I understand that affiliate programs need to grow and in order to do that they need to contact affiliates.
It is ok with a first time e-mail (and please don’t copy and paste a pre-written sales message, I get lots of like that each day, make yours stand out of the crowd). But in my opinion if affiliate programs don’t get an answer, then they shouldn’t continue with other bombarding emails.
Even if a program is brand new but very very good for affiliates and players too, it can gain big exposure in the affiliate world just by word-of-mouth (i.e. in posts here on CAP or other forums) and there is nothing better than affiliates endorsing a program (see Absolute Slots). Remember, there are threads almost every day popping up like “What is the best MG, RTG, Rival, Playtech etc… casinos? My choice of promoting a new program mostly based on these threads (and after choosing one of course I check them out in various ways – AGD, other forums, etc).
And another example: if the affiliate program reps are pro-active in these forums (CAP, GPWA), and show industry knowledge, and they are honest then affiliates will get in touch with the program directly. It happened to me with Paddypower for example, I saw Paddy’s reps all over this forum, their green logo appeared almost in every thread, and I mentioned it in one of them. Then I got a PM from them, but not with the typical sales pitch, just a “thank you” PM. Since then I am with a great relationship with Paddy, and I will endorse them (despite their not-so-good-but-average stats system LOL) and I know that I can contact them any time about anything (last time we talked about my cat – weird lol, but business is not everything). Affiliate managers just need to think out of the box some times.
Oh, and other thing, I don’t know other affiliates are doing this or not. First I usually sign up as a player with the program and I don’t make any deposits. If I don’t get an e-mail within 2 weeks about promotions, or questions about what kind of assistance I need to deposit then I will think hard about not promoting the program. Lots of players are undecided and need help, and these kind of reassuring follow-ups can make them deposit. (Virgin Bingo made this kind of email in a superb way – kudos to their retention team 