None of us like to think about this, but if something happened to you — an accident, an illness, getting stranded on the other side of the globe — what would happen to your affiliate business?

Would your family or a trusted friend know how to find your affiliate IDs and passwords, FTP to your server, login to your email account, and access your Paypal and bank accounts? If you have subscribers, members, JV partners, or clients, who would take care of their needs?

Or consider your web sites and computer. What if your hosting company was wiped out by an earthquake, tornado, or hurricane? What if your PC’s hard drive suddenly died, or a flood destroyed your computer? Do you have backup copies of all your sites and IDs, both at home and in a safe place?

There’s no better time than Q4 to plan for the undesirable or the unexpected – BEFORE it happens. Here’s a checklist of items that should be kept in a secure place:

Affiliate program URLs with logins (both networks and independent programs)

Backup copies of all your web pages and redirects, with FTP and cPanel logins

Logins for paid search accounts

Logins for article syndication directories

Logins for third-party tracking services, autoresponder, etc.

List of critical business contacts (partners, affiliate managers, outsourcers, etc.) with each person’s role, email, phone number, etc.

List of advisors and mentors — people you would trust to help your family make business decisions — with contact information

Logins and instructions for paying invoices, online bill payment, etc.

Logins for online accounts, such as Paypal, Google Checkout, Moneybookers, your merchant account, etc.

Contact information for your attorney, accountant, banker, broker, etc.

Step-by-step instructions for how to use all this information if you are hospitalized or otherwise unable to work

Needless to say, like your confidential financial data, all this information shouldn’t be left lying around. One marketer we know keeps hard copies of all this information in a three-ring binder in a locked file cabinet, with two backup copies on USB jump drives (one in the locked file cabinet, the other in a safety deposit box at the local bank). His wife and parents know exactly where everything is kept.

Finally, remember that if a loved one was in an accident, was suddenly hospitalized, or otherwise needed your 24/7 care and attention, you’d naturally drop everything to attend to their needs. So be sure to develop a plan for how to keep your business running in the event you can’t manage it actively.

Next… make new friends!

Other posts in this series:

Q4 Affiliate Marketing Checklist

6 Ways to Put Dormant Domains to Use

Which Offers to Keep, Which to Dump?

ROI Tips for Affiliates

5 Ways to Update Aging Sites

Test New Niches

5 Tips for a Site Design Makeover

5 Tips for Cleaning Your Opt-In List