AFN Affiliations - 2025

[KingRatt]

Good morning everyone!

We've been able to operate on donation now for awhile and that's been AWESOME, we cannot begin to say how grateful we are for all the donations that have come in, the generosity you all have shown, and even the support by those not able to donate but still support the site! That said, the donations aren't always consistent with the bills coming for the month, and we want to help create some safety nets for when we have "low months" or simply to have a little extra to throw around for upgrades or doing some fun things for the site. And ultimately we'd like there to be less pressure or feeling of obligation to support the site financially (especially if we can do it through means available that aren't real intrusive.)

Our proposed idea on the table is to affiliate with a N. American-based seed bank (to cover this side of the pond,) then affiliate with a European-based seed bank (to cover that side of the pond.)

We actually have been affiliates of The Vault for literally years, it's just been a bit touch-and-go with our communication with them (but he's here sporadically, and I think if we start pushing and promoting George and the Vault a bit, that we could have him here more often and we'd start to see even more AFN-directed offers and contests!) I'm honestly not sure if I've ever heard a dirty word about these guys.

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For North America, we'd like for us to use Multiverse Beans. We've known Paul for a long time, he actually advertised here with us for a good while, and we had a really good 2 hour long chat on the phone here the other week about the future of things and where we both want to be. Multiverse is probably one of the most solid seed banks I've personally seen in the USA, incredibly consistent and amazing feedback from their customers.

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I'm fairly certain the Vault ships internationally, and Multiverse just opened up their shipping world-wide (with a guarantee on the order as well,) so they should be able to ship to virtually anywhere on the planet unless it's a hostile territory.

The other idea we had was to do an Amazon affiliate program, where we could post affiliate links to popular products you guys are already using. If you order from Amazon, you'd click on the link for the product (that you were going to buy anyway,) and we'd see a small portion of that come through from the affiliate program.

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That way if you WANT to support the site and help through these means, you can! And if not, no harm, no foul, no one's getting bent out of shape.

Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? Suggestions? Let 'er rip?

At the end of the day, thank you all for supporting the forum! We see good things on the horizon for AFN in 2025!

I like both ideas!

 

[WildBill]

What will affiliates get? Display advertising or what?

Why not develop a request of proposals (RFP), an outline of exactly what AFN offers and seeks from sponsors (affiliates), and collect proposals and competitive bids from diverse cannabis growing-oriented businesses, including nutrient, lighting, soil/media, etc. manufacturers/marketers, including the big seed manufacturing companies, etc. not just regional (e.g., US, EU) end-user seed (re)sellers? Go with the highest bidder(s) or otherwise best offer(s)? Larger scope may be appropriate. Perhaps a regional program is OK for seed resellers, but most other markets and companies now operate and market globally.

Is AFN from the start limiting its affiliate program, keeping too much within its 'comfort zone' and familiar participants? Is there some bias in favor of small time operations? Maybe AFN needs to target the major manufacturers and marketers, who can profit more (and pay more) from being an affiliate?

All good points to be taken in consideration!

 

[tobe]

@Son of Hobbes
The affiliate program sounds great to me. If you need help to get some new vendor on board feel free to ask me , you I got good network I am working with.

I will also think about what I personally can do for our great community.

I wish you a nice day my friend I will shot you a pm in January.
cu tobe

 

[SOOTDAWG]

me and Hobbes have discussed this..i think he wants to hammer out a......"template" as such to follow as far as approaching vendors.....i am waiting on this so we can get the ball rolling. It would be nice if all vendors could pay for space, but im sure most vendors look at free product for testing/sampling as same thing.....we just have to find our ladder structure...........it would be nice to Have Hobbes as final talk through with each.........approaching vendors and asking them to come aboard is no problem for me.......Hobbes knows how i am.............."squeaky wheel gets the grease".......i see Dynomyco and Lost Coast coming aboard as they sponsor my grows....payment? IDK....but product-for sure..........woof

 

[Son of Hobbes]

What will affiliates get? Display advertising or what?

Most likely yes, in the form of banner advertising like we've done in the past. We would test out some different ways of presenting/advertising the material to see what's getting the view counts and clicks (and what is not.)

Why not develop a request of proposals (RFP), an outline of exactly what AFN offers and seeks from sponsors (affiliates), and collect proposals and competitive bids from diverse cannabis growing-oriented businesses, including nutrient, lighting, soil/media, etc. manufacturers/marketers, including the big seed manufacturing companies, etc. not just regional (e.g., US, EU) end-user seed (re)sellers? Go with the highest bidder(s) or otherwise best offer(s)? Larger scope may be appropriate. Perhaps a regional program is OK for seed resellers, but most other markets and companies now operate and market globally.

Because:

A) Not every company offers an affiliate program; it's pretty hit or miss. Every company in the first post that we've suggested operates globally or now operates globally

B) We sold advertising banners in past years to the same companies you're referring to. A lot has changed marketing-wise in the cannabis world over the past few years, a lot of the advertising dollars that was there before don't exist in the same capacity, and what does exist seems to be a lot more selective on where it goes. These companies also expect to hit minimum numbers on view counts and clicks, something that "I/we/the royal we" cannot guarantee.

