.

Elmer,

On a more serious note I wonder if the price of WSO's would have to increase to cover the differential?

Typically every stop along the supply chain adds cost to a product.

I can see that for services, but I doubt they'll be sold that way. For digital products, there'd have to be something unusual going on for there to be a need for price increases when the leads are free.

Some folks may sell at higher prices to attract more affiliates, of course. I suspect that will hinge to a large degree on whether the merchant gets the contact info for every customer, rather than just the ones who pay them directly.

Paul

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MikeLantz

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Lots of excellent features, that could easily clear up most of the potential for problems. One thing...This will need watching, if the system is opened up for general use. The people with the least discretion and experience are also going to be the most desperate. It may not become a problem at all, and it's easy to stop if it does, but it'll need watching.

Agreed. The all-seeing eye never misses a thing, though...

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Some folks may sell at higher prices to attract more affiliates, of course. I suspect that will hinge to a large degree on whether the merchant gets the contact info for every customer, rather than just the ones who pay them directly.

I thought I addressed this, but I realized it was with Allen, not here.

I did mention the idea of inflated prices - and I agree with Paul. Prices will not need to be raised, and likely it won't make sense to raise them because of the prices of the WSOs that are not using the affiliate program. The leads are simply worth much more than a few more percentage points added to the price ever would be.

On the contact information - definitely the merchant will receive that information for all buyers, not just the ones that paid them. I couldn't see a scenario where that wouldn't make sense, and have never considered it any other way.

Thanks again everyone.

Mike

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Matt Bard

15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

...She sees and buys a WSO of interest and really likes it. She also notices in the WSO that it is affiliate enabled. So she simply creates her affiliate link (very easily) and blogs about it on her blog.Something like that...

Allen, would this be retroactive?

In other words, would I be able to promote something I have already purchased or are we all starting over with the buy and become an affiliate?

I don't want to have to go back and buy a lot of WSOs that I already own and that I'm ready to start promoting.

Matt

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Or she "Tweets" it...whatever :-)

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John Atkins

15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

You were able to mention a WSO in your blog or site and make commissions on any sales you caused?

That would only be if the WSO poster allowed commissions to be made of course but on those that do, what would you think?

Further, what would you think if you as a WSO poster were able to allow people to make commissions by referring people to your WSO thread?

Just curious...

ONE WORD: AWESOME!

IMO that's the one thing that makes the WSO section incomplete.
There's no affiliate program. With an affiliate program, a WSO
could reach a much bigger audience.

If you think about it deeply, with an affiliate program,
the WSO section will probably become the biggest marketplace
for infoproducts.

Think about it people, your product will be seen by a huge audience
as soon as it's released (since the WSO section is quite busy).

AND

YOU can reach ANYONE in the world with the use of an affiliate
program!

TARGETED AUDIENCE FROM WF ITSELF + SEVERAL POTENTIAL BUYERS FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

BRILLIANT IDEA ALLEN!

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Originally Posted by IM Headlines

ONE WORD: AWESOME!

IMO that's the one thing that makes the WSO section incomplete.
There's no affiliate program. With an affiliate program, a WSO
could reach a much bigger audience.

If you think about it deeply, with an affiliate program,
the WSO section will probably become the biggest marketplace
for infoproducts.

Think about it people, your product will be seen by a huge audience
as soon as it's released (since the WSO section is quite busy).

AND

YOU can reach ANYONE in the world with the use of an affiliate
program!

TARGETED AUDIENCE FROM WF ITSELF + SEVERAL POTENTIAL BUYERS FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

BRILLIANT IDEA ALLEN!

Not my idea...

Mike Lantz already has this done and ready to go. I'm just looking for feedback.

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AmyBrown

15 years ago

Great idea! People buying through their own links and refunds are issues that come to mind.

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Jo_Shua 15 years ago

Originally Posted by AmyBrown

Great idea! People buying through their own links and refunds are issues that come to mind.

One reason why I like the idea for an option to allow only customers to be affiliates.

The second? Hrm... Allen?
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Lance K 15 years ago

Originally Posted by AmyBrown

Great idea! People buying through their own links and refunds are issues that come to mind.

That's why I like the idea of allowing only customers to be affiliates. That and they'll actually have a basis for recommending the WSO.
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R Hagel

15 years ago

Originally Posted by AmyBrown

Great idea! People buying through their own links and refunds are issues that come to mind.

Good point.

Taxes are the other issue. For folks who run everything through CB, they'll need to brush up on the tax implications of (basically?) running their own aff program. Not that this affects the programming or anything like that... but sellers just need to be aware of the tax codes in their country.

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Originally Posted by R Hagel

Good point.

Taxes are the other issue. For folks who run everything through CB, they'll need to brush up on the tax implications of (basically?) running their own aff program. Not that this affects the programming or anything like that... but sellers just need to be aware of the tax codes in their country.

Actually that wouldn't be a problem. This would run just like the RAP script. Into your own paypal account.

Another reason only buyers should promote a WSO. They may be promoting something that sucks if they don't buy it first and make sure it is good.

This is another reason not everyone would use this. Not everyone likes the idea of the money going directly into their paypal account.

Me personally, I would only promote someone that I absolutely trusted.

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Jill Carpenter

15 years ago

Originally Posted by AmyBrown

Great idea! People buying through their own links and refunds are issues that come to mind.

LOL. Deja vu clickbank?

An extra requirement for affiliates can be required. Perhaps you not only must buy the product, but need to obtain some kind of credential here to be allowed to apply for the W-SOAP?

