Getting Back To Basics: Should Adult Dump PPS?

**HunkyLuke** · 11-13-2011, 11:25 AM

Harlan from Pridebucks wrote a great little article on xbiz entitled "Trying to Keep Up Just to Keep Up", where he discusses how the adult industry is changing and how many affiliate programs "have disappeared, others have been bought up and rest are hanging on a tenuous thread."

He goes on to say that "it is time for programs to get back to basics and make sure they have their bases covered" and makes some recommendations plus a bold prediction:

Will this recession also claim PPS as causality? That remains to be seen but personally, I feel many of us are waiting for a big, respected company to blink and eliminate the PPS option which can often interfere with healthy cash flow and day to day profitability in favor of only offering RevShare, and the rest of us will follow. You see, what it’s a business decision that actually makes sense, which is one time when it is OK to copy the others!

Its an interesting read, you can check it out at http://www.xbiz.com/articles/140907

What do you think? Is it time for programs to dump the PPS model and go with RevShare only?

**x0pa** · 11-13-2011, 03:24 PM

i vote for dumping pps, nothing pisses me off more then going that way earning good buck but seeing the customer renew over and over and over again !!!!

**rawTOP** · 11-14-2011, 10:42 AM

Programs that offer PPS are usually the best programs. PPS requires the sponsor to really understand their business. Rev Share only can be a sign the program isn't all that well run. Personally I like having both options.

**DEVELISH** · 11-14-2011, 10:52 AM

For our take, we will never offer PPS!

**x0pa** · 11-14-2011, 01:02 PM

pps is a gamble for the company there betting on the user renewing their membership for like 4-5 months to recoup the pps cost and start profiting for the company no?

**HunkyLuke** · 11-14-2011, 01:14 PM

yup pps is a gamble, programs need to figure out the cost per acquisition that is acceptable and still gives them profit. A lot of the pps programs cover their costs with aggressive cross sales and members area upsells.

**tofu** · 11-14-2011, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by HunkMoneyLuke

yup pps is a gamble, programs need to figure out the cost per acquisition that is acceptable and still gives them profit. A lot of the pps programs cover their costs with aggressive cross sales and members area upsells.

And that is the reason I have always preferred RevShare. I have a customer service background and hate the underhandedness of some programs. I appreciate getting paid for the lifetime of a customer as opposed to that one-shot dollar. On the flipside of that coin, I made a good amount of money with Mandy Blake's revshare program the same month IBill went down. As a result, I lost all of the money I had made that month, in addition to any rebills I was owed.

**raymor** · 11-14-2011, 02:22 PM

Originally Posted by tofu_fleshjack

As a result, I lost all of the money I had made that month, in addition to any rebills I was owed.

PPS does eliminate the whole "lost rebills" issue, since you've effectively already been paid for rebills up front. It also eliminates a lot of issues regarding tracking of cross sales and such. With revshare, neither the affiliate nor the program can ever really be sure that every link and every upsell properly credits the affiliate. With PPS, you don't have to worry about that, since you know ahead of time how much is paid for each customer.

**tofu** · 11-14-2011, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by raymor

PPS does eliminate the whole "lost rebills" issue, since you've effectively already been paid for rebills up front. It also eliminates a lot of issues regarding tracking of cross sales and such. With revshare, neither the affiliate nor the program can ever really be sure that every link and every upsell properly credits the affiliate. With PPS, you don't have to worry about that, since you know ahead of time how much is paid for each customer.

Right! This is true if the PPS is set at a high enough amount (generally used by huge programs). In the case for niche/micro-niche sites, revshare is the easiest option as most don't run huge programs. Also, niche customers tend to be more loyal to the site and rebill, damn-near forever.

**AJ Hall** · 11-14-2011, 06:17 PM

It would be great if everything went back to rev-share but for it to really have a big effect just about everyone will need to abandon PPS, not just key players. It's hard for me to imagine 1 or even a few big players doing this and everyone else following suit.

**Bec** · 11-14-2011, 07:22 PM

Originally Posted by AJ Hall

It would be great if everything went back to rev-share but for it to really have a big effect just about everyone will need to abandon PPS, not just key players. It's hard for me to imagine 1 or even a few big players doing this and everyone else following suit.

I don't see it happening either, for just the reasons Harlan mentioned in his article... those that try it and aren't prepared for the cost commitment will soon be out of business or picked up into a bigger program. Now tell me that isn't just what most of the big players would love to see happen to the competition?

**x0pa** · 11-14-2011, 07:25 PM

but couldn't smaller companies then become bigger by killing off pps and having that extra cash ? i feel pps is a privilege not a right

:bunny:

**Harlan** · 11-14-2011, 08:11 PM

Hi folks, Luke, Bec, everyone...I know I don't post often, it's difficult to find time in those rare moments when there is not a camera in my hand, instead, I offer up my monthly column in the LGBT section of xBiz as my way of regularly contributing to our community.

As I was saying to Bec, I want to give people something to think that can help them make good decisions as I appreciate the words of others. Luke, thank you again for letting me know I got it "write" this month.