Secondly, offer your affiliate manager some way to verify sales and pay them promptly. Whether you give them access to the sales panel, forward sales notifications to them, take screenshots of the sales totals or scan your check – let them SEE how much revenue has been generated through the account. And pay them promptly ... as soon as you are paid they should be paid.
Okay, having said all of that, let’s take a look at 10 questions with Nicole. This will give you a look at the position from the viewpoint of an actual affiliate manager.
- INTERVIEW BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE–
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Interview With Nicole Dean, Affiliate Manager!
What is an "affiliate manager", and what specific duties does an affiliate manager perform?
To start with, this position was invented to fulfill a need. Where there’s a problem, comesinvention.
The problem in this instance is that most affiliate programs stink. Plain and simple. (Sorry, but if you have an affiliate program, odds are that it stinks. Most do.)
It’s just that the focus of most online businesses is not on the affiliate program. In fact, the affiliate program is usually the most neglected part of any online business.
Your products may be fantastic. You may invest time and money into providing quality customer service. And, you may invest resources into a web department and even SEO firms.
Then, you sit with no affiliates, under-performing affiliates, or just un-happy affiliates who aren’t even a bit loyal or motivated to do much of anything.
Obviously, this is a fatal flaw. And, at first, many companies did not see the value in investing any money into their affiliate programs because, in their view -- they’d have to not only pay their affiliates, but they’d have to pay a Consultant, as well.
And, so they focused elsewhere. This is pretty short-sighted, if I do say so, myself
– not that I’m biased or anything! ;)
You see, when I get a new client interested in hiring me as their affiliate manager, the first thing I have to do, oftentimes, is to teach the company some basic math.
I ask them, “Would you rather have 100% of nothing or a percentage of something?” Because that’s what an affiliate program means.
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Can you see how silly it is for some companies to view their affiliates as competition? And, they grumble when they pay out HUGE checks each month to their affiliates, “I can’t BELIEVE how much I have to pay these people.” Again, flawed logic. ;) If you’re paying your affiliates a bunch of money, that means you’re making a big, fat profit yourself.
I digress. My point here, is that, because Affiliate Marketing is not well understood, many highly successful online businesses don’t know how to recruit, train, manage or motivate an affiliate team.
That’s where I come in. Affiliate manager to the rescue!!! My short definition of an Affiliate manager would be –
“A Contractor, Employee or Consultant who is responsible for Recruiting, Training, Managing and Motivating a team of Affiliates for an online business.”
Short, simple, and to the point. ;)
What do you think makes a good "fit" for an affiliate manager and an affiliate program?
For me, I look for programs that I’m excited about working with. The products have to be something that I feel are quality. Basically, I can only work for a program that I would feel proud to be an affiliate of before I can RUN that affiliate program.
In addition, for me, personally, I mostly work with programs that reach a certain target market, because I’ve built a solid infrastructure in my business. I have connections in that field so I can easily contact people who I know and get them on board with the affiliate program. For instance, I wouldn’t accept a client that sold fly-fishing supplies. It just wouldn’t be a good fit for me, and I don’t think the client deserves any less than 100% enthusiasm.
Example
I turned down a position as an affiliate manager of an online Credit Card application company, even though it would have been quite lucrative.
For me, I’m very deeply entrenched in the Internet Marketing and Work at Home Mom markets. It just made no sense for me to take the position. I knew it wouldn’t be a good fit for me, and I just wasn’t excited about it.
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It’s like hiring any other position in your company. You’ll want someone bright, motivated, excited, knowledgeable and loyal. Once you find that person, grab them before someone else does.
What are some keys to SUCCESSFULLY hiring an affiliate manager?
From the company’s standpoint, it’s crucial to make sure the person enjoys what he or she does. This is oftentimes a self-motivated, highly-paid, consultant position. You want the person you hire to look forward to doing the work.
Talk on the phone with the potential affiliate manager to see if you get along. Ask what his or her action plan is. Talk over the terms of the contract and come to an agreement.
