Rejected Again
A few weeks ago I posted a rant about waiting to be approved by an affiliate program before writing a product review. I was somewhat dejected that I had been declined as an affiliate after spending the time and effort to write a product review. Well, I've been rejected again, by Amazon; this time I'm not dejected. I'm PISSED OFF! Before you start saying, "Now wait a minute Tom. There's no guarantee that any program will accept you," I know that. Being declined is not why I'm upset. When I received the notice from Amazon, I politely responded by requesting that they tell me why. I got an evasive answer about company policies and how they had to think of the growth of the company and that their participants' sites had to reflect the highest standards, etc. They were sorry that they could not accept everyone. I asked again for more specific reasons such as if they thought there was something inappropriate on the site or if it was solely a matter of insufficient traffic. This time I received a response that might have been from someone higher on the food chain, but was no less evasive. And this time I was told that they would not be able to provide any further information. The only thing I hate worse than being given the runaround is being ignored, which is what they are now doing. Therefore, I'm angry!
I'll stop here. It seems like all I do in my blogs here is rant. I'm sorry about that. And I thank everyone for allowing it and listening. I sincerely hope all of you are having a better time of it than I am.
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Hi Tom. I looked over your site and checked out some of the posts. I think you've done a great job with content and structure. You are using the the same theme that I am for my site, so I understand it better too. My site was approved by Amazon right away, pending traffic and sales. So I don't understand your rejection either.
The one thing I did notice was in the comments. Your Facebook social media plug in retrieved my profile pic from my personal Facebook account and inserted it into your comment section. I didn't know that was possible but I am going to check my Facebook settings to see if that is allowable.
So my thought at this point is whether the social media options that are on the site may be a problem with Amazon. I haven't installed any of them on my site yet.
I know we all want the traffic that social media can deliver, but all these sites are now in direct competition to monetize their business, even twitter. Are we starting to get caught in the middle? I hope not. It may explain Amazon's evasavie explanations.
These are only my observations but I am annoyed also when straightforward answers aren't given.
Thanks Doug/Debbie. I had not thought about the social media aspect. The FaceBook comments are a part of the Super Socializer plugin. I appreciate your comments.
Have you tried Commission Junction? I've noticed that, when applying to various listed companies directly (trying to cut out the middleman like Amazon, etc.), most of them require either an Commission Junction account to register with or that Share (?).com place that was listed in the affiliate training list. I've found it's easier to go directly to the company it's self. You know your tools and supplies better than Amazon. Try direct contact with the tool company(s) websites. If they have an affiliate program, it will be listed all the way at the bottom of their landing pages.
I hope it works for you. I went with Amazon, too. But with pepper spray having an expiration date, those that are sold by "who knows who" can't really be given an accurate guarantee. I found the Mace Co. website and became an affiliate through them directly. So...I would think that if you contacted the wood working tool manufacturers themselves, you could affiliate that way. Amazon may be the biggest, but they have low commissions compared to the actual manufacturers. Just sayin' >; )
Oh dear, sorry about this Tom. I got rejected first time around but I just left it and tried again and it worked. Hang in there my friend.
Oh, I'm not giving up Peter. If anything, this has strengthened my resolve. Nothing like a little anger to harden the concrete in this hard head of mine!
Hi. I understand how you feel and I hope you manage to get approved by a program soon. I have been rejected too by a huge camera lens store I thought was a good idea to promote on my site. Not enough traffic, content and comments was their answer. I have Amazon so that's the one I stick to now. I also have a page with no affiliate links yet on purpose just to see if I get traffic and first page google rankings easier. I struggle with my google ranking even if I think I have great content and keywords. No use in having affiliate programs if no one sees my pages on google. :) Cheers. Keep it up and good luck.Andreas
Thanks Andreas. Like I said, it's not the rejection that makes me angry; it's their refusal to give me any feedback to help me improve.
That's too bad and it doesn't make sense, your website looks fine to me. I was wondering if, with your niche, it mightn't be better to go with Lowe's, Home Depot or Ace... something like that. Or even the tool manufacturers themselves like DeWalt, Porter Cable, etc. They may pay better in the end.
Thanks for that, Kristy. I am looking into the tool manufacturers. So far, what I've found is that most do not sell direct to the public, so I need to look at their retail partners. I haven't looked at Lowes yet, but already have been rejected by Home Depot. I can't get any explanation from them either. I'm continuing to look.
So sorry to hear about that. I have applied for some other affiliates and have either been declined or haven't heard a word yet. I do have Amazon, WA, Sempre Fi Web Design and Jaaxy.
Hope you figure out some alternatives. :))
Thanks Kim. I'll find something, I'm sure. I just don't like being treated as insignificant.
I don't blame you, I was turned down by Best Buy and Walmart even...Lol...just never know. :))
So sorry to hear you are going through this Tom. I have had one affiliate company not get back when I try and apply too and it is frustrating when you believe your site is worthy and cannot understand this kind of rejection. Keep going with it and BELIEVE in what you do. Some of these affiliate companies I feel it is better to wait to build your site up before applying. I too wished I found this out earlier as when I followed the training, it got us to apply to programs like Amazon quite early on and without realising their strict policies. It will all come together and for the best. xoxo
Thanks Abigail. As I've said, it's not the rejection, it's being brushed off like they have something to hide.
You have to get it out Tom, you might as well do it here. :)
Have you seen how many times I've "lost" it in my blog? lol
This business can be very frustrating.
You're right Angela, I did need to get that off my chest. I appreciate everyone for listening and responding.
I'm sorry, Tom. I've never been able to get much out of my rejects either, as to why. I usually assume they want to see more content. I just wait 30 days and apply again. Your rant is justified. I think we have a right to know why so we can correct whatever it is they find deficient. Sadly, it doesn't seem to work that way. UGH
Yes, that is exactly the point,Carla. I only asked because I wanted to know where I was deficient so I could improve. I can take the rejection, it's not that big a deal. Like you said. Wait, add more content and re-apply. Now, because of their evasiveness, I want to know what they're hiding!
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Tom, so sorry about this but there are plenty of others out there. Flex Offers.com is one that I've joined and they seem to manage affiliate programs for a very large number of merchants.
Thanks Sandra. I know there are others. That's really not my issue. I just don't like the way they treated me and evaded answering me.
I can understand that.