Program Policy
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Introduction

Lampstand Press (LP) exists to create excellent educational resources for homeschool families. The best curriculum in the world is no good if it sits on a shelf, however; homeschoolers have to know about our products before they can benefit from them. LP's marketing program provides motivation and materials to people who need to share what we have developed with other families.

Terms:

Below are defined key aspects of LP affiliate marketing:
  • For the purposes of clarity, we use the term “advertising” for the role of introducing people to Tapestry of Grace for the first time. The advertiser who does the introducing does so through the Internet, using an invisible cookie (described more fully below) that may be embedded in links associated with his or her blog, newsletter, email, website, face book presence, or other Internet communication tool. Affiliates can gain commissions on Internet advertising alone.
  • Since actual sales of Tapestry of Grace often involve individual attention and face-to-face follow-up, we use the term Share & $ave (S&$) to mean closing the deal. An affiliate can gain sales credit for closing the deal by reminding a customer with whom the affiliate has worked to manually enter either her S&$ affiliate code in an empty box at checkout.
  • Affiliates can gain both advertising and closing credit for a single purchase when the customer both has the affiliate’s cookie on their computer and persuades the customer to manually type their S&$ code into a box at checkout. If, however, the customer has an advertiser’s cookie on her computer and manually enters a different affiliate’s S&$ code at checkout, the two affiliates split the sales credit as explained in detail below.
  • Another factor in the affiliate program is the role of periodic LP advertising promotions and sales promotions. In order to interest customers in Lampstand Products, LP will, from time to time and at their own initiative, post sales prices or discounted products in order to promote sales. Since these benefit affiliates and LP, affiliates will share the costs of such promotions with LP.
  • Please note that our system is not intended as a frequent buyer’s program, but as a marketing tool. Therefore, affiliates will not receive any sales credits on their own orders.

Our budget

LP's marketing budget is $21 per Digital Edition Year-Plan (DEYP), and relative proportions of this amount for Digital Edition Units (DEU) thereof. Of this, up to $10 is designated for just “advertisers” and up to $15 for just “closers.” In our scheme, the advertiser, the closer, and LP will share proportionate amounts of the total marketing budget in a variety of ways, depending on the role they play in the sale. Details follow.

Pay Schedule and Process

LP pays affiliates in cash every month. Affiliates with at least $10 in their account will be paid on the first business day after the fifteenth of each month for the previous month’s sales. Affiliates with a PayPal address will get paid the full amount on their balance; for affiliates who want a check mailed to them, $1.50 will be subtracted to cover accounting/ handling fees.

Lampstand Affiliate Program

Lampstand Advertisers (LA) get credit for their work via LP's affiliate management software. This software uses two methods to ensure proper credit: it will place an invisible digital affiliate code (or cookie) on each computer that reaches LP's website via an affiliate link, and it also records each computer's unique IP address in the affiliate database. This means that advertisers will get LA credit even if customers block or delete the cookies on their computers. LA cookies, once attached to one of your contact’s computer, will expire after 4 years. LP has already spent a great deal of time and money building brand recognition, so LP deservers advertising credit for customers who reach our website on their own. LP staff shall therefore claim advertising credit for customers who order without any LA cookie resident on their computers. LP will also add PHP code to our most common website entry points that will determine whether new visitors already have an LA’s cookie on their computer or affiliate code embedded in their hyperlink. If they do not, LP will attach the LP cookie to that computer. The LA cookie will be invisible to customers who are placing orders. However, customers will encounter an empty box in which they may choose to place a Share & $ave code or an LP promotional code at checkout. This leaves three options for each completed order, and these options affect how LAs get paid.
  1. Option 1: the customer may choose to leave the code box empty.
  2. Option 2: the customer may manually type in a LP promotional code.
  3. Option 3: the customer may manually type in a S&$ code.

Payouts for advertisers

  1. LAs will receive a $2.00 cash payment for each DEYP sold, and $.50 for each DEU sold with their cookie attached as their “base commission” regardless of the option a customer chooses at checkout.
  2. If the customer then exercises Option 1 above (empty box) the LA will be credited with $8.00 for a DEYP and $2.00 for each DEU (a total of $10.00 on a typical digital year-plan sale).
  3. If the customer exercises Option 2 (entering a promotional code), the LA shares with LP the cost of the advertising promotion. The LA spreads the word about the promotion, which should get more people to checkout, but is only paid a bonus above base commission of $4 for each DEYP or $1 for each DEU sold (in addition to the base commission) for up to $6 on the average sale. While this is less per sale, we believe that LP promotions give advertisers new reasons to send out advertising and thus increase their total annual sales dollars as a result.
  4. If the customer exercises Option 3 above (entering an S&$ code for another affiliate) the LA will be credited with the base commission for the sale (up to $2.00).
  5. LAs who wish to earn more than $6-10.00 per DEYP sale may take advantage of S&$ incentives (see below) by persuading customers to type in their S&$A code into the blank box at the time of checkout. In this case, Option 3 would yield them $17.00 for the person who is both the advertiser and closer.

