Hi All,

I've been presented with a rather unique opportunity, and I'm hoping that those that read and post in this forum may be able to provide some knowledgeable input. I'm an existing affiliate of a contextual-advertising service (similar to Google AdSense), and I recently discovered that this company's headquarters is about two miles from my house! I've had an opportunity to interact with the company's owner, and he has asked me if I would be willing to do some work for him in an Affiliate Manager capacity.

I'm very interested in pursuing this opportunity, but here's the challenge: I have absolutely NO experience as an Affiliate Manager, and this company has NEVER HAD an Affiliate Manager. So, in essence, we're both kind of "flying blind". The owner and I have discussed various ideas about how to begin, and he's made it clear that he wants me to start with tasks that don't require access to his systems and business records, to test the waters before giving me "the keys to the Ferrari" (his expression ). He's willing to compensate me for my time and effort, and provided things go well, we can move forward to bigger and better things.

Having said all that, here are the tasks with which I've been charged:

1. List company with all available Affiliate Marketing directories and forums.
2. List company with all available SEO forums.
3. Create and submit articles promoting company to article directories.
4. Create and submit time-sensitive, targeted press releases to news services.

I realize that these may constitute "wump work" from a traditional Affiliate Manager perspective, but these are the tasks the owner has indicated he's comfortable with my pursuing initially.

And now, at long last, my questions:

1. Are there any industry-standard measureables or deliverables associated with these tasks?
2. Are there any industry-standard methods of tracking such measureables and deliverables?
3. Are there any guidelines regarding compensation for this type of work in general, or for these tasks in particular?
4. Can anyone recommend a comprehensive listing (or listings) of affiliate directories, SEO forums, article directories, and/or news services?
5. Are there any similar methods of promoting an Affiliate Program, which can be implemented without having access to the company's proprietary information?

Thanks in advance for any input provided.

Sam