Affiliate Management – New Opportunities for Savvy Internet Marketing Professionals

Affiliate management is new - so new in fact, you may never have heard of it. It has come about because of the exponential growth of affiliate marketing on the web.
It's very much a 'NOW' opportunity and you have the potential to get in on the ground floor so to speak.

We believe it's going to be one of the hottest business opportunities for the next couple of decades.

Why?

• There is always great demand for good managers
• The affiliate marketing industry is already worth $14 billion and growing
• There are many opportunities for you to earn substantial extra income
• You can operate a home based affiliate management business

What Is It Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a way of making money by offering your contacts or customers products or services on behalf of someone else. You don't own the product or service - you market the product or service by blogging, email, direct sale, etc to convince a prospective buyer to buy. As an affiliate, you are paid a percentage of the selling price of the product or service. Think of an affiliate as a sales person selling on commission. You only make money only when you make a sale.

So - What is Affiliate Management and do Merchants Need Managers
A unique aspect of the Internet is that it is a quick and simple way of selling. And affiliates are probably the most cost-effective strategy for making consistent sales online. Most online merchants know this and recruit large numbers of affiliates to promote their product. But, if he can't get them to perform and sell he is sunk.
Here is the basis of the affiliate management opportunity - it takes skill and knowledge to manage affiliates so they keep generating sales month after month. It takes time to support affiliates so they don't jump ship and promote some other merchant's product.

Most merchants simply can't manage their own affiliate programs. They don't have the time or the know-how. They are usually experts in their particular field. They know how to create products in their niche. But they aren't necessarily experts marketing or in affiliate marketing. They don't know how to manage a diverse, remote sales force of online marketers. It is ridiculous in many instances to expect them to learn about managing affiliates.

Here's some facts merchants have identified about affiliate marketing
• 50% don't have the necessary resources and expertise
• 30% say they have no budget for an affiliate program
• 30% simply don't know where to start in finding affiliates

Ah ha You Say! Here's the classic requirement for an Affiliate Manager.
The Potential Role of the Affiliate Manager is to:
• Sets up an affiliate program
• Assist in creating product offers
• Assist in developing the marketing strategy and material
• Find affiliates
• Vet and approve or reject affiliate applications
• Monitor affiliate activities including material they produce
• Troubleshoots affiliate support issues
• Prepares affiliate communications, such as email updates

Pretty neat job description don't you think?

The big attraction is that if you set up the program correctly, systemize your processes and automate where possible, you can accomplish these tasks in just a few hours a day.

AND - here's the best part. You can effectively create your income. By being good at what you offer the merchant more affiliates will be making more sales. The merchant's sales and income will rise and he will be able to pay your fees out of the increased profits.

It's a win-win for everyone!

What's a Realistic Income Expectation?
Affiliate management income will of necessity, because it is based on affiliate income, be commission based, probably a percentage of the affiliate sales generated by your activities.

We suggest you can achieve a retailer and something like 25% of total commissions paid to affiliates each month. This is a very low-risk commitment and is a great motivator to get out there and support affiliates. Merchants are used to this type of payment arrangement and it costs far less than hiring a full-time employee to manage the program. For example, you might look to charge each of your merchant customers:

• A retainer of $1,000/month
• A 25% fee on total paid commissions paid to affiliates

In future articles we will at examples of how much income you might generate as an independent Affiliate Manager and how to go about getting your first merchant customers.

If you really can't wait to get started, we have developed three outstanding eBooks:
• Affiliate Management Business
• Affiliate Management Career
• Affiliate Marketing Resource Directory

Just click on the link below and go to our blog where we tell you all about these excellent reference documents.