LyubovL
posted 12th of March 2010
in
.
27 comments.
Dear friends!
We are announcing changes in terms for the BoonEx affiliate program. From now on, affiliate commissions will be 5% for the license purchases made by your referral.
Affiliate commissions are now reduced, due to the Agent system (which is going to be more open) which we launched on December 25, 2009 and to avoid duplicate commissions between agents and affiliates.
Personally I think this will make the promotion of Boonex products less appealing to affiliates. Sure affiliates can place banners and promote with no effort but for anyone that wants to push the products there are far better and better rewarding options. Sure maybe not a similar product but there are far better options to fill space with for promoting products. I could be wrong with this and am open to suggestions and or criticism but my feeling about this announcement just now is that.
Reducing the affiliate commission from 20% down to 5% is what like 75% or 3/4 reduction. However, the $300 needed in commissions generated to actually get paid remains the same. So that means one would need 21 sales/commissions of the $299 lifetime license in order to actually get paid now. ($299x.05=14.95 per lifetime licenses commission). $14.95x20 happens to fall just short at $299, so 21 of them would be needed. This seems like a lot. If the commission rate was reduced by a factor of 75% down see more to 5% then it would be reasonable to reduce the payout by 75% as well or to a much more reasonable and reachable amount of say $100 or something. It would make things slightly more appealing. Otherwise, it's almost not worth even promoting anymore. It was 20%, and for a sale/commission of the lifetime license at $299 one earned $59.80 and needed 6 sales/commissions to get paid. Now the same would require 21 sale/commissions. It will be hard for most average people to reach that amount, unless they want to wait 5, 10, maybe 20 years just to get paid, or push Dolphin on everyone in the entire internet world. Where does the $59.80 (20% old commission rate) - $14.95 (5% new commission rate) = $44.85 (difference) end up going to? That's quite a difference or change. Talk about cutting back and slashing rates...ouch! What good is a whopping 5% when you need to earn $300 to get paid, it's like a joke right!
And let me guess if the hosts you recommend on your list decided they would only pay you 5% or cut the amount they currently pay you by 75% you would be content with that, and they would still be on your list of recommended hosts? I have a feeling they would suddenly disappear, and others that pay more would suddenly be recommended. Just a hunch.
Don't get me wrong 5% is better than 0%, but it's just kind of a bummer that you are dropping the commission rate by so much, and all of a sudden. It was 20% or several years.
I would have to agree that this is not the most pleasant piece of news we ever had, but I also hope this is a temporary measure. We have to figure out commission structure "aspects" regarding Agent and Affiliate system working together. I an looking forward to the day when the Aff commission gets back to 20%.
this makes affiliate program of boonex useless. Noone will make the effort for just 5%. I hope that boonex team will understand that this is a bad decession. Anyway Boonex will decide how much is going to give. From today i will start promoting socialgo and spruz instead.
Glad I'm not the only one that don't like the new rate. At $300 pay out before the new rate many people never could or would reach payout. Now at a pathetic 5% even less will ever reach that amount. This is too bad. Why promote something that you will never reach payout, it's off the chart. It's almost impossible now unless you live, breath, and eat dolphin 24/7. I like dolphin, and many of you probably do too, but if this is how it will be, it's time to forget about the affiliate program and promote see more something else. Reduce the payout amount to off set the new rate or else bring back the 20%. This is not even close to other affilliate industry standards. Maybe this is a way of doing away with the affiliate program. Get us to not promote it.
I would re-consider the payout minimum. $5 commission = 1 year licese $15 commission = lifetime license. People won't ever make it there. Even lowering it to $200 would help and give normal Boonexers a fighting chance. Hell, I think every $100 reached would be even better though. That would get me excited again
So to avoid duplicate commissions between agents and affiliates you made it so no affiliates will want to promote your product? Please explain how the agents systems has ANYTHING to do with me promoting your product to people who have never heard of it before? The Boonex affifiate program just became worthless.
Perhaps you should change the percentage listed here for affiliates....and something tells me the adjective "massive" won't be included in the revision :D
This note: "to avoid duplicate commissions between agents and affiliates"...
Then money is being cut from independent affiliates to in-house agents? Did their wages get slashed by 50% to compensate for sales recession, and this is a way to compensate? =D
$100 is a very common payout limit. Anything above it will make sure nobody will become a random affiliate, and you loose all the little referrals in the process.
