Affiliate Managers...

[Gydian]

So, I've often wondered this, and I think it'd make for some interesting discussion. How did you get started in Affiliate Management, and what're some pointers you can give to others who are interested in possibly pursuing becoming an AM?

[Giorgio]

Better attend CAC Amsterdam and avoid dealing with the CAP crooks!

[RockbetJohn]

For me it was putting my experiences together to realize I could take on one of these jobs. A good AM should know the business as much as possible including player and affiliate aspects. As a player you should know which sites are worth going to and find out what you like and don't like about each. As an affiliate you want to go through the same problems that all affiliates here have gone through. You want to know all of the experiences players and affiliates get so you can at least look at your own program in the mirror to find ways to improve it. If you get this far then you can probably have a conversation with any affiliate and find ways to work together.

The AM jobs I find are tough to do because most AMs fail to meet the high expectations of the affiliates. The top affiliates work long hours and usually weekends too, they are business owners and self starters. A good AM will be able to keep up with these people and answer emails in a timely manner. It is tough to ask someone to take on the job and to work weekends so program owners can sometimes change this with incentives.

Last but not least a good AM will like his or her job and their industry of course. If you don't even enjoy playing poker then I wouldn't recommend that person become a gaming AM. You have to work with people and have some sort of enthusiasm or passion for what you do. If you don't the affiliates will detect this and it will reflect in your work.

Cons of the job:
Getting rejected by affiliates
Getting yelled at by affiliates
Long hours

Pros of the job:
Travel to conferences
Possibly work from home (can be good if you have kids)
No typical 9-5 schedule
Friends all over the world

Overall I love my job and at times the job doesn't feel like work. The only thing I dread about my job is getting an inbox explosion of emails catching me off guard but that's only a few times per year.

[Newjabber]

Becoming a AM is not something im thinking about at the moment, but i have thought about if it would be something i could aim for in the future.
I have 10 years of poker experience and im very passionate about poker.
And I have been an affiliate for 2 years.
What other "skills" should i improve if i wanted to aim at a AM job?
My english writing skills are not perfect, but i have several AM´s that are worse than me.
Do you think that is a big problem?

[RockbetJohn]

More language skills = more opportunities. English is a big market but it might limit you for certain jobs if the parent company mostly works in English.

[gooderpoker]

My journey of becoming an affiliate manger went a little like this;
I was an affiliate for a few yeas and learnd everyhting I could in those years.
I then made the move and became an affiliate manage for Prime Poker and casino by asking a friend who I knew there if I could get a job and prove myself.
After a few months at Prime I moved to Raider Poker where I have found a position I love

Few pointers:
to start I think it is hard to ask for a contract or salary. Best to start as a master affiliate what is that? you get a % on what the affiliates you bring in make.
If you are an affiliate keep in mind you may have to sell your sites as it could be seen as a conflict of interest to poker rooms.
Lastly it is not as easy as it looks. It takes alot of time and patients. Also you are limited by the room you are AM of. If they don't seem to have a good business plan or if they don't have intention to put money into their business stay AWAY as it will just be bad for you, there seem to be 1000 poker skins these days and I am sure a few of them are looking for an AM but alot of these rooms do not have a business plan so be cautions.

[Mark]

If you would like to become an AM, it's like trying to get any other job, you have to network. Obviously you have to have the skills and knowledge of the industry, but after that it's all about networking. Contact AM's, talk to AM's and poker room management at conferences. Create a great resume or CV and start sending that off to some affiliate programs. You could also go through a headhunter like Pentasia who could put you in touch with places looking for AM's.

You must be able to multi-task effectively, be professional, be responsive, and be able to work with affiliates well.

Best of luck.

Mark

[mitchell]

Hi guys,

I don't there's really much more i can cover in here that Mark, Ryan or the other AMs haven't covered.

My journey was a completely different one.
Prior to Poker Affiliate World, i had no experience in online poker. In fact, i came from a completely different online gaming background.... Christian computer games.

But under the tutelage of Mr Enke here, i got to know the industry very well, and can highlight the key characteristics needed for such a role:

• Ability to work outside your hours (but if you're an affiliate, chances are that you already do that).
• Ability to be flexible: Just because you have a list of priorities, doesn't mean that something unexpected can't happen that would turn your world upside down.
• Always listen to affiliates: Key point number one and i list this as our priority at Poker Affiliate World -> It's all about responding to our affiliates first, and then everything else.
• Resilience: when the going gets bad, it can get pretty bad. Affiliates might be demanding you dress them in gold, when all you can do is provide them with Silver. Which leads me to the next point.
• and my favourite challenge, the ability to think outside the box. If an affiliate approaches you with a struggle, being able to suggest ways around the challenge to help,