[wsmike]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, so please be gentle. I have a company that has had a brick and mortar retail business for over 20 years, and started selling online about 8 years ago. Three years ago, we closed our retail location, because selling on the web was much more profitable for us. So we moved into a warehouse and today have 12 websites selling a variety of merchandise. We gross about 1.4 million a year, so I would say we are here to stay, but I feel like I'm missing the boat with all I'm reading about affiliate marketing. So, I stumbled upon abestweb.com and here I am.

My main question here is - How do I go about getting started? Depending on the time of year, we have 7 to 10 employees, none of who are capable of running an affiliate program. Although I'm sure that I could learn to do it reasonably well, I don't honestly think I could dedicate the time to learn properly, nor the time to administer the program properly. Therefore I'm looking for someone I could hire that has some knowledge of affiliate marketing to run the program for me.

We are presently located in Toms River, NJ but will soon be relocating to larger warehouse/offices in Jackson, NJ. So if there are any local affiliate 'wiz kids' looking for work, please contact me. To everyone else that may have suggestions or advice, let me thank you in advance.

Mike

[Geno Prussakov]

Mike, e-mail me at eprussakov(at)russianlegacy.com I may have something to offer you. ;)

Geno

[MichaelColey]

Mike,

It sounds like you could use an OPM (Outsourced Program Manager). There are several represented here on ABW. I would highly suggest that you talk with Andy Rodriguez or try to attend one of his merchant training seminars in Miami. (The next one is about a month from now.) Even if you outsource the affiliate program, the training course will let you know the best practices that your OPM should be using.

[Greg Rice]

Mike,

It sounds like you could use an OPM (Outsourced Program Manager). There are several represented here on ABW. I would highly suggest that you talk with Andy Rodriguez or try to attend one of his merchant training seminars in Miami. (The next one is about a month from now.) Even if you outsource the affiliate program, the training course will let you know the best practices that your OPM should be using.

I'll second that. Andy's seminar is great for both affiliate managers and merchants who want to know how this all works. If you don't have the time to invest in this yourself, definitely consider someone dedicated to this position, either in-house or outsourced. If you want an overview of what's involved, feel free to contact me and we can go over it. If you pay for the call, I'll throw in some free time.

This is a great place to learn, the best affiliates and best affiliate managers are here.

[Herb ԿԬ]

"wiz kids"? uh-uh. you want to consider seasoned experts.

[mikesh111]

I am managing a company's affiliate program through telecommuting. I do all of the initial work to set up the program and then train an inside person for a fee.


Mike
mikesh111@yahoo.com

[DesignerWiz]

Hello Scott, welcome to the ABW forum board! :wave:

You've received some great advice above.

[Angel Djambazov]

Hi Mike,

Our company was in a similar position a while back. If you want send I can help break down the gamut of options you have.

[Andy Rodriguez]

To everyone else that may have suggestions or advice, let me thank you in advance.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Welcome to our ABW family...

We do have a seminar coming up in 30 days, April 7th, 2006 in Miami. Many merchants come to learn about affiliate marketing and learn the best practices in the industry. I transfer my knowledge and experience of 5+ years as an AM and OPM into 3 days of non-stop training, one on one Q+A's and group case studies. You will be surprised as to what you will learn in 3 days...you can find out information on the seminar here: http://www.andyrodriguez.com/Affiliate-Manager-Certification-Miami-05.html


If traveling to Miami is not an option at this time, I can speak to you on the phone and give you the basics....

You should take advantage of Greg's free consultation as well, Greg has a ton of experience and has gone through my seminar. He can help you get started and manage your program as an OPM. He is well talented and we stand behind him 100%...

Affiliate management is not something you want to hand off to anyone, you need someone that has the knowledge and experience to insure you have a fast ROI in the channel...

To your success,

[Kevin]

There's a lot of great B2C OPM's represented in this forum... Nose around, and you'll find a good one. However, it sounds like you want it to stay local. That may just be a misunderstanding on your part. Don't settle for a NJ aff manager if there's a better one elsewhere. This is an internet business, after all.

Feel free to drop me an email if you have questions. I'll be objective. I don't touch B2C stuff, as there are already plenty of great ones out there to choose from.

Not to put down Mikesh111 up there, but if you ask my opinion, I'd probably point you at someone with 500 posts here or up :) No offense Mike, we just don't know who you are :)

[phillyburbs]

New Jersey? Sounds like you need to target phillyBurbs.

:-P

BTW, used to work in scenic Neptune!

[mikesh111]

My mistake I thought how good of job one has done for their past employers is the measuring stick and not how many times one posts here.

[Andy Rodriguez]

My mistake I thought how good of job one has done for their past employers is the measuring stick and not how many times one posts here.

Mike,


No offense but you have been a member for 6 months and this is your second post. I'm sure you may have done an aweseme job at your last employer, however this is a community.

Imagine you being a member of our family and not saying a word for 6 months all of a sudden you speak....nobody heard about you before, nobody knows you - understand?

Please accept this invitation to become an 'active' member of our 'ABW family' so we can get to know you....

Welcome to ABW !! :smiling:

[Merchant Consultant Team]

I'm in Caleeeeeeefornia and manage an account in Hoboken.

Not taking on any NEW clients BUT look around a bit from managers.

Some of the best do not PROMOTE their abilities in every thread.

[wsmike]

I'd love to go to Miami, and I think I'd learn what I need to know, but it falls right during our move into a larger warehouse, so I'll need to wait until either the next one, or learn what I need to know privately.
To everyone else who has offered advice, I thank you. And finally, I am aware that I could hire a person or firm not local to us, and I'll probably wind up doing just that, but I kind of like being able to walk into the persons office to discuss other areas of promoting our websites, besides just affiliates.

[Kevin]

I really didn't mean any offense Mike. There's just so many hit and runs in this forum, because of it's popularity.

The measuring stick is your past performance, not your posts. But we don't know your past performance, so how would we be able to recommend you? That's why I was careful in the way said it in my first post. You might be the best fit for the job, but without more info, it's difficult to say.

As for the AM's that post here regularly, we know their understanding level, we know their stand on parasites, and we know how well they communicate (or don't). All of these things are critical in the success of a new program, and old ones alike.

And since he asked the question on ABW, my natural tendency would be to post back as an ABW member. Here's who we know, and here's who we don't.