I am posting here and not to cause conflict, but because this is something that happened to me personally in regards to this affiliate system. I have had boonex banners on my site from the very inception of Terabyte Hosting Solutions. of course this was my way of promoting the overall concept of social networking and wasnt really too worried about the actual payout.
I just removed all of the boonex banners the other day, which by the way all had well over 5k impressions on 10 different banner see more campaigns. I am not here to rally about how many sales this may have generated, because that is a moot point.
I had suspected for a number months that there was something quirky going on with the affiliate system, because there was a time where i would get notices in my email, saying i had earned x on the affiliate system. Then all of the sudden the notices stopped, but traffic to my site hadnt stopped and the banners were still front and center.
Again, a banner affiliate system is far from my idea of an income, so never really paid attention, just not enough time in the day. Then one day, I had a client which was hosted with me, and i had this client register on boonex to get his free license. the client wanted to try the product before the product was purchased. So about a week rolls around, and the client is very satisfied with the hosting, very satisfied with the script and is ready to purchase PRIME. I provided my client with my affiliate link.
On this specific day, i actually decided to track this and see how it worked. I watched as the client was referred across my aff number. Then the client provided me with the prime license number, actually the login to their boonex account, and it was confirmed by me that this was a Prime account.
I waited a few days, and contacted my agent in regards to this matter, it was looked into.
Now here is what i find disturbing. Upon investigation, my agent was told that my referral did not qualify. I was ok with that to some degree, however, where are the qualifications standards as part of this affiliate system? Well i was told they do not exist. So essentially I was denied the payout on the Prime license purchase on the grounds that it did not qualify. Why does it not qualify, that is a missing see more factor.
So where i am not stating that this was the practice the entire time, I do feel that of the number of impressions that were counted on my site, and i can provide archived records of exactly how many impressions we are talking about, there were no credits applied to my affiliate account.
I think the affiliate system is managed by one person, who determines if you qualify for credit or not.
So where i was going to leave this alone, and not even worry about it, i became annoyed that the payout would go from 20% to 5%, on the grounds that it has something to do with agents payout. I am not really complaining here, just stating my experience with the boonex affiliate system.
Before you proudly fly the boonex affiliate banner, please examine what would qualify as a payable referral?
What Agents? What Affiliates? What support? Seriously does any of those REALLY exist? Reducing commission? Fine, nobody cries because nobody has ever made a buck with it.. and with this reduction will surely make people reconsider trying..
If that is the brilliant idea of promoting your still young and still unpopular product than you guys should make a prayer for this move to have any chance of success..
Yea right, agents, support less money who are you kidding.I don't get paid referals beacuase I will not do referals, yes the can wipe out my account, they could keep my voice from being stated, but in all serousness, I think that when Boonex first came on line with there product it was in goon intent. bus as with all things as they grow so does the need to become more finacialy solvant. I get a kick out of all of this.
IF YOU NED MORE MONEY:
1. Go back to 6.1.6 and fix the bugs in it
2. Add see more true and no BS support not this BS agent stuff where you have to pay
3. Reduce the licence fee to around 499.99 for say 5 years
4. sell more liceance s at 4999 then at 1000. think about it, the average person that is starting a web site does not have that kind of money or is more willing to refure a person if they are happy with the product and service then what has happend with Dolphine over the past 2 years
5. if you are going to have agents, then make sure they know what the hell they are talking about
It does not take a sertified genuis to make more money with what you have, just refine it MARKET it in a true wantto be successful sence.
I know the comitions are being cut to funnel more money to the agents, well folks you should realy listend to some outsiders and ones that use your product everyday, and make it easeir for therm to make money so the can help you make more money
As in the past I expect this to fall on deaf ears, or get killer by a monitor, but it is the truth and I hope at least some one agrees with my thoughts
ha ha ha ha,
looks like the 'minus' monster came by and hit me on this post.
Regards,
DosDawg
if you dont like the post that i present, please allow me to hear your differences. dont stand in the alley and piss on my leg and tell me its raining.
This is really sad. What it comes down to as far as I can tell is that these Agents...not the FBI kind or The Matrix kind, but the Boonex Kind seem to feel that they do not make enough, and that they need for some reason dip in to the regular referral people...like you and me. I don't make squat, but this is a total slap in the face and bs that I have to give up 15% and be reduced to 5% so these folks can make more money. What a friggin joke. It's a crock of you know what. They can't answer all the see more questions people have for them, so when I answer questions because I don't know how many times people have told me boonex takes weeks to get back to them...I am working or giving up my 15% for these agents. What a racket. What next? Seriously. This is a major joke.
