Liberator Affiliate Program

March 6th, 2010

Let me preface this review by saying I believe Liberator will be moving to different software for its affiliate program and pay outs are currently frozen. In the near future, this review may no longer be relevant but, in the mean time, feel free to check out AAG’s post about not being paid.

Liberator’s affiliate program is one of the few manufacturer affiliate programs to which I have applied. Part of the reason for this is because no other retailer sells all of Liberator’s products. It is difficult to do so without marking up the prices ridiculously because of shipping costs, which I understand. Of course, Liberator has also been kind enough to allow me to review one of their products.

Liberator’s currently affiliate program can be accessed by a link in the footer of Liberator’s homepage. This page gives a bit of information to potential affiliates, including that earnings are from 10% – 15%. From there you can sign up or sign in, if you are a current affiliate. There is no direct URL which is easy to access (for this page or the affiliate program, period) even though the affiliate control panel mentions LiberatorAffiliates.com. Unfortunately, this domain redirects to Liberator.com and not even the affiliate page. In fact, links from this section redirect to the Liberator home page and the sign up page does not have a field for referrer so it appears that affiliates cannot refer others and earn commissions from their sales. Although I can live without referring others, it certainly is a nice incentive and it doesn’t bode well for a program when the provided links are useless.

That is essentially my biggest bone to pick with the Liberator affiliate program: the links are provided and there are no ways to create links to different landing pages. Not every program has a link creator or a built in affiliate dashboard when browsing the site but I don’t even know if I can add my affiliate code to the end of URLs to bring visitors in on specific product, review or guide pages. It’s not a problem if you want to link to big named products by Liberator or even other manufacturers like Lelo but not even every Liberator product has a link in the affiliate control panel and I like my links to be relevant. Another downfall to this is that I do not know how frequently the links are updated as new products are added. I find that when my options as an affiliate are limited, I am much less likely to use affiliate links at all which doesn’t help me earn commissions or help the company make sales.

There are, however, quite a few banner options including a group of banners featuring Catalina, a blogger (and model?) of some infamy but with whom not everyone would be familiar. Also, her blog seems to be down and since I am not a follower, I do not even know if these banners are still relevant. Most of these banners are located on one page and are not divided by size (although, most of the standard sizes appear to be available) so they are not as easy to browse as they could be. It would be easier to navigate if the banners were further divided by size, even if they were all on the same page; just add internal links. As you can guess, these banners mostly focus on Liberator shapes with some highlighting their lingerie.

Aside from links and banners, basic account info is readily available on the first page, after sign in. This includes sales and commissions. For more in depth information, affiliates can view monthly reports which are broken down by sales and commissions. Users can also edit their account information, contact Liberator and choose to redeem commissions (over $200). All of these options are easy to find but the control panel is definitely on the basic side. It’s okay if you just want the pertinent information at a moment’s notice but definitely lacking compared to other affiliate control panels.

One noticeably lacking feature is that of payment flexibility. The only option I can see is to be paid by check and, I’ll be honest, a $200 check would be awesome but it could take years for me to get to that point. It would be great to have the option to be paid by Paypal and a lower payout as well. Because I have yet to make commissions, I cannot speak in depth about the payment process.

Overall, the Liberator Affiliate program lacks the flexibility and ability to customize in a way that really attracts and keeps affiliates. With programs like these, I am likely to forget I am even an affiliate after I add banners to my site. Instead, I focus my energy on other retailers which offer more alluring features and allow me to link the pages I want to specifically link. The result is that I make more from other affiliate programs simply because it is easier to do so.

In addition to this, Liberator has not done much to really draw attention to the affiliate site on their main page or to make the two mesh (relatively) seamlessly. I don’t mind separate affiliate sites at all but without even on a logo to distinguish it, the Liberator affiliate program is forgettable.

With that said, it will be interesting to see the new Liberator affiliate program when it is operational. I also hope that the folks at Liberator will take the time to inform their affiliates of these changes because there has not been a lot of communication going on thus far. This will definitely be a chance for them to improve their program so that affiliates will actually want to use it.

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Categories: Reviews, internet

A toy a day? No Way!

