Lazy Affiliates

[gaystoryman]

No, I am not pointing fingers, other than at myself. I have to be one of the laziest affiliates around, but I have to say, I love the way both Blake Mason & UK Naked Men do things.

I love getting their emails, a click here or there and I got all the new promo stuff ready to use.

So my question to sponsors is, do you do it?
Why not if you don't, and to Jim & Lloyd, does it help get your affiliates promoting your stuff more? Is it cost effective for you, or do you even track that sort of stuff?

Yes, I am looking to see if others do it, hey, why sign up, to find out, when a simple post gets the answers? :innocent:

[Chilihost]

We send out email updates once or twice a month and keep the news section of our affiliate site up to date. Would you prefer more often?

[gaystoryman]

Once or twice a month is fine, what I am saying is that both Lloyd & Jim include the zip files, well in Jims case it is a link to the zip files, simple click and its downloaded, which others don't seem to do.

I am not talking about email news letters telling me there is new stuff, I am talking about where these emails actually include the new stuff. Not sure if HunK Money does that, even though I signed up for it eons ago.

Like I said, I am a lazy SOB. I don't want to have to keep on logging in to a webmaster area, search for the new updates, then download them one by one, as many sites require. Nor am I even saying it should be different.

Just want to know who does provide zip files with their emails, and if its once a month, twice,or more, is fine.

[abostonboy]

Thank you for the compliments.

Quite a few sites that have exclusive content and update regularly send out emails. Some provide a link to the zip file, others include it, some archive it on their website for a limited time.

Since we update every Thursday and Sunday, I send out the email on Thursday (for some weekend traffic) and mid-Monday (hoping that affiliates will go in and check their sales over the weekend as Sunday is our best day).

While I am working on having all our promo tools online searchable by model, action type, etc, that email that I send out is my first line of contact with many affiliates. It doesn't come from affiliates@ etc. It's very personal and I have gotten a lot of feedback from affiliates with that twice weekly email.

Now a question to you - The mailing software that we use allows me to make a really "slick" CMS type email. I have resisted so far as I want it more personal. So, should I go slick or keep it nice and personal?

Best,
Lloyd

[gaystoryman]

Well for myself, I am a sucker for 'personal' :morning: as it does feed the ego a bit, :sunny: In all seriousness, I think the 'personal' approach works better, as it does sort of create a better bond. I mean most of us 'know' that its simply adding a field or two to the email that pulls out the personal name and stuff, but in the back of the mind, it still creates a link, or a feeling of one.

Frankly, I get lots of 'dear affiliate' and rarely read them.

I'll take mine personal please... :morning:

[banderas]

Do you mean only links to promo photo and video archives or FHG links already with your webmaster ID? Because many sponsors send FHG links to email, but not to free promo archives it is true...

[deanb]

My personal preference is to get a link to the zip files. I use an online email account for that, and the zip files just clutter up my box and use my storage space up.

[gaystoryman]

Do you mean only links to promo photo and video archives or FHG links already with your webmaster ID? Because many sponsors send FHG links to email, but not to free promo archives it is true...

To promo material, not FHGs or any of that. but like new photo shoot promo stuff.

[abostonboy]

I think each affiliate program has it's own way of working with affiliates. My main two issues that drove me crazy as an affiliate in the past were:

1. Programs that would send out emails, archive them for a period of time, then they disappeared. When you went to download the zip, it was gone. I believe Jim keeps the zips on his site all the time.

2. Programs that wouldn't give member's access or took forever to get. Some even have the "we don't allow affiliates to have members access". (Maybe I am too lenient on that one, but most of our productive affiliates have member access as well as all newer affiliates.)

As an affiliate I like to know when the site is updated and have the tools to market the update. I really believe that some sites are more "update" focused. While all our affiliates market BlakeMason (the site), it's the updates that they really market. Those are what drives sales.

GSM - Other sites that send out what I consider good affiliate emails are
You Love Jack, Buzz West, Randy Blue, UK Naked Men, and a few others that I was an affiliate of. When these guys update their sites, you know about it and have the tools to market the "update", not so much the site. But the update.

[basschick]

i don't want a css email.

btw, you don't have to be lazy to appreciate affiliate content being offered in a very convenient way. i work 12 hour days, so i love getting content in a way that makes everything simple - easy to get to zip files with program name and model names, description of models and action, good number of pics to choose from with reasonably sized site watermark. any program that sends stuff this way gets priority from me - especially if the models are hot!

[nicedreams]

We are about to start sending out our updates weekly. We just finished updating our site to reflect each of our updates with each link to each tool we have for that update, including video previews, galleries, blogs. So when I get back from the beach we will start emailing.

We also have rss feeds for affiliate updates, so affiliates can get our updates right in a rss reader instead.

And how is a plain text email more personable than a pretty html email? You are using the same software program using wildcards for the affiliate's name, etc. Adding colors and graphics makes it less?

Jimmy

[abostonboy]

And how is a plain text email more personable than a pretty html email? You are using the same software program using wildcards for the affiliate's name, etc. Adding colors and graphics makes it less?

Jimmy

Not sure how to answer that except to say that of the 50+ emails that I sent today that were only for the person that it was addressed to, I never used fancy graphics or html.

Still using the same email program, but if I had $1 for every affiliates name I changed after knowing what name they preferred to be called by, well....

I just changed Gay Story Man's name as I write this. Let's see if he notices.

[Xstr8guy]

Wow, thanks for the plug Ian! We do find it quite effective to send out weekly emails... ok, sometimes it's a little less frequent, . And since we update 3 times per week, there is always fresh promo content for affililates. It helps the active affliates to stay on top of the freshest content. And it helps remind the less active affiliates that we are trying hard to get them involved. I suppose next on our list is FHG's but we're a little worried about over-exposure. Currently, affiliates that are willing to make their own galleries with our content have an advantage by promoting our site since our content isn't over-exposed... yet, .

[nicedreams]

Not sure how to answer that except to say that of the 50+ emails that I sent today that were only for the person that it was addressed to, I never used fancy graphics or html.

Right, but we were talking email updates, not individual emails. I don't get out a html template for those either.

Jimmy

[gaystoryman]

I prefer plain text, even these days, due to the bloody hoops that these anti virus programs put me through when its html, not to mention the always having to load graphics that are blocked. But plain or html, isn't what makes an email 'personal' to me

It is when the sponsor takes the effort to add the name, whether they do it manually or by automation, it just creates a better feeling than 'dear affiliate'.

Now Lloyd's is text, Jim's is HTML, and i like em both, simply because I click the link, and there is the zip file. FHG's don't do a think for me, but for those who do, great.

Which brings up a point, why can't sponsors allow us to check or click what type of email we wish to receive? I mean there are so many scripts out there that can automate the process, it shouldn't be a problem for them, to let us choose if we want zip files emailed, or FHG's, or even new banners.

See, told you I am lazy, :innocent: I even want the sponsor to filter what they send me.. LOL

Lloyd, no email yet, so can't see if I notice or not, but least I'll look now..