(Warrior-Special Offer Affiliate Program)

1. person buys a wso product
2. person decides they want to affiliate and promote
3. WSO holder approves the affiliate - at this point product returns are null and void. Only a cancellation to a subscription type WSO can occur but if it does the affiliate loses privilege to sell.
4. affiliate pays a one time nominal fee to the forum and gets some kind of "verified trusted affiliate" stamp is added to their profile to let others know they have been accepted by someone as an affiliate in the past. They are done - unless perhaps there is a need for a yearly renewal.

Fee could be used for forum maintenance, charity, affiliate tracking software for the forum or something.

I need some caffeine.

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MikeLantz

15 years ago

Originally Posted by avenuegirl

An extra requirement for affiliates can be required. Perhaps you not only must buy the product, but need to obtain some kind of credential here to be allowed to apply for the W-SOAP?

(Warrior-Special Offer Affiliate Program)

1. person buys a wso product
2. person decides they want to affiliate and promote
3. WSO holder approves the affiliate - at this point product returns are null and void. Only a cancellation to a subscription type WSO can occur but if it does the affiliate loses privilege to sell.
4. affiliate pays a one time nominal fee to the forum and gets some kind of "verified trusted affiliate" stamp is added to their profile to let others know they have been accepted by someone as an affiliate in the past. They are done - unless perhaps there is a need for a yearly renewal.

You must have tapped into my brain and took it hostage!

Your thoughts are right inline with what I have been thinking and leaning towards. I think this is the perfect way to do it, and it is all quite doable.

Now, how do I get my brain back?

Mike

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rapidscc

15 years ago

I think this is a great idea..But I guess you must still weight in the opinion of other warriors before you decide if this is a GO or a GO

Whatever you choose between the two is fine by me

Great idea..really. If this happens, hanging out in Warrior Forum will be work indeed.

I just have a question, will this be limited to word of mouth promotion or will other promotion methods like adwords or other paid traffic be allowed?

All Success!

Omar

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Originally Posted by rapidscc

I think this is a great idea..But I guess you must still weight in the opinion of other warriors before you decide if this is a GO or a GO

Whatever you choose between the two is fine by me

Great idea..really. If this happens, hanging out in Warrior Forum will be work indeed.

I just have a question, will this be limited to word of mouth promotion or will other promotion methods like adwords or other paid traffic be allowed?

All Success!

Omar

No adwords...

This is just something for people to get something back for what they are already doing.

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AmyBrown

15 years ago

Would one need to be a member of the WF to be an affiliate for a WSO? (just curious)

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Steven Wagenheim

15 years ago

This is a perfect opportunity for somebody who has actually bought the
WSO to write a comprehensive review of it, put it on their blog, followed
by an affiliate link.

Just like you would (should) do for any product you'd promote from Clickbank,
PayDotCom or whatever.

And, if you want to take it to the next level...offer bonus products to people
who did buy from you, especially if you have a product that compliments
the WSO itself.

Or is that venturing into an area where we don't want to go?

Granted, I am sure there is room for abuse here, just like with any form
of affiliate marketing.

Ultimately, what we don't want (or do we?) is people going crazy
competing for affiliate sales...especially for the high end WSOs.

It could get, um, very competitive...which could then get very ugly.

Thoughts?

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Jill Carpenter

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

T

And, if you want to take it to the next level...offer bonus products to people
who did buy from you, especially if you have a product that compliments
the WSO itself.

I actually just joked about this on a product I just bought. I was going to follow their plan and use it to create what people needed to do before buying their WSO. Which in turn was it's own product.

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Aitor Astobieta 15 years ago
I think this is a great idea!

This would make the WSO section something akin to Clickbank or PayDotCom, but even better!

Of course, some issues will need to be addressed.

As Steven has said, we don't want this to get out of hand.

Maybe we can filter the affiliates to those who meet the requirements of:
1. Being War Room members
2. Have bought the WSO
3. Have at least a limited number of posts???
4. Any more?
We do want to keep this a high quality zone of affiliates.

I am loving this forum more and more by the moment!
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George Wright

15 years ago

Allen,

I think that would be the Wright thing to do.

I vote Yes.

George Wright

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zapseo

15 years ago

Seems counter-purposeful.

The idea is to provide great offers to help the person grow their business. Everyone who buys here gets a good deal. It's a good reward system for being on the forum.

If the person who created the WSO then wants to launch their now proven product, then they put in the affiliate system (and the price goes up.)

Not sure I like it.

I can see some of the problems that other folks have mentioned.

But, that's on first breath. Maybe more oxygen will change my mind.

However, Allen, if you'd ALSO like to start a competitor to CB ...

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DavidJohnny

15 years ago

I think it's a great idea!

Despite your intent to have this be somewhat low-key, this will be like a hot CB for a while. I do think members will be aggressively competing for WSO affiliate commissions. Even building sites to promote them.

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Gail Sober

15 years ago

I'm thinking more along the lines of something like this:

Young lady named Linda is browsing around the WSO section.

She sees and buys a WSO of interest and really likes it. She also notices in the WSO that it is affiliate enabled. So she simply creates her affiliate link (very easily) and blogs about it on her blog.

Something like that...

I like it. I like it a lot. Almost like a mini clickbank.

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Paul Myers 15 years ago

Allen,

The ones that use that function change the definition of WSO, but that's hardly a reason not to allow the option. Just keep in mind that you'll probably want to amend the rules, since whatever price they offer will be the price for which it's available to the general public.

Lots of good points to the idea.

Amy brought up my two real initial concerns. I'd have to know a bit more about the process before I could say if they're the only ones.

