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Every day that you turn on your computer or open your email there is an announcement of a new affiliate program launching. Some of these programs have taken months and even years to develop and build software, sites and marketing tools. Other programs simply have an individual site and slap a billing method on it and call themselves an affiliate program. The question to consider though is whether this surge in affiliate programs is helping or hurting those that are already in existence.

There is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition and it actually stimulates and encourages existing programs to improve and add to their programs. However, it also can have a detrimental effect on the bottom line of established programs by luring Webmaster traffic and consumers away from the sites that have gained their trust and built brand name recognition for themselves. There are some sites that will not have much competition because of the rare or specialized niches that they cover. However, there are sites and programs catering to reality, teen, mature, hardcore and other niches that spring up daily. There is also the potential for fraud committed against webmasters and surfers alike with new programs popping up. Other problems range from over saturation of free porn to webmasters wasting traffic trying out new programs.

Over saturation has long been a concern in the adult industry. It first began with the link lists and TGP's providing surfers samples and has continued through various promotion techniques and even content rip off to the point that any intelligent surfer can score enough free content to take care of their needs. Does the issue of new programs popping up tend to lend to the problem of content over saturation though? In part it does add to the surge of free content that is available on the Internet. Part of the problem is the concern for programs to retain the webmasters that they currently have promoting their sites. The surge in new programs has prompted the affiliate programs to offer more promotional tools to aide them in their campaigns and one of those tools is free content to use for advertising purposes. For a Webmaster the less they can promote a program for the more likely they are to utilize them. If company A will provide them with everything they need from free hosting to free content along with a high payout all the webmaster has to do is a small amount of work and spend a small amount of money to gain higher commissions. However, if company B has high quality sites but they just don't give as much free content out they are more likely to lose the webmaster's loyalty. This isn't due to the reputation of the solid programs but it is more a problem because of the increase in people getting involved in the adult industry and not really knowing precisely how to sell a porn site. These newbies think that all they have to do is publish a page with a bunch of free content on it and the surfers will make them rich. In reality this is what causes the over saturation of content and hurts the bottom-line for those that have been in business so long. These established programs may not be sliding backward into the deep abyss of bankruptcy but they are no longer seeing profit increases in the double digits like days of old.

Another huge problem with new programs popping up daily is the reliability of the programs. Again, the experienced webmasters are less likely to fall prey to any unscrupulous activities but the newer webmasters often will get taken for a ride. These programs may take the traffic and divert it for their own use, fail to report stats and sales accurately or simply not pay commission due to the webmasters. There are ways to avoid being taken to the cleaners but you must be diligent in checking new programs out. Some of the things to watch for is someone with no track record within the industry. If they don't have a reputation or experience within the industry it would be difficult to place 100% trust in them. Read the terms and conditions of any program that you decide to try. See what rules they have for how you can promote them, payment information and other relevant information. Ask for any programs they have worked with in the past or other industry specific people they have worked with. There is nothing wrong with asking for references from anyone you will be doing business with whether it is a new employee you are hiring or an affiliate program you are trusting your money and traffic with.

New programs can damage the bottom line of established programs but it is a free market and competition can often stimulate established and often stale programs to get off their butts and improve upon their product. Be cautious with any program that you trust with your traffic and money and be original with your marketing and promotion ideas and all sites both new and old should be able to find a comfortable place within the adult industry.