Should I stay in touch with affiliate program managers?

Oh man, this is a great question! I was lucky enough to attend - and speak at - the recent Affiliate Summit in Orlando, Florida, and was amused by the many times I heard affiliate managers for companies thank affiliates for talking with them and sharing their frustrations. As the affiliate managers constantly said "we can't know how to improve our program if you don't talk with us so keep it coming!"

I am reminded of the key characteristic of a good employer/employee relationship too: communication. It's astonishing how many employees don't talk to their boss and don't share their successes and failures. If your boss doesn't know what you're doing and your wins, how do you think you'll ever get a fair and equitable evaluation when it comes time to ask for a raise or promotion.

Worried about sharing frustrations and problems with an affiliate manager, worried that bringing attention to yourself will cause you to get kicked out of the program? Well, think of it from their perspective: if you have ideas about how the program could help you sell their products don't you think they'd want to hear about them? If your visitors are complaining about their products or services, their landing pages, or even their shopping cart, don't you think they'd need to know about it?

As long as you're doing all "white hat" affiliate promotion anyway -- and you are, aren't you? -- then there's really nothing to worry about, and the potential benefits of establishing a better relationship with a major affiliate manager can be invaluable to your efforts as an affiliate!

Even if you're an affiliate through an aggregator like Commission Junction or Linkshare, finding the affiliate manager and communicating your frustrations and successes with them is just a smart idea.