Lightspeedcash changes affiliate signup process

[SteveLightspeed]

We're always trying to find ways to better serve our affiliates. We've recently adjusted our signup process for new affiliates.

Old way:

1) Affiliate signs up
2) Affiliate gets automatic email to verify email address
2a) If not verified, we attempt contact via icq or phone
3) We manually screen new affiliate application
4a) If problems, we contact asking for more info
4b) If approved, we activate the account and send welcome letter

The problem here is time, people often sign up because they are working on a project that our sites would be well suited for. The delay may cause some affiliates to go elsewhere. But we don't want to allow non-webmasters into our VERY LARGE free content library.

New way:

1) Affiliate signs up
2) Affiliate gets automatic email to verify email address
2a) If not verified, we attempt contact via icq or phone during screening
3) System opens "pending" affiliate account -- enabling them to get linking codes, banners, hosted galleries, news, etc -- access to everything but free content zip files.
4) Pending accounts are emailed welcome letter, which explains any commissions earned will be held until their account is fully manually screened and approved.
5) We manually screen new affiliate application (within 3-5 days).
5a) If problems, we contact asking for more info
5b) Once approved, we activate the account, and send approval letter, release accounts for regular payments, and open free content library.

This new way will allow new affiliates to get started right away without any delay, without giving our content library away to non-webmasters.

Affiliate referrals earn 10% (up to $3.50 per sale!) so REFER YOUR FRIENDS to WWW.LIGHTSPEEDCASH.COM today!

[2HousePlague]

3) System opens "pending" affiliate account -- enabling them to get linking codes, banners, hosted galleries, news, etc -- access to everything but free content zip files.
4) Pending accounts are emailed welcome letter, which explains any commissions earned will be held until their account is fully manually screened and approved.

2hp

[Cyndalie]

GREAT idea Steve! It still allows the work of the webmaster to continue as well as provides a protected support system regarding affiliate signup and approval access. I am not suprised there aren't other levels of affiliate service & advantages (openly practiced) gained through establishing good business practices and sales/transactions.

[OG LennyT]

Great idea, I have been in the position before where I wanted to promote a particular model and had to wait for "approval"... think I did wait? No...

[madawgz]

sounds like a good idea

[czarina]

I never made any money with Lightspeed sites

[xclusive]

Good move Steve

[Spunky]

Seems like more and more sponsors are doing similar

[Rice_Master]

why make the process so hard for affiliates to signup?

[SteveLightspeed]

Originally Posted by czarina

I never made any money with Lightspeed sites

Hey Lisa, we found the one! (j/k)

Seriously, I'm sorry if you didn't have any luck with our sites, we are always available to review your promotion efforts and make suggestions. Did you contact anyone at Lightspeedcash?

It is disappointing when affiliates have poor initial results and then tell others about it without giving us a chance to help first. I can't promise miracles, but we do have some good inside knowledge about effective ways to market our sites!

Steve Lightspeed

[SteveLightspeed]

Originally Posted by Rice_Master

why make the process so hard for affiliates to signup?

I don't think it is "hard for affiliates to signup" -- but with Visa's chargeback rules and our desire to take only "clean" traffic, screening our new affiliates makes good business sense.

[Mr.Right - Banned For Life]

Originally Posted by SteveLightspeed

Hey Lisa, we found the one! (j/k)

Seriously, I'm sorry if you didn't have any luck with our sites, we are always available to review your promotion efforts and make suggestions. Did you contact anyone at Lightspeedcash?

It is disappointing when affiliates have poor initial results and then tell others about it without giving us a chance to help first. I can't promise miracles, but we do have some good inside knowledge about effective ways to market our sites!

Steve Lightspeed

I have to agree with Steve, you should have contacted lightspeed, they have excellent marketing techniques and the best content on the net, they could help you straight away.

[CuriousToyBoy]

Nice Steve.. good sense.

We screen even harder..... high quality Merchant Accounts are hard enough to get, let alone keep, and one fraudulent fucktwad can make for some fines that would make most webmasters Chapter 15 (4 chapters past being Chapter 11 broke).

Why risk your business ?

2c

[BlingDaddy]

That makes great sense Steve. I've had some programs hold me for a day when I was working on something that I could have sent traff to right away... Nice job sir.

[jayeff]

I'm not knocking this in principle and I have sometimes left sponsors alone because I wanted them for something specific, but they didn't get back to me until the work was complete. That happens so often that I frequently ignore sponsors if approval isn't automatic. But truthfully that rarely bothers me because there are so many sponsors to choose from, so I cannot imagine wanting to put up a bunch of links with the risk of having to remove them a few days later.

