Affiliate marketing is neither an unexplored field nor some black hat activity. It has already become an independent business area with its features and processes. And it's constantly developing, bringing in new trends and business lines, expanding possibilities, as well as potential challenges. Although it's still possible to get through all this on your jack, it's becoming rather tough. As they say, a problem shared is a problem halved. That's why, today, many affiliate marketers, regardless of their experience level, prefer pooling together their efforts to going solo. Wanna join them, but don't know how? Let's find it out. To begin with, it's worth taking a glance at an affiliate marketing team and its members.
An affiliate marketing team, how is it organized?
An affiliate team is not about a typical structure like Top Managers, Managers, Deputy Managers, Deputy Assistants, and so on. It's about a system where everyone performs their own tasks in order to reach the same goal – getting a profit with minimum efforts. Therefore, such teams are usually small, including the only necessary number of participants (approximately 20). The team has one leader, who isn't like a classic boss, giving orders. Leaders are organizers who ensure that their teams work smoothly.
The core players are the ones who work closely with web traffic, advertising, and promotion, they are:
- Media buyers, who attract targeted audience to products or services, they are responsible for the promotion and media placement on various platforms. They usually work with several affiliate programs simultaneously, test and scale hypothesis.
- Webmasters, who have their own platforms or create and edit websites, handle SEO and place ads on their resources.
- Farmers, who create, buy, promote social media accounts for advertising.
The affiliate team is not only a group of web traffic experts but also:
- Designers, who create landing pages, teasers, banners, etc.
- Developers, who write codes, create patterns and programs.
- Copywriters or Content Managers, who create content and texts for landing pages and promo posts.
As a whole ring, affiliate teams can differ considerably from each other. There are even teams that include only 3-5 members, and they are not less successful than the bigger ones. Some don’t need offices and manage to work productively online, meeting up three times a week in co-working spaces. Such a dream team often consists of friends who gather together to make money.
Building connections is very important in this field. Affiliate like-minded fellows commonly find each other at thematic conferences, meetings, on forums (see the list of some affiliate forums in our previous article https://ungads.com/blog/start-earn-as-affiliate). It’s essential to plunge into an affiliate environment in order to find your place in the field. Folks involved in affiliate marketing may change their roles in the team or even may change teams they work with, but they never leave this sphere.
An affiliate team seems like a whole array of experts, yeah? And why should you share duties if you're able, say, to work both as a coder and as a webmaster? There are plenty of solid reasons for that.
Why is it worth it?
Playing a lone hand in affiliate marketing might turn out to be too risky, time- and effort-consuming activity. Why not make it easier and join like-minded folks then?
Working within a team, you won't need to spend on testing, for instance, running the risk of investing and losing your own budget. Additionally, you can skip out on all these extra expenses for tools, trackers, account and domain purchases, etc.
Are you sure you have enough knowledge about the field? Your teammates will always be eager to give you a bit of a clue because you pursue the same interests. That way, you can learn and get prompt support instead of surfing the net to find out the necessary information for hours on end.
If you're within a team of seasoned pros, then all efforts will be distributed appropriately and you won't scramble between hundreds of tasks to perform simultaneously. You will have a chance to divide time between work and play, unlike working for yourself and being busy 24/7. Needless to say about communication, friends, and useful relations that can be brought by a team environment.
And the last but not the least, in a team, you'll have an opportunity to choose a suitable role and play it to your strengths.
Must-have traits
Some people think that affiliate marketing teamwork is for grand folks only, while others, on the contrary, strongly believe that 'every Tom, Dick, and Harry' can make short work with any affiliate task, being in a team because everything is handed to you on a silver platter. Neither opinion is right. To join such a team, you should possess certain personal qualities, otherwise, you might fail. First of all, it's necessary to have a clear understanding that it's not a sort of typical office workflow with a fixed schedule and certain duties. Affiliate marketing is about making money, and every team member should pursue the same aim – gaining a profit. That's why you should be highly motivated and result-oriented. Remember, without your personal desire nothing will work well.
It's necessary to be honest with yourself as well as with your team. Don't exaggerate your results and achievements. When adorning yourself with borrowed plumes, don't forget that figures will speak for themselves.
Flexibility is another important quality you should possess because affiliate marketing is a constantly developing and ever-changing area. Approaches that work well today, tomorrow might become dead, that's why it's important to be adaptable to a new environment and to be able to find other solutions immediately.
