We have never been partners, it appears, but we are independent contractors, and experienced business people. We are also adults, and don't appreciate being treated in a business relationship, as you would a child in your home.
That is, making changes in Terms, without any consultation whatsoever.
It appears to me:
1 - Affiliate Programs want us to attend various conferences to meet with them and get acquainted to futher our businesses.
while:
2 - Assuming that if we can afford to attend these conferences at our own expense, to meet with said Affiliate Programs, we must be making a ton of money, and doing little to earn it. If we have the time to take off when we want, and the money to do so, we're getting too big a piece of the pie!!
Or am I misinterpreting something here? It just looks like there is some backlash on the part of the affiliate programs at paying affiliates to "sit on our butts all day", playing on the computer, while someone else sweats and labors in an office all day!
That's the impression I get. Correct me if I am wrong.
The fact is (as has been stated over and over again!), it takes a lot of nerve to step out and make a living at this.
Is that the problem? Are we not supposed to earn enough money doing this, to work at it fulltime??
We spend more time and energy than you can even imagine doing what we do. I'm up at 2am to communicate with South Africa, and there are the time differences with Australia, Isle of Mann, etc. And often I go to bed at midnight, only to get back up at 2 am, and may not get back to bed until midnight (or later) again!!
You have no idea how much time it takes, just to get new banners, give someone more space, decide on advertising, actually setting up a campaign, and spending the money to do it. Never mind, SEO, linking and all the other minute details of updating constantly. And there is no guarantee that any of it will be profitable!!
We can only get an interested player to the site. It is then out of our hands. The casino must convert that player through an interesting homepage, tempting bonus, help in purchasing, good customer service, and the other "intangibles" that sell themselves to a player.
And, if you are successful at recuiting profitable players, there is a constant bombardment from all the programs wanting more space, the best space. Well, everyone can't have the "best space", and it's a juggling act to decide who goes where. And the casino that is great this month, may not do so well the next month.
So what to do? Give them another month in that slot, or move up another program? It's about maximizing your inventory, isn't it? What businesses have to do all the time. That's what we do. Giving players the best value we can, while making a profit.
Yes, the casinos and affiliate programs must maintain a level of profitability, but so do we. Programs that change their Terms without notice, or make drastic changes, without getting any feedback, are setting themselves up for problems.
Being the "independent" types that we have to be, it's insulting at the very least.
If an affiliate signed up to a Program when the Terms stated "for the life of the player", or "no negative carryonvers", he probably thought he was dealing with people of integrity who meant what they said. NOT that they meant: "until it suits us to renege on the deal.."
So, yes affiliates want to be paid when successful. We should be!! We've earned it!!
If this post, either the content or the "tone" of voice offends anyone, feel free to say so. I won't take it personally, nor is this post meant as a personal affront. I'm saying what I think. My perceptions of current events.
After all, Business is business.