What to Expect from an Affiliate Manager: A Merchant Guide

Choosing the right Affiliate Management Agency is an important part of a successful affiliate program. While Affiliate Program Strategies may vary, this article explains what every brand should expect – and receive – from their affiliate manager.

The goal of every great affiliate manager should be to add value to both the merchant and the affiliate. Nothing about successful affiliate program management can be done on autopilot. Many affiliate programs are run by the owners of a company, marketing people with 22 other jobs, or just someone assigned to figure out what affiliate marketing is all about.

Unfortunately, in all three scenarios, the affiliate program will not meet its full potential simply because the people in charge don't know what they don't know. In this article, we'll explore what you should expect from an affiliate manager, focusing on their responsibilities and the key attributes that make them effective in their role.

Proper Vetting of Quality Affiliates

One of the primary responsibilities of an affiliate manager is to properly vet quality affiliates. This process involves identifying and partnering with affiliates who align with the brand's values, products, and target audience. Quality affiliates can significantly impact the success of your affiliate marketing program by bringing in relevant traffic and driving conversions.

Affiliate managers should consistently be prospecting for potential affiliates who can make a positive impact on your business. They should assess factors such as the affiliate's website quality, content relevance, and audience engagement. By selecting affiliates who are a good fit, affiliate managers contribute to a more successful and harmonious partnership.

Properly vetting affiliates also means declining those who are not a good fit or may not promote the brand in a way that aligns with the core values and integrity. A quality affiliate creates their own, unique content for your brand, and will be transparent in their methods of promotion.

Responsiveness to Emails from the Brand and Affiliates

A good affiliate manager understands the importance of the client/manager partnership and is responsive to any questions, concerns, or ideas that you have about the program. You should expect an affiliate manager to respond to your questions within 24 hours. It's our job to be helpful in a timely manner and we truly hope you do the same.

Affiliate managers should be prompt in addressing inquiries and concerns raised by affiliates as well. Timely communication is essential for resolving issues, answering queries, and maintaining a strong working relationship between all parties involved.

If the email requests something that takes time to put together, the manager should still acknowledge the email as received and, if possible, offer a time frame for when that information will be completed.

Responsiveness to emails from the brand and affiliates is a fundamental trait of a reliable affiliate manager. This level of responsiveness fosters trust and shows that the affiliate manager values the partnership and is committed to its success.

Consistent Communication with Affiliates

Outside of just answering incoming emails, affiliate managers should establish a consistent communication schedule with their affiliates. Content Creators join programs with the best of intentions, but some never create content or even share a single link. Without constant communication, the program can quickly be forgotten and lost in the shuffle of the dozens of pitches good creators receive.

Regular communication not only keeps affiliates informed but also allows the affiliate manager to gauge the progress of each affiliate and provide guidance or support when necessary. It's a two-way street that helps align efforts and expectations.

Apogee sends out several affiliate newsletters each month that equip and encourage affiliates to get or stay active with the program. These newsletters contain content ideas, keyword research, best practices, promotions, and more.

Affiliates are also encouraged to reply to these emails with any questions or requests, and our team responds quickly. Affiliates should feel that they have a reliable partner in the affiliate manager who is supportive and willing to assist them in their promotional efforts.

In addition to program newsletters, Apogee supports affiliates and content creators by offering training opportunities, free affiliate audits, and live free webinars. We also maintain a highly engaged Facebook group where we share opportunities, tips, challenges, and resources to help every affiliate make the most revenue.

Staying Informed About Industry Trends

Successful affiliate managers are not just focused on the present but also on the future. They keep a close eye on industry trends and developments in affiliate, influencer, and other marketing aspects. Staying informed about emerging technologies, changes in search engine algorithms, and shifts in consumer behavior allows them to adapt strategies and provide valuable guidance to their affiliates and the brands they work with.

For instance, with the increasing importance of mobile marketing, affiliate managers should be well-versed in mobile optimization techniques and help affiliates leverage this channel effectively.

The affiliate marketing landscape is also influenced by various regulations, such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and FTC (Federal Trade Commission) guidelines. Affiliate managers need to be aware of these regulations and ensure that their affiliates are in compliance.

