Here is how not to run an affiliate program, courtesy of Morgan Stanley.

I received this email on the 12th December.

Dear Kieron

First and foremost we would like to thank you for being a part of the Morgan Stanley affiliate program and for all the support and commitment you have provided.

In preparation for 2007, Morgan Stanley has recently completed their end of year review of the program. The outcome has identified the need for several important strategic changes. As a result, it is with regret that we wish to inform you that we will be terminating our relationship with you as from Monday 18th December.

This decision has not been taken lightly but has proven to be an essential requirement for our 2007 program.

We would therefore request that you remove all web links and advertising related to the products offered by Morgan Stanley and all other references to Morgan Stanley in whatever form by Monday 18th December. In accordance with the program terms, we will honour leads and applications generated up to, and including this date.

Moving forward we will be continually evaluating our approach and hope to be in a position to work together again in the future.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss this further.

Thank you again for your support during your time with the program and we wish you every success.

Kind Regards

How bloody offensive. They send a Dear John email and don't even tell me why they are terminating me from the program. I mean forgive me if I'm wrong but I thought the whole point of affiliate marketing was that it was a "pay for performance" model with absolutely no risks to the merchant. So what difference does it make if they have 10,000 affiliates or 100? So why the cull? And please don't give me any crap that it creates extra admin as that just won't wash and networks are geared up for any increases in the economies of scale.

I can only presume that just because I haven't delivered any great volume of sales that I have been kicked off the program. What they don't know is that I have just built a new Credit Card site that I will be launching in January with a monthly ppc budget of at least £100,000 a month. What makes it worse is that I took their advice in the email and have tried to email them to discuss this but all my emails have been ignored. Wonderful.

Time and time again we see merchants rejecting affiliates who don't make sales or have low volumes of sales, only to keep the program open to a select few. And I still have not heard one convincing argument as to why it happens, apart from keeping their in house figures looking sweet. I mean surely if they have say 10,000 small affiliates who maybe only genarate 5000, or even 500 sales a year then surely they are worth having? It's not as if you are paying these guys wages. Affiliate marketeers are paid only on performance so why kick them off?

So, if anybody is reading this and looking after an affiliate program, the above is a step by step guide on how to offend, antagonise and generally piss off your affiliates.

What I'm listening to right now: Fantasia - "Hood Boy"

Affiliate Marketing - Morgan Stanley

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