Guys I had hoped that offline discussions with the programs in question would produce some positive results or a softening in position, unfortunately that has not been the case.
In Miami I had lengthy conversations with Fortune Affiliates Management. Their position remains that “the program changes they introduced are a necessary change for their affiliate program to remain a viable business option.” They insist that they have examined all the pros and cons of the decision and feel that they have no alternative moving forward in order to remain/become profitable within the affiliate division.
Whether you or I agree with that position and how we each choose to “respond” to these changes is a matter of personal choice.
The programs are well aware that they will lose a percentage of affiliates over the T&C changes and have weighed that in when making their decision.
At the end of the day this is a business, we will all have to make a very basic decision, “Do I earn enough money with this program to continue partnering with them?” If the answer is yes, you will most likely soldier on, if the answer is no you will likely minimize their exposure on your sites and replace them with sponsors who offer more agreeable terms.
Personally, I find retroactive changes to a prior business agreement to be totally unacceptable.
I also believe that bundling a number of casinos together is a poor business move that will negatively impact the casino group over the long run. Short term savings will be more then offset by lost positioning on affiliate networks.
I have made my recommendations known in no uncertain terms. We are now pretty much in a “wait and see” position. Since this is business, I suspect the programs will re-evaluate these changes if they have a negative impact on their bottom line. If they dont have a negative impact then they will almost surely stay in place.
Remember, this is a free market, you are welcome to work with homever you choose and whomever will generate the most success for you. Sometimes it becomes necessary for us as affiliates and business owners to re-evaluate our choices in partners. If this seems like the right time to make changes in your business then I suggest you do so without hesitation.