creating a site without offering anything to

Would it be instant suicide to create a site without a partner/affiliate program, webmaster program or any referral spit of any kind?

I mean even the big boys like playboy use an affiliate program.

Not to come off wrong, because it’s a charge for their traffic when you get to the bottom line, but affiliates seem like they have their hand out at all times and when you offer them a payout, they demand more. And webmaster referrals are even more of a hand out than I could even go into.

But without setting up a line for 3rd party traffic are you shooting yourself in the foot? Does anyone do it? Are they successful?

-Craig

there are many sites that are very profitable that don't have affiliates or very few affiliates. Traffic is generated in-house.

yup, what he said. i have a friend who was the only person promoting his site, and while he didn't get rich, he didn't work at it more than a couple hours a day. he did bring in $16,000 or more per month.

some of the bigger programs say they actually make more money through their own traffic than their affiliates. so if you know your traffic, you really don't need affiliates.

Yeah, i'd say you would already have to have an established network of link lists, blogs, TGPs, free sites, and AVS hubs. If you've got all of that and you've got good traffic, then you could probably live without affiliates.

But why not do what UK Naked Men did, just invite a few good affiliates to help you. The only way to change affiliates's attitudes is to not give them what they want. If enough sites and programs were to play more hardball with affiliates, then affiliates would have to change what they're willing to do to make a buck. Unfortunately I think it would be like swimming downstream on a salmon run -- most sites just want to make lots of money, so they'll do whatever they need to do to achieve that, and if it's cow-towing to affiliates, they'll be there.

Michael

With UKnakedmen.com, the affiliate program is "invite only" as Dzinerbear said. We don't have many affiliates but the ones that we do have really believe in the site and promote it very effectively.

I do send my own traffic and it does convert very well. But it doesn't come close to some of our affiliates. Some of the big guys can send 1,000 clicks in a blink of an eye and it's very difficult to ignore traffic like that.

When I started at Fratmen, there was no affiliate program, and it was doing fine.. not great.. but fine.

At the Fratpad, we still don't have an affiliate program and although people are begging us to promote it, we haven't opened up anything just yet.

And membership is off the hook.

I think if your site is good enough, people will find it, but you have to be REALLY special and offer something that nobody else does but everyone wants.