The importance of affiliate relationships with vendors

Sometimes I hear people complain that people are promoting products of their friends and business acquaintances. While they certainly have a point when it comes to potential bias, as one affiliate marketer's experience with her promotion of the highly controversial product Blogging To The Bank revealed there is a great need for an affiliate to keep on top of products updates or changes in a company's business practices.

I've experienced this sort of thing myself over the years. There are products I've promoted that initially were great, but where the owner behind the product changed their business practices or they sold their business to another company that didn't have the ability to support their offering very well.

Unfortunately when this sort of thing happens the previous owner doesn't always notify their existing affiliates of the change in ownership which can lead to some difficult moments if the new company suddenly engages in sales practices that leave people with a bad experience.

On the other hand, there are companies in emerging markets such as Green Smoke who know that maintaining a happy and productive affiliate base can be the key to them dominating their particular marketplace for the long term. They haven't gotten lazy as so many affiliate programs have.