The Thesis Theme Affiliate Program Change

It Sucks!

I mentioned before that, in Internet Marketing, nothing remains the same for long. One day you might be doing well, making the money you deserve and the next day or next month, just when you are beginning to fell a little bit comfortable, things will take a drastic change and put you into a limbo again. It is very damn frustrating.

I logged into my email this morning and received an email which will probably spoil my mood for the rest of the week. The developers of the Thesis Theme decided to move their in house affiliate program to Share-A-Sale. Just in case you do not know, Share-A-Sale is an affiliate network no different from Commission Junction or PepperJam. It manages affiliate programs for thousands of merchants and of all other available options, they decided on Share-A-Sale.

No I am not saying Share-A-Sale is no good. They are good, in fact if you see what is available, they are fantastic. They also provide datafeeds which means, if you have the script to do it, you can use the feeds to create a website which provide you with instant and fresh contents everyday. Something similar to the BANs script but somewhat nicer and richer.

I do have an existing account with Share-A-Sale when I was more seriously involved in Internet Marketing not too long ago. I even had a few websites selling garden furniture, sports clothing and some others during that time. What made me eventually gave up that Network was their method of payment. They pay with checks rather than through PayPal. It works great for those in Europe and America as they can have their payment directly deposited, but it sucks big time for those like me who are staying away from those areas.

The check takes more than a week to reach me. Nearly three weeks to clear and by the time I can utilize the money, it will be nearly a month after. With PayPal, I can have my funds transferred to my bank account within 3 working days. With Western Union as in the case of my Adsense earnings, I can withdraw instantly a day after payment have been made.

Beats me as to why Brian Clark and his team decided on Share-A-Sale. Many affiliates from outside the region are already complaining and thinking of pulling out. Maybe we, the “outsiders” do not generate much sales and are negligible.

Anyway, since thing have taken such a turn, there isn’t much choice left for me other than to play along. The Thesis Theme sells and it would be a waste to let it go just like that. However, I will not be as actively promoting it as before. I am taking a good look at the Frugal Theme which is on par with the Thesis Theme in more ways than one. I will have to use it before I start recommending it though, so don’t be surprise if you see this blog running on the Frugal Theme in the very near future..