Affiliate Manager's day to day tasks ??

[DB-PROJECTS]

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Dear All,

I have just been offered a promotion to affilaite Manager for the company I work for. Now I now what they want me to do etc etc, however I thought I would get some expert advice before I decide if I want to take the job or not.

The company want me to run manage an affiliate programe and increase business volumes aswell as manage key accounts as well as approve payments etc etc

I wouldnt say I am a merketing expert or have any in-depth technical knowlegde, would I be bitung off more than I can chew (So to Speak)

Can anyone give me a run down of what an affiliate manager would do on a day to day basis.

What challenges should I expect to face ?

If any merchant affiliate managers can advise me what they do on a day to day basis that would be a great help.

What would be an average salary for an affiliate manager

What are the plus points of this job also

Thanks for any help

[John Jupp]

Dear All,

I have just been offered a promotion to affilaite Manager for the company I work for. Now I now what they want me to do etc etc, however I thought I would get some expert advice before I decide if I want to take the job or not.

The company want me to run manage an affiliate programe and increase business volumes aswell as manage key accounts as well as approve payments etc etc

I wouldnt say I am a merketing expert or have any in-depth technical knowlegde, would I be bitung off more than I can chew (So to Speak)

Can anyone give me a run down of what an affiliate manager would do on a day to day basis.

What challenges should I expect to face ?

If any merchant affiliate managers can advise me what they do on a day to day basis that would be a great help.

What would be an average salary for an affiliate manager

What are the plus points of this job also

Thanks for any help

Good luck in your new role if you accept it.

Salary : open. A junior position starts up to £30k, senior positions £90k - £120k +, average £45k +

Role: to represent the client attaining agreed targets via the affiliate channel subject to a comprehensive understanding what an affiliate channel actually is. Too many retailers assume an affiliate channel to be a panacea for their marketing aspirations.

Listen to affiliates. Get datafeeds perfect. Keep creative up to date and self replacing. Produce regular newsletters, offers, competitions for customers and affiliates alike. Ensure commissions are enticing. Ensure products/services convert. Maintain conversion ratios. Communicate. Be available outside office hours. Use Skype and Messenger to provide additional contact and support. Provide affiliates with whatever marketing tool they require, content units, self maintained forms, access to what's new, top sellers, slow movers, marketing tips. Liaise to ensure pricing is competitive (conversion). Give affiliates credence, they've been doing the job for years and know affiliate marketing better than any retailer. Attend G2G's (get togethers) and socialise with affiliates. Attend trade fairs and conferences.

[bbakeryamaha]

Congratulations. Among other responsibilities, I'm the Affiliate Manager for Yamaha Home AV & Electronics. I am the only person at Yamaha involved with our affiliate program and I spend less than half of my time on managing it.

First, you need to find a good affiliate network. We use Shareasale and I'm very happy w/ it so far. You don't need to be an online marketing whiz to effectively run an affiliate program as a merchant. If you're the type that can learn as you go, it's pretty easy to find info on web marketing and affiliate management in online discussion forums (such as this one), etc.

As far as some of the tasks that I perform:
- Approving affiliates as they apply to our program via Shareasale
- Working with our ad & creative group to create banner ads for our program
- Sending out a newsletter to our affiliate once per month
- Getting the Yamaha program listed on various affiliate directories on the web (I like the free ones)
- Once in a while browsing several affiliate discussion forums (like this one)
- Actively recruiting affiliates - that is, sending out e-mails to sites that I'd like to be in our program (vs. the "passive" recruitment that happens through Shareasale). This is potentially where you would spend most of your time (kinda like a sales job).


None of the above are very time consuming unless it is also your responsibility to manage your company's website and produce creatives (eg, banner ads).

The beauty (or the curse) of an affiliate program is that sales are easily trackable. If you're the affiliate manager and you're getting paid $75K and the affiliate program is only generating $25K per year. . .


Become an affiliate for Yamaha:
ShareASale.com and Yamaha Electronics Corporation

[KevinEdwards]

Before you do anything I'd clearly define with your managers what their expectations are for the affiliate programme.

