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I'm not quite sure what prompted me to do that although just lately we've had a few people come in to enquire about having us build basic websites for them so that they can get involved in affiliate marketing. Perhaps I was curious to see how things are going in mainstream these days ... or maybe I was just bored with what was on TV.

Of course we all know that commissions on sales are much less over in mainstream and most mainstream affiliates would kill to get the sort of commissions that we can pick up here in adult. But did you know just how bad things really are over there?

One very long thread that I spent some time reading was started back in July by one of the bigger affiliates on that board. He was complaining that most of the big merchants were slashing their commission rate by as much as 50 percent and as the thread went on from July through to now those same merchants were slashing their commission even further.

Some merchants in mainstream are now paying as little as 2 percent on some of their products while other products they sell attract no commission at all. So you could be promoting those merchants for nothing if someone you sent to that merchant's website bought one of those zero commission products.

Seeing those commission rates made me realise that an email I received the other day from an Australian merchant offering new affiliates 1 percent commission really wasn't the typo that I thought it was.

Low commissions and instant severance the moment the state you live in starts talking about imposing an Internet sales tax ... and you thought things were tough here in adult ... but wait there's more. Along with slashing the commission rates many of the big merchants are slashing the life of their cookies from 45 days down to just 15 days.

It's obvious that if you've been thinking about dabbling in mainstream affiliate marketing it's time to think again. Those low rates and limited cookie lifetimes mean that if you're starting off in mainstream now you're really going to have to work your butt off just to make cab fare ... but people will still try.

They will still try because they don't understand how the industry works and where they fit into the industry framework. And the same thing applies here in adult ... there's a framework and you need to understand where you fit in that framework if you want to have any chance of making money here.

So if you haven't thought about where you fit into the industry before perhaps it's time that you did take a step back and spend a little of your valuable time to map out where you do fit in. Pay particular attention to what's above and below you and follow the traffic and the money to get a clear picture where you are and what you prospects might be.

If you're just here as an affiliate then taking time to follow the traffic and the money might open your eyes to just how tenuous your position really is. Sure, you may be getting big commissions for each sale you make but what do you need to do, who do you need to rely on and what is the cost to you to make those sales?

And while you're thinking about that don't take it as being written in stone that any one of your sponsors will be here tomorrow. The sponsors who cut you those nice checks ... the ones that keep your business going ... may not be as stable as you think. So what will the result be for you if one of those sponsors suddenly stops sending out those checks ... or suddenly cuts their commission rate?

When you know where you fit in you can begin to get a much clearer picture of what the future holds for you and your business. Not only do you begin to see the weak points in the framework that you're in that can destroy you but you also begin to see where you might begin to move within that framework to ensure that you can survive and grow.

And don't for a moment think that the best way to survive and grow is to become a super affiliate ... an affiliate that sends so many sales that a sponsor will really take good care of you. In the affiliate marketing side of this industry whales can turn into minnows in the blink of an eye if the unthinkable happens.