I can see the potential benefit from your point of view, but if it doesn't appeal to webmasters, you will not realize much of that potential. In other words, you have a problem, but the webmaster doesn't and therefore he doesn't have much incentive for taking a chance that all will be okay.

[Nicky]

Steve, will you provide hosting for a few of my domains if I promote only you on these domains?

[DBS.US]

Works for me

[SteveLightspeed]

Originally Posted by jayeff

I'm not knocking this in principle and I have sometimes left sponsors alone because I wanted them for something specific, but they didn't get back to me until the work was complete. That happens so often that I frequently ignore sponsors if approval isn't automatic. But truthfully that rarely bothers me because there are so many sponsors to choose from, so I cannot imagine wanting to put up a bunch of links with the risk of having to remove them a few days later.

I can see the potential benefit from your point of view, but if it doesn't appeal to webmasters, you will not realize much of that potential. In other words, you have a problem, but the webmaster doesn't and therefore he doesn't have much incentive for taking a chance that all will be okay.

If an affiliate is worried that I won't approve their account or marketing techniques, they are probably right, and I just saved myself the trouble of rejecting them. Our TOS clearly spells out what we will and won't allow.

[SteveLightspeed]

Originally Posted by Nicky

Steve, will you provide hosting for a few of my domains if I promote only you on these domains?

I'm sorry, but we pulled our freehosting when the new 2257 rules came around. Instead, we created our "gallery revshare system", where you can submit a gallery to us for use in our hosted gallery system, and earn money from its sales both as an affiliate and as a designer.

[2HousePlague]

"Yo, Steve... we wanna be AFULLEEEATES"

2hp

[sweetums]

Originally Posted by czarina

I never made any money with Lightspeed sites

As Steve mentioned in his reply, we can't promise miracles, but I'm always more then happy to offer affiliates my help and knowledge in trying to improve their sales with LightspeedCash - sometimes having an outside set of eyes look at your promotions can really help to point out ways of optimizing your traffic and marketing tactics.

I'm always available if you'd like to give us another shot - just hit me up on ICQ

[CuriousToyBoy]

Originally Posted by sweetums

I'm always available if you'd like to give us another shot - just hit me up on ICQ

I'd be happy with a first shot, but you are NOT available.

[Scotty.T]

Nice one.

[SteveLightspeed]

Originally Posted by CuriousToyBoy

I'd be happy with a first shot, but you are NOT available.

Woah, you can cut that sexual tension with a knife!

Just remember, there is a fine line between "casual eye contact" and the piercing stare of a homicidal maniac!"

[Manowar]

Awesome!


http://www.businessvoyeur.com/2006-0...signup-process

[Rui]

Good stuff.

On the same subject I would like your opinion on something, hit me up whenever you can ;=)

[tranza]

Originally Posted by 2HousePlague

"Yo, Steve... we wanna be AFULLEEEATES"

2hp

Cool picture...

[2HousePlague]

Originally Posted by tranza

Cool picture...

Thanks. It seemed to uphold the Lightspeed tradition --

2hp

[CuriousToyBoy]

Originally Posted by SteveLightspeed

Woah, you can cut that sexual tension with a knife!

Just remember, there is a fine line between "casual eye contact" and the piercing stare of a homicidal maniac!"

Steve,

I will have you know that I am not homicidal.

Those charges were dropped.

[rowan]

Originally Posted by SteveLightspeed

REFER YOUR FRIENDS to WWW.LIGHTSPEEDCASH.COM today!

But I thought you only wanted webmasters?

On a serious note, it would be nice if the stats showed when payments were posted or wired... for those of us that don't send a heap of sales each period and/or rely on surface mail to other countries the payments are not regular and therefore it's near impossible to know if one is MISSING! The check stub only shows the current period so I can't just plug those into the stats; I'd need to work backwards with the start date until it matches.

[Degenerate]

wow, thats intense....

[SteveLightspeed]

Originally Posted by rowan

But I thought you only wanted webmasters?

On a serious note, it would be nice if the stats showed when payments were posted or wired... for those of us that don't send a heap of sales each period and/or rely on surface mail to other countries the payments are not regular and therefore it's near impossible to know if one is MISSING! The check stub only shows the current period so I can't just plug those into the stats; I'd need to work backwards with the start date until it matches.

We have a payment history report, linked under "profile"

[Doctor Dre]

You've really been on top of things in the last year.. congrats on making one of the very few affiliate program improvement in the last year.

[rowan]

Originally Posted by SteveLightspeed

We have a payment history report, linked under "profile"

LOL! Sorry about that, I guess you've pre-empted my request. How long has that been in existence? The last time I mentioned it in an email to LS (which was admittedly quite a while ago) it wasn't considered high priority...