Careers in affiliate marketing

One of the main job opportunities in the affiliate marketing industry is working for an operator or network as an affiliate marketing manager. Affiliate marketing managers recruit and manage affiliates for their affiliate programmes, with a focus on tracking performance and making sure affiliates comply with the programme’s requirements.

On the affiliate side, at larger affiliates there is often a corresponding person dealing with these affiliate marketing managers, sometimes called an account manager or business development manager. Small affiliates or one-man band affiliates may do all of the relationship management themselves.

One of the biggest opportunities within affiliate businesses is in the area of content creation. Affiliate websites typically use content as one of the main strategies to drive traffic, so there’s a constant need for writers for articles, blog posts, email newsletters, social media posts and other marketing materials. Affiliates look for people with strong writing and editing skills, as well as SEO skills.

As some of the larger affiliate sites are now more akin to the online arms of major media outlets in terms of news coverage (and indeed many affiliates now describe themselves as media sites rather than affiliate websites), many actively seek those with journalism experience, or those with other content or copywriting backgrounds.

In the early days of affiliation, most opportunities were freelance as one-many band and small affiliates sometimes lacked writing skills but did not have the ability to take on permanent staff. There are still many freelance opportunities in the affiliate content writing space, but there are also now a significant number of permanent opportunities. ‘Taking a longer-term view on people’ by Finixio HR director Liam Reese explains why some companies are making the shift to hiring permanent staff.

The increasing professionalisation of the affiliate industry means that along with permanent opportunities for writing staff, there are also now options to progress one’s career in the content area of affiliation, such that content editors and managers are commonly taken on to manage writers and determine the overall content strategy of affiliate brands.

A customer relationship management (CRM) manager is someone who is responsible for managing systems and processes related to customer relationships, including acquiring and retaining customers.

Their role includes collecting and analysing data to increase customer engagement and loyalty. In an igaming affiliate business, a CRM manager would typically be involved in optimising CRM campaigns and reporting on and assessing their performance, as well as coming up with ideas for improvements. CRM managers may be working on maintaining relationships with players or operator partners, depending on the role.

Some specific features of the role that may apply in igaming include monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements and monitoring bonus spending (and potentially bonus abuse).

While igaming firms may consider applicants from outside the industry, most would give preference to prospective hires who have experience working with CRM software. Experience in other highly regulated industries, for example, financial services, may also be advantageous.

A paid media executive is someone who manages paid rather than SEO-based strategies for affiliates. While historically affiliates have largely utilised SEO techniques to drive traffic, many also now use some paid search strategies, such as Google Ads and/or Facebook Ads, to drive traffic.

Paid media executives typically plan, execute and analyse paid marketing campaigns across a variety of digital channels, either creating the copy for these campaigns or overseeing its creation. They are responsible for managing budgets and developing relationships with advertisers to ensure favourable terms.

Affiliates in the igaming industry will typically require applicants to have at least a marketing background or education, and paid media experience from different fields is also likely to be seen as an advantage.

Marketing is a key area of opportunity within affiliate businesses and those with experience, particularly in digital marketing, are likely to be sought after by affiliate businesses. Other areas providing a significant number of roles include sales, web development, UX and design. In the larger affiliate businesses, there is also a need for people in general business functions such as finance, HR, communications and business development.

Over on iGB Affiliate Jobs we have 400+ roles live from across the affiliate sector, which we update weekly.

The route to becoming an affiliate marketing manager is extremely varied. Some people enter the field directly after education, while others come from backgrounds such as sales and marketing. While for senior level positions experience in the igaming industry is generally preferred, there are also many opportunities for those with account management experience in other fields. Knowledge of or experience in areas of affiliate marketing outside igaming, and SEO and digital marketing experience, are likely to be advantageous. For some real-world examples of how affiliate managers got into the field, see iGB Affiliate's Meet the Manager series.

Working as an igaming affiliate manager is generally a fast-paced role that requires strong communication skills. Many affiliate managers view it as a rewarding and fulfilling career that provides good opportunities for advancement given the vital role affiliates play in the igaming ecosystem.

It’s similar to account management in other fields, with its strong focus on building and maintaining relationships with partner affiliates. Dealing with people is a huge part of affiliate managers’ work and good social skills and a willingness to spend a significant portion of time on relationship management are vital.

Where the igaming industry differs from other industries is that it is more dynamic than some other industries, and affiliate managers need to stay up-to-date with changing regulations and opportunities in countries around the world.

For some real insights from igaming affiliate managers, check out iGB Affiliate's Meet the Managerseries.

Day to day tasks include communicating with existing affiliates, analysing data, monitoring stats, managing other members of staff, connecting with new affiliates, general marketing, collaborating with other teams (especially marketing), managing budgets and reporting on revenues.

According to the iGB Pentasia Salary Survey for 2024, the most comprehensive salary survey in the igaming industry, the average salary for an affiliate manager is £57,500.

Figures provided exclusively to iGB Affiliate reveal that by region, the UK average is £52,723, the European average is €51,062 and the US average is $73,549.

The report on the survey noted that while marketing roles generally saw reduced demand in 2023, affiliate managers were an exception, with these professionals still highly sought after.

Salaries in emerging igaming markets are far lower than developed markets. For example, Glassdoor lists the average salary for an affiliate manager in India at INR 785,000 (£7,240) per year, while Indeed has the average salary for an affiliate manager in the Philippines at PHP 510,816 (£6,826) per year.

You can view our jobs board here, where we have 400+ roles live from across the affiliate sector.

The best place to start if you’re looking for an affiliate marketing job is the iGB Affiliate jobs board, which lists jobs from all parts of the affiliate sector from traditional marketing affiliates, to operator programmes, networks and SaaS agencies. There are over 400 live jobs on the site with more roles added each week.

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