Dustin Howes and Christen Evans discuss the hidden costs of siloed marketing teams and the messy reality of affiliate management in this episode of Real Talk Friday. They explain why separating your influencer and affiliate divisions limits growth and causes major communication gaps with creators.

You'll hear about common industry headaches like broken SKU-level reporting and the struggle of backtracking through massive spreadsheets to fix commission errors. Dustin shares a raw story about a Little League meltdown that disrupted his week, while Christen offers practical advice for managing burnout. They also explore how to use AI tools for complex data tasks and the future of creator monetization.

0:00 Weekly check-in and Little League drama 
5:25 Fixing broken SKU level reporting 
7:05 The dangers of siloing influencer and affiliate teams 
9:55 Using Claude and AI for spreadsheet automation 
12:30 Building content creator partnerships in the food space 
14:55 Starting a YouTube channel for the next generation
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🌟 Need help with your affiliate program? Dustin will find you the help you are looking for in a 15 minute call. Book your call now here: http://dustinhowes.com/explore

📩 Connect with Dustin Howes on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinhowes

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For more tips on how to scale your affiliate program, check out https://performancemarketingmanager.com