Affiliate Drive Time – Mistakes in Affiliate Program Management – It’s OK!

The fact is Affiliate Marketing is a big job. You think you’re doing some sales and relationship management, and when you get into the thick of it – you realise it’s so much more than that.

We discuss this a lot during AMPP.

Affiliate Program Management is constantly changing and we’re all still learning how to get it just right. From people like me who’ve been doing it for twenty odd years to people like you who may be just starting out with a career in affiliate marketing.

Here’s the thing.

To get better at affiliate marketing and program management – you have to FAIL.

Too often we look at digital experts who are talking about their successes to find solutions, to learn how to do things right, but the truth is that to be successful in any job, in any business you’re actually learning more from getting things wrong.

Experts who always talk about their success, have also failed. They’ve tried and tested and put the work in to get where they are, they just don’t talk about their failures on the way up to the top. Today I wanted to share that with you on #AffiliateDriveTime because I’ve been spending a lot of time with newcomers into this industry and I’m seeing the pressure they put on themselves to perform , to be the best and to be right about every deal they negotiate or every strategic decision they make. It’s gotten to the point in some cases where affiliate managers aren’t even enjoying the job or the learning, they’re so bogged down with the doing.

The truth is, you won’t be right – all the time.

In focusing on getting things right -all the time – you’re bound to miss opportunities to learn from getting it wrong. As an affiliate manager and program marketer you’re expected to know a little about a lot. From traffic driving stats , to regulatory and compliance focusses and administration and relationship building not to mention digital marketing to help promote your business too.

It’s a lot to learn, and the truth is – you’ll keep learning it. To be a good affiliate marketer, you need to go all in and you need to keep learning, new strategies, new tactics, new ways to deliver better results. Failing is a big part of succeeding, and that’s really the message I wanted to give anyone who is following me today.

I’ve been getting it wrong for years. Two decades in fact.

Having had the experience of getting it wrong on numerous occasions and across a multitude of programs and verticals, I now know how to get affiliate program management right.

I’ve dedicated two decades of my life to learning and I’ll be continuing that as we move Affiverse forward as a dedicated affiliate marketing agency.

I think it’s important that we talk about what we get wrong. So if you’d like to get more right, start sharing what you’re getting wrong, and let’s help one another to learn more about affiliate marketing, digital trends and effective program management.

If this episode of AffiliateDriveTime has resonated with you – go comment on my LinkedIn Page where this post appears with some of the things you’ve got wrong recently and I’ll share some of mine.

Together we’ll continue to learn, to grow successful affiliate programs and to enjoy doing it!