Lesson 5B Sponsors (Detailed)

But how do you choose a sponsor?

Choosing a sponsor is an important task. Alot of people choose sponsors by what they hear or word of mouth. If you have trusted friends in the biz, then this method might work for you. Another way to find a sponsor is to visit an adult resources web site, like Netpond. Generally, sponsors do a lot of advertising on these sites so they are easy to find. You can also visit the resources area of Netpond and find a very complete listing of sponsors.

Next, you should visit the sponsor's site. READ EVERYTHING ON THE SITE. Navigate to every available page. Take note of how the site is organized. Before you sign up be sure to read the Terms of Service (TOS). These are extremely important. Each sponsor has their own TOS. Some list their guidelines under a FAQs page. Remember READ EVERYTHING! You are committing yourself to a contract when you sign up. Let's look at some example guidelines (and these examples were randomly picked and for no other reason other than for example purposes).

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NO SPAMMING

Sponsors generally do not like spamming. You are probably familiar with spam. It's the unwanted email in your emailbox. Most sponsors do not tolerate spam because they receive so many complaints about it. It takes up valuable staff time dealing with complaints like that. It costs them money and if you cost them money they will get rid of you. So consquently, if you were to violate those rules you would not get paid and you would have no grounds for getting paid since they clearly state they do not accept that and you could be terminated from the program.

Q: What is your termination policy?
A: This is a per-signup program, there are no linking rules, etc. The only way you can be terminated is to violate our spam policy or generate fraudelent credit card signups.

Okay, what does this mean? This means that as far as linking goes, this program is okay with text links, blind links (links that are difficult to determine where they go just by the text or image), or banner links. They absolutely do not tolerate spam or credit card fraud.

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COUNTRY POLICIES

You might find that a sponsor will not accept you based on your country. Take this example:

Webmasters from all Countries except those listed below are allowed :
Korea, China, Signapore, Taiwan, Thailand or Turkey.

The sponsor is not being a racist. The sponsor is just being honest. Somewhere along the way the sponsor may have had difficulty with currency exchanges, international laws, or some other problem that prevents them from paying a webmaster in that particular country. It's better that the sponsor makes this known to anyone considering the program.

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TRAFFIC/CONTENT POLICIES

Be careful of where your traffic comes from or what type of content you use!! Most sponsors will not tolerate bestiality, incest, rape, or child pornography, password trading/selling, warez, or prostitution. For example:

WHAT KINDS OF TRAFFIC/CONTENT ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE PROGRAM?

We refuse to do business with any affiliates that send clicks from any URLs which contain and/or promote the following content, programs or linking practices: prostitution, child pornography, bestiality, warez, password selling or trading, hacking, cracking, spam e-mails and newsgroup postings. If we discover an affiliate involved in any of the above-mentioned illegal or inadmissible practices, the affiliate account will be terminated immediately.

Pay special attention to the last sentence... "terminated immediately." No ifs, ands, or buts.. you're gone. It doesn't say they will contact you. It doesn't say they will give you a warning. It says terminated immediately. Be careful. Be smart. Be wise about your traffic and your content. This rule spells it out very simply and there is no question as to what they will or will not tolerate.

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SCHEDULED PAYOUTS

When do I get paid? How often do I get paid? How much do I get paid? Who handles the payment? These are all legit questions and you should find the answers to them on your sponsor's site. Our example:

The pay period is from Sunday to Saturday with Weekly commissions paid out on the following Monday (8 day lag). If you prefer to get paid on a monthly basis, your cheque or wire is processed on Wednesdays. Your first pay period will land 2 weeks after you sign-up. Please note that your account must balance $100 or more in accumulated commissions before you receive payment.

This particular sponsor pays out weekly. Lots of sponsors pay out bi-weekly. Notice that there is a minimum payout amount of $100. That means that you have to make at least $100 before they send it to you. So even if it's been 2 weeks since you signed up, if you haven't made $100 then you won't get paid until you do!

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OTHER

There are loads of other considerations. JUST READ EVERYTHING. Your sponsor might offer free content but with strings attached! Same with free hosting. You must clearly understand what you are agreeing to when you sign up. Be sure to visit the sites the sponsor is promoting. Make sure they are sites you'd like to promote! Be familiar with the tours. You can use this info to sell them to your surfers.

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