Affiliate Managers

Most affiliate companies assign each affiliate to an affiliate manager. Becoming aquatinted with your affiliate manager is highly recommended. You will want to establish contact with this person and introduce yourself at a very minimum. This will increases your credibility as a publisher and helps him/her to see you as a professional. Now you have laid the groundwork for the future.

I call and brainstorm with some of my affiliate managers and ask for advice from time to time. You would be surprised how many valuable tips you can get. Much of what I have learned about affiliate marketing has been through discussions with affiliate managers I have established professional relationships with over the years. It's a two way street.  My affiliate managers often ask for my opinion on new ideas and features they are thinking about implementing.

Affiliate programs vary widely when it comes to the quality of the program and the reliability of the company. Another bonus of having an established relationship with an affiliate manager is trust. For example, if a merchant complains about the quality of leads are you providing or tries to claim your leads are fraudulent when you know they are not, if you have established yourself as a credible and professional affiliate your affiliate manager is more likely to trust you when you tell him/her that you are providing legitimate traffic to an offer. You are also more likely to get paid for those disputed leads.