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  Frequently Asked Questions  
 

Still wondering about a few things? Here’s a list of our most frequently asked questions of our affiliate managers ‒ find the information you need!


General Affiliate Questions:

What is BreakThru.com?

What is BreakThru.com's affiliate program?

How much will I earn?

Does it cost anything to become an affiliate?

Does my site qualify for your Affiliate Programs?

What is the difference between the Click-through, Per Member, Per Order and Percentage Affiliate programs?

What does it mean to co-brand a site?

Can I earn money by referring other websites to sign up under my account?

Do you accept non-English traffic?

I wish to join the affiliate program but my country is not listed in the drop down menu. What do I do?

Contacting BreakThru.com's affiliate team

My Affiliate Account:

How do I check on the number of clicks and/or sign-ups I have sent?

How do I post a banner on my site?

Can I put up your banners on multiple sites?

Can I use the same affiliate ID number for different BreakThru.com sites, or do I need to sign up as an affiliate for each of your sites?

How do I permanently terminate my affiliate account?

Tax Information:

What are the tax requirements?

What information will I need to submit taxes as a foreign individual?

Which tax form should I fill out?

How do I submit my tax information to BreakThru.com?

Will I have to pay taxes on my Affiliate Program earnings?

Do you withhold taxes?

What are US Activities?

What if I don't have a tax I.D.?

What is an EIN and do I need one?

How do I resubmit or update my tax information?

Will you send me a Form 1099 or 1042?

Why can't I submit a W8-BEN form as an individual?

Check/Payment Questions:

How much money do I have to earn before I am eligible to receive a check?

How and when will I get paid?

My account was converted to a percentage payout. Why?

I had money in my account before I was converted, and now it is gone. Do I still get it?

I have not received one of my checks posted on my stats page. What should I do?

What do I do if I receive a check with the incorrect information on it?

If I have more than one affiliate account, can you combine my checks into one?

Can I have my checks deposited directly into my account?

Statistic Page Questions:

How do I access my statistics page?

How do I change the information in my profile?

If I forgot my password or affiliate ID number, what do I do?

How often is my statistics page updated?

How long does it take for new free members to show up on my stats page?

It appears that not all of my orders are showing on my stats page. What happened?

What is the difference between "# Orders" and "# Members" columns, on my stats page?

How does BreakThru.com track visitors from my site?

Spam Questions:

What forms of promotion can I use?

I just logged into my account and it was banned. Why?

What is considered spam?

Do you allow blind links?

Contacting BreakThru.com's affiliate team

General Affiliate Questions:

What is BreakThru.com?
BreakThru.com is a personals network of 16 different sites that caters to all kinds of people, interests, and desires -- with over 8 million active members worldwide (and growing every day!). BreakThru.com has been a leader in online personals since 1996, making us one of the oldest and most established of its kind on the Internet.

What is BreakThru.com’s affiliate program?
BreakThru.com’s affiliate program is an easy-to-join system that enables Webmasters to earn monthly paychecks by promoting one or more of the sites within our diverse network.

How much will I earn?
Our affiliate program is the HIGHEST PAYING ANYWHERE, with many affiliates making 75 cents per click or up to 100% of every premium membership. Our monthly payout is over $500,000, with some of our best affiliates making over $30,000 per month. So the amount you earn is up to you, the more traffic you send, the more money you will make.

Does it cost anything to become an affiliate?
No. It costs absolutely nothing to become an affiliate. In fact you can start earning money almost immediately, because it takes just a few minutes to sign up, and only a bit longer to put our banner or descriptive text link onto your web page.

Does my site qualify for your Partner programs?
As long as you have a site that does not contain or promote illegal activity or materials, you are welcome to become one of our Affiliate Partners. We have no minimum traffic level for you to worry about.

What is the difference between the Click-through, Per Member, Per Order, and Percentage Affiliate programs?
We have different rates and programs for each of our sites. The details are listed on each site.

1. The Click-through Program pays you a variable number of cents per unique click-through depending upon which site you're promoting and the quality of traffic you send from your site to ours.

2. The Per Order Program pays you a fixed amount for any order placed on our site, regardless of order type or length of the membership.