Heck while your at it why not give us 1% and take 19%!
And some wonder why I complain about boonex related stuff on occasion well this one takes the cake!
i am starting afraid that we are going to have trouble with dolphin. Its unbelievable! You could better terminate the affiliate programm. It would be more honest.
What if after some days, you start charge more and more, and ask money to fix all these bugs. I have a site with more than 100members and i am thinking seriously how to move to another platform. What if i have spent more money and time to have 1000members and then be trapped from boonex;
its not a matter of money. Its a matter of trust. see more And people will not trust you anymore!
we want unswers that will make us trust you again!
I have never ever Posted Negetive about boonex- so here endith the streak. I own a site that as over four hundred members that pay. I had version 6.1.6 and paid a lot to get that done with liscense and everything- over 3,000 dollars. I begged scraped and fought for help when I was starting out almosty a year ago. No one from boonex ever helped I lived of the gerousity of a few selcted people and learned a lot about the system- which was riddled with bugs security issues and just plain sillyness.
Then, see more to continue a long story with a point I promise, I upgraded because people that said they where from boonex suggested I do so becuae the new system was kick ass, bee's kness, cracker jacking crack alackin.
I lost all my extensions, lost members, lost information and never got answers from any one on all the new bugs I got. Simply bad form- as a business man I would look at the advice you are getting to reduce your commisions and really revamp your staff. Because it sounds like one of two things.
1. you are running scared and are about to bale on the consumer. This is a common practice like cutting the insurance on your employess two weeks before you fire them all to save lots of money
2.You are about to go corporate super nova and even then you are baling on your consumer by turning your back on the people that promote you.
If you look at it this way if Boonex will decrease the sales commission on its refferals how soon is it before "Affiliate commissions are now reduced, due to the Agent system" is replaceed witht he line " boonex is now increasing it liscense fee for all its memebrs due to the agent system."
Sorry to rant and rave about them but the old Boonex was barely tolerable, the prensent boonex is scary, and the future boonex-well lets just say I will not be renewing my membership if this continues.
PS
My sales people have been on 50% commission since I started my site ( a non boonex driven site.) the average sales person makes over a $1,000 month residual, and if they leave under good terms I pay them two months risdual thank ing them for bringing me customers thaty I would never ever would have had if it wasnt for them. The people that promote you are on the same level as the poeple that buy from you.
Hey Boonex, see I am not the only one, maybe you should realy have a meeting and think, no discuss this whole thing.we all know you need cash to stay afloat, we all know that the present way of doing things is not going to last long, we all know that some of your agents are not even agents, they belong in marketing, or sweeping the floor, we all would probabley support you if you realy realy sat daown and thought this out.
Here is what I am seeing. I realy think that you may be thinking of cashing see more in quick and then dropping everything and running. god I wish I could convince you that you are on the wrong path here, you have a great foundation to build on and become the milestone,the example of all software to be based on in the future. Damn I am so upset with you guys right now,But I truely believe in what you started, and feel you have abandoned the people that helped suport you especialy us that had bought prime ,
If I could stand in front of you and shake the grap out of you, you are beeing blinded by so many things and can not see te real goal, the real money, the real things that would make a difrence to all of your members, We believed in you, well I did, and the trust is faiding. You can block this from being posted but I hope to heck that someone in your senior managment at least reads this
And if they think they know it all and that I am just a loadmouth wise butt, then they are not reading and watching what is realy happening here. Folks you have the knowlage, you have the means and you still have some support from your users to make this right and product that millions would want to use and gladly payfor . I hate for Boonex and Dolphine go the way of the UHGO, the T-rex and my late granny
Sorry got long winded here
if anyone shares my views just post a responce or give me a + vote
ThomasWensel; I have to agree with you on the short-term and long-term angle on the Boonex business model. There are a number of things going on that I see as quite short-sighted. To name two in particular:
* Features that users have requested and require end up being filed into tickets for an undefined future date. Meanwhile, Boonex developers are creating modifications and extensions that fill this space, and sell those on the market. To get the full deal, users will then have to both pay for see more a license AND pay for functionality that we'd expect to have available out-of-the-box.
* The agents system seems to be more and more geared towards creating revenue for the agents themselves. The cut in affiliate bonuses is just one in a series of related issues; there have also been some reports of agents trying to double-charge for services customers have already paid for, for whatever reason.
