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When trying to build an actual business online (full time+ income), it is extremely important to have a personal relationship with your affiliate managers and partners.
See, Affiliate Managers manage hundreds of affiliates at any given time. While they would love to know each one... they simply cannot remember you unless you take some effort.
If you only talk to them via an occasional email or AIM chat, then they're going to remember you exactly the same way... as affiliate number 35378.
Instead, as you begin to call and make relationship with your manager, you will gain a load of advantages. For example, Instead of being pulled from an advertiser if they have an issue, they'll talk to you first and try to figure out what is going on.
Now beyond just calling, it's even more important to go to conferences like Affiliate Summit and go meet them face to face. Putting a face behind a name and affiliate ID is very important for your online business!
That being said, the recommended conference is Affiliate Summit East '09 which is in Boston August 9-11. I will be going to this one and hope to see a lot of you there! 
Now start planning your trip early and making those relationships.
A noob question… why do you recommend ASE? The reason I ask is that I’m planning on going to at least one conference this year (I’m in the South Pacific, so travelling to the US for a conference is a relatively big undertaking) and need advice on which would be the most useful to go to.
Yea Deff go to Affiliate summit East or West (2010). They are by far the most useful to me.
~JV
Affiliate Summit East is in New York City this year. Just FYI.
Yeah, ASE 09 is in mid-town Manhattan (NYC) this year. I’ll likely be there, just a matter of taking that llloooonnngggg 3 hour ride. Maybe I’ll shed out a few and catch the Amtrak to Penn Station there.
Hopefully I’ll see some familiar faces
This is very good advise irrespective of what your business is. Building personal relationships with all stake holders in your business is vital for success in any enterprise.
Would love to meet up in New York Jonathan. I was in Vegas and it’s too vast there were a ton of people I hoped to meet and for whatever reason (parties/poker/more parties) I didn’t meet them, so I am going to get in to New York earlier (like on Friday) for ASE and spread out the networking. Many of the airlines will do better packages when your stay includes a Saturday night.
But as I come from the UK, face to face is always the way we like to do business if at all possible.
See you in August (if your not going to make ad-tech San Francisco in April)
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