Gay Affiliate Program Questions

CheapLubes · 09-21-2004, 10:02 PM

Hey all:

I just joined the forum. Any suggestions on how I can start promoting http://www.cheaplubes.com affiliate program to gay websites? We just started the program and want to promote it to our target audience.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

edk · 09-21-2004, 10:30 PM

Welcome Cheap Lubes !

First of all I would customize the site so it fits your target audience, which it sounds like you're trying to target gay men. Color, Icons, Text all needs to be
adjusted so it fits into they gay marketing scheme better.

I would also go through the inventory and eliminate any products that don't pertain to gay men.

Good Luck!

CheapLubes · 09-21-2004, 11:58 PM

Thanks for the info Eddie. I would make it more gay but then it might alinate our largest customer base (straight women). However me and my X boyfriend started the website for gay boys who were embareassed to buy lube and condoms like we were. It just sort of evolved into a site for everyone (straight and gay). And to keep ahead of the competition we have to continue to offer a wider selection of products for both gay and straight. Which is fine with us. We would just like to have every gay boys buy from us. We like gay boys!

By the way, anyone who wants to buy any lube from us you can use discount code: "gayboy" and get 5% off your order. Hope that is not illegal on here.

desslock · 09-22-2004, 12:59 AM

Gee where to start, Here are a few alterations that I would make right off the bat:

Your commission rate is kind of low. TLAvideo's lube referrals pay 7% (if I recall) --- consider raising your payout to 7 or 7.5% Maybe at least 7.5% in an easily reachable performance tier.

Also, I would lower the payout threshhold to $25. $50 is a little high.

Change your cookie duration to anything beyond 24 hours, which is downright byzentine. If you look at mainstream eCommerce sites, a more typical cookie length is 60 days. One of my peeves is affiliate programs that ask me to market them, but they do not offer a reasonable cookie duration. In fact I avoid them. Also, don't overwrite the cookie. If I send you a referral, and they sign up for your newsletter. Then twenty days later, the referral receives your newsletter that advertises a special one week sale on Eros, and they go to your site and purchase it - make sure the affiliate gets credit for the sale.

[There is only one affiliate program that gets away with a 1 day tracking cookie, and that's Amazon.com's affiliate program - we have to excuse them because they are the 500 lb. gorilla.]

Those are some quickies. Your site has good product, and a quick comparison of your prices show that you are competitive. Another suggestion is I would set it up so that your affiliates get credit for *all* referred sales over a 60 day period, as opposed to just one single sale.

Fossil Watches affiliate program is an example of a program that does this. If I refer you to fossil.com, I get credit for all the stuff they buy over the next sixty days.

You are competing with a lot of other websites who also sell lube. As a potential promoter of your brand, you can differentiate yourself from, say, TLAvideo's affiliate program if you included these benefits.

Good luck
Steve

**Lee** · 09-22-2004, 03:12 PM

Some great advice has been posted in here about how you can further your business.

One other thing to take into consideration to is that generally Lubes and Condoms are a much 'harder' sell when it comes to the surfer than things like sextoys, videos, and mags are.

Now add to the fact that you are only paying webmasters a one time, 5% referral for a sale you are going to lose more potential affiliates than you will gain.

Try to find a workaround whereby you can credit the webmaster with more $ per sale and as was mentioned above, offer several 'store types' so for example, have a store primarily for gay men, one for women and a more generalized store front.

You may find that adding something as simple as multiple storefront options will attract you some new affiliates

Regards,

Lee

rick · 09-22-2004, 04:43 PM

I have a lube store and I make 30% of every sale. I'd not promote anything that paid me less than 25%.

Paying 5% gives no incentive when any webmaster can get their own store and earn 30% and the company provides everything, including the layout.

CheapLubes · 09-23-2004, 08:36 AM

Thanks for the info guys. I will see what I can work with. However I dont really like the differnt store front idea. I am trying to build one well know brand. Things like Amazon dont have several differnt store fronts. You know it as Amazon and eveyone knows it as such. It is much easiter to focus your resources on one name and site than several.

I will have to see what I can do on the payout etc. I would like to offer eveyone 25% comission but hell I dont even make 25% on a sale. LOL. Our business model deals in volume over higher prices. You can see that by comparing our prices to other sites that sell lube. They are either much higer than we are or they use it as bait. Get you there and hope you buy a overpriced video or toy while your there. That and we do not deal in Videos or Toys that have a 1000% mark up either. They make a video for $.10, sell if to a distributor for $20 and retail it is $60. I buy condoms for $3, sell them for $6.

CheapLubes · 09-23-2004, 08:47 AM

Hey Rick, thanks for your reply. I checked out your store. I can understand why you get a 25% comission. They have a HUGE mark up on all the lube. We would not sell anything if we had their pricing.

ID 9.5 Us $8,89 You $13.00 = $4 dif
ID 35.5 Us 25.79 You $38.00 = $12 dif.
Damn boy, you should be making like a 50% comission on that!
And All your Eros is out of stock!!! Jeasus! Are they insane!

Thanks, we deal in volume not higher prices. Unless your selling the hell out of toys and videos I would bet you would make more money with my $.05 a click and 5% comission than you do with those boys. Most gay boys like to shop and they shop around for their lube.

BDBionic · 09-23-2004, 10:04 AM

ohhh this thread reminded me I so gotta buy some lube. I'm fresh out and it's just tacky interrupting sex to try and open a buncha those little sample packets you get at pride. Your fingers are all slippery and covered in gook and you can't rip the damn plastic on them and each one only has a teeny bit of lube and you're makin a mess and fool of yourself and by the time you're finally all greased up and ready to go, the guy's already put his clothes back on and is headin' out the door!

rick · 09-23-2004, 06:31 PM

Kinda curious how you saw mine since I've never advertised it here and it's not up right now, it's being revamped and has been down for about 2 weeks

If you saw it in one of my 4 toy stores, those aren't the lube store, this is just lube and the prices are the same as everywhere else.

Originally posted by CheapLubes
Hey Rick, thanks for your reply. I checked out your store. I can understand why you get a 25% comission. They have a HUGE mark up on all the lube. We would not sell anything if we had their pricing.

ID 9.5 Us $8,89 You $13.00 = $4 dif
ID 35.5 Us 25.79 You $38.00 = $12 dif.
Damn boy, you should be making like a 50% comission on that!
And All your Eros is out of stock!!! Jeasus! Are they insane!

Thanks, we deal in volume not higher prices. Unless your selling the hell out of toys and videos I would bet you would make more money with my $.05 a click and 5% comission than you do with those boys. Most gay boys like to shop and they shop around for their lube.

**IntenseCash.com** · 09-23-2004, 06:41 PM

Originally posted by BDBionic
ohhh this thread reminded me I so gotta buy some lube. I'm fresh out and it's just tacky interrupting sex to try and open a buncha those little sample packets you get at pride. Your fingers are all slippery and covered in gook and you can't rip the damn plastic on them and each one only has a teeny bit of lube and you're makin a mess and fool of yourself and by the time you're finally all greased up and ready to go, the guy's already put his clothes back on and is headin' out the door!

LOL

CheapLubes · 09-27-2004, 09:58 PM

Hey Rick. I just looked at your profile and went to the website listed. But if is not it I will certainly be looking for it. You will have to let me know when it is up.

I have made some improvements in our affilate program. Thanks for eveyones input.