Careers in Affiliate Marketing

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Looking for an entry level job or internship in affiliate marketing? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.

I recently read a story about a horrible, yet awesome guy who’s making $1000 a day driving traffic from Pinterest back through his Amazon affiliate links. Supposedly he was creating hundreds of Pinterest accounts and getting his pins promoted to the top of everyone’s homepages, and people were purchasing from those pins. While many news sources are now claiming it was all a hoax, this is an example of Affiliate Marketing (gone wrong)–a type of marketing where people are rewarded as other people make purchases through affiliate links. I should clarify that not all Affiliate Marketing is related to spamming, but where there is money to be made, people can abuse the power, as shown in this particular Pinterest case. Anyhow, there are a couple players in Affiliate Marketing. There’s the Affiliate Manager, who creates and manages a company’s affiliate program. And there’s the Affiliate Marketer, who uses the tools the program offers to make money by driving sales back through the program.

Affiliate Marketing Careers

Photo Credit: Flickr user Auswandern Malaysia

Affiliate Marketing Guide Overview

  1. What an Affiliate Marketer Does
  2. A Typical Day for an Affiliate Marketer
  3. Salary and Career Progression for an Affiliate Marketer
  4. Best Locations for an Affiliate Marketer
  5. Pros and Cons of Being an Affiliate Marketer
  6. What You Need to Know for a Career in Affiliate Marketing
  7. Affiliate Marketing Resources
  8. Careers Related to Affiliate Marketing
  9. Companies with Jobs and Internships in Affiliate Marketing

What an Affiliate Marketer Does

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards people for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. Interestingly, affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods because affiliates use regular advertising methods like organic search engine optimization (SEO), paid search engine marketing (PPC – Pay Per Click), email marketing, and display advertising. However, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing fake reviews of products or services offered by a partner.

An Affiliate Manager manages affiliate programs by helping users generate sales, track purchases, and send commissions back to the company. Similar to an Affiliate Manager, an Affiliate Marketer generates sales by trying to get people to purchase using their affiliate links (for a particular program set up by a Manager)

A Typical Day for an Affiliate Marketer

While a typical day for an Affiliate Marketer or Affiliate Manager might vary, it generally includes these tasks:

  • Tracking affiliate links that are generating the most revenue
  • Replacing poor performing links
  • Keeping abreast of new affiliate marketing opportunities
  • Noting the contact information that might be a viable source of revenue in the future
  • Placing advertising: banners, button ads, text ads
  • Answering questions from potential purchasers
  • Writing a newsletter
  • Redesigning your site or landing page
  • Submitting the affiliate program to directories that lists affiliate programs

Salary and Career Progression for an Affiliate Marketer

The average salary for an Affiliate Manager is $66,000 per year and the average salary for an Affiliate Marketer is $87,000 per year. From there you can go on to become an Online Marketing Manager ($67,000 on average per year), an Internet Marketing Manager ($58,000 on average per year), or a Retail Marketing Manager ($90,000 on average per year.)

Best Locations for an Affiliate Marketer

Here are some hot spots for affiliate marketers:

  • San Francisco, California
  • New York, New York
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Richmond, Virginia
  • Baltimore, Maryland

Pros and Cons of Being an Affiliate Marketer

Pros
  • New programs are cropping up every day, so lots of opportunity
  • Pays fairly well
  • Flexible hours
Cons
  • There’s a certain stigma to the industry due to people abusing it
  • Lots of research and adjusting as new methods and options are introduced
  • It’s math-heavy; you’ll need to love analyzing data

What You Need to Know for a Career in Affiliate Marketing

To be an Affiliate Marketer or Affiliate Manager you’ll need to have great research, and data analysis skills. You’ll also need to know a bit about human behavior and psychology. To get started consider setting up an online store, and make it informative by including a blog or a forum to develop a community. Furthermore, make sure you have a firm understanding of your product, audience, and any seasonal trends. In this case, experience might be more attractive than formal schooling.

Affiliate Marketing Resources

If affiliate marketing still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.

Required Reading

Key Folks to Follow on Twitter

Blogs and Websites

Networking Opportunities

Careers Related to Affiliate Marketing

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Clutch Washington, DC
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Virginia Tech Arlington, VA
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Curtiss Wright Ashburn, VA
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Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
State Of virginia Arlington, VA
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Head Of Performance Marketing
END. Washington, DC
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CGI Fairfax, VA
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JLL Mc Lean, VA
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Marketing Manager
Muller Reston, VA
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Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Affiliate Marketing

The Wirecutter Logo

The Wirecutter - The Wirecutter is a site that offers “a list of the best electronics and gadgetry" that will help you make the absolute best purchasing decision.

See the complete The Wirecutter profile


Tree.com Logo

Tree.com - Tree.com is a Charlotte, NC based company that aims to be the place “where good decisions start” whether you're buying a home, new car, or college education.

