The old adage, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is true, especially in affiliate marketing. You can have all the affiliates in the world, but if they’re not people with a network of people to whom they can market, you may as well save your time and energy when it comes to developing an affiliate marketing program.

You need to find the people that are already networked, or are networkers who understand the power of providing great information that will attract people who are interested in an additional product or service. Networkers actively “meet” people. Not necessarily face to face, but they are out there in the world getting to people and getting people to come to them. There’s a bit of an art to becoming a successful affiliate marketer, and you want to make sure you get at least a couple of these superstars on your team. One or two superstars can out do hundreds of well-meaning, but non-networked affiliates.

Think about it. In the sales world, who are the superstars? The people with the connections, right? Those people who are out there meeting people and giving and getting referrals are the ones who are most likely to succeed in the sales world.

It’s the same with affiliate marketers. The most successful affiliate marketers are those who are out there in cyberspace, meeting people while getting and giving referrals. You want to have people on your affiliate team who are networking fiends! Those are the people who network religiously and relentlessly. They’re the ones that will make your affiliate program a success.

Where do you go to find these networking superstars? You can do a search in your industry and see if there are any affiliate marketing superstars and contact them directly. You can tap into affiliate directories and advertise your affiliate program. You can even go to affiliate chat rooms and ask a few questions regarding the best ways to attract top-notch affiliates to your program. Just make sure you have a great program to attract them to before you get too far down the road.

Top affiliates, like top sales people, don’t want to waste time. Make sure your ducks are in a row and you know just what the compensation plan is going to be and how it will work. You can purchase software programs that will do all the tracking for you, or you can set up accounts with current websites that offer affiliate programs. You might even consider contacting a sales superstar in your industry and asking if him if he’s considered moving his sales skills and network into the affiliate marketing arena. It might just be the extra income he’s looking for, benefiting both his income and your revenues.

Whatever program you decide to use, set your sights on those people who are networked and networking. They will bring more immediate traffic and income than some of your other affiliate marketers. However, keep in mind that even though superstars can boost your profits quickly, there is something to be said for developing your own affiliate base because you can create a loyalty and somewhat of a customized program based on their feedback. Therefore, creating a mix of superstars and the average affiliate marketer will maximize your profits, as well as your time and effort.

Get to know the people who know the people, and your affiliate program will flourish.