Read, read, read...

Ooops. Email incoming...

Paul
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George Wright

15 years ago

And then....

Run a Warrior Classified Ad advertising the WSO and noting our Bonuses.

George Wright P.S. Allen I'm not serious. Just my way of thinking that you mean for the "advertising" to be to our own lists or on our own websites. Wright?

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Jo_Shua

15 years ago

I agree with Alexa

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milkyway

15 years ago

Allen,

it's past 1 AM over here, and my mind might be a little bit foggy by now -- so please forgive me if I'm on the wrong track...

Originally Posted by admin

You were able to mention a WSO in your blog or site and make commissions on any sales you caused?

As far as I understood, a WSO offers a special price for forum members, better than the price for the general public.

How would these two ideas fit together if everybody and their dog could promote a WSO on their blog posts, newsletters, forum signatures elsewhere and whatever?

Apart from that slight confusion, I like the idea...

Maybe I'm just too tired...

milkyway

PS: As a side note, I like the recent changes to the forum. A lot.

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Originally Posted by milkyway

Allen,

it's past 1 AM over here, and my mind might be a little bit foggy by now -- so please forgive me if I'm on the wrong track...

As far as I understood, a WSO offers a special price for forum members, better than the price for the general public.

How would these two ideas fit together if everybody and their dog could promote a WSO on their blog posts, newsletters, forum signatures elsewhere and whatever?

Apart from that slight confusion, I like the idea...

Maybe I'm just too tired...

milkyway

PS: As a side note, I like the recent changes to the forum. A lot.

The special price rule does not change. I'm promoting WSO's to guests on the forum right now and the WSO price the member had originally in their WSO stayed the same. I just get half of it, even if it is small.

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Killer Joe 15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

I just get half of it, even if it is small.

Oh great, I've gotta compete with you :confused:

KJ
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Jill Carpenter

15 years ago

Originally Posted by milkyway

Allen,

it's past 1 AM over here, and my mind might be a little bit foggy by now -- so please forgive me if I'm on the wrong track...

As far as I understood, a WSO offers a special price for forum members, better than the price for the general public.

How would these two ideas fit together if everybody and their dog could promote a WSO on their blog posts, newsletters, forum signatures elsewhere and whatever?

Apart from that slight confusion, I like the idea...

Maybe I'm just too tired...

milkyway

PS: As a side note, I like the recent changes to the forum. A lot.

Actually, the general public CAN buy from this forum without being a member already. It is about the product being offered at this location. Buyer needs to come here to purchase.

Not everyone could promote. They would need to 1. be a member, 2. have purchased the product, and 3. been approved by the initial seller. Affiliate codes would be specific to this forum.

Technically, a product can be available just on this forum and no where else on the web - so long as it is the lowest price available on the web. If it is the only price available and it only appears here then it is by default the lowest price and it is very special that you can only find it here.

There are a lot of WSO's that offer a one shot deal and the seller doesn't want to promote it elsewhere - IE limited PLR articles package. To keep quality up and price high someone may just do a limited number of WSO on it and toss the package when done.

WSO's come up in the search engine results. The buy now button works for anyone.

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milkyway

15 years ago

Originally Posted by avenuegirl

Actually, the general public CAN buy from this forum without being a member already. It is about the product being offered at this location. Buyer needs to come here to purchase.

WSO's come up in the search engine results. The buy now button works for anyone.

The special price rule does not change. I'm promoting WSO's to guests on the forum right now and the WSO price the member had originally in their WSO stayed the same. I just get half of it, even if it is small.

Ok, got it. It doesn't bother me, I was just confused.

I'm off to catch some sleep. Seems I might need it...

Hope you guys have a nice evening,

milkyway

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Susan Hope 15 years ago

Allen brilliant idea, I would love it, I have some products bought via cllickbank and since I now won't use CB other than to buy things because of a bad experience with them around two years ago, this restricts me somewhat, so it would be nice to fill that hole with things from my fav forum.

Go for it I say..

Sue
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tomw

15 years ago

Originally Posted by avenuegirl

Actually, the general public CAN buy from this forum without being a member already. It is about the product being offered at this location. Buyer needs to come here to purchase.

Not everyone could promote. They would need to 1. be a member, 2. have purchased the product, and 3. been approved by the initial seller. Affiliate codes would be specific to this forum.

Technically, a product can be available just on this forum and no where else on the web - so long as it is the lowest price available on the web. If it is the only price available and it only appears here then it is by default the lowest price and it is very special that you can only find it here.

There are a lot of WSO's that offer a one shot deal and the seller doesn't want to promote it elsewhere - IE limited PLR articles package. To keep quality up and price high someone may just do a limited number of WSO on it and toss the package when done.

WSO's come up in the search engine results. The buy now button works for anyone.

Although...as the WF is about to revert to the paid model (see top of the page), I guess the general public will not be able to buy *without* being a member since they will not be able to access the forum.

So everyone's a winner.

Merchants get an army of affiliates, more sales and greater exposure, affiliates get commissions and Allen gets more members and therefore an uplift in income.

If for some reason, the public would still have access to the forum (and therefore the WSO's) I would make the WSO section only available to paid members. WSO discounts would then be an effective conversion incentive.

But...I'm sure Allen would have thought of this.

Tom

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George Wright

15 years ago

Originally Posted by tomw

Although...as the WF is about to revert to the paid model (see top of the page), I guess the general public will not be able to buy *without* being a member since they will not be able to access the forum.

So everyone's a winner.

Merchants get an army of affiliates, more sales and greater exposure, affiliates get commissions and Allen gets more members and therefore an uplift in income.