This is extremely low-risk for us as a forum. There is very little obligation, other than to follow the rules they request (being transparent that affiliate links generate revenue for the forum, etc.) And we're supporting seed banks that support the breeders. AND. We like these guys.

I have an open invitation from Multiverse to put any breeder on AFN not in their store in contact with them to see if it would be a good fit. That's a hell of an offer right there!

C) Unless we're going to make such requests from the existing vendors on the forum, that would mean we'd be potentially soliciting vendors outside of what we've worked with on the forum for money. I'm not a fan of that idea for multiple reasons.

Is AFN from the start limiting its affiliate program, keeping too much within its 'comfort zone' and familiar participants? Is there some bias in favor of small time operations? Maybe AFN needs to target the major manufacturers and marketers, who can profit more (and pay more) from being an affiliate?

It's not our affiliate program, it's affiliate programs these other companies started that we're seeking to partake in. If we like Multiverse, or we like the Vault, why not help support them (while they support us), and if growers are looking for reputable banks to find seeds at, I mean it's a no-brainer?! Refer our friends, make a few bucks out off the sale that would have likely happened regardless if we affiliated or not, and the day goes on.

Further, this may be an opportunity for us to start working more closely with these companies, offering promos/sales/deals to our own community that we're made privy to. I'd like to see us more selectively put certain eggs in certain baskets, instead of stuffing eggs in every basket that looks like an egg would fit.

 

[BII]

Is AFN a registered 501(c)(3) corporation, a non-profit "charity," so AFN affiliate expenditures and individual donations can be tax deductable and any AFN income is tax-free?

Many organizations raise funds by sponsoring or organizing meetings, conferences, etc. (whether real or virtual) often including vendor exhibits. Maybe consider whether some such things are appropriate for AFN? Why not an annual autoflower-oriented, even largely technically grounded, conference that would include breeder, grower, researcher, product manufacturer, etc. technical and how-we-do-it presentations, besides presumably more mass market consumer-oriented presentations and hype; get the major corporate players (their top level staff involved in R&D and market planning) and home growers to really talk to each other?

 

[Son of Hobbes]

@Son of Hobbes
The affiliate program sounds great to me. If you need help to get some new vendor on board feel free to ask me , you I got good network I am working with.

I will also think about what I personally can do for our great community.

I wish you a nice day my friend I will shot you a pm in January.
cu tobe

That sounds great tobe, we would love to take you up on that offer! Looking forward to the PM!

 

[Son of Hobbes]

Is AFN a registered 501(c)(3) corporation, a non-profit "charity," so affiliate purchases and individual donations are tax deductable and any AFN income is tax-free?

Fair question, and one that I've already looked at in years past. 501(c)(3) nonprofits can advertise and sell advertising space to raise funds, but there are restrictions on it that make it not as desirable as how you're reading it.

The IRS considers advertising revenue as unrelated business income and taxes it accordingly. We can keep the profit (after paying in the taxes) and maintain the exemption if it's not a substantial part of our activities, which is the slippery slope right there if someone says "well what other sources of income do you have other than this?"

When it comes to website advertising, advertisements on a nonprofit website have to be relevant to the mission of the organization and not be obtrusive. Google AdSense ads and affiliate advertising links are generally not permitted.

That doesn't including addressing sponsorships (which could be a potential legal argument when it comes to nonprofit status and how we operate with vendors here) and other points that require attention when it comes to operating/maintaining a 501 (c)(3) for our intents and purposes.

 

[BII]

Maybe to attract more commercial participation in AFN, give companies a reason to consider AFN a source to be regularly checked for market/competitive intelligence. For ex., a moderated (single person or committee as author) section(s)/thread(s) or clearinghouse each month comprehensively reports auto- and growing-relevant company announcements/press releases, new products and services, special offers/discounts, market research studies, maybe some scientific findings, etc. This might open a market of selling B2B advertising for companies to reach other companies, both as suppliers and customers, also investors, contract service providers, inventors, consultants, etc., or publish related online directories (with ads). This would be a great resource for AFN members and the broader community too. I presume many follow AFN largely to keep aware of what's new.

AFN should not think small. Keep in mind, someday (could be soon or far off) cannabis will fully legalized at the federal level. The infrastructure of information resources to support this doesn't exist yet (such as when any grower can sell and ship nationally). There are lots of needs (opportunities), things missing that are simply common in more established industries. With autoflower home growing sooner or later becoming dominant vs. photos (I presume?), there are many opportunities AFN could consider.

 

[CoastalMary]

Sorry to barge in here, but if you're looking for affiliate programs, we have one here

https://coastalmary.com/affiliates/

Gives a 20% commission and your own unique coupon code that gives 20% off.
Applies to everything except 2 for 1 and items on sale.