3. The Per Member Program pays you a fixed amount for each person who signs up for a free membership.

4. The Percentage Program pays you a percentage of initial premium membership fees plus a bonus for each free signup.

What does it mean to co-brand a site?
BreakThru.com provides its affiliates the opportunity to "co-brand" their site. This means that when one of your viewers clicks one of our banners, they’ll end up on a BreakThru.com site, but they’ll see your prominently placed logo and site name. This bolsters your credibility as a legitimate service, not just another fly-by-night Internet business.

Can I earn money by referring other websites to sign up under my account?
The broker program allows you to refer other webmasters to our affiliate programs. When a webmaster uses your link to signup to advertise Adult FriendFinder, we will pay you a percentage of that webmaster's earnings. Please contact us to find out more.

Do you accept non-English traffic?
Yes. Sites that are not written in English are accepted, as long as they abide by our Affiliate Terms of Use.

I wish to join the affiliate program but my country is not listed in the drop down menu. What do I do?
Due to past negative experiences with affiliates from certain countries, affiliates from those countries not listed on the affiliate sign up page will not be able to join our affiliate program.

My Affiliate Account:

How do I check on the number of clicks and/or sign-ups I have sent?
All stats are updated daily and can be checked online. Your stats page will reflect the progress of your account as well as give you information regarding payment status. We have also added graphs on the stats page to help you view your performance trends and earnings in a snap!

How do I post a banner on my site?
To post a banner on your web site please follow these steps:

  1. Go to the site you are affiliated with.
  2. Click on the "affiliates" page link at the top of the page.
  3. Log in to your affiliate account.
  4. Click one of the "banners" links in the list of programs.
  5. Copy the link in the boxes under the banner(s) you like and paste it directly onto your web page. you do not need to save the banners to your computer.
Can I put up your banners on multiple sites?
Yes, we encourage affiliates to promote the same provided link on as many pages and/or sites as you would like. The more banners you put up the more money you make!

Can I use the same affiliate ID number for different BreakThru.com sites, or do I need to sign up as an affiliate for each of your sites?
If you want to promote more than one BreakThru.com site, all you'll need is your global partner ID. Click on the "View All Programs" link in the navbar to find out more about all of our sites.

How do I permanently terminate my affiliate account?
If you want to remove your affiliate account from our database, please send us an e mail with "Remove" in the subject and include the following information: your affiliate ID number, company name, name, and the specific BreakThru.com site you are affiliated with.

Tax Information:

What are the tax requirements?
If you are approved to participate in [site] affiliate, we are required to collect certain information from you for tax purposes. For U.S. payees, this includes U.S. tax I.D. numbers or Social Security numbers. International affiliates need to submit Internal Revenue Service form W-8 and/or Form 8233, or certify that they do not have a US presence. Your tax information can be submitted from the site after you log in.

What information will I need to submit taxes as a foreign individual?
If you're planning to submit taxes as a foreign individual, you'll need to be prepared with the following information:

  • U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
  • Description of personal services you are providing
  • Sufficient facts to justify the exemption from withholding claimed
If you do not have any of the above items, we recommend that you review the description of having U.S. Activities to confirm that you do indeed fall into that category and are submitting the correct IRS form.
However, if after reviewing the description of U.S. activities, you still feel that the foreign individual category is appropriate for your situation or are still unsure, please review the instructions for this form located at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8233.pdf. If you do not have a U.S. TIN, you can find information for obtaining one at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website.

Which tax form should I fill out?
BreakThru.com is legally required to collect tax-related information from all affiliates including these located outside of the US. The tax information you're required to submit may either be in the form of an U.S. tax form or a statement of No U.S. Activities, whichever is applicable to your situation. Unfortunately, we're unable to indicate which form is applicable for you.

How do I submit my tax information to BreakThru.com?
The tax submission interface is available when you log in to your account. Fill out W-9 if you are a US business, or W-8 if you are a non-US business.

You should always consult your tax advisor to help answer specific questions regarding how tax laws apply to you and/or your business. The tax summary we have provided is necessarily incomplete, and the tax laws and regulations are subject to change. Therefore, BreakThru.com does not guarantee and is not liable for the accuracy or completeness of any tax information provided, or any results or outcome as a result of the use of this information.