If for some reason, the public would still have access to the forum (and therefore the WSO's) I would make the WSO section only available to paid members. WSO discounts would then be an effective conversion incentive.

But...I'm sure Allen would have thought of this.

Tom

Actually Tom

There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding in your post quoted above. The WF HAS already reverted to the paid version and you don't have to be a paid member here to buy WSOs or to post in any of the forums except the war room, of which you are already a member and thus a "paid" member. "Paid member" simply means War Room Member.

The benefits of being a paid member are; You can run a WSO, You can have a Blog here, You can visit the WarRoom, you can have 400 messages stored in your PM box instead of 10, etc.

George Wright

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tomw

15 years ago

Originally Posted by George Wright

Actually Tom

There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding in your post quoted above. The WF HAS already reverted to the paid version and you don't have to be a paid member here to buy WSOs or to post in any of the forums except the war room, of which you are already a member and thus a "paid" member. "Paid member" simply means War Room Member.

George Wright

Ah..ok George. Thanks for that. I've been away for six months or so. Just back on the forum in the last couple of days.

I dunno, you go away for a while and everything gets all sensiblised. It was mayhem around here back when I left.

Jill,

My sincere apologies.

Tom

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Killer Joe

15 years ago

Originally Posted by tomw

Ah..ok George. Thanks for that. I've been away for six months or so. Just back on the forum in the last couple of days.

Tom

Tom, it's good to see you back.

KJ

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George Wright 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Killer Joe

Tom, it's good to see you back.

KJ

Yes Tom,

Welcome back! My new favorite wurd... sensiblised.

George Wright
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Paul Myers

15 years ago

I mentioned these to Allen, and he thought it reasonable to post them publicly. There are some big potential landmines with this idea, if it's not set up to discourage/punish them.

In any "instant commission" program, you need to have some serious measures in place to prevent spamming, or every email that mentions the WF is going to get blocked at any place that uses a URIBL.

Basically, a URIBL is a list of URLs/domains that are mentioned in emails that cause enough people to click the "This is Spam" button. It would be simple enough for any idiot to get emails containing the forum URL (or redirects to it) blocked, whether intentionally or not. If that happens too often, the whole project comes to a screeching halt.

Understand this: There are a whole lot of people here who wouldn't care one bit if that happened, as long as they could make a few bucks in the process. And there are a few who'd attempt it just out of spite.

Thus, there need to be limits in place that restrict who can promote these links, and they need to be clear and strict. At a minimum:

The person must have bought the product. That cuts down on some issues, and gives data to which they can be traced if they abuse the system.

There should be participation limits for members to be eligible. These need to include time of membership and some significant level of posting. It has to be enough that people know they're not going to reach those levels by posting junk one-liners, since those will be deleted before they ever get that far. Otherwise, troublemakers will just create a bunch of accounts and let them "age" to game the system.

A way needs to exist to disable affiliate links that generate sufficient complaints. (Not just spam - complaints. Sorry, but that's the way the world works these days.) Any link that generates enough complaints should be pointed to a page (with no link to the offer) that says essentially: "This link has been disabled for policy reasons."

Prettier text needs to be used, but that's the basic idea. That makes it clear that spamming is not tolerated. Catches a very few innocent people, but there's no helping that if you want the thing to continue.

There needs to be a way to ban specific accounts from promoting offers via the program. That should be "sole discretion only," with no reason required or implied.

It also needs to be made VERY clear to affiliates that they're responsible for all refunds. If you leave it to the merchant in a case like this, the fraudsters will hit up the merchant, and then go to the person they actually paid and demand a refund, under threat of PayPal complaint.

As far as PayPal is concerned, a dispute/chargeback is the responsibility of the person who actually got the money, not the creator of the product.

Anyone not honoring the refund policy should be banned from promoting anything through the program again in the future.

Anyone who signs up as an affiliate for a product should be clear that they do not want and are not eligible for a refund, except in very unusual cases.

Separately, I assume the system includes a way for sellers to get the contact info of people who ended up paying affiliates?

Paul

PS: Hey, Tom! Where the hell ya been?

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Frank Donovan

15 years ago

Hi Paul

I think you've highlighted some serious concerns - and offered some workable solutions.

Although..

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

It also needs to be made VERY clear to affiliates that they're responsible for all refunds.

IMO, the tidiest way to handle refunds is a version of the RAP system, where affiliates are paid 100% commission on alternate sales (assuming a 50% commission rate). Otherwise they may be hit for the whole refund, having only received 50% commission.

Installing these scripts might be expensive and/or complicated. I dunno. I can see the benefits, but there's always been something beautiful and simple about the WSO system. <wistful sigh>

Frank

PS Tom - good to see you back. You haven't aged a day!!

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Paul Myers

15 years ago

Frank,

IMO, the tidiest way to handle refunds is a version of the RAP system, where affiliates are paid 100% commission on alternate sales (assuming a 50% commission rate). Otherwise they may be hit for the whole refund, having only received 50% commission.

It's my impression that the proposed system would work that way (like RAP). If I'm mistaken, the fix is a matter of programming and delays in payment (like most programs), and it's no longer an instant pay system.

Paul

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Steven Wagenheim 15 years ago

In reply to Paul's issue of spamming (I never even thought of that) one way
to help avoid it (though not 100%) is to do what Clickbank does. Because
of terrible problems Clickbank had with this very problem a few years back,
they made it a policy that you could no longer use Clickbank hoplinks in
emails, that they had to be cloaked either using TinyURL or some other
method.

