View Full Version : Important : Auto affiliate links in your posts
Hi
As some of you may have noticed, there are some links appearing in your posts after you create them.
Don't worry, this is normal :)
We are experimenting with a new system, that when your post contains the name of certain retailers and suppliers, the word gets changed to a link to their site, automatically affiliated with Talk Photography.
This is done to help raise some funds for the forums, without any effort whatsoever on your part.
We don't get paid by the click, we get paid by purchase.
So say for example you click on Tesco , then later in the day you do your shopping online. Tesco will then recognise that the link came from us, and pay TP a certain amount. (It's not much but it all does add up).
This is with NO EXTRA COST to you, at all, that we can completely promise. All it is, is a simple referral scheme, so the retailers can pay those sites where the link is coming from.
This doesn't interfere with anything on your computer, it's just a normal link on the net, so please don't worry.
We've always stated that any fundraising scheme on TP will be non intrusive, so there won't be any popups, popunders etc.
We've limited it to mostly photographic retailers, and the odd one or two high street shops, like Tesco .
We will be doing more work with affiliates in the near future, including an area where we will post updated discount codes and vouchers for you to use. For example, 15% off at Photobox , or 10% off digital cameras at currys , that sort of thing.
If you notice a retailers name you typed hasn't been linked when youve posted, don't worry, it's the way the software works. It doesn't affiliate all links due to a limitation, only ones where the word appears in a certain way.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in here :)
Thanks
Admin
Sorry but I dont like it :(
If needs must I suppose. Perhaps more people should be encouraged to donate instead?
I don't see the harm. If anything when someone is talking about Tesco in a post and curiosity gets the better of you, it's easier to click that link than to go and open another page or whatever. And also a lot of people link the word/words anyway :shrug: Every little bit helps :) It's fine by me :thumbs:
Sorry but I dont like it :(
If needs must I suppose. Perhaps more people should be encouraged to donate instead?
Care to elaborate why? :) We're open to suggestions and ideas too.
Ideally we'd like the forums to generate its own revenue rather than rely on donations
At least its not like that IntelliTXT stuff or whatever its called, that has popups over trigger words :D That's annoying :p
We're doing our best to keep anything like this as minimal and as unobtrusive as possible. That's our main concern.
I think it's a fab idea (just read tesco and rememberd I needed to do some shopping so hit the link and am now buying cabage) :lol:
The IntelliTXT links are a pain in the ass :razz:
mobilevirgin
22-04-2008, 13:38
Doesn't bother me - its not intrusive. And if it provides revenue for the site at no inconvenience for us users, then its fine.
MV
Trev Rich
22-04-2008, 13:52
i think its a great idea..
when we say.. photobox is the place to buy prints.. the person can find the site straight away.
Forbiddenbiker
22-04-2008, 13:53
Sounds like a good idea to me, unobtrusive and fits in with the whole TP philosophy, members first, then find the income to cover it all (I do hope someones getting paid for all there hard work too) If not, may I suggest your not charging them enough. ... ;)
:thumbs:
Why not do a sticky with all the links in so if u want to buy something you can go to their site from here and make money for your fav forum at the same time:)
EdinburghGary
22-04-2008, 15:14
Great idea, and tonnes of sites do it. I feel like I am robbing someone blind with all the free help I get here!!!
Why not do a sticky with all the links in so if u want to buy something you can go to their site from here and make money for your fav forum at the same time:)
We will be doing something along those lines in the near future. Direct links to common suppliers etc, in an easy to find area for everyone :)
Great idea - getting something back from the (large) retailers is always a good thing.
Care to elaborate why? :) We're open to suggestions and ideas too.
Ideally we'd like the forums to generate its own revenue rather than rely on donations
At least its not like that IntelliTXT stuff or whatever its called, that has popups over trigger words :D That's annoying :p
We're doing our best to keep anything like this as minimal and as unobtrusive as possible. That's our main concern.
Good I really detest sites with trigger word pop ups.
Techno-Geek
23-04-2008, 10:45
I think this is a good idea
:thumbs:
whiteflyer
23-04-2008, 10:51
It does not worry me, as I have awin1.com and the like blocked in my host file.
If you start to use IntelliTXT , then I'm off
Seems like a fine idea to me :thumbs: If it helps generate a bit of revenue it can only be good for TP and us members :)
It does not worry me, as I have awin1.com and the like blocked in my host file.
If you start to use IntelliTXT , then I'm off
LOL dear god I'd never have that stuff anywhere near me:p
Les McLean
30-04-2008, 11:27
So are we likely to see viagra, or p*****s enlargement, and 'please send me 10 scillion dollars to save my dying grandma in Nigeria' links then :)
dammit Les, the links are broken! :thinking:
Les McLean
30-04-2008, 11:32
dammit Les, the links are broken! :thinking:
LOL-I'll just need to rake through my junk E-mail folder, I'm sure I can find a million or so replacements ;)
specialman
09-05-2008, 23:42
'Tis good methinks. If you don't want to click on the link then don't - it's as simple as that.
Hmmmmmmmm. While its good that its not intellitxt, that was hideously bad, I'm not 100% sure on it. I get why its being done, but I dunno. Every thread has a commercial subtext to it. It feels wrong in a way. I'm just dumping what I'm thinking really. Its not well thought out. But my initial thoughts are "Hmmmmm...." Surely there are other ways to make money without injecting affiliate links into every thread?
i dont mind mind it... carry on :P
it does seem that we all do it ourselves with links to our own sites. Although most aren't money making, we still have links in signature etc. We all use the site, and it does cost money to keep it running, so if it can make money in an un-intrusive way, then why not.