Will I have to pay taxes on my earnings?
It is the responsibility of each affiliate to understand and adhere to the appropriate tax rules.

BreakThru.com is required by United States tax laws to collect certain tax-related information from you. However, we are not able to provide you with tax advice. Any tax-related information provided by BreakThru.com is not intended as and should not be construed as legal, tax or investment advice. You should always consult your tax advisor to help answer specific questions regarding how tax laws apply to you and/or your business. The tax FAQ or pages we have provided is necessarily incomplete, and the tax laws and regulations are subject to change. Therefore, BreakThru.com does not guarantee and is not liable for the accuracy or completeness of any tax information provided, or any results or outcome as a result of the use of this information.

Please review these resources for additional information about tax regulations:
  • For general information about taxes, please visit our Tax Information Page.
  • For specific information regarding U.S. tax requirements, please visit the IRS website.
  • For tax advice or more technical questions about how tax laws apply to you, please consult your tax advisor.
Do you withhold taxes?
We rarely withhold United States federal tax from affiliate payments. Specifically, taxes will not be withheld from affiliates who sign the No US Activities form. However, we may be required to withhold up to 30% from affiliates in these situations:

  • if you are subject to back-up withholding as described on Form W-9
  • if you do not fill in Section 10 on Form W-8BEN with a treaty number and 0%, and do not provide a United States TIN in Part 1 Box 6
  • if you do not claim complete exemption in Section 12 of Form 8233
  • if the tax information entered on your tax form is found to be incorrect or inaccurate
What are US Activities?
United States (US) Activities involve having employees or owning equipment in the US that are involved in any way with revenue earned through the affiliate program. This includes, but is not limited to, owning a web server or owning a hosting service in the US, or having employees in the US who are involved in either:

  • setting up a web server, hosting service, or website
  • developing content for your website
  • marketing to create a user base for your site
  • telephone support for your site
  • buying products for your site
  • maintaining your site
Generally, utilizing an unrelated third-party US web hosting service to host your webpages, renting web servers that are located in the US from an unrelated third party, or having your payment sent to a US Post Office Box or mail forwarding address, do not of themselves constitute US Activities.

What if I don't have a tax I.D.?
If you do not have a tax I.D. such as a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Social Security Number (SSN), and are either a U.S. business or individual, or a non-U.S. business with U.S. Activities, as described on our Tax Information Page, you'll need to acquire one. We suggest that you obtain your TIN as soon as possible. Please note that the process of obtaining a TIN may take several weeks. You can visit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website for more information on obtaining a U.S. TIN: IRS information page.

You may not be required to submit a U.S. tax ID if you do not have U.S. activities and you certify this by submitting the 'Certification of No U.S. Activities' form. Please visit our Tax Information page for more details.

What is an EIN and do I need one?
Affiliates holding Business accounts may be required to provide an Employer Identification Number for tax purposes. To find out whether you need an EIN, please visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p334/ch01.html#d0e626.

There are 3 ways to get an EIN:
  • Online : Click the EIN link at http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small. Your EIN will be issued immediately once the application information is validated.
  • By telephone at 1-800-829-4933 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the local time zone.
  • By mailing or faxing Form SS-4, "Application for Employer Identification Number," to the IRS.
How do I resubmit or update my tax information?
You can update your tax information at any time from your affiliate account.

Will you send me a Form 1099 or 1042?
Affiliate are responsible for paying their own taxes resulting from participation in BreakThru.com. In order to facilitate this, we send IRS forms 1099 and 1042-S to qualifying affiliates as required by US tax law. Forms will be sent before the end of January 2009.

We will send a Form 1099 to you and the IRS if:
  • You submitted a Form W-9, are not a corporation, and were paid at least US $600 in 2008 OR
  • You indicated that you are subject to backup withholding and had taxes withheld
We will send a Form 1042-S to you and the IRS if:
  • You submitted one of the Form W-8s OR Form 8233
We will not send you any forms or report your earnings to the IRS if:
  • You have signed the declaration of No US Activities OR
  • You have NO earnings from the affiliate program OR
  • You have submitted a Form W-9 as a corporation and did not have any taxes withheld OR
  • You have submitted a Form W-9, made less than $600 and did not have any taxes withheld
For those affiliates whose earnings are reported, please note that payments dated in 2008 will be reported in 2008. This means that unpaid earnings from 2008 that are rolled over to 2009 will not be included. For example, December earnings which are paid in January will not be included as earnings for 2008.

