I am not an affiliate but I had to make "the decision" when I started: affiliate or program owner? I can tell you it's a LOT more work (and cost) to run a paysite, an affiliate program, have employees, etc etc. But I'm glad I made that choice because being an affiliate is rough these days.

Having said that, and understanding most of what's been laid out in this thread, I would say being an affiliate today is still a good game IF you have skills, work hard (and consistently) and are always testing new approaches to traffic generation and conversions.

Other than that a person has many options, many of which are more profitable than being a paysite affiliate.

Hope that clears everything up. LOL

And that's when I stop taking anything you say as anything other then a bitchy ass whine.

"I can't make any money, and someone else has a different view and tells me it, but I disagree with them, so therefore they're not even "real affiliates" and circle jerk each other, because they have an opinion that someone else agrees with."

Yes. I think that is fair. Specifically you need a lot of traffic to win the numbers game if you want to be the traditional adult affiliate selling pay sites. Without that it's going to be tough.

I'm not really interested in reading you anymore in the topic, bro.

Me who is not an affiliate?... actually yes I am an affiliate. before I was an affiliate I worked for other affs and sponsors since the affiliate biz was invented, I'm old school since the webs infancy to be quite honest and yes I'm not claiming to state facts - no need for me to dig up a bunch of data to back-up my opinions here - but my theories are based on close working knowledge of this game for the last couple decades.

You say the topic isnt about placing blame but I see you doing just that constantly in these threads - you blame tubes and outside factors for your perceived (wrongly IMO) across the board decline of this business.

Blame really is the point isnt it? If we can ascribe the CAUSE of the "decline" (for some) then we can work toward a FIX can't we.

You say I'm telling people they are lazy and stupid...no - I happen to know many characters in person on this board - and many through in depth online relationships and I do know for a fact that many are a little apathetic and chasing their tail - I also know many who are bright and energetic and growing their biz and those are who I learn from and choose to align myself with.

I certainly didn't say things are better than ever, in fact I repeatedly said the exact opposite when I said it was a bubble back then. Who doesnt love living in a bubble making money hand over fist.

Your opinions about the constant steady drop in sales are not representative throughout all sectors of the aff game - some yes... but not all. And you may want to do a little more research before stating so boldly that piracy and tubes etc. are to blame.

Your thoughts about what a hardworking affiliate can expect to earn (35k?) sure come across doom and gloom..just remember that there are some in your audience here that make that in a week.

If you're not primarily an affiliate should you really be going on and on giving lectures to other real affiliates about being an affiliate? Constructive criticism is fine but when it's just some pompous ass saying things like "adapt or die" I don't see the point.

All this bitching because I posted a topic geared towards affiliates and then shared some stats. It's one thing to hear it from affiliates. It's quite another to hear it from a bunch of reps, sponsors, and who knows what else.

Like I said, Bro. I'm not interested in talking to you in the topic. I didn't read it. Thanks anyway.

Thanks Old Jeff

So you're saying DWB isn't an affiliate and is just an pompous asshole because he was once like you but realized "adapt or die" was true?

Once you realize what he realized the better off you'll be. :2 cents:

Okay broke affiliate here... I get sick of these threads man, all i see is people saying im dumb or lazy fuck off :321GFY go back to conspiracies, bitcoins, and funny gifs

Couple tips...

1. If you want to make money as an affiliate, you have to get up in the morning and bust you ass a good 10-16 (maybe 16) hours a day. Once you hit a point where you are making a decent income, figure out what you did right and re-double those efforts.

2. If you get to a point when you are making enough money, spend some money and hire an employee to help with the grunt work, so you can move on to more advanced work.

3. Automate everything you can.

4. Use social media, I look at as spam that the user opts into. Just keep it entertaining so they will keep following you.

Those are a couple of my best pointers. I made millions as an affiliate before I owned a program.

Of course, times have changed with the glut of free porn, but you can still make a living promoting porn.

:2 cents:

Read it Baby read it.

Just a little peek up...it won't hurt you... those tantalizing words dangle just inches up...like ripe plums on a hot summer day - just a taste. OOP did you just read a little???

You must be hard as nails to resist the temptation - I bet you look like the Dos Equis commercial dude...one bad motherfucker.

haha just joshing with you holmes - I'm sure if you say you didnt read it then you didn't read it :)

Yes unlike some of the others I know you were an affiliate and I remember you. Thanks for the positive tips. :)

DWB at least wasn't an ass about it.

Adapt or die is the underlying message of the topic. Think about it. The difference is that I'm a real affiliate saying it and instead of blaming affiliates and calling them lazy I'm saying that it's primarily that the model changed to not be as viable.

Why do you choose to put yourself in this "affiliate" box? It's just a word. You should focus on being a "money maker" without worrying about your role as a "paysite affiliate". :2 cents:

Thanks signupdamnit for the thread. You kept a cool head while many kept trying to take your head off.

One of the other points I wanted to bring up was the lack of new quality sites. One program owner that I promoted and did well with had great content but stopped making anything new because he knew that his work would end up pirated. I don't blame him for not wanting to invest his money further.

I also don't see big general site launches like BangBus (back in the day it was huge), MoneyTalks etc...

Yes there are still good quality sites to promote just less.

Similar experience here. It is also what got me intrigued into the why aspect of this occurring and noticing affiliate codes.

The sad truth is that greed took over.

Tubes were based on illegal distribution of somebody else's work.

To this day the big tubes that allow uploads are still using this model. Many have cp on them. None have any real safeguards to protect children from watching their videos. Sad state of affairs.

I don't do this full-time and I'm not a whale making hundreds of sales every day but I do make enough sales every month to where it's worth it for me to continue. I really enjoy building adult sites (what guy doesn't like looking at porn!? I find it's more exciting then making mainstream sites) and it's an awesome feeling to work on some sites and to see your work payoff when your stats start to rise and you start getting sales from that new campaign you created for your latest websites you built :).

I've seen some users here occasionally post some AMAZING stats with some huge dollar signs (from relatively recent paysite sales!) and when I see that I get pumped up and I strive to make even more adult sites and get more sales so maybe one day I can have a network as huge as they have.

It's definitely not easy being an adult affiliate and we do have the odds stacked against us at times (and I'm not even talking about piracy...I'm talking about late payments, no payments, shady sponsors, sponsor pulling lame shit, etc) but like everything else in life...it is what you make of it!

Sales isn't for the weak and weary... and never has been.

Same here, I'll add some more when I can think of them.