Paying to Apply to an Affiliate Program
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I was looking at an affiliate program that I would like to promote, and I see that they will charge £5 to review my affiliate application. If I am accepted, they will return the funds, but if I am rejected, they keep the money. I have never seen anything like this before. Is it normal? Is it ethical? Should I pay the £5 or look elsewhere?
This is something I have never heard of in affiliate marketing. Quite frankly, I am sort of floored by it.
I understand that it can be onerous for affiliate managers to go through all of the applications and perform due diligence. But I think this is ridiculous to tell affiliates the have to pay for the privilege of applying.
And affiliates deemed to not be worthy are out the money. That’s a bad joke to me.
In my opinion, you should not even consider paying them. Just go and promote the competition. Then you and their competition will have the last laugh over this ridiculous policy.
After I initially wrote this response, I came to find out that this wasn’t the policy if an individual merchant, but rather part of the application process to be an affiliate of the Affiliate Window network in the UK.
Perhaps this is new from Affiliate Window? I’d never heard of it before, and I’m not sure how it played in the UK when it was instituted.
As an affiliate, I find it to be hostile to newbie affiliates and affiliates overall.
Forget the long tail, I’d think this will ensure the cropped tail that shall never grow.
- Posted in Ask Shawn Collins
32 Comments
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On February 22 @ 8:04 am posted[...] affiliate signup fee has finally reached US shores nearly 3 years after its launch. Click here to read Shawn Collins’ blog or here to listen to the Affiliate Thing podcast. Once we fully explained our reasons, the response [...]
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On February 4 @ 9:51 am posted
[...] I wasn’t too high on this method, but in reflection I think it could be quite useful in qualifying affiliates and cutting out some [...]
Pretty shocking really. Just when we all know that the industry needs to free itself from it’s sometimes shady and misunderstood image you find things like this. I hope no one signs up.
reply to this commentThat is pretty crazy. They want us to help them generate $$, but at the same time want us to pay just to apply.
reply to this commentAWin was the first network I joined, and they remain the only one I’ve earned money with. Over here, they make Commission Junction look like bumbling, disorganised (and unfriendly) amateurs. Because they were my first network, I didn’t know the fiver charge was in any way unusual. I was a bit dubious about it, but it had the effect of making sure I didn’t apply until I was ready to run with my first site – and seeing the £5 there under ‘earnings’ was a bit more motivating than a big fat ‘zero’ while I waited for my first sale. I can see why it might look a bit dodgy, but in the end it wasn’t a problem at all for me.
Can’t speak for anyone else, of course.
reply to this commentI found a thread on affiliates4u about this issue and it turns out that it happened back in the fall of 2005.
There was some minor rumbling, but not really much opposition.
Maybe it was the way it was positioned:
All well and good, but if it is honestly a measure to protect against fraud, why don’t they return the money to affiliates they decline?
reply to this commentI agree Shawn. I was surprised to see the charge on that network as well. I saw an in house affiliate program a couple of years ago that wanted $40 in order to join and just be an affiliate. I can’t remember the name of the company now, but I will bet they are no longer in business, or they changed to free and changed their name.
I am interested in Andy’s comment that they make CJ look like bumblers. I wonder if Andy would elaborate on that a little more? I hope they won’t deduct from his affiliate commissions for telling about the network, but his comment is intriguing to me.
reply to this commentHi
reply to this commentThe £5 is credited back to the user account on activation.
The reason for the whole credit card activation method is to weed out dodgy affiliates. The credit card authorization is a way to validate the identity of the affiliate. This benefits the network as a whole and stops adware/spyware affiliates joining and tring to con the system. If true identities are collected then there is much less chance that an affiliate would commit a crime. This system has been in place for over 2 years now and has allowed the network to combat adware/spyware affiliates to a great degree.
Considering that the entire risk is already shifted to the affiliate, charging money on top of it is ridicules, unless they only charge it for publishers that what to qualify for CPC/CPM based compensation where the risk is shifted evenly or more to the advertiser.
That’s not the case here, so I’d say BS and hope that the UK market will not swallow it.
