Potential ideas for v2

• Text link generator/option
• Automatic image generator -- allow users to create their own buttons/banners (could e built using svg & canvas) from a set of pre-determined parameters (MYOB) approved by creative
• Allow users to choose text links for tracking instead of an image only.
• Integrate the FAQ into SUMO
• Tracking Conversions vs clicks - clicks on personal downloads page - Add a visual element - like a histogram or graph
• Gallery of the top performing buttons/button of the week and now many affiliates are using that design
• E-mail notification system that congratulates the affiliate on hitting a particular goal
• Make leaderboard results reflect competition between geographies
• Gaming capability
• hmtl welcome e-mail
• Affiliates newsletter - personalized per user
• Display leaderboards without having to log in to affiliates sites. Link back to affiliate websites (http://web.archive.org/web/20100825215833/http://www.spreadfirefox.com/affiliates/top_250?)

Ideas from the Mozilla community

Feed back from http://chelseanovak.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/the-new-firefox-affiliates-program-%E2%80%94-help-make-it-amazing/ blog post. The Affiliates community was asked the following questions:

• What were the features you loved and what were the features you always wanted to have?
• What kinds of campaigns did you enjoy or find effective?
• Are there ways that we can add a game or challenge element to make participating in affiliates more fun?
• If we want to communicate new campaigns or affiliate opportunities to you, how would you prefer we get in touch? E-mail? Alerts within this affiliates system when you’ve logged in?
• Are there any tools, like an image generator or a build-your-own-button creator, that would make l10n and customization better?
• Do you have any thoughts on how we can encourage participation in the affiliates program in a Mozilla fashion (think open, participatory, community-driven)?

Nuno

What were the features you loved and what were the features you always wanted to have?

• As a feature that I loved I can mention "an unify place (the same website, all the things were in different parts) where I could find lot of Firefox material" but not more than that.
• Have in the same place Firerox and Thunderbird Affiliates Program, and of course have the same marketing stuff to spread Thunderbird.
• Unify all the engagement material in the same place (like buttons, pictures, videos, slides, posters, etc)
• Something that shows tweets about Firefox.
• Localizations.
• Business Card generator (I think that Marcio or somebody from Brazil was developing it)
• I didn't like the "groups" or "forum" that we were able to create on spreadfirefox. I wouldn't add that feature this time.
• Give us the material in .svg (please).

What kinds of campaigns did you enjoy or find effective?

• Maybe use it as a platform to spread other projects, challenges and campaigns.
• I think that is important to know which is the real main objective of the site: is it give material for diffusion? is it communicate? is it a platform for campaigns? Starting from that will help us to know what kind of campaigns we should do.

Are there ways that we can add a game or challenge element to make participating in affiliates more fun?

• It is a nice way to obtain more affiliates. Perhaps if we host online games there and sharing the link people who play them feel interested on what is that site. Again, it depends on the main objective of the site but it is a a good idea to get more people.

If we want to communicate new campaigns or affiliate opportunities to you, how would you prefer we get in touch? E-mail? Alerts within this affiliates system when you’ve logged in?

• Both and bring to the user the possibility to choice their favourite one.Are there any tools, like an image generator or a build-your-own-button creator, that would make l10n and customization better?

Do you have any thoughts on how we can encourage participation in the affiliates program in a Mozilla fashion (think open, participatory, community-driven)?

• Use a badge system (like Moz Creative).
• Give visibility to affiliates' effort (for example show the names of the people who do more things per week, month and year as Army of Awesome for example, in that way we can make visible new contributors in order to encourage them and give enthusiasm).
• Make a child/young people section where they will be able to find cool things to do (maybe some tool to draw and paint images) and things like that. The young people are the new generation of users we should focus on them because they are growing up with very lot of very aggressive advertisement of Chrome and a bit of IE.

Ken Saunders

What were the features you loved and what were the features you always wanted to have?

• I’m a veteran of the original affiliates program and what drove the majority of us to participate was the friendly competitiveness and shear pride of having a high number of points (from referrals) and, having them displayed in the Weekly Roll Call and Top 5 Affiliates section, and then the Top 250.Most of us were already promoting Firefox, but the affiliates program did provide extra incentive.
• I believe that a Top 250 (or higher) would still be a good idea and allow people to choose the URL that they want to link their name to (like previously).
• I would however create a separate Top Commercial Affiliates (a better name of course) section for more popular/visited sites, companies, organizations etc,for the following reasons.
• It would allow for average individuals to get exposure and a decent slot in a Top Affiliates section (the top affiliates were always large sites with a lot of traffic).
• It would (potentially) encourage high traffic sites to participate once again because they’d get free exposure through Mozilla’s channels (Craigslist used to be an affiliate).
• Affiliate URLs that validates!
• Easy to remember urls so that individuals can remember and use them when they’re away from home and at friend’s, etc. Perhaps using an url shortening service or scheme would work.
• If using a points system is used at all, points should be awarded the way that they were initially, which was through clicks, not downloads. Spread Thunderbird uses this system. It’s fair. A click to another site is a click away from an individual’s one.
• There are other ways to track Mozilla downloads.
• Rather than just have a total click through count. Offer detailed information, including overviews per URL of the pages that contained the buttons, their ids, etc… give us the tools to see what works and what doesn’t, like Google AdSense does. Click throughs and actual downloads should be part of that metric.
• Don’t restrict it to Firefox. Let us promote all things Mozilla. Better yet let us also promote specific add-ons.
• Monthly random drawings to giveaway Mozilla swag.
• People aren’t as selfless as they used to be, they want some sort of material compensation. At least that’s one way to encourage participation.
• Perhaps give affiliate members/participants discounts to http://store.mozilla.org.

What kinds of campaigns did you enjoy or find effective?

• Niche, time limited, and temporary ones were fun. Like Mozilla Parks, Mozilla Hacks, etc.

Are there ways that we can add a game or challenge element to make participating in affiliates more fun?

• Not sure yet

If we want to communicate new campaigns or affiliate opportunities to you, how would you prefer we get in touch?E-mail? Alerts within this affiliates system when you’ve logged in?

• Email for sure. In fact, are there plans for an Engagement newsletter? Wouldn’t be a bad idea.
• Also, social media page(s)/updates. Facebook, Twitter, and please, open source ones too like identi.ca, mozilla.status.net.

Are there any tools, like an image generator or a build-your-own-button creator, that would make l10n and customization better?

• A build your own would be awesome. I don’t recall the url, but there is one that allows for creating Firefox (type) business cards, and Foxkeh’s Wallpaper Creator was cool.

Do you have any thoughts on how we can encourage participation in the affiliates program in a Mozilla fashion (think open, participatory, community-driven)?

• Guilt people into it?

Michael Kalpy

• Can we get 125×125 images? pretty please?

Nuss

• It would be cool if you could choose a locale, one of some predefined color schemes, one of some predefined messages, and a custom width/height to create a button. Everybody wants their own size (like Mike above). I think this would be possible today to retain proportions and make it look great with some canvas magic.

Otto de Voodg

• Offer something for everyone, from simple permanent buttons (without version numbers) to complex ever changing banners.
• As in the old version allow people to make their own buttons/banners/texts and link those.
• Rather than just have a total click through count. Offer detailed information, including overviews per URL of the pages that contained the buttons, their ids, etc… give us the tools to see what works and what doesn’t, like Google AdSense does. Click throughs and actual downloads should be part of that metric.
• Don’t restrict it to Firefox. Let us promote all things Mozilla. Better yet let us also promote specific add-ons.
• I like the idea of giving away a few T-shirts or something every month to those who participate.