Some questions you’ll want to ask are:
•
What is your action plan? (What ongoing tasks will you be doing?)
•
What kinds of projects need to be done?
•
Will you work directly in the website or with my web department?
•
How many hours per month will you be working? • Is there an hourly fee or a percentage or both?
•
Is there a term for the contract? (monthly, 3 months, 6 months, etc)
•
When is the invoice paid and how? (check, paypal, etc.)
One thing I do with my service is provide an initial consultation where I actually go through the company’s entire affiliate program step by step and give them a report outlining my recommendations. Each section includes an action plan. I charge for this report, of course.
From there, the company has the option of either hiring me to do the work for them, bringing me on as a consultant to train their staff, or having me and my staff come in so they don’t have to handle a thing. Whichever option they choose, they’ll walk away with a solid game plan.
This can be a perfect “testing-ground” if you find someone you’re interested in working with. Pay them for an initial review of your existing affiliate program, and use that review as an indicator of whether or not you want to bring the person on for more work.
Where can an interested affiliate program owner look to find an affiliate manager?
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Here are a few ideas:
Look for go-getters in the industry. Some of the jobs I’ve gotten have been just from someone asking “Do you happen to do affiliate managing?”
You may check out places like www.warriorforum.com where you’ll find oodles of people who enjoy learning about Internet Marketing, and who want to find a way to make money.
Network with others in business and ask them if they recommend anyone.
If you get approached about joining someone else’s affiliate program, take note whether that person works for the company or owns it. If they work for the company, you may have just found your next affiliate manager.
Top affiliates can make great affiliate managers. One quality I feel is a necessary requirement of any affiliate manager is that he or she has actually done affiliate marketing. Perhaps it seems obvious, but... it isn’t. ;) As someone who has done affiliate marketing, and has run her own affiliate program, I can see things from both sides of the fence. I do think this is a requirement for anyone you’re considering hiring. If they haven’t been an affiliate (and a successful one, at that), then how can that person really step into an affiliate’s shoes and create what an affiliate wants and needs? So, logically, if you can find someone who is a successful affiliate marketer, you may want to connect and ask him or her a few questions about being your next affiliate manager.
Keep an eye out for a great Virtual Assistant who’s really on the ball with Internet Marketing. If he or she has the right stuff, see if you can get that person started doing basic affiliate management like promoting your affiliate program and doing some recruiting for you.
And, of course, if you see someone who’s a fantastic affiliate manager, then ask if they have openings. If not, ask if they have any recommendations for other affiliate managers.
How can an affiliate owner convince an affiliate manager to join the team?
There are a few basic areas of motivation that apply across the board for hiring employees. (Motivation 101). Can you offer a potential affiliate manager these things?
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1. Job Satisfaction (i.e. Feeling like you’re doing something that makes a difference). If you can present your company to a future employee in the right light, it can make all the difference. Show the benefits you’re providing for others and it may be enough to interest a potential affiliate manager.
What is your company’s mission? Do you make life better for a group of people? Do you solve a problem? Is your product special in some way? (I sure hope your answer is “yes” or you’d better go back to the drawing board!) ;)
2. Appreciation (Make them feel special) Flattery DOES get you everywhere. If you are honest and appreciative and warm towards your potential affiliate manager, that may give you an advantage over some other company that’s all business, and no fun.
3. Moola. Of course, money talks. However, giving options of an hourly commission versus a percentage is always nice. I’ve been given several options by potential clients for compensation. They’ve seen the rates at my website and came up with some innovative payment options. If you can’t pay as much hourly, then come up with a generous percentage (of all sales) that’ll make their jaw drop.
For instance:
Option 1: $50/hour + 3% of all sales (10 hours minimum per month) Option 2: $35/hour + 10% of all sales (20 hours min. per month) Option 3: No hourly
compensation, but 40% of all profits (as many hours
as you’d like)
You’ll have to run the numbers for your company. Figure out your profit margin and your current sales to come up with an appealing compensation plan that the affiliate manager you’re courting cannot refuse.