I know of advertisers who want to become a customer of their service in order to become an affiliate. I had that with web analytics packages and always responded, sorry, I have already 4 or 5, some of them even paid, I don’t need another one and just promote your service
.
It is not unusual for reseller contracts that some fee has to be paid, but there comes often something else in return with it that justifies that fee (if the partner is serious about it).
reply to this commentWell, I just wrote a long – very long – reply, but lost the lot when submitting. I’m going off to make tea and sulk, but maybe I’ll retype it afterwards.
reply to this commentHi Shawn
Having met Affiliate Window on many occasions you are more aware than most of the network’s impeccable reputation in the UK. You also know us as very approachable people and it has surprised me that you did not talk to us to clarify why the we operate an affiliate sign-up fee.
I can only imagine that on face value it looks to be all bad news for new affiliates since the more checks networks apply to the affiliate sign up process, the easier it is to accuse them of driving affiliates away.
However Affiliate Window strongly believes the responsibility lies squarely with the network to ensure that, even at a basic level, fraudulent affiliates do not find it easy to join and scam unsuspecting merchants.
Below is an outline of the information required during sign-up, why we want it and what we do with it.
Short description of the new affiliates’ main methods of promotion. (Sites with illegal, questionable or pornographic content are not permitted on the Affiliate Window network).
£5 affiliate sign-up fee to verify name and address, completely credited into the new account once active. (Verification against name and address details of credit card information is a secure way of confirming someone’s identity).
‘Who is’ domain name check to verify site ownership.
Email verification via account activation link and password.
In addition we have a suite of in-house tools that monitor activity, links and tracks fraudulent accounts.
The Fee is 100% refundable and credited to the affiliates account, unless the supplied details don’t match. Credit/debit card verification is a universally accepted route to checking user details, it is tried and tested, safe and open to the majority of acceptable applicants. The system has been in place since July 05 and whilst it was initially met with some scepticism it is now widely supported by our merchants. The positive effects of implementing this process have been phenomenal. Far from restricting affiliates and losing business we have seen a dramatic decrease in fraud issues and fewer dormant affiliates.
The very least Affiliate Window can expect from affiliates who want to work with us is that they supply genuine information about themselves. On the rare occasion that an application is rejected, the affiliate is free to contact us and discuss the reasons why our security measures may have inappropriately singled them out. As long as their intentions are genuine, we open their account and credited them with the £5 immediately.
On Affiliate Window, gone are the days when rogue affiliates can assume others identities in order to secure network approval and avoid situations like this:
http://www.affiliates4u.com/forums/tradedoubler/71795-fake-affiliates-tradedoubler.html
We do appreciate though that in some instances there needs to be a mechanism for merchants to bypass this process using designated AW invitation codes for approved partners. Most merchants however still prefer to have their affiliates go through the standard sign up process as an additional safety net. Merchants have highlighted that affiliates who do not wish to run through the £5 charge and credit system would probably not be suitable anyway, and we can’t argue against that.
Far from being hostile to new affiliates Affiliate Window are leading the market in introducing new publishers to the CPA model. Recent projects include designing, building and hosting price comparison portals for major UK newspapers and media sites that have never before considered affiliate marketing http://www.sunshop.co.uk.
I hope this information clarifies our procedures and reinforces the fact that Affiliate Window is seen as the UK’s most ethical network for our merchant and affiliate partners.
Adam Ross
reply to this commentClient Services Director
Affiliate Window
adam@affiliatewindow.com
Hi Adam -
> Having met Affiliate Window on many occasions you are more aware than most of the network’s impeccable reputation in the UK. You also know us as very approachable people and it has surprised me that you did not talk to us to clarify why the we operate an affiliate sign-up fee.
Absolutely, you folks have an excellent, deserved reputation.
When I initially answered the query in the video I created, I thought the policy was unique to an individual merchant.
I didn’t realize it was network-wide until after the fact.
> The Fee is 100% refundable and credited to the affiliates account, unless the supplied details don’t match.