Share & $ave payouts

We recognize that our products are not designed for impulse buyers. We want people to take as long as they need to consider our materials before they decide whether they are really right for their families. We know that many of our existing customers gladly spend their own time and energy to help other families understand our products. Our Share & $ave codes are designed to reward existing customers who take the time to serve others in this way. We hope that the cash they earn will defray the costs for their own homeschooling journeys and be a blessing to their families. When you sign up as a Lampstand Affiliate, you will choose a unique, memorable code that you will give to customers when you are telling them about Tapestry of Grace. (This same code is embedded in your advertising cookie. All affiliates have the benefit of both functions, though not all will actively employ both.) If your code (or email address) are associated by the customer with a sale, you will receive a $15 per DEYP or $3 per DEU payout. Please carefully note the following details for S&$ sales credits:
  • At the Lampstand Store checkout on the Internet, customers will see a blank box into which they can manually type your code. If they cannot remember your code, but type in your email address correctly, you will still receive credit for the sale. If the customer types nothing into this box, you will not receive any credit.
  • When phone orders are placed, our staff will ask customers if they have an S&$ code or email address to give us, and if they do so, the staff will make sure you get sales credit.
  • At conference booths, you will need to make sure that all literature you hand out has your S&$ code affixed, and that any hard copies of orders have one S&$ code associated with one individual orders. (Sorry, no sharing codes on individual orders, please.)
  • At Teas, please note that no sales credits are earned by either advertisers or closers. The advertising budget is already handed to the customers as a Tea Special. Teas are designed for those who love to share Tapestry (or who are looking to form co-ops) and are not looking for sales credits. Thus, no affiliate code attached to Tea orders will be honored. Rather, hostesses of Teas enjoy a $20 discount off of their personal DEYPs and receive a small thank-you gift instead, and customers receive $20 off their DEYPs. (Again, since no AL cookies or S&$ codes may be used for personal purchases, this Tea exception makes sense for all.)
  • For the purpose of sales credit, all orders—Internet, phone, conference booth, or Teas—will be final at the time they are processed by LP staff. We cannot be responsible for retrofitting processed orders that do not have associated cookie connections, an associated S&$ code, or a manual email submission, so please do not call or write to ask our staff to do so.

Promotional sales and discount sales

All affiliates shall be periodically provided with special promotional incentives (i.e., free speeches, Garden Tryst, or other digital products) so that they can advertise afresh and/or encourage their contacts to "buy now." Note that there are two distinct types of specials, and they serve different functions.
  • Promotional sale items are special incentives shall only be available to customers who enter a promotion code at checkout. Since the checkout box only allows one code at a time, if they choose to enter the promotion code, you will not receive S&$ sales credit. However, if you are simultaneously an LA for this customer, you will receive your $2.00 base commission on the sale of a DEYP, and a bonus of $4.00 in addition. This is up to $6.00 on this kind of sale, so it is wise to use your LA cookie attached to your contacts’ computers as you begin your participation with our marketing program, even if your primary activity will be closing using the S&$ codes.
  • Discount sales items will also be offered by LP from time to time. With these, both the LA commissions and the S&$ codes will remain active. For instance, if we offer Writing Aids at half price, seeking to attract new customers who typically have not purchased any of our products, you should seek to spread the word! If they buy a DEYP, the LP Store will offer them the discounted Writing Aids as a product attribute (not as a promotional code) leaving your cookie and your S&$ code box free for the taking!
  • Are you forming a co-op and looking to use this program to offer discounts?
    • If what you seek is to extend member discounts to all your co-op moms, the best route for you to take is to hold a Tapestry Tea. In this setting, all members (including you) will get $20 off their DEYP.
    • If you wish to receive cash towards your personal curriculum or books in compensation for your invaluable role as administrator and leader of your co-op, you should seek to embed your affiliate cookie on your co-op members’ computers by sending them one of the standard emails available among your affiliate tools (though, please understand, they may have already picked one up elsewhere) and then also make sure that they use your code when they are placing orders for their DEYPs. Thus can you gain up to $17.00 per DEYP for your efforts.

Fine Print, Disclaimers, and Other Things You Shouldn't Ignore

Our affiliate program is a means to an end, not an end in itself. If it designed to help us spread the word about Tapestry of Grace to families that are looking for a classical Christian homeschool curriculum. We reserve the right to modify or discontinue this program if it significantly conflicts with our corporate mission. Here are some of the foreseeable circumstances which might cause us to modify or terminate this program:
  • Lampstand Press, Ltd. reserves the right to convert to a not-for-profit charitable and/or educational foundation or to donate substantially all its assets to some charitable entity. Such a not-for-profit successor would be under no obligation to continue payouts under the Lampstand Affiliates Program.
  • Lampstand Press, Ltd. reserves the right to lower prices on its products and to reduce commissions proportionately.