Any business of your own can, at times, be a lonely place. You don’t always have perspective, never mind all the answers. Just as offline business owners do, affiliates need to have sounding boards for ideas, problems, questions and just plain encouragement.

Who can you go to, besides to your friends, spouse, or colleagues from a prior business who alternate between being jealous of your freedom and incredulous at the risks they think you are taking? Venture out and spend some time with people who can broaden your perspective: Go to affiliate conferences where you can make contacts who understand your business model, but don’t compete in your space. Attend local and regional business meetings in your area of technical specialty, in the subject of your niche site, or in a totally unrelated industry to see how they approach things.

Strike up a business friendship with merchants with whom you do business. Affiliate network contacts are great sources of information, but they’re very busy so don’t expect to chat—ask specific questions, or better yet, offer information that’s constructive.

See what’s new at conferences of businesses in your industry. Don’t be shy about striking up conversations with speakers and other attendees. Read offline ecommerce magazines to keep up with the news and identify people you’d like to partner with in the future.

Participate in online communities with information, communication and collaboration by fellow affiliate marketers. A few sites of this type are: affiliateforum.com , affiliatecommunity.com , abestweb.com and associateprograms.com

Karen Kari's articles and more information on the affiliate business can be found at:

http://www.affiliatebandit.com
http://www.advertisingcellar.com
http://www.billionfreeads.com

• Loyalty, Credibility and Conversion in Affiliate Business


• Affiliates and Customer Service


• Ad Tracking for Affiliates


• The Affiliate Website: How Important Is About Us?


• Speaking and Affiliate Experts


• Using Wordtracker to Find the Best Affiliate Keywords


• Googles Toolbar And Your Affiliate Site


• Instant Messaging Opt-Ins For Affiliates


• Multi-Tier Affiliate Programs


• Tutorials on the Affiliate Site