Internet Dating Affiliates

FriendFinder's Letter To Affiliates Announcing Bankruptcy

IDA - Sep 19 - An email was sent to FFN affiliates.  Here's the highlights. 

• A substantial amount of the sale in 2007 was in the form of debt.
• They will cut the debt in half and return the majority of the company to the founders. (Andrew Conru and 'Legendary Lars')
• Less debt means more funds for affiliate payouts.
• Right now, affiliate checks have the highest priority.

And here's the email...

Dear Valued Affiliate,

I'm writing to share news about our efforts to make FriendFinder Networks an even better partner. After months of careful planning, the Company on September 17, 2013 announced a plan to restructure our long-term debt. As you may know, when the founders of the company sold it in 2007, a substantial amount of sale was in the form of debt. The noteholders of this debt includes both the founders and others.

If confirmed, the plan, which has the support of an overwhelming majority of the noteholders, will cut the overall amount of debt in more than half and return the majority of the company to the original founders. By reducing the debt, the company will have more resources to improve the websites and mobile services - and make you more money for your traffic.

Once we determined that a debt restructuring was the right course to take, we then had to figure out the best way to implement it. After a careful analysis, we determined that the most efficient and cost-effective way to do so is by using the provisions of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. So, earlier today the Company filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions.

Please realize that we are simply using the courts to help with the debt restructuring process. The company is still profitable just not enough to support the original level of debt.

Here's what really matters: There will be no changes to the affiliate program and your affiliate checks have the highest priority. In short, you should see no change in the way we work together. The websites and mobile services will continue unaffected. In fact, new features and services will continue to be rolled out as before.

Please let your current affiliate manager know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Sean Christian

Free Money with the FriendFinder Networks

FF - Sep 27 - During the months of September/October the FriendFinder Networks are giving away over $100,000 in free money to the affiliates bringing in the most mobile revenue.  Affiliates simply need to get users to sign up to one or more of the 20 selected mobile sites including AdultFriendFinder.com and Outpersonals.com.

White Labeling Rant

FF -- May 8 -- Affiliates built FriendFinder to a $300 million a year revenue company. But affiliates don't want to build someone elses brand. They would rather build their own brand, and brand equity. I worked with FriendFinder as an affiliate manager in 2003 and have been surprised that they have not pushed their white labeling products more, since then. FriendFinder would far rather promote their own brand, as would most dating companies, but a number of white labeling companies are on the rise now. You can find a list here. (White Label Dating, a client of Courtland Brooks and sponsor of Online Personals Watch, is one of them, and our recommended provider.) 

White labeling is the last big opportunity in internet dating because it allows mega-affiliates, and entrepreneurs, and online media of all types, to build their own brands and utilize the economies of scale of working in a network. The little guys get economies of scale. The guys who have lots of traffic, but don't have the time or inclination to build their own dating site can use white labeling to get up and running quickly.

This post also appears on OnlinePersonalsWatch.

Casual Dating Affiliate Payouts Top The Industry

FF -- Feb 15 -- Does anyone know of any dating affiliate programs that pay out higher than casual dating sites?  The super fast growing dating sites Fling and SexSearch are topping my research on payouts. SexSearch is paying out $90 and Fling $50 per paid sign up over Valentines. Adultfriendfinder is definitely feeling the heat on its tail from these two. I'm surprised how many dating sites don't have affiliate programs. Match, eHarmony, Perfectmatch and Yahoo! have good programs, but many top and second tier players have relatively small programs, if they have them at all. From the affiliate perspective adult dating sites just plain convert better, which would partly explain the rise in popularity of casual dating sites over the last few years. CJ, Linkshare, Azoogleads, Shareasale, Primary Ads, and Link Connector all drive significant amounts of traffic to dating sites.  CJ seems to have the most offers. Email me at [email protected] for a copy of my spreadsheet listing all the dating offer payouts on the top affiliate networks. - Mark Brooks

Friend Finder's Letter To Affiliates

ANDREW CONRU -- Dec 13 --  Penthouse acquired Various, which includes Adult FriendFinder, FriendFinder, Cams.com, Streamray and Medley.com. Various will continue to run independently from Penthouse, so all  linking codes, advertising tools, and all sites will continue to be operational. Checks will continue to come from Medley, and all contact information will remain the same. READ THE FULL LETTER