In the hotseat for the latest installment of our affiliate manager interview series is Affter’s Constantine Ivanchuk. In a wide ranging Q&A, he reveals to iGB Affiliate why he wants a social network dedicated to affiliate marketers, the book he always returns to and how he ended up in affiliate management after studying to be a stomatologist.
How did you get your start in the industry?
After graduating I did some internships, and sales and marketing were the two areas I enjoyed working in the most. So I applied for numerous junior sales and marketing manager positions, and it was an igaming company that provided the best opportunity to combine those two skillsets, offering me a job as a media buyer.
Explain what you do in a typical day in 15 words or less.
First check statistics then follow up with a mix of discussions with affiliates and colleagues.
Where are you based for work?
I'm based at home, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The best affiliate partners speak less and value their own time and ours!
Which parts of your job do you enjoy the most?
Meeting bright people, making our product widely known among players and affiliates and working with great brands.
And which aspects of your role do you find the most difficult or challenging?
Performing analysis with 100% accuracy. It can be rather grueling, but the tiniest lack of attention to detail can significantly compromise the results.
You work with a lot of affiliate partners - what separates the very best from the rest?
They speak less and value their own time and ours!
Affter has superseded the Parimatch programme in much of the world. How has this improved what you are able to offer affiliates?
Affter expanded our possibilities with other brands as well as enhancing our image.
What one thing would you change about the industry that would instantly improve your work life?
I would establish a social network like LinkedIn but purely for affiliate marketing specialists. It would be tailored to meeting our needs, such as being able to verify the trustworthiness of a potential partner and its sources, along with other tools that would help make our work more efficient.
I would establish a social network like LinkedIn but purely for affiliate marketing specialists
Of all the mistakes you’ve made in your career, which one do you think you learned most from?
Never pay upfront unless there’s no other option available to you!
A healthy workplace culture has become increasingly important for businesses in helping attract and retain the best talent. What steps has Affter taken to encourage this?
When it comes to the features a company needs to attract the best talent in today’s market, Affter provides the most important - the possibility of unlimited professional growth with a vibrant, recognisable brand and almost no red tape.
Recommend us one big current influence on your life and way of thinking.
I find myself frequently returning to one book, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, which I still think is the most useful for anyone involved in business. The way it describes growing small projects from scratch to huge ones while still retaining that startup spirit is truly remarkable. The writing is so vivid that you almost feel you were part of the events he describes!
I find myself frequently returning to one book, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, which I think is the most useful for anyone involved in business
Tell us something most people don’t know about you or would be surprised to learn.
I studied to be a stomatologist, dropped out. Then studied to be a diplomat, graduated and became an affiliate manager.
Which city in the world is your favourite to visit and why?
It has to be New York - the place where the world’s dreams are concentrated.
For more on Affter, see our video interview with MD Maxim Makovetskiy on the programme's journey since launching in August 2023, recorded at iGB Affiliate London.