Granted, I am sure many people don't give a rat's behind, do it anyway, and
eventually get booted from the Clickbank program. But in the meantime,
Clickbank still has to clean up the mess.

Will this stop the problem? No. But if you tell people they can't use WF links
in email promotions, this will cut down on the potential problems...which
leads to something else I just thought of.

Currently, the way WSOs work, even without the affiliate program, we
are allowed to tell our lists about these offers. In turn, to do this, we
have to send them a link. Since we don't know who is on our list (some
people just love hitting the spam button) I would think that this is
already a problem for the forum, though I have no way of knowing for
sure. Only Allen would know how many times a week he has to contact
URIBL to get this domain off the blacklist. I have had to do it for my
domains several times and I don't even have affiliates.

Paul, you brought up some really good points...as usual.

I've had a lot of time to think about this idea and right now, I too am
not very comfortable with it. I still feel there is way too much room for
abuse either unintentionally or intentionally by people who just don't like
this place.

But it isn't my decision to make. The product creator himself isn't going
to have a free ride on this in regard to refunds. No, as Paul said, he's
not responsible for the money paid to the affiliates, but he is sure going
to get his share of complaints and aggravation because of them.

Not sure it's worth it in the long run.

The jury here is still out.
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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

Also, everyone please remember this is not decided yet. I'm not 100% comfortable with this idea at the moment, which is why I posted this thread to get some feedback.

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Jhf14

15 years ago

I think the first idea is a good one (affiliate commissions for WSOs)... the second one would be a bit difficult to manage and leave room for unchecked corruption ... just a thought

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Ruth Hendrickson 15 years ago

Allen, I like the idea and think it would really take off. If you do this, everyone who posts WSO's could have ready-made joint venturers, and that's pretty exciting.
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timpears

15 years ago

On first blush, the idea sounds good. The first thing that pops into my mind though is that WSOs tend to expire and if someone has links out promoting it, eventually they will add up and there may be a lot of people going to links that are ended or closed.

Probably just my inexperience showing through. I expect that there are a lot of details that would need to be worked out.

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Zeus66

15 years ago

Paul Myers: Zen Party Pooper

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Paul Myers 15 years ago

John,

Paul Myers: Zen Party Pooper

Better to spot them before they become problems than after, eh?

But hell, I've been called worse than that. Today, in fact.

Tom,

I hope the hell is over. I have hall passes for that joint, if you need one...

Paul
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tomw

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Paul

PS: Hey, Tom! Where the hell ya been?

I don't want to hijack the boss's thread...but I've been to hell and back. However, I took a couple of your books with me so I wasn't alone.

To George, Bill and your good self - thank you so much for the warm reception - it really means a lot.

Tom

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debra

15 years ago

I'm LOVIN this forum just that much more every day.

Any idea when something like this could take effect?

I've been waiting to bump one and rewrite it but...I'd wait to do that if this could happen any time soon.

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Bev Clement

15 years ago

Allen, when a good WSO is available, some of us mention it in passing to people especially if we think it is relevant to them. No commission just telling them how to get a great product.

I receive emails from warriors and they are 2 different sorts.

One will be from someone saying, they have bought a wso and it was brilliant and they give a link. No commission, nothing to gain, except to recommend a product.

The other type are from warriors who have an affiliate program already in place and their affiliates give you the link to the product.

Person a is selling a wso
Person b is an affiliate of that wso
Person b send you the link and you arrive at the wso
Person b gets the commission
Person b tells their large list about the wso

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Tom Brite

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Bev Clement

Allen, when a good WSO is available, some of us mention it in passing to people especially if we think it is relevant to them. No commission just telling them how to get a great product.

I receive emails from warriors and they are 2 different sorts.

One will be from someone saying, they have bought a wso and it was brilliant and they give a link. No commission, nothing to gain, except to recommend a product.

The other type are from warriors who have an affiliate program already in place and their affiliates give you the link to the product.

Person a is selling a wso
Person b is an affiliate of that wso
Person b send you the link and you arrive at the wso
Person b gets the commission
Person b tells their large list about the wso

Going on from this and the fact that most wso's limit themselves to not being active and selling all the time and often close the majority of good ones actually then come out with a proper sales page and graphics and domain with an affiliate back-end too.

Now a prime example of a wso that was talked about alot and still is mentioned would be google sniper. People even blogged about it too!

The only thing is if there are warriors who have affiliate links for wso's i would be expecting to see a massive increase in the number of spam posts and topics telling people to buy their wso's via your link.

Actually sometimes i find that quite annoying that i cannot give people an affiliate link when generally that product would solve their problems and i was the one to tell them about it. However i can see why this is not allowed and that's one reason we all have signatures too!

Anyhow this seems like a good idea but im not sure if it will really work in practice simply because of the nature of the wso forum.

Tom Brite

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Joseph Park

15 years ago

Well Allen,

If we could come up with a system for auto-creating
an affiliate link for ALL WSO and give people an option
to use that affiliate link to tweet (as you mentioned)
to their enormous Twitter list, everyone will go CRAZY promoting it.

I think it's totally doable..

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James Pateman

15 years ago

What would happen?...definitely more sales!

Regards,
James Pateman

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John Rogers

15 years ago

I'm leaning towards it creates more headaches than it's worth. The spam and refund issues are significant.

I suspect that the vast majority of affiliates promoting WSOs aren't going to be non-Warrior visitors, but Warriors scanning the WSO forum for products to promote to their lists. I also suspect that many Warriors have Warrior heavy lists. This could result in the product creator paying commissions to sell to people who already have visibility of his product, and are possibly already on his own list.

