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(For anyone looking for work in this biz)
This is how I see things when hiring someone new…..
There are 2 types of employees in this business. I call them "direct" and “support".
Direct: Someone DIRECTLY involved in profit generation who's worth to a company can very easily be quantified. What do they cost, how much profit do they generate….simple. They are usually Affiliate reps, media buyers and people who can generate traffic. Aside from affiliate reps, anyone who is good at the other stuff will usually do it for themselves and become an affiliate as they will generally make FAR more (if they are decent) than any company will pay them in salary.
Support: Necessary for a company to operate, but who's value can't be directly quantified in dollars and cents. Programmers, Designers, sys admins, assistants etc
Which one are you??? If it is Support (which sounds like you are not) then getting a job is much more straight fwd. If it is Direct, there is some good news and some bad news.
Affiliate reps: 90% of affiliate reps in this business could be replaced tomorrow. Having a rolodex of affiliates means very little. We ALL know each other and no good affiliate if going to point their traffic to a program that makes less money than where they send it now because they are friends with the rep. It may get you a test, but affiliates go where the highest EPC is, period. And the chance that a decent size affiliate has not tested the new program you are at, if it is in the same vertical, is slim.
The affiliate reps that are worth their salt and deserve, and get, big salaries and commissions, are the ones who are true marketers. Ones who don’t just try to get affiliates to switch over to their program, but are able to look at the traffic, view ALL the pieces of the puzzle and find way for the affiliate to generate more sales from the same amount of traffic. Or to recognize where the affiliate may be leaving money on the table. Maybe there are additional sales to be had above and beyond what he / she already does coming from areas they never thought to look. THAT is what makes a good rep.
Media buyers / traffic generation: Like I said, MOST people able to generate a profit doing these things do it for themselves, but if you can show you have the ability to generate profits (hard numbers, P&L’s from previous jobs etc) There are not to many companies that wont at least give you a shot with a average salary + commission. ANYONE worth their salt wants as much of their money to come from commission as possible. Nobody will pay a media buyer 250k salary, but I know more than a couple that make that and then some from commissions.
The Problem: I know a LOT of people that have been around for a long time that jump from program to program asking for high base salaries. 6 mon – 1 yr later, the owner realizes that they are costing more to have around than they are generating. They leave on “good terms”, then jump to the next program. Each time the program and salary get a bit smaller till they disappear from this biz.
Only one thing matters to people hiring an employee…….PROFIT
If you are a “direct” employee, you need to be able to show your prospective employer that having you around will make them more than they make now. Know a little about their operation. What skills do you have and how can you fit in. If you have a variety of skills, take a look at areas that they may be lacking and explain how you can fill that hole and how that will ultimately mean more money to the bottom line.
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