Another important area in the iGaming industry is affiliate marketing. If you love marketing and networking with people, it may be a great idea for you to check out this read about what it means to be an Affiliate Manager and what it takes to get into this career. Aleksis Vitins, our Affiliate Team Manager shares some great tips about this role and gives a great explanation of what it entails.
What does it mean to be an Affiliate Team Manager? What do you do?
Working as an Affiliate Team Manager involves being responsible for user acquisition through affiliate channels, as well as managing a team of Affiliate Managers. A key part of the role is making sure we work as a team and make smart data-driven decisions, investing time and resources in profitable affiliate partnerships.
Data and relationships are two essential elements in this position. I always say that this whole industry is built on good relationships! Building connections and relationship management are crucial to making an affiliate program successful. Data plays a big part as well – it is important to spend time analysing campaign performance, keeping an eye on our KPIs and looking at a lot of Excel sheets!
What should one expect as a typical day?
The iGaming industry is so dynamic that no day is the same! A typical day for me would start off with catching up on emails and messages. The industry is truly global, and a lot of our affiliate partners work in different time zones across the world. Checking the data for the previous day, monitoring campaign performance, and having a lot of calls and meetings with different teams within the organization, as well as affiliates and external partners. A typical day for an Affiliate Manager includes some of the following tasks:
- Managing numerous affiliate partnerships and proactively bringing in new business for the affiliate program
- Negotiating and monitoring performance marketing campaigns with the aim of increasing the revenue for the company
- Monitoring campaign performance and making sure they are profitable
- Collaborating with internal teams to improve our affiliate program and product offering
What are traits that are key to thrive in this position?
Over the years I’ve met many different people in similar positions from all over the world. There definitely are some key traits that would make one more successful working as an Affiliate Manager. Number one would be knowing how to engage with people as building connections and nurturing relationships is crucial!
There is also a sales element to this role, so it’s always important to remember you’re representing the business and therefore need to be professional and approachable. I would say one needs to be a self-starter to truly thrive in this role. Most of the time, new opportunities won’t just land on your lap; you need to be proactive and seek out new business.
What are the main challenges you will be faced with in this role? Any tips you can share on how to mitigate these challenges?
As in any role, affiliate management comes with its own set of challenges. It’s important to stay agile and adapt to change as priorities and focus areas can shift suddenly. Especially when working in regulated markets, there can be very strict rules around affiliation and advertising that must be followed. Oftentimes there’s a big dependence on other departments, so it’s crucial to be able to communicate effectively, set clear deadlines and chase other stakeholders when necessary.
Also, there’s an element of risk involved, especially when working with new affiliate partners. Sometimes campaigns don’t work out as well as expected, and other times you need to deal with difficult situations, like affiliate fraud. Always make sure to do your due diligence and any new agreements in writing.
Are there any benefits that usually revolve around this role?
Working as an Affiliate Manager, you get to meet a lot of different people from all over the world! The job can involve quite a bit of travelling to attend conferences and industry events. It’s a great chance to build more connections, as well as learn about new trends in the industry.
Also, you can see a direct impact of your hard work on the business. As everything is tracked via the affiliate platform and can be measured, it can be very rewarding seeing successful campaigns making a positive effect on the KPIs.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start in this career?
If you have an interest in affiliate management, you can grow into this role from different entry-level positions within iGaming. As long as you have a good understanding of the industry, I believe that the best way to learn is through hands on experience. Starting in affiliate operations or as an affiliate coordinator are great steppingstones towards becoming an Affiliate Manager.
It’s also important to have an interest in marketing as this role touches on many different areas of the business. It helps having some knowledge of how SEO works, content marketing, an understanding of user journeys, and the casino and sportsbook products in general. On a daily basis you have to speak to people who are experts in these areas, so it really helps to be able to speak the same language. It also makes it easier to evaluate new business proposals and to be in sync with general trends in the affiliate world.
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Aleksis VitinsAffiliate Team Manager