I also envision a trend of inflating prices to compensate for commission payout.

It's a double-edged sword. Whilie I'm not totally opposed to the idea as long as the product creator has a choice to take affiliates or not on each WSO, I would probably choose not to take affiliates on most of mine.

John

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milkyway 15 years ago

Another thing which might get an issue: There were a lot of discussions recently about poor WSO quality, WSO's abused as quick cash mashine, an overflowing WSO section etc.

Implementing an affiliate program might actually make that even worse...

Btw, lots of good points in this thread -- as usual, I learn a lot from you folks. Thanks!

milkyway
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sbucciarel

Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by John Rogers

I'm leaning towards it creates more headaches than it's worth. The spam and refund issues are significant.

I suspect that the vast majority of affiliates promoting WSOs aren't going to be non-Warrior visitors, but Warriors scanning the WSO forum for products to promote to their lists. I also suspect that many Warriors have Warrior heavy lists. This could result in the product creator paying commissions to sell to people who already have visibility of his product, and are possibly already on his own list.

I also envision a trend of inflating prices to compensate for commission payout.

It's a double-edged sword. Whilie I'm not totally opposed to the idea as long as the product creator has a choice to take affiliates or not on each WSO, I would probably choose not to take affiliates on most of mine.

John

I think this post sums up my concerns and feelings about it. I would probably choose to opt out of it on my WSOs.

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MikeLantz

15 years ago

Hey Warriors,

I thought I would drop in to address some of the concerns and comments listed here. I appreciate all of the issues/concerns that were brought up, as they can definitely make for a better product/service in the long run.

Most of the issues brought up are actually already accounted for in the system, but there are always going to be things we didn't think of and people who want to cheat and steal.

Email Spam

This issue was brought up by Paul, and is really one of the smallest issues. Similar to Clickbank, if a user wants to email their affiliate link, they will need to use a redirect on their own domain, or tinyurl, bitly, etc... This is easy to track and affiliates misusing links can have their links banned.

Forum Spam

The spamming of posts/links is a very understandable concern. I have recommended that affiliate links not be allowed in posts/sigs, which is basically the same way it is now. This can also be enforced in the coding, similar to how email spam can be enforced.

Refunds

The system accounts for this the best way it can. As Paul mentions, affiliates will need to be responsible for their own refunds if an alternating-payment style system is used. The system tracks all refunds, so scammers will not be able to get multiple refunds unless a seller or affiliate simply issues a refund without checking the system first.

Sellers and affiliates alike who do not honor refunds as required can be banned.

Chargebacks

This issue is similar to Refunds, and as Paul said, chargebacks become the responsibility of the one who got paid, so there is no additional risk to the seller in this case.

Participation

Participation limits will be put in place. What I am recommending requires not only aged accounts, but for affiliates to also be purchasers of the product. In addition, their identity will be well-known as a WarriorPlus account will be required. Affiliate links and accounts can easily be blocked if rules are broken or too many complaints come in.

WSO Quality

An overall goal of the system is to increase the quality of WSOs, not decrease them. The affiliate program is only one part of the overall WSO Pro system, and the system itself will actually tend to increase quality of WSOs. I can't go into all of the details yet, but quality should not be a concern.

Price Inflation

This is one I have considered quite a bit, and I have come to the conclusion that the marketplace will work it out. Affiliate-enabled WSOs will still have to compete with non-affilated WSOs, which will keep a downward price pressure on the market.

I am a firm believer in supply/demand, and I think those forces will keep an equilibrium.

Limited Offers

WSOs are definitely limited offers, and they come and go. Not every offer is a good fit for an affiliate program, so the seller needs to decide what they want to do. But, if an offer expires, it expires. This happens outside of the Warrior Forum, too. If someone has an affiliate link up that is no longer working, they should remove it.

-----

I hope this explanation helps a bit. I am sure there are other concerns that have not been addressed, and other things that could go wrong. But, that is the nature of marketing on the internet, and we all still do it anyway!

Mike

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Jesus Perez

15 years ago

Allen, I would worry heavily about spammers.

SpammerDude sees the WSO and the fact it pays $20 instantly into a Paypal account. They buy it and get an affiliate ID to promote it.

He/she then sends a mass mailing to 1.5 million people with the WSO link to "get paid" instantly.

500k emails in, you find out what's happening and effectively block his affiliate ID due to complaints...but it's too late, the warriorforum.com domain gets blacklisted across all mail servers due to excessive complaints.

Meanwhile, SpammerDude already cleaned out his Paypal account and has moved on to the next promo.

See where I'm going with this?

And if you think it's crazy, believe me...it's happening out there.

If you implement this, make sure the security and potential for abuse is low.

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GoGetta

15 years ago

That to me sounds awesome! Especially if you control whether yuo want commisions to be involved or not! A powerful addition to the forum!

GoGetta

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Paul Myers

15 years ago

Mike,

Email Spam

This issue was brought up by Paul, and is really one of the smallest issues. Similar to Clickbank, if a user wants to email their affiliate link, they will need to use a redirect on their own domain, or tinyurl, bitly, etc...

I would not assume that solved too much. Some of these blocklist systems track through redirects. They'll sometimes end up blocking mail from every site along the way.

And, of course, there are local lists run by ISPs. Some of those are very difficult to get out of, DTRT or not.

The key here is to make sure spammed URLs end up quickly pointing to pages that make it clear the spammer is being dealt with. That means no links at all to the offer, or to any other sales page. (I'm repeating this more for the benefit of thoase who might not understand how this stuff works, not you personally.)

