Most surfers are first and foremost looking for freebies.

If the sponsor program is old, there's little assumption that a webmaster would be sending a new customer - who isn't already signed up.

The other day when I suggested to affiliates that they drive traffic to my DogGone theater, it was because DogGone has undergone some major work in the past year, and many surfers may not be up to speed on the changes and new opportunities there - compared to other VOD portals and to the earlier incarnation of itself.