3 ms·

I got all excited about Fancy Hands, then realized that this is just a post to farm referral dollars and give free advertising. FH had a message on their prici

I got all excited about Fancy Hands, then realized that this is just a post to farm referral dollars and give free advertising. FH had a message on their pricing page that immediately turned me off. Sometimes, it's better to not be so dynamic (i.e. I would have signed up had I not seen the message below): "Steve Corona knows you'll love having Fancy Hands. Sign up now and get 50% off your first month or 5% off your first year."

stevencorona 14y ago
I'll change the link, I don't care about the referral dollars, it was to get you 50% off for using the link. Anyways, I'd rather it didn't detract from the message of the post. BTW- I love FancyHands and have 0 ties with them.
- rmrfrmrf 14y ago
  Thanks for doing that. I'll leave my original comment up in shame--I shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. A note for the FancyHands team, though (I know the founder is hanging around here somewhere): I didn't notice the referral link at first; my first reaction when I saw "Steven Corona knows you'll love FancyHands" was that Steven worked for the company, which detracts from the authenticity of his blog post. I'd seriously consider removing that 'feature' and making the referral process more inconspicuous, leaving it up to the bloggers to disclose their participation in the referral program.
  - benmanns 14y ago
    Or try running an A/B test on it, and submit a blog post with the results to Hacker News!
- e28eta 14y ago
  I think the referral link is a great idea - both from a discount perspective and because you are referring us. I'd propose just disclosing exactly that: "here's a referral link, and you get 50% off the first month by using it." If folks are uncomfortable with using it, they presumably can find Fancy Hands' website on their own. Or offer both direct & referral links.
  - nasmorn 14y ago
    The people taking issue witg using referral links for something when they are actually being referred should just type it into google themselves. There is nothing malicious about it.
joonix 14y ago
What would the nature of the referrer's intention have to do with your excitement about FH? Ostensibly you were excited about FH's features. Even if you found out about it through a junk mail flyer in your snail mail box, what difference does that make about FH's value to you?

stevencorona 14y ago

I'll change the link, I don't care about the referral dollars, it was to get you 50% off for using the link. Anyways, I'd rather it didn't detract from the message of the post. BTW- I love FancyHands and have 0 ties with them.

rmrfrmrf 14y ago
Thanks for doing that. I'll leave my original comment up in shame--I shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. A note for the FancyHands team, though (I know the founder is hanging around here somewhere): I didn't notice the referral link at first; my first reaction when I saw "Steven Corona knows you'll love FancyHands" was that Steven worked for the company, which detracts from the authenticity of his blog post. I'd seriously consider removing that 'feature' and making the referral process more inconspicuous, leaving it up to the bloggers to disclose their participation in the referral program.
- benmanns 14y ago
  Or try running an A/B test on it, and submit a blog post with the results to Hacker News!
e28eta 14y ago
I think the referral link is a great idea - both from a discount perspective and because you are referring us. I'd propose just disclosing exactly that: "here's a referral link, and you get 50% off the first month by using it." If folks are uncomfortable with using it, they presumably can find Fancy Hands' website on their own. Or offer both direct & referral links.
- nasmorn 14y ago
  The people taking issue witg using referral links for something when they are actually being referred should just type it into google themselves. There is nothing malicious about it.

joonix 14y ago

What would the nature of the referrer's intention have to do with your excitement about FH? Ostensibly you were excited about FH's features. Even if you found out about it through a junk mail flyer in your snail mail box, what difference does that make about FH's value to you?