How to find affiliate managers
Featuring: An Interview with a People Inc Affiliate Manager
Because the right partnership can turn a product mention into serious revenue for your brands.
As a publicist, getting featured in top tier outlets is your bread and butter. But when journalists have 1,000 emails in their inbox every day, it’s getting harder and harder to break through and ensure they open your pitch.
This is where relationships come into play. Being sure your name is one media know and trust when it pops into their inbox is key. They know when they open your pitch, it’s going to have all of the essentials to help make their job easier.
But, what if we told you that alongside the edit team and freelancers, your media list is missing a critical player in the commerce game?
The Affiliate Manager.
If you're not connecting with the affiliate managers you're missing out on partnerships on highly coveted editorial coverage. The problem? These affiliate managers aren't always easy to find. They're not the editors you pitch to, and they're rarely listed in standard media databases.
So we’re breaking down some of our top tips on how to find them and what they actually want.
Don’t sleep on LinkedIn - All of the contacts you want to work with are there, hiding in plain sight. You just need to lift the right rocks, and by that we mean understand their titles. And, what information they would put in their About and Experience section in their profile.
The lowest hanging fruit - start out just by typing ‘affiliate’ into the search, set it to people and start applying filters to find the right contacts. Once you find someone you know is a good fit, use their title and find more.
It’s like PR sleuthing on steroids. We were built for this game, guys!
Key Titles to Look for:
Commerce Partnerships
Account Manager
Here is an example of the perfect affiliate contact at People Inc for you to communicate with, and we just so happen to have an interview for you as well coming soon!
Meet Jenna Fortino. She oversees all things affiliate at Dotdash Meredith People Inc.
Take a look at her About section. What keywords do you see?
affiliate manager
affiliate management
revenue
e-commerce
All of these are fabulous to help source future contacts in the space!
Okay, so you have the right contact, now how do you find her email? Try the same format as an editor at the publication. They’re almost always the same.
But if that doesn’t work, let’s walk you through Sarah’s favorite tool. In one of our first issues, we introduced you to Apollo.io, a handy Chrome extension that helps with JUST that!
Once installed, you can navigate to their profile on LinkedIn, click it and, like magic, their email appears.
What Affiliate Managers Actually Want
Let’s start with what they don’t want:
They Don't Want:
Generic product pitches
*LTOs or Seasonal Focused Products
products that are only around for a short period of time or have low inventory will be a pass. That’s real estate that they can’t afford to lose.
*There is always a caveat, isn’t there? UNLESS, you’re a household name and the story will be a standalone review.
They Do Want:
Exclusive discount codes they can offer their audiences
This helps prevent the last click attribution theft coupon savvy shoppers often look for at checkout. After all their teams went out of their way to review every nuance of your product, gave it a glowing review and BAM. Honey steals the commission at the last second.
High-quality product images for shopping roundups
BUT ALSO, thanks to the value of original content in the algo today, you’ll start seeing more and more edit teams who are reviewing products snap their own photos in reviews.
Seasonal relevance that aligns with their editorial calendar
They have hundreds of pitches in their inbox vying for their attention, spell it out for them - WHY NOW.
Reliable commission structures that justify the editorial real estate
10% will just not cut it.
When all else fails? ASK!
Do you have great relationships on the editorial side? Ask for an introduction? Nine times out of 10 , your media friendlies will HAPPILY introduce you to their affiliate counterparts. They’re just a homie at their job they pass in the hall, because they’re back in the office 4 days a week now (Penske Media Corp shared that on a call last week)!
I (Sarah here!) am also going to take this opportunity to jump on a soap box for a quick second.
Something I think we as publicists often fall victim to, that is silently killing our careers, is NOT ASKING the questions that pop up in our heads. We’re so caught up in needing to be the expert in all things, we forget we’re human and that no one can know everything.
Don't know the contact? ASK.
"Who should I be talking to about commerce partnerships at [Publication]?"
"Can you introduce me to your affiliate team?"
Don't know what they're talking about? ASK.
"Can you walk me through what that process looks like?"
"I want to make sure I understand this correctly - are you looking for...?"
Don't understand the marketing jargon? ASK.
"I'm not familiar with that term - can you explain?"
"How does that differ from [thing you do understand]?"
Now, let’s hear from Jenna herself:
Tell us about yourself.
What are 3 fun facts about you?
I love my dog Blue who is a rescue - she was actually featured on People's Rescue page a few years ago (not sure that's fun but it is very important about me lol)
Huge philadelphia sports fan - not sure this is fun but it is part of my personality. Red October is my favorite. and Go Birds!
This shocks a lot of people but I have never seen Harry Potter. I am a huge Disney girl but could not get behind Harry Potter lol. Speaking of Disney - I have been there probably more than 300 times LOL (I used to live there because I went to UCF and I was a cast member)
Can you share a little bit about your history in affiliate marketing and the publishing industry?
I started at People Inc about 4.5 years ago now! That was my first taste of affiliate marketing too!
What does a typical day look like for you?
Calls explaining our product offerings, passing information along to edit, working on proposals
Which People Inc. titles do you work most closely with, and how do commerce strategies differ between entertainment-focused vs. lifestyle-focused publications?
People, InStyle, Travel + Leisure, Real Simple, Food & Wine mostly!
How has the shift from traditional advertising to commerce partnerships changed the way editorial content is created and monetized?
Being able to use first person POV and really share edit’s perspective on things is something People Inc really prides themselves on. When we write about something we are the expert and are choosing to cover it - not just because we are getting paid.
Some publicists have a hard time wrapping their head around the fact that affiliate ≠ paid. How do you help a publicist off the street understand this?
At People Inc. we have Paid Opps vs. Organic. Paid opportunities are guaranteed coverage, however edit is not going to agree to cover something even if there is a paid opp, if it doesn’t align with our brand. For organic, edit is choosing what they want no matter the CPA so you can’t “pay to play”
Can you explain to our readers how you help facilitate media coverage?
Edit spends way less time in their inboxes than Affiliate Managers. Our relationship with PR and affiliate agencies and brands is just as important. We are there to help on both sides and really make everyone’s life easier.
What makes a pitch stand out to you? What information do you need upfront to determine if there's a commerce opportunity?
For People Inc, we look for the following: celeb credits, sales, opportunities for exclusive code, samples being available, enticing stats such as best sellers, waitlist items, how long was the waitlist, did something sell out, how fast did it sell out, products that are back in stock, etc
Can you share a recent example where you successfully converted a traditional PR pitch into a commerce opportunity?
Most recently Cariuma with a celeb sighting - covered by People & InStyle
How often do you chat with the editorial side of the organization? Do you have a Slack channel, regularly email about interesting brands, etc.?
Everyday! We have slack!
Being an insider, what’s something that would surprise publicists to learn about how the publishing industry works?
That at People Inc we do not have pay to play! You can’t pay to be included in a listicle!
What trends are you seeing in how brands want to work with publishers on commerce partnerships? What should PR professionals know about where this is headed?
I am seeing more brands come forward with flat fee budgets. There are a lot of opportunities both organically and sponsored with us, and more people are wanting to work closer with us on long term partnerships!