Why can't I submit a W8-BEN form as an individual?
Based on our understanding, due to the nature of the services provided by the BreakThru.com affiliate program we cannot accept a W-8BEN form from an Individual.

If you are a nonresident alien individual who earns revenue through our affiliate program, this revenue is characterized as payments for personal services. Therefore, as stated in the instructions to the Form W-8BEN, you must complete the Form 8233 rather than the Form W-8BEN if you believe that you are entitled to an exemption from U.S. income tax withholding on payments by us.

However, before you resubmit a Form W-8 or a Form 8233 we recommend that you review the description of US Activities below to confirm that you do have US Activities and are submitting the correct IRS form. If you do not have US Activities, you will not need to submit any tax forms.

United States (US) Activities involve having employees or owning equipment in the US that are involved in any way with revenue earned through the affiliate program. This includes, but is not limited to, owning a web server or owning a hosting service in the US, or having employees in the US who are involved in either:

  • setting up a web server, hosting service, or website
  • developing content for your website
  • marketing to create a user base for your
  • telephone support for your site
  • buying products for your site
  • maintaining your site
Generally, utilizing an unrelated third-party US web hosting service to host your webpages, renting web servers that are located in the US from an unrelated third party, or having your payment sent to a US Post Office Box or mail forwarding address, do not of themselves constitute US Activities.

If you do not have US Activities, please click on the Foreign affiliate with no US Activities link and agree to the statement on that page. In this case, no tax forms are required.

If you do have US Activities, please follow the instructions on the Tax information page to update your current form, or to submit a new form.

Please note that the tax information collection interface and any tax-related information provided is not intended as and should not be construed as legal, tax, or investment advice. You should always consult your tax advisor to help answer specific questions regarding how tax laws apply to you and/or your business. The tax summary we have provided is necessarily incomplete, and the tax laws and regulations are subject to change. Therefore, we do not guarantee and are not liable for the accuracy or completeness of any tax information provided, or any results or outcome as a result of the use of this information.

Checks and Payments:

How much money do I have to earn before I am eligible to receive a check?
All affiliates must meet a $50 threshold requirement minimum worth of accrued commissions in order to receive a check. If you do not meet the threshold, your accrued commissions for that month will simply roll over to your next month's earnings. If you have not earned or accrued referral fees in at least the amount of the Commission Payment Floor of $50 dollars in the one year prior to any given calendar month, then we reserve the right, to charge you on the first day of such calendar month or thereafter an account maintenance fee in an amount up to $50 per year. The account maintenance fee charged will be deducted from your unpaid accrued referral fees, and will be equal to the lesser of $50 or the amount of unpaid accrued referral fees in your account.

When will I get paid?
Gemisys, our third-party check vendor, will cut checks and mail them directly to you twice a month. Please refer to the "Webmaster Notes" section on your stats page for updates on your check processing status.

Thank You!

My account was converted to a percentage payout. Why?
It is stated on our affiliate agreement that if your traffic produces less than 1 free signup in 20 visitors, or 1 paying membership in 25 free signups, your account may be converted retroactively to a "percentage payout" account. Affiliates not meeting these ratios will be converted at the end of each month. By taking these measures we ensure it will be a win-win for both parties involved.

I had money in my account before I was converted, and now it is gone. Do I still get it?
Once your account is converted, your traffic is recalculated under the new payout. The previous amount in your balance is adjusted to reflect what is earned under the new payout.

I have not received one of my checks posted on my stats page. What should I do?
If you have not received a check, please first verify that the address you entered during enrollment is correct and then email our Affiliate Team. Please be sure to include your affiliate ID number, the site you are affiliated with, the month and the amount of the check in question, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

What do I do if I receive a check with the incorrect information on it?
First, you will need to send the check back to:

Medley.com Incorporated
Attn: Affiliate Marketing Department
220 Humboldt Ct,
Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Secondly, send an email to our Affiliate Team to request a new check. Please be sure to edit your contact information so we can reissue a check with the correct information. You can expect to receive a new check within a few weeks.

