What makes a good affiliate manager? This is a question that is often asked by clients who are thinking about expanding their team and don’t know where to start. A good affiliate manager needs to have various qualities and experience in order to succeed at the job. Of course, a lot of work that affiliate managers do takes practice and so they’ll typically learn on the job.
In this week’s episode of Affiliate Drive Time, Lee-Ann offers her thoughts on what skills you need to be an affiliate manager and succeed in this role. Check out the episode below and read on to hear more about this.
Building relationships with affiliates
One of the key skills that a good affiliate manager needs to have is the ability to build relationships with affiliates. A large portion of the job is spent engaging with affiliates and listening to what partners want. If any affiliate needs advice on a certain promotion or marketing strategies, they will usually get in touch with the affiliate manager.
When you are hiring for an affiliate manager, you’ll want to look for someone who has experience in building relationships. Can they actively listen to affiliates and provide support? If so, they might be a good hire.
Sales experience
Additionally, an affiliate manager needs to be good at sales and so you’ll want to find someone with customer service and sales experience. You might even benefit from hiring someone with a media buying background as this can help to provide them with the skills that they need to succeed.
However, it should be noted that a lot of the sales element of affiliate program management can be taught on the job. We have a great training program called AMPP which is the Affiliate Management Performance Program. This course can help new hires learn what they need to be excellent affiliate managers. You can learn more about AMPP here.
Willingness to learn
It isn’t really possible to learn everything there is to know about affiliate marketing and the digital landscape before you become an affiliate manager. The world we live in is constantly changing, as are the tools that are at our disposal. So, an affiliate manager needs to be someone who is willing to keep learning – affiliate management is a vocation, not a job.
This willingness to learn will allow affiliate managers to stay up to date with the latest trends and tools that will help them to grow the program.
Would you make a good affiliate manager?
If you have never worked as an affiliate manager before then you may be wondering if you would be suitable for the job. We’ve got a fun quiz for you that you can take and determine whether you have the required skillset or not! Check out the quiz here.
Don’t forget that Lee-Ann will be back next week with another episode of #AffiliateDriveTime. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode!
