Okay, this time I have to admit I’m stunned.
I got a letter on Friday saying that as of the 14th I’ll be dropped as an affiliate from GoDaddy because of low sales. This one shocks me because over the years I’ve probably made the most money as a Commission Junction publisher from GoDaddy than I have from anyone else. I get all my domains from there. My friends mainly get their domains from there. I’ve recommended to my clients that if they want to get a new domain to go there.
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Now I’m irked. I mean, if I’d made no money from them I still wouldn’t like it because, after all, it’s not costing anyone anything for me to help promote them. But when I’ve made some money for someone, and for myself, and then have them want to drop me… that just seems disingenuous. They did say I could write a letter explaining why I shouldn’t be dropped, which I did, but when someone only gives you a week to respond and you’re responding by email, and it has nothing to do with you as a customer, well, I don’t expect much.
Or at least I didn’t. I got a response back from them, saying they weren’t going to drop me after all. They appreciate me as a customer and publisher, and were looking for those who were no longer participating in the program. Whew! Talk about timing; this part is a rewrite of the original article that was going to post at this time, and I’m glad because I’ve always been a fan of GoDaddy, and for once it’s an affiliate that I’ve made money with.
So now I don’t need to find someone else who markets links, because I don’t work with anyone who decides I’m not good enough for me. I did that with Brookstone and have never gone into their store. I thought I was going to have to push domains through 1&1 instead, since that’s where I host my site. Nope, guess I’m good.
I’m glad it’s worked out for once in my favor. Now, let’s buy GoDaddy!
Okay, admit it, you like their commercials, too. š GoDaddy is easy and fast to use. Their best selling point for me.
.-= Scott ThomasĀ“s last blog ..Assignment 7: Creative Exposure =-.
I can enjoy the commercials, but I knew about the site way before I knew about the commercials.
I can’t believe a company would drop a person as an affiliate for a lack of sales. That’s just crazy.
.-= RoseĀ“s last blog ..Lake on the Mountain =-.
Happens enough to me, Rose. Not sure you saw when these weasels dropped me as well.
Rose, but how is this unbelievable? Everything is about the money. But it’s said cos if you partnered them for so many years they would have to give you some credit.
LOL yeah if they did that then they would only be stuck with like a handful of people, and that is not good.
That was my thought, Michelle. At least I’ve made them, and myself, some money here and there.
I wish their reseller program was a little cheaper, I’d go for that instead. š
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales MarketingĀ“s last blog ..Warning: 8 Posts Coming Back to Back =-.
Well, overall it’s not costing me anything up front, but would have cost me money with folks buying domain names and the like. I have a friend who does the reseller thing, but I’m not sure how well he does with it.
I’ve had a couple drop me but I reckon it’s more their fault than mine. Heck, if I’m sending them customers and they can’t convert then I reckon I should have dropped them first anyway.
.-= SireĀ“s last blog ..Does Your Blog Provide Value To Your Readers? =-.
That’s always kind of my thought, Sire. Publicity is publicity, even if it generates no sales right?
That is amazing to me, though, that a company would drop an affiliate. Whether or not the affiliate is making them any money, he/she is most certainly extending their brand and getting in front of eyeballs. And they are not paying per impression, so they should be grateful.
.-= TiaĀ“s last blog ..Common Sense Blogging: BizChickBlogsā Guide to New Post Ideas (5 Ways) =-.
I fully agree with that one, Tia, especially since it costs them nothing to allow us to promote them.
You see, and some men say that women have nothing worthwhile to contribute. Lucky we have Tia to set them straight.
.-= SireĀ“s last blog ..Stand By Me And We Will Become Better Bloggers =-.
Which men have been saying that, Sire? Certainly not me, as much as I rely on my wife to keep me out of trouble. lol
Oh, you know Mitch (as I wave my hand aimlessly) men in general š Certainly not us.
.-= SireĀ“s last blog ..Being Real BloggerLuv And Huge Breasts =-.
As I write this, I am ending a messenger conversation with a friend and I have an answer for you!
You are so not gonna like it, apparently it’s all about the numbers.
Here it is copied from my messenger window…
“Because they want to make their numbers look better to attract power affiliates. And for their internal “appearances”.
There is stats used to evaluate how good a program is and inactive affiliates skew those numbers
So bean counters get rid of them to improve their numbers
And you know Corporations – they feel the need to measure and evaluate everything so no doubt they judge their managers on those numbers too – another incentive to get rid of affiliates
That is what always happens when people focus on stats instead of substantive results.”
She also mentioned this, although I don’t think YOU did it…
” if you bid on trademarks that will get you canned quickly. Big no-no”
There ya go; better or worse, those are the primaries.
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales MarketingĀ“s last blog ..Oops I Lied-HAHA =-.
That’s interesting, Dennis. I kind of get it now, but I still don’t like it. And no, I’ve never bid on any terms like that, as I rarely use Adsense, but you’re allowed to optimize your site for those terms if you’re marketing that stuff.
Told y you wouldn’t like it. lol
it makes sense from their business POV, but yea, a crappy thing to do.
Their referring to adwords and it’s counter parts, not adsense. You can optimize posts with the KW’s, just don’t try buying them. š
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales MarketingĀ“s last blog ..Oops I Lied-HAHA =-.
Yeah, I knew about Adwords; sometimes in talking points I mix the two of them up, but we all know you can’t bid on Adsense words.
I don’t understand why they’d drop anybody that was making them money, even if their reason was “low sales”. Like you say, even if you didn’t make them money, it’s not costing them anything, and they aren’t losing money. This is probably the reason why newbies out there get so frustrated with these kind of offers.
– Gillian
I fully agree with you, Gillian. Why some companies want to drop you, or others decide not to add you, is beyond me. I know it’s their prerogative, but it certainly doesn’t engender good feelings.