> As long as their intentions are genuine, we open their account and credited them with the £5 immediately.
I think that is reasonable, but it is not consistant with the verbiage on the application page:
I think it makes sense to qualify affiliates in this fashion, but I just think it’s unfair to affiliates if their identity checks out, but they are rejected for the site(s) they include on the application,
reply to this commentI have no problem with paying a small fee, if I am getting something in return of value. Heck, I would pay to be a part of an affiliate program that charges $10 and sends me a cool t-shirt.
But to charge a fee that is then refunded, how does that help? Now the fee is refunded, next the fee is not and you have to pay $100+ to become an affiliate? For the privelege to be an affiliate?
reply to this commentSounds like a scam to me.
Victor with all due respect, I believe you are missing the point.
As per my reply above the charge is to verify who the affiliate really is and credit/debit card verification is the universally accepted route to do this. We credit back to the account after the verification since the initial charge has served its purpose and is not meant as a means of making money. You’d be surprised how many affiliates sign up on networks as ‘Google’, ‘Shopzilla’ or ‘Bizrate’ for example. This process (and the other checks that occur on sign up) ensures this doesn’t happen and protects both merchants and true affiliates who have nothing to hide.
You are not paying to be an affiliate with AW, you are paying a fee that enables us to verify your details, this is credited to your account on completion.
PayPal operate a similar process of verfication and to my knowledge it is not see as a barrier to sign up but a necessary requirement to avoid fraud and abuse.
I hope this helps to reclarify the reasons.
Kind Regards
Adam
reply to this commentAdam, couldn’t the same be achieved by only making a 1 pound authorization on the card instead of a 5 pounds sale?
Or if you do a sale, why not just 1 pound or the equivalent of $1 (what is that today? 20 pence?
)?
I don’t know of any bank that has a transaction minimum of over $1 for credit card processing.
reply to this commentCarsten,
The amount requested needed to be enough to deter fraudsters from submitting multiple applications.
We want to attract affiliates who are serious about their application. £1 is too small an amount to achieve this. Not enough consideration goes into a £1 purchase.
Adam
reply to this commentAdam,
That has nothing to do with fraud anymore, the authorization or smaller transaction would accomplish just that.
That extra stuff is exactly what the people here have a problem with. 5 pounds are to deter affiliates that are either broke or not sure yet, if they would get the money back or make enough to meet the minimum payment requirements to get it really back on their bank account (I assume that your payout minimum is higher than the 5 pounds, right?).
You virtually block most newbie affiliates who just want to start out, are still green, inexperienced and still undecided what they are going to do exactly in most cases.
Your way to approach the recruiting of affiliates is in extreme opposition to the approach taken by companies here in the US who tend more towards paying affiliates, just as an incentive for signing-up.
reply to this commentI meant of course “… will make enough soon to meet the minimum ….”
reply to this commentThe positive credentials of a network like Affiliate Window and a few other UK networks are plain to see & an affiliate knows this is reimbursed upon acceptance except for unscrupulous parties, so what is the issue? Any affiliate with half an amoeba cell for a brain would do their homework first.
Before finger wagging & jumping on a bandwagon shouting “scam” maybe do a little homework first. If an affiliate has nothing to hide then make it £100 or £200. Is this any different to other set up costs an affiliate may incur whilst starting out in affiliate marketing (at least it is reimbursed)?
Hey. lets go one step further by asking merchants to pay affiliates they want to entice by signing up to their program. Even better get the affiliates to write the t&cs bringing relationships to more of an equilibrium.
On the whole though, I think (with my half amoeba cell) that a mountain is being made out of a mole hill on this one.
reply to this commentPlease see our blog for more comment on this: http://blog.affiliatewindow.com/?p=49
Shawn – we appreciate the feedback and have changed the sign up page accordingly – https://www.affiliatewindow.com/signup/index.php
Adam
reply to this commentSurprisingly over here we accepted this move by Affiliate Window after understanding the true reasoning and business sense behind it. Personally I think it still makes perfect business sense and I am surprised no other UK network has followed.