You should have a clear-eyed understanding of your role in the team, as well as the roles of your teammates. Keep an open mind on your personal growth and realize what you need for it. And if you're lacking some necessary knowledge, you have to be a fast learner in order not to hamper overall progress.
Other personal qualities, such as ambitiousness and proactivity, will also be useful if they are directed at achieving shared goals.
Attention to detail, analytical abilities, and strategic thinking are crucial traits, no matter which role in a team you hold.
How to get the necessary knowledge
Affiliate marketing can attract not only pros related to IT and digital marketing but also specialists from other fields. The former should constantly pump up their skills, the latter should keep in mind that without basic knowledge and understanding of market peculiarities it's impossible to join an affiliate team – nobody will spend time on educating dummies. In the age of the Internet, it's quite possible to learn the field on your own. You can get a lot of useful information on thematic blogs and forums. Affiliate pros are usually extremely friendly, communicative, and easy-going guys; you can easily reach out to them and ask their advice or simply find and read their interviews on the Internet. There are plenty of both free and paid sources, like webinars, online conferences, and courses devoted to affiliate marketing. Bear in mind that paid courses don't give more profound knowledge than free ones. All these resources are more about basic information; the rest comes with practice. Some unfair creators of paid courses just gather and provide you with the same info that is available on free internet resources, that's why you should double-check everything and read feedback before signing up for something.
Major CPA networks provide training courses and share useful materials. You can also find some free educational info and training on the following websites:
https://lucky-center.com/ (educational center for newbies)
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4553001?hl=en (Google Analytics training and support)
https://www.udemy.com/course/free-affiliate-marketing-course-for-beginners/ (affiliate marketing for beginners)
https://www.affiliatemarketertraining.com/learn-affiliate-marketing-free/ (affiliate marketing tips and training)
https://www.skillshare.com/browse/affiliate-marketing?clickid=UJgSJaR9nxyOW4%3AwUx0Mo3EWUki1QOVVCzHHSo0&irgwc=1&utm_content=4650&utm_term=Online%20Tracking%20Link&utm_campaign=397676&affiliateRef=6595003&utm_medium=affiliate-referral&utm_source=IR (lessons on various aspects of affiliate marketing)
https://ungads.com/blog/start-earn-as-affiliate (how to start earning with affiliate marketing)
Moreover, many affiliate marketing companies have thematic blogs, provide some training materials, and publish posts on social media, for example, https://www.facebook.com/UngAds/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ungads-advertising-network/, https://vk.com/ungads, https://ungads.com/blog.
It’s also possible to join teams that can provide job opportunities for newbies. Working as a Junior Traffic Manager, Support Assistant, or Account Farmer, you might learn the area inside and out, as well as gain invaluable experience.
What is the job market offering?
If you're still sure that you will be a great affiliate team member, you have a clear picture of the field, you possess all necessary qualities, and you've already made up your mind about your future role, then you should start monitoring job offerings. You can use both job search platforms like indeed.com, hh.ru, linkedin.com and social media services.
The most demanded roles in the field are Media Buyers and Traffic Managers with an average starting monthly salary of $1000-4000, depending on experience level. Experience level requirements can vary from 1 to 6 years. It's hard to find job openings for inexperienced web traffic specialists. Copywriters and Content Creators are less demanded in the field, their average monthly salary is about $1000, experience requirements for these roles are rather strict (3+ years). Developers and web-designers must have appropriate education and relevant experience (1+ year) in order to work in the affiliate marketing team.
If you are a newcomer, it may seem impossible to get these job opportunities. But it is never too late to learn, and if you feel that you’re not able to get all the necessary knowledge yourself, you can acquire this profession in college or take special classes. For example, Birmingham City University offers Master’s Program in Future Media; you can learn digital marketing at Moscow Institute of Business and Design or take a training course in Delhi at Premium Digital Marketing Training Institute. In this case, professional education will give you some sort of self-confidence and expand horizons.
As you can see, it's impossible and senseless to enter the affiliate field and join a team without knowledge. Every field you work in and every role you hold will always have its pros and cons. In order to achieve great results in affiliate marketing, like in all other areas, it’s required to learn and gain experience, especially at the beginning of your way. On top of that, an affiliate team is a special organization, a specific environment of like-minded folks with their own culture, behavior pattern, set of mind, and peculiar style of running a business. They understand little about subordination, job description, and duty instructions, for they go beyond these notions. These guys know how to think outside the box and push the boundaries. And if you want to join them and to be a perfect cultural fit, you should be on the same wavelength.