Would affiliate programs mind if you 'fixed' their freebies so you can SELL their memberships better
 

The problem with 'off the shelf' materials is they are... well.. off the shelf. Everyone and his dog has the same FHGs, white label tube collections, etc. Are there affiliate programs that actually give affiliates the license to do what they SHOULD be doing? ie., are there programs that let affiliates use their freebie content to create personality-driven content that truly brands the affiliate site and pulls viral traffic from social media circles? If not, why not?

I have often wondered about this. I always create custom banners, landers, etc to promote sites because I don't like most of the stale stuff that is provided within many of the affiliate programs. I think creative fresh looks that is more up to date will help to increase sales.

I was thinking more along the lines of making DERIVATIVE WORKS from freebie content given by programs.

Fling bought me crotch rocket once but i totaled it the same day i got it.

http://examples.moreniche.com/Uploads/Affiliates.JPG

In my case, I like to control what content is available to non-members, so I don't give out passwords with a carte blanche for affiliates to use my content however they wish.

Affiliates can however reassemble the photos available through the FHGs, create a new template for showing them, etc., as long as the traffic goes to my site.

I'm also open to trusted affiliates creating some of their own material from my content, but it needs to be approved in advance each time.

Just one perspective, since you asked. :2 cents:

ADG

I give affiliates I know are legit members area access and permission to do whatever they want with content as long as the primary use for the content is to sell the site and isn't going to scam surfers into joining - i don't mind if an affiliate wants to impersonate a model as long as the affiliate isn't promising something that isn't possible that ends up in a chargeback.

I think the main answer to that question is that most affiliates don't want to (or can't?) put in the amount of work that it would require. In my opinion, most affiliates are more or less lazy, and want nothing more than to demand the program make everything available for them to use, put as little effort into their 'work' as they possibly can, and take home 50% for essentially doing nothing.

Naturally, not all affiliates are like this as we have quite a few good ones ourselves.

But the fact remains that the affiliate model in it's current form is broken as fuck, not to mention that reaching out and giving most people that kind of trust is going to do nothing but get you burned, badly. We only have, maybe, a handful of affiliates in our program that we would trust to this extent. The list is certainly small.

I have backsite access to a couple of my sponsors sites... I think there is no general answer...
If i think the FHG's/preview movies/hosted blogs/... do not suffice to promote their site, i just hit them up on ICQ or shoot them a mail explaining why i think their promo content is lacking.
Either they give me better material, give me backsite access, or don't answer at all (and have less sales with my traffic). It's just a case-by-case scenario

You sure do have a vivid imagination.

Just off the top of my head, there are so many ways creative affiliates can increase their own audience loyalty while pushing programs' sites. Meme creation, funny caption stories, community building content, the only limit to the list is one's imagination and, of course, ROI. Still, there's a lot of space for creativity, fun, and experimentation. VDBucks raises a key point though, most affiliate sites are pretty much low-effort or low-effort high replication models.

Maybe there's a third way? A personality-driven, rich derivative content site that benefits all 3 parties involved: the program, the affiliate, and the end user?

We don't produce a lot tools as standard as we find like the OP has said that they just get used by the same people time and time again.

We work with our affiliates to produce whatever tools they want and we've got no issues with affiliates making their own tools from our content either.

Affiliates know their traffic very well, so if they think something needs to be done to drive their users to us then we'll do whatever we can on tools as well as on our end to improve their conversions.

Most programs will help you do what you want if you just contact them.

I sure won't share a link, but I've been tinkering along these lines with a new front end intergration on a "90's looking" WL (not just a custom lander), trying to make it stand out from its 10 million siblings, while pushing it as close to 2013 specs (valid HTML5) as I can.

This particular base WL product / user experience is first rate from a consumer viewpoint (I checked the competition as a surfer before settling on this over saturated brand). Sure its visual appearance is stale, but there are many opportunities for it that a "lazy affiliate" approach can't touch, so some extra effort may pay off.

There's still a lot of room for creativity in this biz :thumbsup

I'll either get shit for this, or no response at all, but you people are some of the smartest, most creative, driven people on earth. If you had any socials skills, and didn't look like mutant whales from a poorly drawn manga, you'd all be running things right now.

I 100% agree.

I even take this a step further and limit the content that even new affiliates can get.

We remove galleries from the download tool every so often so new people can not get the older ones.. But they are still on the server for the ones already using them.

Sadly I was just now told I am stealing traffic because I do that. Keep in mind the old galleries are still in place just not available to be used by new affiliates.

ClickCash has always had a policy of allowing affiliates to create their own custom campaigns providing that the marketing message remains consistent with the site they're promoting.

Very much along the lines of what Mutt said -- as long as the user isn't mislead or the service misrepresented, there's a lot of room for affiliate creativity with our program. I've seen some very creative unique promos that affiliates have made for iFriends that convert really well.

~Emily

We not only allow it, we encourage it.

Hit me up [email protected] or 62835707

If the gallery's are working for those that have them listed, how is that stealing traffic ?

Do whatever the fuck you want to with my material.
Make me money!!!!

Like creating an Internet Meme-centric promotions platform?