BN.com affiliate program?

dgatwood · 02-26-2015, 02:31 AM

Has anyone had any luck joining Barnes & Noble's affiliate program? I sent them email last Saturday, and again yesterday, but I haven't heard a peep from them—not even so much as an auto-response saying that they got my email.

On further searching, I found at least one other person who hadn't heard back from their affiliate program after more than a month, so I'm starting to wonder if their affiliate program even still exists. Does anybody know? Do I have to burn a picture of Jeff Bezos on an altar or sacrifice a goat or something?

Dr. Drib · 02-26-2015, 07:24 AM

Why would anyone want to do direct self-promotion with B&N?

eschwartz · 02-26-2015, 11:57 AM

I think it is safe to say at this point that B&N has no interest in encouraging sales

and also that people are going to be biased against anyone who seems to approve of B&N.

dgatwood · 02-26-2015, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Why would anyone want to do direct self-promotion with B&N?

I have a list of links on my website to places where folks can buy my books, and I would prefer for them to be affiliate links so that I get that extra few percent at least some of the time. Mind you, I'm only listing the bigger vendors—Apple, Amazon, Kobo, Google, and B&N—but it just seems odd to leave out what as of only a year ago was the third largest eBook vendor in the U.S.

But without the ability to create affiliate links, I'm not going to link to their site. Their royalty rates are so much lower than everybody else's without that extra 6% affiliate commission that I'd rather have people think that I'm not in B&N's store, and let them wonder why.

Incidentally, I wrote to the Nook Press folks yesterday asking if they could check on things, and I never heard back from them, either. So now I'm starting to wonder if the whole company laid off their entire workforce a year ago, and I'm the first person to notice.

cromag · 02-27-2015, 01:37 AM

They do seem to be working very hard to force themselves out of the ebook business. Seems a shame. Up until they started playing games with downloads and passwords they got more of my business than any other vendor. Since then, I haven't bought a single ebook from them. (I do still have a "combo" subscription to two magazines.)

I don't know anyone who is happy with them -- except, maybe, Amazon.

dgatwood · 02-28-2015, 12:17 AM

24 hours and no response (not even an autoresponse) from their *main* customer service email address. You'd have better luck reaching someone at Radio Shack.

AnemicOak · 02-28-2015, 12:33 AM

Did you email the address from the affiliate site (Ahelp@book.com)?

dgatwood · 02-28-2015, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Did you email the address from the affiliate site (Ahelp@book.com)?

A week ago.

AnemicOak · 02-28-2015, 12:50 AM

I was an affiliate with them long ago, before it was invite only, and never had any luck getting responses from them back then either (they've never seemed serious about the program). I notice that the blog & Twitter account for the program haven't been posted to since 2012.

dgatwood · 03-01-2015, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I was an affiliate with them long ago, before it was invite only, and never had any luck getting responses from them back then either (they've never seemed serious about the program). I notice that the blog & Twitter account for the program haven't been posted to since 2012.

Yeah, I seem to recall reading that a former head of that program left in 2012. I half wonder if they forgot to hire a replacement.

dgatwood · 03-20-2015, 11:08 PM

Still no response after... eight inquiries by my count, over the course of an entire month.

The best part? Nook Press just sent me an email encouraging me to join their affiliate program. I sent them back a complete list of every attempt I had made to do so. Just for your amusement, I thought I'd share it with folks. I don't expect a reply. After all, why break a perfect record?

----

I find it absolutely hilarious that you just sent me an email suggesting that I join your affiliate program. Here's what happened when I tried:

Feb. 21: First attempt to join the program. Followed instructions on an old page that didn't tell me to include my LinkShare ID. No response.

Feb. 21: Found another page with more info. Sent a more complete request. Also no response.

Feb. 24: Sent a follow-up email because I hadn't heard back. No response.

Feb. 26: Sent an inquiry to Nook Press asking what was going on. Also no response. (I've gotten responses on every Nook Press query except this one.)

Feb. 27: Sent an inquiry to the main B&N customer service address. Also no response. (I've gotten responses on every customer service query but this one and its companion on Mar. 18.)

Mar. 6: Sent another attempt to join the program. No response.

Mar. 18: Sent another attempt to join the program. No response.

Mar. 18: Sent another request to B&N customer service, this time through a contact form on affiliates.barnesandnoble.com site. No response.

At this point, I'm operating under the natural assumption that your affiliate program is completely and utterly defunct—that the last employee in that division left, and his or her manager never bothered to hire a replacement. That's literally the only possible conclusion that any rational person could come to.

If you're not going to actually operate your affiliate program, you really shouldn't be mentioning it in your emails to us. If I'm wrong, and if there is actually someone reading those emails, please let them know that a month is entirely too long to wait for an initial reply. H***, even a "We're reviewing your application and will get back to you" email would be better than this.

The ironic thing is that Amazon's program is starting to seriously p*** me off (they closed my account and made me reapply because of undocumented, arbitrary, and capricious rules about what can and can't be in your list of domains). Had your affiliate program actually gotten back to me, I'd have been sending all my paper book sales to you instead of them for the past three days. But since you didn't answer, I'm continuing to put up with Amazon as my vendor of choice.

Please light a fire under your affiliate program team's a**es. You're not just losing sales. You're losing respect in the eyes of your vendors.

Sincerely,
David Gatwood
Gatwood Publishing

cromag · 03-21-2015, 01:42 AM

Hate to say this, but I think you'll have to get used to Amazon.

