I received a broadcast email today from the good folks at Kowabunga proposing a tactic to deter spyware affiliates from participating in a merchant's affiliate program by relying on affiliates to police programs directly with the added twist of a referral incentive.

Is it a great idea or simply a PR ploy? We'd like to hear from you....

Todd

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Dear Merchant,

We know that many of you are doing what you can to attempt to keep spyware affiliates out of your programs in order to not only be more profitable, but also allow your honest affiliates to get the commissions they deserve. We applaud those efforts and have some news that we hope will help you in your anti-spyware efforts.

We've been working behind the scenes with some of our merchants and third parties to help identify spyware within different programs. As many of you know, these affiliates can be hard to detect in many cases, as they may strike up side deals with the spyware company or funnel traffic through a CPA network. What we've found is that your best affiliates can often be the best tool to combat spyware -- they have a vested interest in keeping your program clean and they also understand the technology employed by spyware and can help you detect it.

One of our merchants, DishPronto.com, has taken the lead in this effort, and we want to encourage you to consider following that lead. Essentially, they have added language to their affiliate agreement that not only warns potential spyware affiliates not to join, but offers honest affiliates a bounty -- up to the amount of commissions due a spyware affiliate -- for evidence that a spyware affiliate is in their program.

We believe this tactic is not only a cost effective and self-corrective way to police your private program, but allows you to continue to run your program without a third party having to monitor your behavior or intrude on the relationships you have with your affiliates.

We're thus encouraging all of our merchants to consider trying this method by amending their own affiliate agreements. If you add the appropriate language to your agreement, we will also list your program as "Anti-Spyware" in our Kolimbo network, meaning affiliates will immediately know your stance on this issue, and will be more likely to join your program as well as help you keep your program free of spyware. If you are a part of Kolimbo you will receive a separate email from Ben Ellis with the details.

For now, here is a sample of the agreement language you can use:
http://www.kolimbo.com/antispyware.htm

Please email me with any thoughts or questions. As with all other things we do, our clients are always the first source of change and innovation, and we will continue to build software and services based on your needs and best practices.

Jeff Doak
CTO, KowaBunga! Marketing
A Think Partnership Inc., Company