Newbie Affiliate Manager Looking For Hints, Tips, Advice

[L-Plates]

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Hi

I´ve been doing SEO for an online retail company and I´ve just been asked to take over running affiliates of which I know very little about.

Would anyone be kind enough to give me some tips and perhaps share their experience of affiliating marketing? Any advice would be warmly received.

Thank you

[nim-b]

There's lots of different info on here, is there any specific area you want to know about?

Otherwise you might want to head over to the IAB Affiliate Marketing Section- that's got some good overview docs.

What network are they with? A lot of them run free training sessions you could go along to.

Other than that my tips are:
- make a list of everything you need to do on a regular basis and stick to it (normally includes validating sales, checking affiliate sign-ups etc)
- get the communication with affiliates right- simple e-mails with upcoming promotions etc.
- don't be afraid to admit when you don't know something.

Is it a brand new program? That tends to bring up different stuff to look at than taking over an established program.

Hope that helps.

Naomi

[L-Plates]

Hi

Thank you for your response - that site is a great help.

It´s already up and running but I noticed that even though we may have made some sales through certain affiliates, when I visit their sites it´s a struggle to find us on there and on some we´re not visible at all.

I think yr definitely right on the communication - I think that is clearly the first thing I need to get to grips with. Would be great to get in the Featured Merchants section - is that just a question on persistance and giving them good and current information on deals or is there more to it than that?

[nim-b]

It´s already up and running but I noticed that even though we may have made some sales through certain affiliates, when I visit their sites it´s a struggle to find us on there and on some we´re not visible at all.

Ah yes, that might be because they haven't listed all their sites in the interface and so you're looking in the wrong place. Sometimes there isn't room for affiliates to list all their sites, its not normally anything dodgy. I think if there's an affiliate driving quite a few sales and you want to know what site they're promoting you on, send them a polite e-mail and ask. Just make it clear that you only want to know because you're interested and would like to be able to help them with suitable content or information.

Would be great to get in the Featured Merchants section - is that just a question on persistance and giving them good and current information on deals or is there more to it than that?

Do you mean the section in the Affiliate Window newsletter? They send an e-mail round asking for content every week, if you send them a promotion you'll usually get it in if its good.

Otherwise, to get good information on opportunities make sure you form a close relationship with your network. Give them relevant information to pass onto affiliates, setup regular meetings to discuss stuff.

I would also highly recommend going along to an industry event to get to know people face-to-face, you can pick up some great tips that way. If you can get your company to fund a ticket I would highly recommend coming to the A4U awards- its a great night out as well as being brilliant for networking.

[peterlee]

You could join an affiliate marketing school. An affiliate marketing school teaches you the proper sequence of learning, beginning with the basic foundation and then building this foundation. It therefore helps you in your total learning process and prevents you from becoming overwhelmed with too much information.