See the complete Tree.com profile


I Will Teach You To Be Rich Logo

I Will Teach You To Be Rich - I Will Teach You To Be Rich is a business that was started by Ramit Sethi to help people achieve their career and financial dreams.

See the complete I Will Teach You To Be Rich profile


Newegg Logo

Newegg - Newegg, which is based in City of Industry, CA, is "the leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the United States."

See the complete Newegg profile


MeUndies Logo

MeUndies - Me Undies is a Beverly Hills, CA based company that offers “the world’s most comfortable underwear in all your favorite colors and styles.”

See the complete MeUndies profile


42Floors Logo

42Floors - 42Floors is a San Francisco, CA based company that wants to finally bring the $25 billion office space/commercial real estate market online in a proper way.

See the complete 42Floors profile


HSN Logo

HSN - HSN is a St. Petersburg, FL based company that built an amazing business by selling stuff to people who are sitting on their couch.

See the complete HSN profile


Chloe + Isabel Logo

Chloe + Isabel - Chloe + Isabel is a NYC based jewelry company that has some amazing career opportunities for new and recent grads.

See the complete Chloe + Isabel profile


Voxy Logo

Voxy - Voxy is an NYC based company that has developed an amazing platform for using life experiences to learn a new language, and they're hiring.

See the complete Voxy profile


Vertive Logo

Vertive - Vertive is an Austin, TX based performance marketing company with some really exciting job opportunities for new and recent grads.

See the complete Vertive profile


Underground Elephant Logo

Underground Elephant - Underground Elephant is a San Diego, CA based performance marketing company that has phenomenal job opportunities for new and recent grads.

See the complete Underground Elephant profile


Coupon Cabin Logo

CouponCabin - CouponCabin is one of the top coupon sites on the web, and they're growing at an amazing rate that should lead to some serious job creation.

See the complete CouponCabin profile


Care.com Logo

Care.com - If you want to help families match up with great caregivers, then you might want to consider a job with Care.com.

See the complete Care.com profile


Savings.com Logo

Savings.com - If you love being a smart shopper, then you’ll want to take a look at the Savings.com Jobs page.

See the complete Savings.com profile


Leadnomics Logo

Leadnomics - If you're interested in performance and online marketing, then a career at Leadnomics would be a great start.

See the complete Leadnomics profile


VigLink Logo

VigLink - If you’re interested in what VigLink is doing to make affiliate marketing easy for the masses, check out their Jobs page.

See the complete VigLink profile


ConsumerTrack Logo

ConsumerTrack - If you’re intrigued by ConsumerTrack's multi-disciplinary approach to marketing, then you should take a look at their jobs.

See the complete ConsumerTrack profile


Prospectiv Logo

Prospectiv - You should take a look at Prospectiv’s Careers page. They have a variety of entry level opportunities in online marketing.

See the complete Prospectiv profile


Fatwallet Logo

Fatwallet - If you like Fatwallet’s story and how they help consumers save money when they shop, then you’ll want to check out their Jobs page.

See the complete Fatwallet profile


Lurn Logo

Lurn - When you combine online marketing with online education, you have the potential for a huge success. That's where Lurn is headed.

See the complete Lurn profile


Rise Interactive Logo

Rise Interactive - If you have never considered a career in online marketing before, it’s definitely worth thinking about—and Rise Interactive would be a great place to start.

See the complete Rise Interactive profile


The Media Crew Logo

The Media Crew - Performance marketing truly is the future, so The Media Crew would be a great place to learn the ropes.

See the complete The Media Crew profile


Neutron Interactive Logo

Neutron Interactive - Neutron Interactive is big on showing off their culture and their team. That means that you can get a good, inside look at what it might be like to work there.

See the complete Neutron Interactive profile


Become.com Logo

Become.com - Become.com is a comparison shopping site, and they're hiring in Sunnyvale, CA. Right now they're looking for an SEO Analyst and a Jr. IT Engineer

See the complete Become.com profile


Slickdeals - Even though Slickdeals is all about being cheap and frugal, they appear to be willing to spend some of their profits on hiring top talent.

See the complete Slickdeals profile


Wize - Wize is a San Mateo, CA based startup that is trying to make online comparison shopping more intelligent.

See the complete Wize profile


GoodGuide - GoodGuide, located in San Francisco, CA, doesn’t offer a lot of information on their Jobs page, but they do have listings of positions that they’re hiring for.

See the complete GoodGuide profile


Pepperjam - Pepperjam seems like a laid back company with a good attitude. We’ll bet they’d love to hear from talented new grads with interest in any of their divisions.

See the complete Pepperjam profile


ShoeMoney Media Group - ShoeMoney Media Group is looking for a LAMPP (Linux/Apache/MySql/PHP/Perl) Programmer and a Web/Graphic Designer. The right attitude and skills are essential.

See the complete ShoeMoney Media Group profile


Hydra - Hydra is a small company (only 50 employees) that is rapidly growing. They currently have two openings, and both require some experience.

See the complete Hydra profile


Check out the latest job and internship postings in affiliate marketing.

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