You never know who the new super affiliate is going to be.
Looking back over the years, lots of affs who were big then have disappeared. And lots of affs who made little or nothing then are now big.
I also agree, a good number of programs probably have large affiliates signed up with them and don’t know it because the affiliate is not actively promoting them. So, the recent trend to install quotas may be a case of programs biting themselves. If a large affiliate hasn’t found it attractive to promote your brand, s/he certainly won’t feel any better about it after having been locked out and having whatever small revenue withheld. Same thing goes for a fledgling affiliate – s/he is very unlikely to sign with you again once grown up.
A lot of the bigger programs today have grown right alongside with their affiliates. Has it ever occurred to you that you can create big affiliates by helping your small ones grow? And that these will be happily promoting the program that helped them along the way?
Re. the TV campaign – that wants me to get on my branding soap box again. The TV campaign is BRANDING! There is nothing to click on and there are no immediate results. Why is this industry so ignorant about branding? Branding is done so that when the consumer next sees your product as a choice, it will look familiair and elicit a response of trust. That in turn makes the sales. If there are no affiliates carrying your brand, then of course branding doesn’t work.
And on that note – the more websites carry your brand the better for you, whether they ever make you a dime directly or not. They are doing BRANDING for you, and it’s free unless YOU make a profit. I wish I could think of a way to get lots and oodles of sites to carry my banner for free…