I dont suspect it’s put people off from joining the network, as AWin are one of the most popular and sucessful networks over here. What it does do, is attract people who are deadly serious about making money in Affiliate Marketing.
Its no good having a network thats free to join, boasting 1million affiliates, if only 3 of them make you money.
reply to this commentMoose,
I was not saying anything bad about AffiliateWindow and didn’t attack them either. I have no reason to do so. I was only asking questions about it. As it turns out is the charge made to weed out newbies or undecided affiliates, with the added bonus of fraud protection to make sure that the account information are correct.
If doing that is good or bad thing is a completely different story and is at the end of the day entirely up to AW to do or not to do. It’s a business decision they have made, period. If it works for them, fine, however, general opinion believes that it is not a good thing and that they probably hurt their business more than they benefit from it. Nobody has hard figures to backup the one or the other so we can discuss and debate it all day long, without being aggressive and call each other names.
I hope that Adam sees this the same way.
Cheers!
reply to this commentAdam, I also left a long comment at your blog over at AW, you referred to, which explains a few things about the US market and also asks some questions about the UK market as well.
reply to this commentBearing in mind the number of networks out there that don’t seem to care how affiliates drive traffic it’s a positive step forward for us all if Affiliate Window are actually bothered exactly WHO their affiliates are and exactly WHO has access to their publisher’s programs, and by default the traffic of other affiliates if that publisher turned out to be a spy/adware publisher with many active installs etc.
Carston I agree with your comment regarding this approach being “in extreme opposition to the approach taken by companies here in the US ” …
We are well aware that many networks in the US market basically take all comers in any shape or form however they may drive traffic.
Now here’s a UK network moving the bar higher and taking the time to deter dodgy affiliates and validate genuine ones and you guys are grumbling over a fiver .. that’s a short sighted view IMO
I bet that most active US affiliates reading this have each lost more than £5 today (some far more !!) in traffic that they have had pimped via spy/adware publishers active on networks you may work with that don’t care to check just exactly who their affiliates are, and welcome anyone with sign up bonuses and open arms and no pertinent questions asked.
If you are a genuine affiliate then £5 (never mind the refund !) is a bargain to ensure that you’re not paying a ppc bill that another affiliate is benefiting from.
reply to this commentHey Shawn :0)
The move to charge £5.00 back in the day was met with some scepticism here, I myself wondered if this would be a barrier to entry, the answer is no, it’s not. Your looking at this from the outside looking in. Had you done your proper research and actually asked the people that use this network, from an affiliate’s perspective, agency perspective, merchant perspective, then I believe you may have drawn a different conclusion.
I am an affiliate, an agency within affiliatewindow.com
My clients expect me to do my due diligence with regards to affiliates, this £5 entry actually makes my job a lot easier. It does deter fraudsters, especially with the pay per lead programs. I believe at affiliatesummit Vegas last year, this was very much spoken about in one of the sessions. Pay Per Lead programs attract a certain element that need to be vetted. Seems to me some of those speakers spend a good chunk of time just vetting affiliates. If by affiliate window charging £5.00 for entry into their network deters just one fraudster, then clearly it works! I could understand your shock if awin pocketed £5.00 but you have been told, you get this back. And… as an affiliate referrer, I get £2.00 commission for affiliates I referr, so where does awin make its money if this is what you are veering toward? It doesn’t, it spends money to acquire serious affiliates. I work with affiliatewindow.com on a daily basis and I know what they do with affiliates, I know how proactive they are with affiliates. Quality control is evident with affiliatewindow.com which is seriously lacking in most other networks. I can count on one hand the number of affiliate networks home and away that actually care about who is joining their aff network. Something else re aff managers doing their due diligence… as an agency, we don’t always get to see referring links, some networks don’t support this, some clients don’t provide us with their back end stats. Meaning the way affiliates are allowed to sign up using one out of many websites urls (its all you need for most networks), any email address and taking onboard that in some networks you cant even contact your affiliates yada…yada… its nigh on impossible to be able to tell who is a potential fraudster. Affiliatewindow.com have put one measure in place which is not 100% full proof but certainly minimises the chances of a chancer and that can only be a good thing, surely?