Have a clear idea of what they expect the channel to generate and manage their expectations around the level of resource that will need to be invested in order to achieve that; you get what you put in with an affiliate programme.

You will also need to make it clear that affiliate is a long term proposition and whilst some programmes will achieve immediate results the majority don't; unlike PPC or CPM activity you can't just switch affiliate on and off.

Assuming you're already running an affiliate programme you should carry out some SWOT analysis and be honest about what you do well and what you don't (sign up as an affiliate to the networks where your competitors run programmes and see how they're running their campaigns).

Understand where your sales are coming from (what types of affiliates drive sales) and where you have obvious gaps.

Tailor communication for these affiliates based on your USPs, current best offers and any exclusives you can push out. Don't apply a broadbrush approach or risk becoming instantly demoralised with a general lack of interest. Only communicate when you have something to say that is of interest.

Also remember you don't market to affiliates you market to many types of affiliates; what is important for one is irrelevant for another.

Treat affiliates with respect; it has traditionally been a more cost effective route to market but this doesn't mean it's a 'cheap' channel.

Speak to your affiliates and understand what they need in order to succeed. It's a well work phrase but try to 'cut through the noise'; you're competing for attention amongst thousands of other affiliate programmes.

Done well affiliate marketing is an exceptionally powerful and rewarding direct response channel; done badly it can be a frustrating and unsatisfactory experience.

Oh, and good luck!

[kcheung]

welcome to the world of affiliate management!

i've been doing this since i left uni, you're in the right place by being on the forum thats fo sure.

make sure you have a blog, and at least try and BE an affiliate, the insights into affiliate marketing doing this are invaluable, you might find this post useful.

affiliate management is more like partnership negotiation or match making, finding the right program for the right affiliate and vice versa.

its also about analysis and understanding numbers so brush up on excel skills

and providing for affiliates, so you'll need to be prepared to write content, make creative etc.

and its about sorting out techincal stuff so html and PHP skills are a real bonus, you'll find that affiliate managers tend to be a little obsessed with affiliate marketing, you kind of have to live and breath it.

I also wirte a little about affiliate management on my blog here.

[DanielAustin]

Salary : open. A junior position starts up to £30k, senior positions £90k - £120k +, average £45k +

WHAT......Got any jobs John 120k will do nicely, in fact as its you I will do it for 100K :tup

[csn]

I take it that most UK aff manager jobs are London based?

[John Jupp]

WHAT......Got any jobs John 120k will do nicely, in fact as its you I will do it for 100K :tup

Hi Daniel, there was one senior spot offered on this forum starting at £90k + benefits just a few months ago. Guess you didn't read it?

[kcheung]

WHAT......Got any jobs John 120k will do nicely, in fact as its you I will do it for 100K :tup

yeah actually, i started on 18k, and that was WITH a degree! I've never seen a £120k affiliate manager role before!

[John Jupp]

There are a few knocking around Ken. I even know a certain frequenter of this board who was offered the job and declined it because they are happy where they are.

[kcheung]

There are a few knocking around Ken. I even know a certain frequenter of this board who was offered the job and declined it because they are happy where they are.

I'm definately underpriced then LOL!

[DanielAustin]

Hi Daniel, there was one senior spot offered on this forum starting at £90k + benefits just a few months ago. Guess you didn't read it?

Your right John I didn't.....

[amitjawaji]

WHAT......Got any jobs John 120k will do nicely, in fact as its you I will do it for 100K :tup

Hi Daniel
I am amit from india. I work as a affiliate since 3.5 years in affiliate network online, I want to apply affiliate manager where i suppose to apply

[olimos]

I take it that most UK aff manager jobs are London based?

Obviously depends on where the company is based, but we're located centrally, yes.

My words of wisdom: Don't get into anything without seeing a clear and focused job description. There's no harm in not initially knowing the ins-and-outs of the industry but if that's the case ENSURE you get some training from someone somewhere. My most valuable resource when I started was my manager at the time who was more of a mentor to me. Now I run the program myself and am most comfortable doing so.

Prepare; Do it; And best of luck.