[Trixxxia]

Here's my POV on this. The 'Whales' we hear so much about are 'long gone' - not that they don't exist or have become extinct, don't get me wrong, but 95% of them have alliances with programs that are able to pay them $50-$70 per sale due to the history of their relationship. (if they've been sending the program sales for 2-3 years, those rebills add up and the value per member for that affiliate is way better than the new guy that just signed up).

What you should be (or shall I say, we all should be) focusing on is an affiliate that is consistent. An affiliate that sends you traffic daily, one that can send you the same amount of sales per week - those are GOOD affiliates. Example: SEO guys, Review sites, LinkLists, even some TGPS/MGPS are good. The new agressive affiliate that really work at tweaking their promotions to your program may be asking for different things or asking for more content, but if he shows any sign of success promoting you, he will eventually become your whale if treated right.

A whale is 'subjective' term. It may not mean the same thing to you as it does to me and it changes from program to program.

Focusing on 'Whales' also means you put your program in peril - one mistake on your part, a bad server, clicks not tracking or whatever, can mean the end of your relationship and finding someone to replace him will only get harder.

I like to keep a good mix of different sorts of affiliates - it tends to keep things balanced.