How small an issue it is depends on which angle you come at it from. To the world at large, sig file abuse, fraudulent refund requests, etc, mean nothing. An internal matter. They also don't care what people link to from their blogs or other sites.

Email abuse is the biggest concern to people outside the system. Those are the people who can create problems for Allen, the forum itself, and for a lot of members.

I am not saying it can't be handled properly. Just that it should not be underestimated in terms of potential damage.

Paul

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Steven Fullman

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Email abuse is the biggest concern to people outside the system. Those are the people who can create problems for Allen, the forum itself, and for a lot of members.

I am not saying it can't be handled properly. Just that it should not be underestimated in terms of potential damage.

Paul

That's the real problem. Of course, it's not a problem confined to us bunch. It's global.

The "inner circle"...i.e. You Guys..are Cool as Wonder Bread.

It's the flotsam, jetsam, and other low-life detritus that could scupper this idea.

But we're cleverer than them, yep?

Yep?

Steve

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Paul Myers

15 years ago

Steve,

But we're cleverer than them, yep?

Yep?

The people you're describing are willing to do destructive things and exceed ethical limits in order to abuse any system with openings. It's like a gang of thugs, armed with guns - if they target you, believing there's something in it for them, it quits mattering who's smarter. It's down to firepower.

The object when designing systems like this is to reduce the incentive for abuse to the level that they look elsewhere for easier pickings.

The big players aren't going to even notice this system. There's not enough money in it, compared to the sleazier PPC deals and the like that are available. The biggest concern here will be people who don't even think they're spamming, but have questionable subscription processes.

We have a LOT of those people in this group.

Paul

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Steven Fullman

15 years ago

So, can the ~2% abusers spoil the deal for the rest of us, do you think, Paul?

How can we get smarter, and make this place harder-pickin's?

Steve

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Steve,The people you're describing are willing to do destructive things and exceed ethical limits in order to abuse any system with openings. It's like a gang of thugs, armed with guns - if they target you, believing there's something in it for them, it quits mattering who's smarter. It's down to firepower.

The object when designing systems like this is to reduce the incentive for abuse to the level that they look elsewhere for easier pickings.

The big players aren't going to even notice this system. There's not enough money in it, compared to the sleazier PPC deals and the like that are available. The biggest concern here will be people who don't even think they're spamming, but have questionable subscription processes.

We have a LOT of those people in this group.

Paul

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Paul Myers 15 years ago

Steve,

So, can the ~2% abusers spoil the deal for the rest of us, do you think, Paul?

Possible. Depends on how it's handled.

How can we get smarter, and make this place harder-pickin's?

Two main things: Raise the barriers to entry, and make abusing it painful.

Aged accounts are cheap. As in, free. Aged accounts with a couple of hundred posts that don't get deleted as junk are much "pricier."

Pain is another story. That's easy.

Considering that a really solid WSO that gets picked up by a few of the right people would be similar to having a coordinated product launch, I don't think it's a bad thing to make sure it's not a lost opportunity for folks because we're trying to leave the doors unlocked.

Paul
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Brad Gosse

15 years ago

Sign me up as a beta tester

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MikeLantz 15 years ago

Originally Posted by Brad Gosse

Sign me up as a beta tester

Your wish is my command!

How is it going so far for you? From my end, everything looks great, and after the one initial reporting bug it has been smooth sailing.

Anything you would like to see different? Anything you really like?

Thanks,

Mike
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linkedinlincoln

15 years ago

The warrior forum would quickly eclipse Clickbank as the #1 marketplace for downloadable info products for IM!

I'd be onboard.

-Kathy

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Michael Mayhew

15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

You were able to mention a WSO in your blog or site and make commissions on any sales you caused?

That would only be if the WSO poster allowed commissions to be made of course but on those that do, what would you think?

Further, what would you think if you as a WSO poster were able to allow people to make commissions by referring people to your WSO thread?

Just curious...

Good ole TN reply....

Gitt'er Done.

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Paul Myers

15 years ago

I suspect that the vast majority of affiliates promoting WSOs aren't going to be non-Warrior visitors, but Warriors scanning the WSO forum for products to promote to their lists. I also suspect that many Warriors have Warrior heavy lists. This could result in the product creator paying commissions to sell to people who already have visibility of his product, and are possibly already on his own list.

If the option can be turned on after the first run through (post-bump), this isn't a challenge. Sell it, then after bumping, turn it on and add [Aff] to the subject line.

It's probably not a real challenge anyway, except for those folks whose only subscribers are from here, and maybe not even them. But, that'll be determined pretty well by the folks who do choose to use it, assuming it is deemed a reasonable risk in the first place.

Paul.

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MikeLantz

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Mike,I would not assume that solved too much. Some of these blocklist systems track through redirects. They'll sometimes end up blocking mail from every site along the way.

And, of course, there are local lists run by ISPs. Some of those are very difficult to get out of, DTRT or not.

The key here is to make sure spammed URLs end up quickly pointing to pages that make it clear the spammer is being dealt with. That means no links at all to the offer, or to any other sales page. (I'm repeating this more for the benefit of thoase who might not understand how this stuff works, not you personally.)

How small an issue it is depends on which angle you come at it from. To the world at large, sig file abuse, fraudulent refund requests, etc, mean nothing. An internal matter. They also don't care what people link to from their blogs or other sites.

Email abuse is the biggest concern to people outside the system. Those are the people who can create problems for Allen, the forum itself, and for a lot of members.

I am not saying it can't be handled properly. Just that it should not be underestimated in terms of potential damage.