All of this makes me wonder how far the Boonex business model aims to actually create a product that meets the needs of its users and provides no extra hassle, and how far the unstated aim is to cash in with all sorts of accessory services that users are tied with once they make the leap to choose Dolphin as their software of choice. It would be fair to all from Boonex to make their business model clear and stated up front, whatever it may be.
How can the agents and standard affiliates double charge or conflict with one another that is what we have this affiliate software for...sheesh! Get better software if idev don't cut it for you. I thought it was pretty decent but don't manage a backend idev. Something just seems out of the ordinary or fishy, I don't know how they could be confused or doubled up it really don't make sense. You sell it you get credit how the heck could someone else get credit for the sale? The software don't allow see more for that, unless you are messing with it on the backend / adminstration of it. Maybe read the manual that comes with idev and learn how to make it work the way it was intended...Isn't that what you tell us about boonex dolphin?
How can the agents and standard affiliates double charge or conflict with one another that is what we have this affiliate software for...sheesh! Get better software if idev don't cut it for you. I thought it was pretty decent but don't manage a backend idev. Something just seems out of the ordinary or fishy, I don't know how they could be confused or doubled up it really don't make sense. You sell it you get credit how the heck could someone else get credit for the sale? The software don't allow see more for that, unless you are messing with it on the backend / adminstration of it. Maybe read the manual that comes with idev and learn how to make it work the way it was intended...Isn't that what you tell us about boonex dolphin? If you modify it than no gurantees or support in the matter!
By clicking on the agent's affiliate link of course! =P
I'm sure they will all be more than happy to give you one if you ask. You just need to choose your desired object of charity. (See your Account page for choosing an agent.) Otherwise I'm sure DosDawg can help you out, he knows the deal in and out.
I would have to agree that this is not the most pleasant piece of news we ever had, but I also hope this is a temporary measure. We have to figure out commission structure "aspects" regarding Agent and Affiliate system working together. I an looking forward to the day when the Aff commission gets back to 20%.
http://www.boonex.com/partners/
Then money is being cut from independent affiliates to in-house agents? Did their wages get slashed by 50% to compensate for sales recession, and this is a way to compensate? =D
$100 is a very common payout limit. Anything above it will make sure nobody will become a random affiliate, and you loose all the little referrals in the process.
I just removed all of the boonex banners the other day, which by the way all had well over 5k impressions on 10 different banner see more
Now here is what i find disturbing. Upon investigation, my agent was told that my referral did not qualify. I was ok with that to some degree, however, where are the qualifications standards as part of this affiliate system? Well i was told they do not exist. So essentially I was denied the payout on the Prime license purchase on the grounds that it did not qualify. Why does it not qualify, that is a missing see more
Oh how I wish I could post an image of the legendary "can 'o worms" since it seems to have been opened here.
If that is the brilliant idea of promoting your still young and still unpopular product than you guys should make a prayer for this move to have any chance of success..
IF YOU NED MORE MONEY:
1. Go back to 6.1.6 and fix the bugs in it
2. Add see more
Love that little Freudian slip there!
looks like the 'minus' monster came by and hit me on this post.
Regards,
DosDawg
if you dont like the post that i present, please allow me to hear your differences. dont stand in the alley and piss on my leg and tell me its raining.
What if after some days, you start charge more and more, and ask money to fix all these bugs. I have a site with more than 100members and i am thinking seriously how to move to another platform. What if i have spent more money and time to have 1000members and then be trapped from boonex;
its not a matter of money. Its a matter of trust. see more
Then, see more
My sales people have been on 50% commission since I started my site ( a non boonex driven site.) the average sales person makes over a $1,000 month residual, and if they leave under good terms I pay them two months risdual thank ing them for bringing me customers thaty I would never ever would have had if it wasnt for them. The people that promote you are on the same level as the poeple that buy from you.
Here is what I am seeing. I realy think that you may be thinking of cashing see more
* Features that users have requested and require end up being filed into tickets for an undefined future date. Meanwhile, Boonex developers are creating modifications and extensions that fill this space, and sell those on the market. To get the full deal, users will then have to both pay for see more
nuff said
I'm sure they will all be more than happy to give you one if you ask. You just need to choose your desired object of charity. (See your Account page for choosing an agent.) Otherwise I'm sure DosDawg can help you out, he knows the deal in and out.