Q: We have several parts of our business we’d like to affiliatize… and we’d like to hire an external Affiliate Manager. He works on several projects, so this would be part-time for him (at least what he does for us). We have NO idea how to pay the guy. Any ideas? Fixed monthly fee? Straight percent of sales (the sites he’ll manage all will sell something online)? Combination?
A: The first issue to consider is the experience in affiliate marketing and track record of the person you are going to hire as the affiliate manager.
I would caution you to have somebody launch and manage an affiliate program when they are part time, as it’s a channel that needs a great deal of care and attention.
Anyhow, in order to get an experienced affiliate manager to run your affiliate program on an outsourced basis, you will generally have to compensate them either on a flat retainer or a combination of retainer and performance.
As far as typical earnings for an affiliate manager, I surveyed over 130 affiliate managers for the AffStat 2005 Report and compiled some data on annual salaries for affiliate managers.
I asked the affiliate managers, “What is your annual salary (including incentives and bonuses)?”
| Less than $40k | 21% |
| $40k to $50k | 14% |
| $50k to $60k | 12% |
| $60k to $70k | 6% |
| $70k to $80k | 13% |
| $80k to $90k | 8% |
| $90k to $100k | 6% |
| $100k to $110k | 4% |
| $110k to $120k | 6% |
| More than $120k | 10% |
This should give you a feel for the rates out there.