Hmmmmmmmm. While its good that its not intellitxt, that was hideously bad, I'm not 100% sure on it. I get why its being done, but I dunno. Every thread has a commercial subtext to it. It feels wrong in a way. I'm just dumping what I'm thinking really. Its not well thought out. But my initial thoughts are "Hmmmmm...." Surely there are other ways to make money without injecting affiliate links into every thread?
There are. But most of them are quite intrusive, and thats the opposite of what we want. This way, theyre harmless. They don't disrupt the thread or the flow of the forum.
It's not well thought out? What makes you say that?
BTW the play link has changed so only play.com auto-links :)
It's not well thought out? What makes you say that?
Because my thoughts weren't well thought out :p
"I'm just dumping what I'm thinking really. Its not well thought out. But my initial thoughts are"
I should have rephrased to say my thoughts, not it.
Ah gotcha :thumbs:
The thing is, we want to make it a self sufficient site, where we don't have to rely on donations, and unfortunately, the money has to come from somewhere ;)
I online shop at Tesco every week. I will go to their site via clicking a link on TP and hopefully you will get something from that.
Great idea.. This site needs paying for somehow and I think this a very unobtrusive way.
Hope its successful
Is there any way of making these links stand out from normal links? Sites like moneysavingexpert make it obvious (well, they add an asterisk) when you're clicking a link that makes them money.
Other than that, lets see how it goes.
Thats not a bad idea, I'll look into that :)
It might be useful so people can tell if its a deliberate link or not?
For example, if there is discussion about a particular lens, and someone mentions a particular retailer it will not be clear if its a general link to the retailer or a link to the specific item. Could be quite confusing otherwise? :)
Colours changed to SeaGreen. Any ideas for colours?
how about black so it matches the standard text, its still italics, bold and underline, but doesnt immediately leap out at you...
richmond
28-05-2008, 21:34
I feel really stupid now :bonk: The first time I noticed one of those links I complained cos I thought the poster was advertising. :coat:
BTW Do you have any idea how much has been generated via the links so far?
is it covering the costs?
Jimmy_Lemon
29-05-2008, 09:24
how about black so it matches the standard text, its still italics, bold and underline, but doesnt immediately leap out at you...
aha! this would be why I now have random gaps in posts on the black theme! :p - any chance it can be changed to white on the black theme? :D
aha, thats a good point Mr Lemon :p
I don't think it can, not easily anyway, the colours are being hardcoded into each link. I'll look into using a CSS tag instead, see what's available :)
is it covering the costs?
Nope...lol Not yet.
At the moment it's a base for something we want to build on though. We're only signed up to a few affiliates, to see how it goes.
I personally wouldnt want to see posts *full* of auto-affiliated links either, so at the moment we're restricting to the main shopping players or photography related ones.
Not a fan, the links should have been more obvious, just randomly encountering an affiliate link annoyed me, more so being as it was Photobox, whereby Quidco provide 8% off through an affiliate link system.
Now, how am I to know which affiliate will get looked at? Will I still get 8% if I ordered tonight or will Photobox# take your link instead and leave me paying full price? I can't imagine they'll happily pay out to both affiliates.
Perhaps change it so that any such links appear PhotoBox [Affiliate Link] or something?
How much do we have to collectively pay to get rid of them ? ;)
Perhaps change it so that any such links appear PhotoBox [Affiliate Link] or something?
I think that'll only make it even worse. "AFFILIATES!!!" in every thread.
Jimmy_Lemon
29-05-2008, 17:17
Not a fan, the links should have been more obvious, just randomly encountering an affiliate link annoyed me, more so being as it was Photobox, whereby Quidco provide 8% off through an affiliate link system.
Now, how am I to know which affiliate will get looked at? Will I still get 8% if I ordered tonight or will Photobox# take your link instead and leave me paying full price? I can't imagine they'll happily pay out to both affiliates.
Perhaps change it so that any such links appear PhotoBox [Affiliate Link] or something?
Do you not need to go via the Quidco website to get the Quidco money back? if so I cant see the problem, if you go to it through a link in a post then how will it be confused with Quidco?
I'd rather that than accidentally click on them because unbeknownst to me, the forum has started automatically making loads of affiliate links everywhere that didn't really look a great deal different to a regular link.
Personally, I'd rather see banner ads for shops and services top and tailing the indexes and thread pages, i've always hated affiliate links that are kind of masked like that.
Do you not need to go via the Quidco website to get the Quidco money back? if so I cant see the problem, if you go to it through a link in a post then how will it be confused with Quidco?
Quidco just works off an affiliate link too, as far as I know. You click a link from Quidco to the retailers site, retailer then sorts its arrangement out with Quidco and then Quidco attribute any relevant savings or cashback to your account. Exactly the same as the sort of links being created here. So if I now go to place an order, there will be two affiliate links listed to my IP. Which one would they pick? How long before the 'effect' of an affiliate link goes away?
IIRC Quidco works via a onetime referral link rather than a stored cookie. Not something I have looked into (I've used Quidco a few times though)
I can see the point about pointing out the affiliate links, but it's not really practical due to the way they work. As theyre auto links when someone types the word in, it would disrupt the flow of a sentence to add extra words in, hence the bold/italic/colour at the moment.
We're not out to decieve anyone, and please bear in mind this isn't necessarily a permanent arrangement, it's something we're trialling, see how it goes :)
StuntMonkey
30-05-2008, 19:59
im all for it. i think this forum is fantastic and would like to take this chance to thank Marcel and the team for a fantastic site. I havent been a member long but have spent hours on here every day since i found you!
if it helps to to put money in the meter i really cant see the problem. in fact if you need help raising money then count me in :thumbs:
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