So what is it about affiliate marketing that confuses people?

Whenever people ask me what i do for a living, I respond by saying, “I’m an affiliate marketing specialist.” And then they look at me like I’m from the moon.

It’s simple really. I represent a bunch of companies that wish to market their product online, without paying advertising costs until the desired result has been achieved.

Now for those of you who don't even know what an affiliate is, I'll start at the beginning.

Lets say I represent a client that sells dog food. They want to recruit partners that will place their advertising, whether it be banners or press releases or any other marketing tools, on their sites at no cost. I then make sure that these sites (or affiliates) implement the advertising with the correct codes and tools that my system requires to track the impressions, clicks and ultimately sales gained from that advertising.

The dog food sellers decide at which point the commission will be paid to the affiliate. This can be a set amount or a percentage and it can be paid per impression served, per click gained, or preferably per sale achieved.

Some companies pay a lifelong commission every time the buyer returns to purchase for life, or it can be once off or any combination thereof. Some companies require that the site is actively marketing the product to pay the commission, others not.

I can still hear you asking what an Affiliate Marketing Specialist actually does.

In a nutshell, I manage the relationships between the vendor (the dog food company) and the affiliate (the site with the banner on it).

I make sure this advertising is tracking properly, that the affiliate knows which campaigns are running and that they are up to date with marketing material available.

I handle all their queries and make sure everyone is happy. I put marketing strategies together, I write newsletters and I notify the affiliates of anything of importance they should know about.

Then there's the more technical aspect. Part of the service that comes with having an affiliate program and someone like me managing it, is that my vendor gets monthly reports, giving him an overview into what's been happening with all his $$$s!

Does that answer the questions? I hope so! Now please stop looking at me like I am weird when I tell you what I do for a living!

Give it a bit, soon the words “affiliate relationship manager” will be in the news, and in the dictionaries and people will be as comfortable with it as a normal job!