Q: I have been involved in affiliate marketing for several years now and would like to make the jump to affiliate management. What are your suggestions on landing a affiliate management position with no previous experience?
A: You’ve definitely got an advantage on the average person that is applying for an affiliate manager position, as most affiliate managers have never been affiliates.
I think this is an essential role for an affiliate manager to fulfill, so they can get a 180 degree understanding of the industry.
As far as breaking in and scoring a job, first you have to find the open jobs. You can see a sampling of what is out there at the Affiliate Manager Job Center.
Next, you need to know what it is that affiliate managers do. Since you have been involved with the industry, I’m sure you have a pretty good grasp on the good and bad practices of affiliate managers.
I would suggest trying to compose a list of positive and negative attributes of affiliate managers your worked with, so you can design the type of affiliate manager you would like to become.
You should also have an idea about affiliate manager salary ranges.
And take advantage of the free affiliate manager resources that are out there, such as forums, articles, and newsletters.
Last, but not least, I will actually be running an affiliate manager training session on February 26-27, 2005 called Affiliate Manager Boot Camp. More details at ambootcamp.com