Affiliate Marketing Naughty and Nice List (2024 Edition) – Tricia Meyer
by Tricia
My posts may include paid links for which I earn a commission.
The Naughty List
Dasher and Dancer
These two go together because they share the same parent company. On December 13th, major jewelry companies sent out an email stating they had to "reduce publisher commissions" due to "budget constraints." Given that it was peak holiday shopping season, "reduce" translated to "eliminate," with affiliate links still working but no commissions for affiliates.
Prancer
I recently discovered a merchant whose product was 25% cheaper directly on their website compared to my affiliate link, and they were advertising this lower price everywhere except through the affiliate channel. Affiliates weren’t informed of this, making us appear less competitive.
Vixen
This year’s Naughty List contender is a massive multinational corporation known for its frequent industry news fluctuations. They made significant rule changes with huge traffic implications, leaving no one sure where they stood from one day to the next. Dominant and intimidating, they fit the description of a "shrewish and ill-tempered" vixen.
Comet
An astronomically large company abruptly changed its terms of service mid-holiday shopping season with only 7 days’ notice. This required publishers to make significant decisions about their links and potentially update thousands after reviewing conversions and commissions.
Cupid
This email marketing company promised a quote for desired services, charged my credit card double upon account creation, and refused further support when I sought help integrating their system with my list.
The Nice List
Donder (the Original Name from the Poem)
I noticed reversed transactions for a niche merchant in November. This was unusual given my content-based promotion without coupon codes across various clicks on different days.