An alarming trend seems to be catching on with popular merchants lately. The trend is the tendency for some of these companies to begin discriminating against new or inexperienced affiliates and actually FIRE them!

Removing an unproductive affiliate is understandable; however, having a ridiculous screening process that only allows websites with thousands of visitors to squeeze through almost seems ridiculous.

Now in defense of merchants and affiliate programs: If a program finds that one of their affiliates is using their company's banner and link on "unethical" or completely unrelated websites, then yes, that affiliate should be dropped.

However, for the everyday work-at-home man or woman hoping to make a stable income through affiliate marketing - at least give them a chance! The bottom line is that affiliate marketing is still a young, but powerful industry with MUCH room for growth. The only way we can fuel this growth is if we provide the proper training to the new members.

If we just fire the new members and use the "no experience" excuse, then how are we ever going to expand the industry?

We at The Affiliate Classroom have spent the last few weeks getting to know many affiliate managers and companies on a personal level and have asked them questions about this matter. My conclusion is that every affiliate should be given a chance. If "deleted" from the system, there should be a very good reason.

In some of our research, as we read some of the terms of service, we were surprised to find some "credible" affiliate programs who were dropping affiliates if they did not earn a certain "minimum" in a given period. In my opinion, that is simply ridiculous.

Here is our personal opinion and conclusion regarding this matter:

When to remove affiliates?

- Their actions can "hurt" your company.
- They are strictly violating company policy.
- They have inaccurate contact information.
- They have been "completely" inactive for a period of 3 months or more.

When it is wrong to remove affiliates?

- Their website does not get enough traffic.
- They did not meet a "quota" even though they were trying.
- They are new and have questions.

Do not get me wrong, most affiliate programs are still doing it right - they are treating their affiliates properly. However, I am alarmed with a growing trend of being far too selective. This trend is blocking out the "new affiliates" and is not fair to the industry.

If you are a new affiliate, contact the affiliate program first and make sure that you will receive the kind of support you need.

If you are an experienced affiliate, understand that the larger the industry gets, the better it is for you. Super affiliates will get paid more as the industry becomes more recognized.

If you are an affiliate manager, my question to you is "why does it bother you?" It hardly costs a company anything to have an affiliate in their system. So what if the affiliate referred $300 in sales rather than your minimum $500? By relying so heavily on "super affiliates" you are placing too many eggs in one basket.

Why not work with the beginners, train and help them - gain their loyalty and you will truly build a great sales force (a lesson we can learn from network marketing or MLM).

In the end it is the decision of the affiliate manager and the company. However, The Affiliate Classroom is standing firm on our opinion that new affiliates should be giving a fair chance and never discriminated against.