I reiterate has this £5.00 ever deterred an affiliate I have referred from signing up?
reply to this commentNo it has not!
Hi Jess -
Thanks for your perspective.
Please note that I was answering a question from a perspective affiliate, and she was concerned about it.
Based on her question, I would venture to guess that it has deterred newbies.
reply to this commentShawn
This may have had something to do with the wording on the sign up page. This has now been updated. Would be interested to hear your feedback on the new text.
Adam
reply to this commentId send her an email and send them awins contact details. From the affiliates that have referred to awin, I have never come across one saying that they had a problem, but.. I did not mean to imply that there were none, my bad :0)
reply to this commentI still cant see why any affiliate would have a problem with a £5 investment that they get back. But as you say… the affiliate has a choice anyway and if them apples dont grab her then indeed she can go else where and surely thats the point, she is not confined to just one network and perhaps one networks loss is anothers gain? Or maybe lucky escape for the network and merchant? Depends how you look at it.
Having some insight into the number of dodgy affiliates who sign up for an affiliate account, I think this is an excellent idea (although i do believe the £5 should be refunded if the affilaite is not accepted into the system). I wouldn’t be surprised if we started to see this practice in the US sooner, rather than later.
reply to this commentThis is really a compelling discussion. I just wanted to say that here in the US, free registration in a network is the norm, and most networks have a look at a new affiliate’s work online before approval. They verify email too, and some do other checks as well. Some have no approval process at all.
At this point in my years online I would pay the fee that is being described if I had to in order to get into a good network, if they all started doing this. However, since we have great networks right here that are free to join, I personally see no incentive to join Affiliate Window even though there are a ton of testimonials in this discussion.
I would suggest that if they need this type of verification they could simply use a one time debit and credit of £1.00 by Paypal, and it would serve the same purpose, and all the affiliate is giving up is the email. Moneybookers would work too of course.
reply to this commentI also think that volume is a problem. I just have to look at my small resources site about internet marketing. I use affiliate links to the resource, if they have an affiliate program and allow me to link to the page that I want to refer to.
Some generate more commission than others, depending on the subject and the amount of competition. Because of the amount of platforms and networks out there, did I end up with 50+ accounts or so, just for affiliate links for this one site alone. If each of them would require me to pay 5 pounds for the signup, I would have 250 pounds and more spent , just to add the affiliate link. I think I would have been better off with AdSense under such circumstances and made Google happy. However, I am glad that this is not the case and that I am able to use editorial links (affiliate or not) to monetize the site instead of ads where I do not have control over. Needless to say, the number of AdSense ads on my site is getting less and less.
reply to this commentThere are other pertinent replies over at
http://blog.affiliatewindow.com/?p=49
so I’ll try not to reiterate the dialogue.
Jess, you’re so right, it is about choice. If we lose the odd good affiliate because they are deterred by the sign up then this has to be weighed against the safety of stopping fraudulent attempts to set up accounts, (which are diminishing in frequency).
AdGuy and Franklin, I made a reply in the AW blog which probably covers in more detail why we chose £5 and the reason not to refund for fraudulent attempts.
Carsten, affiliates who set up their first AW account are able to contact account managers who will supply unique invitation codes which by-pass the charge and credit process when setting up additional accounts. Alternatively we can set them up for you. Once you’ve proved who you are, there’s no reason to have to do it time and time again.
I agree with you on AdSense but it would be interesting to gauge the comparison of custom ContentWidgets to display relevant products, especially if they carry specific codes or bespoke offers. It’s being used by numerous affiliates including some new media portals
http://www.virginmedia.com/shopping/goshop/
http://sunshop.shopwindow.com/
As mentioned in my last post on the AW blog, working with us hopefully makes the investment worthwhile, which is probably why so many of our affiliates have chosen to defend us. All networks will tell you what you want to hear, we want you to hear it from our partners as they have no reason to deceive.
OK just a bit of reiterated dialogue
reply to this comment