Same. A Twilio-like aggregator for affiliate marketing could have been a special idea. Content/review sites could just sign up and have any product they reference from their content linked to the appropriate affiliate program.
They went in a more consumer-focused direction though. I wish them luck.
Dan is right, and most affiliate programs we worked with were quite wary of Referly. I am writing a pretty in-depth piece on the affiliate world, this model, the potential for someone else to execute well in this space, etc. I think our consumer-focused approach was pretty unique, and I think it could still work but is probably better executed as an extension of a business like Skimlinks (who we use).
To those who feel we have spammed HN with our content/experiments I'm very sorry, we have used it as a test bed for various types of content written by ourselves and some of our contributors in order to figure out what HN readers want. We've got a ton of data on that now, and our focus going forward is on creating a network of writers focused on high quality content. Some of it will make sense of HN and end up here, but most probably won't.
As a person who runs a successful company in the affiliate/consumer space, as well as launched unsuccessful expansion attempts in same, I would be interested in hearing another's take. Yours, in particular, partly because I can almost feel your relief through your writing.
I can say from my own experience that there is something soul-sucking about affiliate marketing and there is a common "feel" to many (not all) of its inhabitants throughout the ecosystem. At times, it seems that a certain sliminess is almost presumed--especially of affiliates. It feels like a race to the bottom, and as a somewhat creative and aspirational person myself, I find it demoralizing and stifling at times.
And as an entrepreneur there is nothing like creating your own product vs. an offering that is primarily designed to promote those of others. With affiliate-based models you may start with the intention and belief that you have a product, but at some point you realize that it is simply another thin promotional veneer, peddling the wares of others and largely at their direction.
I applaud your shift to something that is truly you and look forward to my own shift in the near future. I also congratulate you on failing quickly in the old model, as a moderate degree of success can hold you in limbo for longer than you'd care to consider when you look back on it.
Wont work. Affiliate networks generally do not want that behavior. Mostly its because the advertisers of each offer are specific about who can and cannot promote it. With a reseller, you lose that control.
Affiliate networks would rather keep their advertisers happy (and not lose them, since they are the lifeblood of all networks) vs doubling income and potentially alienating/losing their advertisers.
Also, This is the first I have heard of referly pivoting. I have to say I also vastly prefer the previous business concept to this. However, I am fairly confident that because of how vocal/public the referly founders/team is that they should be able to find a acquihire regardless of what success they see in this direction.
Subaffiliates are welcome in most affiliate networks. Some individual programs on those networks don't allow them, but the networks typically leave that call to the affiliate managers running the programs.
I definitely wouldn't go with a blanket 'wont work' it just wont work for every affiliate program. I've been a reseller for online poker affiliate programs for close to 10 years now and the number of sites that don't allow it is dwarfed by the number of sites that do. And the ones who don't allow it still give you a commission for referring new affiliates.
Basically what happens is that you have to enforce their terms and conditions for them. The incentive is certainly there for you to do this, because it's your affiliate account that is on the line and you are taking responsibility for the actions of anybody using your links.
And skimlinks, 123linkit, etc. The basic idea (aggregate affiliate program memberships, have an algorithm to turn site/product mentions into referral links, take a cut of the commission) wasn't new. Referly was more consumer-oriented than publisher-oriented though, IIRC.
They went in a more consumer-focused direction though. I wish them luck.