Good points, Paul. Like you say, swift action and having banned links pointed to a page making it very clear that we are aware of the abuse and have taken steps to stop it, is what can make this problem lesser.

Lets give those spammers some PAIN!

The point you make next will do even more, though...

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Aged accounts are cheap. As in, free. Aged accounts with a couple of hundred posts that don't get deleted as junk are much "pricier."

This is the key, I believe. Requiring accounts to be aged with a certain level of posts will be a huge deterrent to your average spammer. The cost will not be worth it for them.

Sellers will be able to make exceptions to this rule for trusted users, too. We don't want to punish the good folks just to get rid of the bad apples.

Taking it one step further, sellers could also opt to ONLY allow personally approved users to be affiliates as well. That is currently how the "JV with WarriorForum" system is setup, as it only allows Allen to be an affiliate. It is working well so far.

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

If the option can be turned on after the first run through (post-bump), this isn't a challenge. Sell it, then after bumping, turn it on and add [Aff] to the subject line.

Yes, the affiliate "flag" can be turned on at any point, so it doesn't have to start out that way. This is something I hadn't considered, but it would work well for this situation.

-----

Good thoughts, everyone. I (and Allen, I am sure) appreciate all the feedback. I am committed to making a better affiliate system for everyone - and this is just a precursor to something even bigger if it works out.

Thanks!

Mike

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Louise Green

15 years ago

Firstly, great idea.

However it seems many WSO's use Paypal to accept payments, and with good reason.

If the system could be linked up to Paypal I would continue to buy (and in the future sell) WSO's.

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MikeLantz

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Lovelylou

Firstly, great idea.

However it seems many WSO's use Paypal to accept payments, and with good reason.

If the system could be linked up to Paypal I would continue to buy (and in the future sell) WSO's.

Paypal is currently the only payment system available to use for this. I may consider adding other payment options in the future if this thing works out.

Mike

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Louise Green

15 years ago

Fantastic!

Looking forward to using the new system.

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patfl

15 years ago

With all the humility a young member like me should have (compared with some of the senior members who wrote on the subject), I'm not sure about this...

The WF is a pretty special place, where you feel you belong to something, a community.

Not a community like we see a lot on internet where people pass and go, taking what they can from the community and vanish to somewhere else.

Proof is, after more than 1 year here, I still feel like a junior member when compared with members that are here since 5 years or even more. Very few community on Internet can keep members so long.

I'm not even talking about the quality of the people here, where else on earth a complete newbie can get advices from some of the biggest players in the industry that are members here?

Nowhere.

Do they (those senior members) answer for the money they make directly here, I don't think so. They make money here but certainly not as much as they will make if they were working on their niche (or else) instead of answering the same question for the 10th time...

What I mean by that is most of the people are here because they enjoy the WF. That's my case, I learn a lot here and I try to share my knowledge (at my level) because I want to give back to a community that gave me a lot.

So now the question, sorry for the long introduction, I'm afraid running an affiliate program on the WSO would change the nature of the WF, from a community of people who enjoy to spend time here, learning etc to a community of buyers and sellers where the only thing that count is the commission.

Making money is great but there are certain things I wish money should never mix with, WF is one of them (at least to a point that it doesn't change its nature).

My humble 2 cents.

Patrice

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krishnaGopal

15 years ago

in terms of generating great sales I think it would be great ! But it does leave doors open to types of collusion i guess...but you will get that anywhere you go, so, it sounds great lol

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jacktackett

15 years ago

I really think this is a great idea, but while thinking it over I have a question.

Doesn't the FTC take a dim view of requiring folks to pay before they can become commissioned agents? So would requiring folks to be a customer first cause any legal issues?

--Jack

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zapseo

15 years ago

Originally Posted by jacktackett

I really think this is a great idea, but while thinking it over I have a question.

Doesn't the FTC take a dim view of requiring folks to pay before they can become commissioned agents? So would requiring folks to be a customer first cause any legal issues?

--Jack

There are TONS of situations where people pay before becomign a commissioned agent. Practically every MLM under the earth. It's how it's framed. Are people getting a benefit?

If this weren't okay, every closed affiliate program, closed to owners, would be frowned upon.

I think understanding what is behind the ftc's thinking helps. And that is, to prevent the scammers who are out to collect money simply to allow people to become commissioned agents. What's on offer as a WF member is a lot more (and not the primary reason -- at least so far -- for becoming a WF member.)

I still don't like the idea. There are so many things I love about the WF; someone mentioned "special" -- somehow, it just seems like WF wouldn't be quite as special.

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admin

Administrator 15 years ago

A quick update on this.

Parts of this was a good idea, but after thinking long and hard on it I've decided it's not the kind of direction I want to take the Warrior Forum in. A couple of the negatives far outweighed the good.

I'd like to thank everyone for a civil discussion though. You raised many insights and issues and that helped out in making my decision.

Thank you!

Allen

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milkyway 15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

I'd like to thank everyone for a civil discussion though.

Allen, thanks for letting us have this discussion -- as usual, it was a pleasure to learn from the WF members.

milkyway
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Jo_Shua 15 years ago

Originally Posted by admin

I'd like to thank everyone for a civil discussion though.

As always, the WF shows it's civility

In fact...

Originally Posted by admin

You raised many insights and issues and that helped out in making my decision.

...I agree with that decision. While in the beginning I saw the benefits of a WSO affiliate program, I did not see the cons.

This discussion opened my eyes (special thanks to Paul Myers) to the many side effects this would have.

But what I LOVE most about this whole debate... was that you allowed there to be a discussion -- before you made your decision.

JC
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