If I have more than one affiliate account, can you combine my checks into one?
Yes, you will receive a consolidated check for each of your payable affiliate accounts.

Can I have my checks deposited directly into my account?
No, we are not able to offer any special delivery or direct deposits for monthly payments at this time.

My Statistics Page:

How do I access my statistics page?
To access your stats page please follow these steps:

1. Go to the site you are affiliated with.
2. Click on the "affiliates" page link at the top of the page.
3. Click on the "Affiliate Login" link and sign into your account using your affiliate ID number and password.
4. Click on the Stats link in the list of programs.

How do I change the information in my profile?
To edit your contact information you have entered during enrollment, including payment information, please:

1. Log in to your affiliate account.
2. Click on Account Information.
3. Click on the link that says "Click here to update your information.

To ensure that the information on your check is correct and sent to your current address, please make all changes before the first of the month.

If I forgot my password or affiliate ID number, what do I do?
To receive your password or affiliate ID number, you'll need to email our Affiliate Marketing Team and provide as much of the following information as possible: your affiliate ID number, company name, the site you are affiliated with, and the contact information of the person who signed up to become an affiliate.

How often is my statistics page updated?
We update your stats page daily. Please note, your stats are not real time and will not reflect new members immediately. However, we are currently developing real time credit card processing software which will allow you to keep better track of your orders and earnings.

How long does it take for new free members to show up on my stats page?
Before you receive credit for users that join as free members, their memberships must first be approved. This basic screening process takes about 1 to 2 business days.

It appears that not all of my orders are showing on my stats page. What happened?
All orders must be approved before they will show up on your stats and you are given credit. Expect some of these orders to not be approved due to any of the following reasons:

1. The credit card number supplied was incomplete, invalid, or not accepted.
2. There was a typo on the order form.
3. The credit card order was denied.
4. The credit card was reported as lost or stolen.
5. The order was a duplicate.

What is the difference between "# Orders" and "# Members" columns, on my stats page?
The "# Orders" column tracks how many people have come from your site and signed up as a paying member. The "# Members" column tracks the people who have signed up as free members.

How does BreakThru.com track visitors from my site?
When you sign-up as an affiliate you'll be given a unique affiliate ID, which is the same as the number at the end of your tracking URL that you use to link to our site. We use this ID to tell us where a referral has come from in order to credit that account ID accordingly. If you forget to include your ID in a referral URL, there is no way to be accurately credit your account, and you will not be paid for that portion of your traffic.

Spam:

What forms of promotion can I use?
The majority of our affiliates promote BreakThru.com by placing our banners on their sites, but you may also join chat rooms, online clubs, etc. We strongly encourage you to remember chat room rules- it is better to simply talk about the benefits of meeting people on our site instead of just posting a URL. Please review our spam policy within our Affiliate Agreement.

I just logged into my account and it was banned. Why?
BreakThru.com does not condone cheating or spamming of any nature. Any accounts suspected of cheating or reported for spamming are immediately banned and all payment voided. Extreme steps must be taken to protect our company and legitimate affiliates. Typical affiliate causes include:

1. People emailing us that your affiliate ID was used in spamming activities.
2. Creation of fake accounts.
3. High chargeback rates (7% or greater).
4. Other inappropriate actions.

What is considered spam?
Spam is considered to be any attempt to deliver unsolicited bulk mail over the Internet. Almost all spam is commercial advertising. Potential target lists are created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or searching the Web for addresses. Such information is gathered with automated searches to retrieve email addresses for spamming.

Do you allow blind links?
Yes, you may send traffic any way you like, blind text links, thumbnail links, or you can use our proven banner, and text links.

Contacting BreakThru.com's affiliate team:

BreakThru.com
Afflilate Program Manager

445 Sherman Ave, Ste. T
Palo Alto, CA 94306
US only: (800) 388-0760
Non US: (650) 289-3167
Email BreakThru.com Affiliate Marketing Team

 
 
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