March 3rd, 2010

Babeland is holding a contest in which they give away one Fun Factory toy every day. All you have to do is become a fan of one of their Facebook pages and send them a message to be entered. Go ahead and tell them Adriana sent you, too!

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Categories: internet

PinkCherry Sex ToysExtreme Restraints

Bhold: Bcute Curve

February 28th, 2010

My first free toy was an egg from Bswish and it was surprisingly powerful. While the newer additions to their line up are just as attractive (cute, even!), they do seem to lack the strength which is sad. Plus, my Curve won’t relinquish smells it picked up for only one use which is a little disappointing. Still, for some people, it would be the B’s knees.

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Categories: internet

I Write Stuff

February 24th, 2010

on EdenCafe. Most recently, I have been writing posts in my “column” – The Hard Way, which discusses how I’ve learned things.. the hard way: The Sensitive Guy, Did You Know I Eloped? and My Exes. I have attempted to share some of my personal experiences, honestly but without being entirely depressing (although my current trials make it difficult). I will be switching things up next week, however. Are you intrigued?

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Categories: internet

The Sasi at Babeland

Why Are You Here?

February 1st, 2010

There’s a bit of conversation going on Twitter about searches which have led to bloggers’ sites. Since February is new, I only have a handful and most of them are pretty straight forward:

  • lockable sextoy case
  • make me cum porn
  • passion wave
  • silicone lube for sex at walmart
  • vibrating rock chick g-spot and clitoral vibrator

“sex toy case” is pretty popular overall; it was the most popular search term last month. Probably because I reviewed this locking sex toy case from TabuToys and also this toy box by Devine. People also seem to be interested in the make me cum clit sensitizer by Adam and Eve. In short? don’t buy it. ;)

A lot of folks seem to think I know how to make the clitoris more sensitive (some products work but I wish I could do that, too!) and there’s more than one search for tentacle sex toys and tentacle sex stories – probably because of a review I did for Five Minute Erotica.

I’m highly disappointed by the creativity shown in these searches, though. The closest thing I have to exciting are these phrases: “pulsating orgasm” and “belly inflating.” Most of my orgasms feel pulsating but it’s a cool phrase. I do have to say, I’m not sure about this belly inflating. Sounds scary to me.

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Categories: internet

Babeland Affiliate Program

January 29th, 2010



In my second installment of affiliate program reviews, I’d like to introduce you to Babeland Affiliates. When browsing Babeland’s site for affiliate information, visitors can find this affiliate FAQ which, while generally helpful, isn’t amazing. For instance, if you’re wondering when you’ll be paid, the page indicates to look at a list of dates that doesn’t exist. Furthermore, interested bloggers and website owners (who are 21+) can sign up via a form which is embedded into Babeland’s shop site; however, once approved affiliates must log into a different site – BabelandAffiliates.com – to manage their states. This really is my biggest complaint about the content of the affiliate program at Babeland – it’s confusingly spread on two different sites.

While affiliates can link to pretty much any page on Babeland’s site including individual products, guides and specials via the link creator on the Babeland site, the affiliate site only offers premade links to specific products and pages. There is no link creator at all within the affiliate site. And if there is a way to link to the affiliate site with an affiliate link, I do not know how. Furthermore, sometimes Babeland no longer sells products and I believe visitors are redirected to the main page without notice of why this is happening.

It’s also great to see seasonal banners from Babeland and they are conveniently displayed below the link creator but guess what? There are also banners in the affiliate control panel and they are not always in sync. As long as I’ve been an affiliate, it seems like seasonal banners are quickly removed from the link creator page on Babeland.com but there’s no real indication in the affiliate control panel about the status of certain banners. If that weren’t confusing enough, there is actually a third page with more banners on the Babeland site. Sure, affiliates have lots of options but they also have to exert a lot of effort to find the tools available to them. Now, I have nothing against having to use an external site for affiliates as long as that external site is all encompassing which is not the case for Babeland.

