Advice for a New Affiliate Manager

[WorldRefer]

Hi everyone. I am an Affiliate manager working at an affiliate program that is being launched in February. I have spent countless hours reading up on Affiliate Marketing, learning everything I can about Income Access and all the groups that affiliates can belong to. I gather that with my previous marketing experience I know enough to be successful, but I'd like to hear from my peers what some of the most important attributes of a successful Affiliate program are. The great thing about starting from the inception of our program is that we don't have a bad reputation, or any for that matter, but I would honestly like to know what pitfalls we at WorldRefer.com should avoid to ensure success and satisfaction for our affiliates. If there is any advice that you can give it would be greatly appreciated.

[gooderpoker]

fast reliable deposits and withdraws
Fast reliable Affiliate Manager
Good bonus and promotions

those are my top 3 in order

[Greg]

Good list Ryan, you're all over 'Responsiveness' and that's crucial to keeping your affiliates happy working with you.

WorldRefer, welcome to CAL and I have to give you some credit for starting off in the right place - an affiliate forum! Most new guys go out and learn some general practices and then hit the ground running blind. Gaming affiliates, after all, are going to be the ones to make your program work so asking them is really important.

Some things to know...

You can't build a large program overnight. You're going to have to show why your program is better than 50+ other similar programs. It's going to take some time to build trust and several months before you work with any 'super' affiliates.

In the beginning, you're going to have to pay the top people more than you'd envisioned going in. This is because you're new and their traffic is already really sought after by other programs.

Every new program is scared to death of CPA. Remember, for the right people this can be a great option for your program. Pretty soon you'll find out who the major affiliates are and use your network data (ask them for it, and then reduce those numbers by 20%) to determine your player value. If an average players lifetime value is $300, you don't want to offer a $300CPA!

Welcome to CAL and thanks for the post!

[WorldRefer]

Thanks guys for the advice and input.