Normal for networks to have rules to cut YOUR profit? (13)
Got an email from Appflood today, "All of the Apus Launcher offers will add restrictions below:if the rentention rate is lower than 30%, the advertiser would not pay for the conversions and the campaigns should be paused asap. If the retention rate is between 30% and 40%, the payment will be 20% cut. If the ads are complained by users, it also won't be paid. "
Personally, I have dealt with only a handful of networks, so do most networks out set this "retention rate" rule in order to lower/or even cut payout for affiliates? Also, it says "Payment will be lifted if there are users complaining about ads", ah wait, do most other networks have similar policy as well?
Whose fault is it if the 'retention rate' is low? Shouldn't it have more to do with the offer itself other than the person who was promoting it? I am just a little confused.
Every offer has quality checks - if your traffic doesn't meet the quality levels set by the advertiser then you'll get kicked off. The advertiser has to be able to profit from your leads.
In this case it does sound like they are going to retroactively not pay for leads that don't meet 30% retention though, which definitely sets off alarm bells. It's obviously fine to remove affiliates with low quality traffic, but to take the leads and then decide later not to pay is not acceptable in my opinion. It could just be poorly worded though.
I believe the email was sent out to EVERYONE and not just me, I am not even running this particular offer!
Yeah, it's the retention rate phrase kind of threw me a bit as I am unsure how I can be "certain" to meet whatever % standard they set. I will ask my AM tomorrow about this but I was just curious if this type of gesture is common with other networks located in the US, UK or in the West in general.
Also, if complains are made by users about my (approved) ads, then I won't get paid?
Humm... I wonder how many actual mobile "users" would download the app, try it out and decide not liking it, but to make complains about the CREATIVE per se, BY CLICKING WHICH THEY WERE LED TO DOWNLOAD THE APP earlier, but not the mobile app itself.
A lot of networks are having issues with incentivized traffic.
I would guess this email is a way to "threaten" anyone sending incentivized leads or leads from non compliant landers.
A common practice is to "blend" leads. This means that affiliates are sending a mixture of incentivized leads and non incentivized leads to the same offer as an attempt to mask the "incent" traffic.
Sounds shady as fuck.
A lot of advertisers and networks as well have left affiliates off the hook for way too long without regulating traffic or creative. The pendulum now swings back with force.
For me this is the result of poor communication between affiliates and their AMs as this rule is targeting non-compliant presale pages. Sounds like appflood just can't get a handle on non-compliant pubs. This seems a little drastic imho but might be the only way to keep the offers alive.
Just like us affiliates pay for real clicks, advertisers pay for real leads.
If affiliates keep taking the abuse we will keep getting it. If we stop running these offers they will be forced to ''get real''
Obviously if you run incentive traffic to an offer that don;t allow it you should be punished but threatening all affiliates like this - common!!
Expecting the media buyer to solely own product and higher level distribution issues is a zero sum game for everyone involved, especially the advertiser. That is essentially the case here when you dive into what this new policy really means.
Yes traffic and acquisition mechanics will influence retention (to a degree), however APUS appear to believe they have a level of leverage they just don't have. Expecting you to send traffic because "we want you to send traffic but we don't really want to regulate or manage you properly" is a joke. And I don't believe this comes down to a compliance issue at all.
They could cut the non compliant traffic tomorrow - everyone knows where 90% of it lives. Well at least they (Appflood/APUS) really should by now. Instead what they are really saying here is "we don't want to blanket ban all the non-compliant traffic or block affiliates sending compliant installs that sit just outside our target retention because some of it is actually working. So instead we're going to assume no risk and nail you if and when we want to, without having to justify shit".
What insight are you given into their product metrics? Are APUS going to send you a report on your install cohort showing where your engagement metrics are falling over? I don't think so. And this is after you've spent budget sending traffic "hoping" it will meet APUS's requirements so that you can at least get it back.
So basically its up to the good word of the people at APUS and Appflood to let you know how your traffic is performing, honest to god. Give me a fucking break.
If you continue to run this offer without working directly with their internal team and pushing for the data you need then you deserve what you get. In a similar vein and to echo Deon it's up to us to push back on shit like this. This happens because we are viewed as an easy target in which can be rolled and bent over to suit whatever agenda is on the table on any given day. Not all advertisers depend on affiliate traffic but a lot do and despite some of the things that go on in CPA advertisers still profit enormously.
Appflood are just playing the yes men game and to be fair I wouldn't expect anything more from them. Given all the payment issues and ridiculous expectations leads me to be believe they don't understand the value of what your reputation means in this game.
Originally Posted by adwater
I have sent a lot of referrals to them and i can tell you most stopped running with them. I see on referral stats.
Sad they were once amazing now they are the worst.
Originally Posted by grandtheftpixel
Originally Posted by grandtheftpixel
Once if the trust is broken, it's hard not to become suspicious of whatever they tell you.
Def a poor approach to their problem. Threatening not to pay affiliates is a sure fire way to sink the ship.
Hello STMers, Adwater, and all of participants of this thread,
I appreciate your feedback and suggestions, and understand any frustration.
For background, the intent was to proactively notify affiliates running this campaign about strict rules imposed by the advertiser.
In the case of this advertiser, it seems all networks they work with were impacted. While work was being done to challenge the rules imposed by the advertiser, it was important to be transparent and immediately communicate to you so you could make necessary changes.
Such changes are a loss for both networks and affiliates. You put a lot on the line to run campaigns as an affiliate, and it’s frustrating to receive this type of notice. Our own feedback has been passed to the advertiser, and as additional feedback is received from affiliates, it will be conveyed to the advertiser in attempts to update the rules.
Please reach out to us directly at affiliate_support@appflood.com to follow up if you have questions or additional feedback.
Thanks for your time.
AppFlood Affiliate Network
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