Banner and linking issues aside, the commercial software they used to track impressions, clicks, orders and commissions is easy enough to use (and set my date). Affiliates can also view The “View Reports” page does not have as much in depth information as the EdenFantasys affiliate program but it’s easy to see that I am owed some commissions. However, I’m not entirely sure when I will paid (remember, the Affiliate FAQs weren’t so helpful in that area) and the “Training Center” link in the affiliate control panel is a broken link. I do believe I will be paid next month because I have over $25 in commissions this month. It would be great if that question could be answered in the control panel, however.

The specific software BabelandAffiliates uses does have some interesting, tools. For instance, there is a page entitled “Marketing Material” which shows the banners I have in use along with their impressions, clicks, click-thru ratios, number of sales and commissions. Ironically, all of my commissions are via text links and not banner clicks. (= This affiiate setup also allows users to create Sub-IDS which are defined thusly:

Sub-IDs are a tool that will allow you to track specific placements of our links and view the performance of each. For example if you have a website and an email newsletter, you can create a sub-ID for each like site and news. You can then view the reports below to determine how your site and your news links are performing.

Although I don’t personally have use for this feature, I can see how it would be useful, especially for networked sites.

It’s also to see previous payments. Because of the $25/month commissions rule, it’s been some time since I got one but it’s still listed which is nice. This is helpful if you move because Babeland only pays out by check and sometimes moving or mail issues can prevent that money from reaching your hands.

I briefly touched on the limited links which are available through this control panel. There are only a handful of text links available, one of which points to G-spot toys, one to the Babeland store and one to the SaSi product listing. It’s pretty meager and having the link creator here would be awesome, am I right? There are more options with banners (and these are separated into categories by size or promotion) but, as I mentioned before, some of the banners are “time-sensitive” and no longer useful to affiliates because the promotion has ended or, in the case of the 2008 election, is completely irrelevant now.

Affiliates can easily change their personal information in the dashboard, thankfully, and that wraps up the control panel. It’s doesn’t include everything and the kitchen sink, like the control panel for EdenFantasys affiliates but it does meet all basic needs and then some. It would just be that much more useful if the powers that be focused on the control panel instead of spreading affiliate content across several sites and pages. As it is, it’s more than a little frustrating because the goal is so clearly within reach.

I’m not entirely who the powers that be are anymore. I believe that both the the affiliate program and the reviewer program fall under the same management (and the review newsletter includes affiliate information also) but there have been some changes recently. While I understand employees come and go, I am not the only person who is thoroughly confused as to whom to contact. Even when I thought I knew whom to contact, replies were very inconsistent. Some folks were constantly getting e-mail and phone calls replies in a timely manner whereas others, like myself, have heard absolutely nothing back. I don’t pretend to understand the kind of stress that these folks are under and I also know I’d concentrate on improving the customers experience before worrying about affiliates so I don’t like to make a big deal out of things. However, I do know that it’s easy to set up an automatic reply to the extent of:

So and so, the affiliate manage at Babeland has received your message but due to an influx in correspondence will only be replying to e-mails which require a reply.

And we’d really be happy with that. In addition, since affiliate newsletters go out on a weekly basis anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to add a little blurb “Hi, my name is Bob and I will be taking over correspondence with affiliates.” To be fair, I was told that someone would be taking over affiliate correspondence which I absolutely appreciate but I don’t think this message was spread consistently to all affiliates.

With a little tweaking around the edges, I think the Babeland Affiliate program would be quite formidable but it is currently quite clumsy.

3 Comments

Categories: Reviews, internet

All The Things You Never Wanted to Know

January 24th, 2010

I don’t have a formspring account. I don’t love change and I don’t need someplace new for folks to ask me questions. You can comment here or e-mail me or ask me on Twitter or catch me in a chatroom or stalk me just fine, thank you very much. Actually, no one has asked me questions but that’s okay! Because I am so awesome, I will answer any questions you never asked right here, right now.

Has your husband ever drank your ejaculate?
Why, yes! Actually, I was able to finally achieve a decent squirt with him today and he was really eager to taste it but I don’t think it was his thing. Still awesome, though.

Do you stick to one or two toys as your go to insurance for an orgasm, or do you experiment a lot?
I tend to stick with one toy if the goal is orgasm. I used to default to Layaspot and occasionally the Miracle Massager when I just wanted to get off quickly but I think Tuyo will probably be my clitoral vibe or choice even considering the noise factor. If I am reviewing, I might grab a bunch of toys but then my goal is usually just to get a taste for the toys and not necessarily orgasm. I almost never use more than one toy at a time as I am just not very coordinated. I find that if I like a new toy, I will use it frequently for a while until I get something new and awesome.

