Institutional Advertising is not trying to sell you something specific. When IBM airs an ad, you will seldom see a specific product for sale. When you buy your next computer, they are banking on you remembering their name, and will purchase their product. Most of the nonprofessional advertising you see on the web is neither. They are usually trying to sell something specific, but give no reason to buy from them at this time.
Affiliate programs are big offenders here.
There are thousands of people trying to sell this program, and many are not making anything, but some are. The real question here is why. If you are going to be involved in an affiliate program, you must give people a reason to buy from you. Obviously, if you provide a bonus that others don't, they now have a reason to get it from you. Take a lesson from some of the Internet Service Providers.