Dr. Drib · 03-21-2015, 06:51 AM

The simple solution is to move on, and use your time for writing.

dgatwood · 03-25-2015, 01:53 AM

Now you're going to laugh. Apparently, unlike all my previous attempts, that last one—where I submitted a customer service request from the bottom of the affiliate program page—got through. I actually got a response back from several human beings, and I'm now a member of the program.

Seriously bizarre.

02-26-2015, 02:31 AM	#1
dgatwood Curmudgeon Posts: 629 Karma: 1623086 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: iPad, iPhone, Nook Simple Touch	BN.com affiliate program? Has anyone had any luck joining Barnes & Noble's affiliate program? I sent them email last Saturday, and again yesterday, but I haven't heard a peep from them—not even so much as an auto-response saying that they got my email. On further searching, I found at least one other person who hadn't heard back from their affiliate program after more than a month, so I'm starting to wonder if their affiliate program even still exists. Does anybody know? Do I have to burn a picture of Jeff Bezos on an altar or sacrifice a goat or something?

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02-26-2015, 07:24 AM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,438 Karma: 59592133 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Why would anyone want to do direct self-promotion with B&N?

02-26-2015, 11:57 AM	#3
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	I think it is safe to say at this point that B&N has no interest in encouraging sales and also that people are going to be biased against anyone who seems to approve of B&N.

02-27-2015, 01:37 AM	#5
cromag Surfin the alpha waves ~~ Posts: 26,285 Karma: 459765791 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: Jetbook Lite & Mini, Nook STR, Kobo, Hanvon N516, Kindle 2, Androids	They do seem to be working very hard to force themselves out of the ebook business. Seems a shame. Up until they started playing games with downloads and passwords they got more of my business than any other vendor. Since then, I haven't bought a single ebook from them. (I do still have a "combo" subscription to two magazines.) I don't know anyone who is happy with them -- except, maybe, Amazon.

02-28-2015, 12:17 AM	#6
dgatwood Curmudgeon Posts: 629 Karma: 1623086 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: iPad, iPhone, Nook Simple Touch	24 hours and no response (not even an autoresponse) from their main customer service email address. You'd have better luck reaching someone at Radio Shack.

02-28-2015, 12:33 AM	#7
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Did you email the address from the affiliate site (Ahelp@book.com)?

02-28-2015, 12:50 AM	#9
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	I was an affiliate with them long ago, before it was invite only, and never had any luck getting responses from them back then either (they've never seemed serious about the program). I notice that the blog & Twitter account for the program haven't been posted to since 2012.

03-20-2015, 11:08 PM	#11
dgatwood Curmudgeon Posts: 629 Karma: 1623086 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: iPad, iPhone, Nook Simple Touch	Still no response after... eight inquiries by my count, over the course of an entire month. The best part? Nook Press just sent me an email encouraging me to join their affiliate program. I sent them back a complete list of every attempt I had made to do so. Just for your amusement, I thought I'd share it with folks. I don't expect a reply. After all, why break a perfect record? ---- I find it absolutely hilarious that you just sent me an email suggesting that I join your affiliate program. Here's what happened when I tried: Feb. 21: First attempt to join the program. Followed instructions on an old page that didn't tell me to include my LinkShare ID. No response. Feb. 21: Found another page with more info. Sent a more complete request. Also no response. Feb. 24: Sent a follow-up email because I hadn't heard back. No response. Feb. 26: Sent an inquiry to Nook Press asking what was going on. Also no response. (I've gotten responses on every Nook Press query except this one.) Feb. 27: Sent an inquiry to the main B&N customer service address. Also no response. (I've gotten responses on every customer service query but this one and its companion on Mar. 18.) Mar. 6: Sent another attempt to join the program. No response. Mar. 18: Sent another attempt to join the program. No response. Mar. 18: Sent another request to B&N customer service, this time through a contact form on affiliates.barnesandnoble.com site. No response. At this point, I'm operating under the natural assumption that your affiliate program is completely and utterly defunct—that the last employee in that division left, and his or her manager never bothered to hire a replacement. That's literally the only possible conclusion that any rational person could come to. If you're not going to actually operate your affiliate program, you really shouldn't be mentioning it in your emails to us. If I'm wrong, and if there is actually someone reading those emails, please let them know that a month is entirely too long to wait for an initial reply. H*, even a "We're reviewing your application and will get back to you" email would be better than this. The ironic thing is that Amazon's program is starting to seriously p* me off (they closed my account and made me reapply because of undocumented, arbitrary, and capricious rules about what can and can't be in your list of domains). Had your affiliate program actually gotten back to me, I'd have been sending all my paper book sales to you instead of them for the past three days. But since you didn't answer, I'm continuing to put up with Amazon as my vendor of choice. Please light a fire under your affiliate program team's a**es. You're not just losing sales. You're losing respect in the eyes of your vendors. Sincerely, David Gatwood Gatwood Publishing

03-21-2015, 01:42 AM	#12
cromag Surfin the alpha waves ~~ Posts: 26,285 Karma: 459765791 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: Jetbook Lite & Mini, Nook STR, Kobo, Hanvon N516, Kindle 2, Androids	Hate to say this, but I think you'll have to get used to Amazon.

03-21-2015, 06:51 AM	#13
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,438 Karma: 59592133 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	The simple solution is to move on, and use your time for writing.

03-25-2015, 01:53 AM	#14
dgatwood Curmudgeon Posts: 629 Karma: 1623086 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: iPad, iPhone, Nook Simple Touch	Now you're going to laugh. Apparently, unlike all my previous attempts, that last one—where I submitted a customer service request from the bottom of the affiliate program page—got through. I actually got a response back from several human beings, and I'm now a member of the program. Seriously bizarre.

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