How did you get into sex toy reviewing?
This is a hard question. I think I was shopping around and saw a notice on Vibrator.com. I contacted them about reviewing for my regular, personal blog and was sent my first free toy (Bnaughty). I still review for them on that blog, actually. But I was hooked so I searched for other sites with similar programs and found EdenFantasys. Soon after, I started this blog so I could review for places like Babeland.

If your husband came home and told you he had been discussing a MFM threesome with a coworker or friend, how would you react?
Okay, no one asked me this but I wanted to talk about it because the idea turns me on. I doubt it would ever happen but if, for some reason, it did, I might actually just throw caution to the wind and take him up on it. Of course, our tastes in men probably differ.

How can you be bisexual yet inexperienced? I could fuck or love any woman easily. It’s something I just know.

Why do you seem to be disappointed with squirting?
While fun and taboo and all, I don’t orgasm with it, Plus, it’s become so easy that even rather crappy toys can cause me to ejaculate.

Do you think Bad Company makes sex music?
Yes. Also Maroon 5. Very different, I know.

What makes you feel sexy?
The way my husband looks at and treats me but music sometimes gives me a sexual confidence that I don’t really take into the bedroom. It’s odd but I kind of feel silly about the way some songs make me dance or sing around with my hips all swinging.

Do you think that having sex with your husband right now is complicating things?
Yes. But right now I don’t care. I know I will regret it if we get divorced but I am still fucking him.

What sort of household items did you pervert?
I used to hump my Ken doll. (Sorry Mattel). I’ve broken a taper candle with my vagina muscles and I tried using my Venus razor handle but none of them were as awesome as my first vibrator.

Do you like ponies?
Of course, and so do you.

What sort of porn do you like?
I am not sure. I haven’t found any full length porn that I really enjoy. I do know that I like to watch girl on girl action and I enjoy it much more if it looks real, like the actors are really getting off and not just performing for the camera.

So are you dominant or submissive?
Who the fuck knows. Maybe I’m a switch but I have come to appreciate some submissive tendencies and playing with them really intrigues me. Still, power is thrilling as well.

Have any more questions? Ask them in comments and I’ll add them. For now I am dead tired and heading to bed!

6 Comments

Categories: Everything Else, internet

EdenFantasys Affiliate Program

January 22nd, 2010



The affiliate program at EdenFantasys is one which I am perhaps most familiar with so it shall be my first review. EdenFantasys uses a proprietary setup, not commercial software (as far as I can tell) which blends seamlessly with the rest of the control panel. Upon first registering, I was able to enter the affiliate code of another affiliate which I did (I just picked one from RetailMeNot – you’re welcome!).

The program at EF allows affiliates to earn commissions in several manners.

Partner Online
Users can grab content from any page and save it to their “desktop.” Product images, descriptions and titles are saved to the desktop for use in HTML or Flash widgets which affiliates can display on their websites. These widgets can serve as a “recently reviewed” list or as product comparisons, among other things.

Alternatively, users can convert URLS, including products, reviews, forum threads, searches and more, by adding it to the “My URL” list. The URLs remain saved for future reference and I frequently use it to save intricate URLs which I frequently post. However, almost any page can be turned into an affiliate link by adding #pcode-yourpartnercode to the end of the URL. Few pages on EdenFantasys need special treatment. Search filters do require special treatment; thus I use the My URL tool.

Edenfantasys also provides nearly 250 different banners which affiliates can use with their Partner Online links to attract potential customers.

When a customer makes an order having click a Partner Online link, the affiliate earns 20% commissions (after discounts).

Partner Flyer
EdenFantasys provides printed flyers free of charge to affiliates. These flyers help affiliates spread the word to potential customers and advertise the 15% discount. Each affiliate has a partner code which can be entered an unlimited amount of times. This code is not unique to the actual customer so affiliates can spread the word of their partner codes via e-mail, blog or word of mouth as well.

