This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Some product launches have an affiliate manager who coordinates promotion efforts. So how can our listener learn to offer this service on a freelance basis? Hey, what's up? Welcome to Sidus Will School. My name is Chris Guillebeau.
The only program bringing you daily stories, daily tips, ideas, questions and answers, case studies, all kinds of fun stuff for 1,603 days and counting every day since January 1, 2017. In fact, I've been making this program and I feel so fortunate to be able to connect with amazing people all over the world to be able to speak to you every day. And just to be clear on our purpose here, our purpose is to help you create an extra source of income. That's what it's about. Like, I hope this is entertaining.
I hope it's interesting, I hope it's informative, but ultimately I hope it inspires you to take action. I hope it leads you to say, well, what is that thing that I can do? Maybe it's this thing, maybe it's something else, maybe it's a product or a service or some kind of e-commerce thing or maybe it's a blog or coaching service could be something totally different. That's why there's 1,603 episodes, all kinds of different ideas. Anyway, today's question, it's coming from this listener who's wondering about how to become an affiliate manager for large launches, large product launches, that is.
So this is kind of like HR for entrepreneurs, basically, in terms of the question of what we're looking at. Like, if you're looking for a contract job that rewards performance, it might be for you, right? But it's also a bit of a niche thing, it's kind of a specialized thing. So I'm gonna talk about all that in my answer in a brief period of time because I respect your time. So I try to give you a concise action-packed episode every day, today is no different.
That listener question and my answer is coming up in just 30 seconds. Stay tuned. [Music]
Hi there, Chris, this is Karen. I've noticed that big product launches like B-School have a lot of big name people who promote them on Instagram and through email, presumably because they're earning commissions for it. When I look into it more, I learn that there is often an affiliate manager who handles relations with these people, putting together contests and making sure they have all the info they need to be successful.
I'd like to be one of those relationship managers on a freelance basis. I have the people skills and the know how to learn new tech systems. My thinking is that I'd earn a commission on the commission, but in a way that ultimately makes the product creator a lot more money. So it's a win-win for everyone. Is this a feasible idea?
Thanks for your help. [Music]
All right, let's break this down a bit. Thank you so much, Karen, for the question. So what she's talking about here, just in case you're like, I have no idea what this means, when she says big product launches like B-School. So she's referring to Marie Forleo, who has an annual program.
She's been running for, I don't know, probably a decade or something now. It does very, very well, millions of dollars a year in revenue. And a lot of this comes from various influencers and authors and bloggers and people who are essentially working as a funnel to bring people into her course. And they get paid naturally, a commission on it. And the B-School is just one example.
Like every year there are multiple really big product launches happening in various spaces and industries. So the affiliate manager is a wrangler. That's what I used to call my affiliate manager when I had one. Or if you prefer a hype man, like if you're familiar with the world of hip-hop or rap, it's like you've got your hype man who's gonna go out there and generate hype, generate energy as the show starts. And throughout the show sometimes, I guess it could be a hype woman as well.
I'm just mostly familiar with hype men. Anyway, their job is to provide support and cheerleading to affiliates who are promoting a particular launch. This typically involves running contests, preparing sales copy and sending lots of reminder emails. So there are not a ton of jobs like this out there. That's the first point.
If you wanna be this person, you kind of need to know someone. You kind of need to be in those circles. So I would say offer to help with something for free. Even better, do something for the person you want to work for proactively. Like do something for them.
And instead of just saying, can I help with something? 'Cause that can be a little bit overwhelming. And like, I don't know what to choose. I don't know what the answer to that is. But if you've got something in mind specifically, well, go and do that and then say, hey, I did this thing.
Alternatively, instead of just trying to get this kind of role, consider what else you could use these skills for. I think this actually might be a better approach overall. Like if you would be a good affiliate manager, like Karen sounds like she's got those skills. Well, she's also gonna be good at sales and communication in general. So there could be lots of other roles that would suit somebody who has those skills.
And thinking that way might open up some more options because generally it's not that somebody sets out to do this kind of role. It's very few people who say like, I want to be an affiliate manager. They kind of stumble into it along the course of other roles in marketing. So I would say keep working on your marketing skills. Keep getting to know people.
Keep trying to be helpful and be open to other ideas that use these skills well that don't necessarily have this title. So that's my take there. Good luck, Karen and listeners. Thank you for tuning in. If you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions.
It's one of my favorite things I do here. Get to feature them throughout the year along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. I'd love to know what you're working on, what's going well in addition to what's not. We'll talk about all of it. Be sure you're subscribed.
Much more is coming up. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