This might involve educating affiliates about the importance of disclosing affiliate relationships to their audiences or ensuring that data handling practices adhere to privacy laws. Staying up-to-date on regulatory changes is an integral part of an affiliate manager's role.

Best Practices for Affiliate Marketing

Hiring an Affiliate Management Agency is meant to help you save time and money by hiring a team of experts to manage your affiliate program so that you do not have to. At Apogee, every account has a dedicated account manager, affiliate manager, and outreach (recruiting) manager as well as a managing director and CTO who oversees all programs to make sure best practices are being implemented on a daily basis.

Your affiliate management team will share the processes that are being implemented in your program and thoroughly explain the full strategy of how these tasks work together for the overall success of the brand. There should not be any “gatekeeping” between a brand and a manager as the success of the program relies heavily on this partnership.

Affiliate marketing isn't without its challenges. From technical issues to conflicts between affiliates, an effective affiliate manager should possess creative problem-solving skills. They should be able to find solutions that benefit both the brand and its affiliates.

This can involve mediating disputes, troubleshooting technical issues, or brainstorming innovative ways to overcome hurdles and maximize the impact of the affiliate program.

Being an Advocate for Merchants and Affiliates

A good affiliate manager will always be an advocate for both the brands and the affiliates. While the goal is always to grow the affiliate program for the brand, making sure that the affiliates are supported with what they need is a crucial part of that.

Affiliate Managers should be constantly coming up with ideas for campaigns, promotions, and content to keep affiliates active and engaged in the program. In addition, managers should stay in the know about trends and opportunities to help affiliates earn the most that they can.

Affiliate managers should also communicate any issues to the brand that affiliates experience such as datafeed issues, coupon redemption, and other user experience struggles. When affiliates notice things like this, everyone benefits because it could be affecting the merchant in all marketing channels.

Running a Clean Program

Apogee is committed to running clean affiliate programs that uphold the integrity of the brand. We do not allow every discount or savings affiliate to join a program — even though doing so might increase affiliate sales. Instead, we focus on quality affiliates who will always present the brand and products in a favorable, positive manner.

Corporate savings and loyalty sites are an important part of the customer journey, but we only allow the top 2-3 to join so that we can control the usage of coupons and discounts in the program. Additionally, we do not allow for paid search or paid social from affiliates as that drives up costs for the brand's own paid search initiatives.

Coupon codes are a common feature in affiliate marketing. They serve as tracking mechanisms and incentives for affiliates to promote a brand's products or services. An effective affiliate manager should be adept at monitoring coupon codes to ensure their proper usage.

This involves verifying that affiliates are not misusing or over-promoting coupon codes, which can lead to financial losses for the brand. Additionally, they should be able to identify any fraudulent activities related to coupon codes and take appropriate measures to address them.

VIP Commissions Based on Performance and Effort

In the past, affiliate marketing and influencer marketing have been thought of as two totally different channels with totally different KPIs. However, the merging of these two strategies continues to be the most beneficial path forward for DTC companies, and reallocating budget is a vital part of that.

Through the affiliate marketing channel, you can offer Influencers a bit less than their usual fee for content creation because they have the added bonus of being able to make commissions from the same content. Content Creators who have an active and engaged audience and understand affiliate marketing know that they will make far more on commissions than a flat fee.

At Apogee, we run sponsored content campaigns alongside our affiliate programs to increase brand awareness, social proof, and revenue for the brand while ensuring that the content creators are compensated for their time and effort.

Honesty and Professionalism

The Apogee affiliate management team is comprised of professional affiliate managers and content creators who each have more than a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry. We understand every angle of the industry and work together to provide a holistic approach to affiliate program management.

It does not benefit anyone to not be completely honest and keep realistic expectations for this unique marketing channel. Affiliate marketing has its challenges and the industry is constantly evolving to try to keep up with customer behavior, algorithms, and market shifts.

Conclusion

Your affiliate management agency team can — and should — be one of the best partners to help you grow your DTC sales. We bridge the gap between you and your affiliate sales team to increase business across the board. We take care of recruiting, activation, coupon management, content creation, brand awareness, customer influence, and, of course, revenue growth. Working together and alongside your other marketing initiatives will offer the best ROI for your affiliate marketing channel.