If a customer were to use both the link and partner code, the code would override the link providing a 15% discount to the customer and 5% commissions to the affiliate.

My Partners
Like other affiliate programs, users can earn commissions by recruiting others beneath them. Affiliates will earn 3% commissions on orders from new affiliates who sign up under them.

As I mentioned, the affiliate control panel is merged with the overall account options at EdenFantasys; however, when one signs up as a contributor, one is not automatically signed up as an affiliate. When viewing one’s account, there is a link for “Affiliate Program” and clicking it brings up all the options to use widgets, banners and URLs as well as the options to invite new partners, order flyers and view reports.

The reports contain a lot of information which can be difficult to take in at once. I usually just glance at the main reports which give a summary of traffic, orders, sales, estimated commissions and earnings so far. It’s easy to navigate to specific pages if an affiliate wants to track incoming links. For example I can click to see where my 92 incoming links originate. Most of my incoming links are from this blog (logically), Twitter and Google. Affiliates can adjust these statistics for a different time period. The default period is the current, open period. Additionally, affiliates can view orders/sales by program: partner online, partner flyer or my partners.

There are two pages within the reports section which cannot be accessed through the Main reports page – problem orders and payment history. Problem orders are orders which have been returned/refunded, thus the affiliates does not earn commissions. The payment history shows commissions earned for closed period, payments and remaining balances. Earnings are ’stored’ in the partner account and can applied to orders on EdenFantasys via checkout. When used in such a manner, these orders show up as payments. Additionally, payment by check or Paypal will also be listed here.

Affiliates can choose to be paid in a variety of methods on the Registration for Payments page (Affiliates can also edit payee name, tax ID and address). Unlike other pages in the control panel, the link is the last under the “Settings” navigation and cannot be found with the affiliate program links. American affiliates can choose check or Paypal payout after reaching a $50 minimum. There are a few restrictions for international affiliates, however. Payments by check or wire transfer must meet a $200 minimum and wire transfers costs $15. International affiliates can select Paypal as an option to receive payments of $50 or more.

It’s important to note that earned commissions are not eligible for redemption until after the period has closed (the end of the month) and a month long cooling off period (in the event that an order is returned) has passed. Thus, an order placed on December 17th should become eligible for payout/redemption at the beginning of February.

Edenfantasys has one of the most comprehensive and easy to use affiliates programs, in my opinion. I rarely need to use the URL maker because it’s easy to add my partner code. Furthermore, I like being to link almost any page on the site, not just specific products and while I do not use all the tools provided (like widgets), the numerous banners allow options for all sorts of affiliates. Originally, I was confused by the payment process (and if you look on the forums, I was not the only one) but have come to understand it. Additionally, questions can be asked on the forums (where other affiliates can respond) or e-mailed. The different tools allow affiliates to attract new customers and affiliates . However, all the options can be a bit overwhelming and do take some time to get use to.

There is not much I would change about the affiliate program at EdenFantasys. It allows me to do things that other programs do not and has been the most profitable affiliate program I have joined. Although, there is way to reproduce the contributor widget I have on my sidebar in the control panel and it would be nice to change or at least see the referrer partner code. If you are already a contributor (or even if you are not), I would suggest you at least check it out. If you do join, my partner code is 9br.

3 Comments

Categories: Reviews, internet

Movies

Ina Garden of Eden

January 5th, 2010

In my never-ending search for the perfect rabbit vibe, I’ve amassed a small fortune of devices. Yet, none are perfect; my search continues. What better reason to desire Ina by Lelo? Oh, I didn’t at first but the reviews came out and squelched my criticisms with ease. Be mine, Ina.

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Categories: Everything Else, internet

I’m Over Here

December 23rd, 2009

I’ve been a little slow with reviews lately. Mostly I’m just lazy. But you can also find my writing over at EdenCafe. Some of my recent posts include:

Okay, so some of them aren’t exactly “recent” per se. I’m just a slacker in all things but it’s great to have been writing different kinds of posts on EdenCafe and the gift cards aren’t half bad either. As I understand it, Carrie Ann is always looking for more writers so drop her a line if you’re interested!

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Categories: Site, internet

Adam and Eve
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