Posted by: chrisjj
Posted on: 2006-02-15 01:58:00
Since last October DH have been advertising on www.dreamhost.com
Start referring new customers to Dreamhost and you'll earn $97 in cash -
/every/ /time/!
yet on http://www.dreamhost.com/promo-888.html they say
Customers using the 888 promo code will NOT count towards anyone's referral credit.
So, is the advert false, or the promo exception in error?
Chris
Posted by: Ryo-ohki
Posted on: 2006-02-15 05:34:00
If you use one of DH's own promo codes, they assume they just wandered in and saw it. If I'm not mistaken, promo codes override referral by anyone else. So, of course, anyone using a DH promo code won't be able to credit someone else for referral. So let's say someone used my promo code but they clicked on someone else's referral link, that discount they got takes away from how much I'm supposed to get back for the referral. It wouldn't be very fair if they used my promo code but someone else got credit for the referral just because they clicked some link XD.
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Posted by: chrisjj
Posted on: 2006-02-15 05:42:00
> of course, anyone using a DH promo code won't be able to credit someone else for referral
So, "of course" the advert is false?
Posted by: scjessey
Posted on: 2006-02-15 05:48:00
In reply to:promo codes override referral by anyone else
Which is why I think promo codes should not be allowed on the forum. If I've referred someone to DreamHost from my website, and they find a promo code in here before signing up (I would think most people looking for web hosting will do a forum lurk if they can), I lose $97 of referral money to someone who doesn't deserve it.
Since promo codes were introduced, the revenue I get from referrals is less than 10% of what it was. There simply must be a direct relationship, and that is why I'm dead set against the use of promo codes here.
Posted by: ardco
Posted on: 2006-02-15 06:00:00
> So, is the advert false, or the promo exception in error?
I'm guessing, based year earlier 777 complications and grumbling about delaying rewards until plan renewal, if renewed, DH decided to make this an (not widely publicized) exception, to simplify things. Well, to simplify things and increase profits. :-)
Marketing hype shortcuts versus false advert' is in the eye of the judge...
Obviously they're playing lots of "Happy" games and experiments with the rewards system. Gotta' applaud the entrepreneurial spirit, and be glad they're not all MBAs? :-)
FWIW, This "ad" didn't have the disclaimer/exception either: http://blog.dreamhost.com/2005/09/27/you-say-its-your-birthday/
Reminds me of back when I was first uploading my first site, and ran out of space after around 8 (!) MB of uploads, 20% under the 10 MB limit, and asked if it was misleading to say we got 10 MB if only 8 were available (system and log files took ~2). To DH credit, they gave me extra space to keep me "happy."
In reply to:# Use of DreamHost Webhosting's service requires a certain level of knowledge in the use of Internet languages, protocols, and software. This level of knowledge varies depending on the anticipated use and desired content of Customer's Webspace by the Customer.
# The following examples are offered:
* Web Publishing: requires a knowledge of HTML, properly locating and linking documents, FTPing Webspace contents, Graphics, text, Sound, imagemapping, etc.
* CGI-Scripts: requires a knowledge of the UNIX environment, TAR & GUNZIP commands, Perl, CShell scripts, permissions, etc.
# The Customer agrees that he or she has the necessary knowledge to create Customer's Webspace. Customer agrees that it is not the responsibility of DreamHost Webhosting to provide this knowledge or Customer Support outside of the defined service of DreamHost Webhosting.
Cheers,
BobS
Posted by: ardco
Posted on: 2006-02-15 06:32:00
Simon says,
> people looking for web hosting will do a forum lurk
> Since promo codes were introduced, the revenue I get from referrals is less than 10% of what it was. There simply must be a direct relationship, and that is why I'm dead set against the use of promo codes here.
Maybe the problem is the variable promo codes themselves, not the open and honest discussions about them, or the links here. Would you like search engines to censor DH promo codes too?
Cheers,
BobS
Posted by: Ryo-ohki
Posted on: 2006-02-15 07:08:00
In reply to:Which is why I think promo codes should not be allowed on the forum. If I've referred someone to DreamHost from my website, and they find a promo code in here before signing up (I would think most people looking for web hosting will do a forum lurk if they can), I lose $97 of referral money to someone who doesn't deserve it.
Well, that's why you should not just give someone your referral link, you should give them a promo code too. People tend to sign up a lot more often if there is some sort of discount to be had. I personally think DH is a great service so I don't care to get anything back. I tell people my promo code but I won't be offended if they use someone else's promo code instead, especially if they got a better deal.
To say the person who's promo code was used doesn't deserve the referral is a bit much. The whole point in users creating promo codes is to give someone else a discount and that takes out of what they are supposed to get. Just because you advertise, that doesn't mean someone is going to take the bait. You see different advertisements in the paper all the time that are for the same type of service or product. If you can get the exact same thing for less, why wouldn't you? Does that mean the first company to sell it was robbed? Of course not.
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My Blog http://www.sounanda.com
My web store:
http://www.marciesgifts.com
Send me a pm if you want cms or forum software installed (for a fee)
Posted by: scjessey
Posted on: 2006-02-15 07:14:00
In reply to:Maybe the problem is the variable promo codes themselves, not the open and honest discussions about them, or the links here. Would you like search engines to censor DH promo codes too?
People will also do some reading about the rewards system, probably some more reading about rewards, possibly a wiki search, and even a web search. Would you like all that to be censored too, to prevent a decrease in your revenue?
I don't have a problem with the promo code system, or the referral system for that matter. For me, the problem is a matter of fairness. Let me give you an example:
Sometimes, I will write a complimentary entry about DreamHost in my weblog. I often do this when DreamHost has enhanced its service in some way, so I like to promote it. Naturally, I link to DreamHost with my referral ID. If one of readers clicks through to DreamHost and then eventually signs up for the service, I get a reward for my efforts. Sometimes, however, the potential customer will spend a bit of time lurking or participating in this forum. I believe that to be a Good Thing, because I think that it is important to do a bit of research before committing oneself to spending money. Unfortunately, the proliferation of promo codes in the forum has meant that nine times out of ten I am losing my referral revenue. This hardly seems fair.
I think referral IDs and promo codes should be restricted to non-DreamHost sites only. I imagine such a policy would be difficult to enforce, but it would be much fairer than the current system.
Posted by: snokarver
Posted on: 2006-02-15 10:07:00
I agree with scjessey on the subject. Though I also cite the massive drop in service reliability as one reasons I haven't signed as many referrals in the past year.
On the original topic, there are A LOT of contradictions coming from DH. There are a lot of things they've dropped without renegotiating with the customer.
Some things go away without even a mention of it. Razor for example. It stopped working for a bit, so I contacted DH to find out what was up and they said it had been removed from the system. As others have noticed, VPN access was yanked. SMB was removed some time ago, though there was a notice about that. I don't see mention of the 24hr support response time guarantee anymore, nor any sort of uptime guarantee. The lowering of the emailing limits...
And when they pull this stuff, there's often still pages on the site which reference this.
Posted by: ardco
Posted on: 2006-02-15 17:38:00
> I don't have a problem with the promo code system, or the referral system for that matter.
These contrary arguments from Mad (Angry) JenMad explain why you should have a problem with them.
> the proliferation of promo codes in the forum has meant that nine times out of ten I am losing my referral revenue. This hardly seems fair.
Ryo-ohki already covered this in this thread.
I'll just add: It certainly seems fair to the new customers when they find a bigger discount, or to Dreamhost when they get more revenue, or to me when my referral revenue increases, if that's your primary criterion.
Cheers,
BobS