If you want to succeed as an affiliate, you must overcome many challenges.
The first challenge is understanding this crazy industry.
The second challenge is building a profitable campaign.
But having a profitable campaign doesn’t mean the challenges are over. Now, you’ll run into a whole new set of problems if you try to “do everything yourself.”
What kind of problems?
You’ll be limited in the number of campaigns you can manage. This means you won’t have the capacity to scale, and you’ll be missing out on countless opportunities every day.
You have to do everything: writing, financial analysis, relationship building, bid optimization… You’re juggling too much, which means you can’t truly master anything.
As the old saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
And when you try to do everything, you won’t be able to focus on the 80/20 rule.
Don’t Try to Do Everything Yourself
This reminds me of a statistic: too many brilliant chefs fail when they open their own restaurants.
One major reason? They try to do everything themselves.
They don’t have the time to focus on what they do best—cooking.
If they want to succeed in business, they need to develop new recipes and train others to cook. They must also dedicate time to key business areas like marketing, strategy, and hiring staff.
You already understand the importance of building a marketing team, but let’s be honest—it can drive us crazy.
- Where do you even find the right people?
- What if they leave after learning everything and start their own business?
- What if they don’t perform as well as you?
Despite these challenges, you know that if you want to go further, at some point, you’ll need a team.
Facebook would be nothing if Mark had done it all alone.
To grow your business, you need to bring in the right business-minded people who align with your vision. They must have affiliate marketing experience and truly understand the game.
But it’s not just about hiring—it’s about finding the right partners. You need an affiliate teammate, a media buyer, and a trusted ally. Not just an employee, but someone who will grow with you.
So, let’s focus on the real challenge of our time—how do you find the right teammates?
The Headache of Hiring Affiliate Marketers
At first, you might think about hiring friends and family. Affiliate campaigns are your brainchild, and you don’t want to trust strangers.
But in my experience, this approach carries extreme risk.
Friends and family often lack the skills and experience needed. As a result, you’ll run into endless frustrations.
If you want to hire people from LinkedIn, be prepared—it’s very expensive.
When recruiting on LinkedIn, you’re competing with big companies and well-known brands, which drives affiliate salaries through the roof.
Hiring freelancers on Upwork? Sure, it has its advantages.
But you’ll have to sift through an overwhelming number of candidates before finding someone truly capable.
And on top of that, Upwork takes a 10% cut.
Thinking about Craigslist? Ha! That place is full of scammers.
It took me a long time to discover the golden rule: always interview at least three high-quality candidates.
But I don’t have time to post on forums, spam outreach, or run job ads…
Should You Work with an Agency?
Big mistake. Outsourcing is one of the most important skills, but relying on an agency is just a way to avoid the real problem.
So, where do you find people who actually understand affiliate marketing? I have set the following hiring criteria:
- Experienced affiliates who have spent over $100.000 on their business.
- Sales managers who have failed more than 100 deals.
- Or a young, hungry media buyer who’s eager to learn and work under your guidance.
And I want people who are independent, who don’t complain, and who work as efficiently as possible. Because time = money.
I want to emphasize this —one capable person is worth more than three unreliable ones.
Building mini versions of yourself is the key to early retirement.
Recruiting Friends & Family for Affiliate Marketing
During my time in affiliate marketing, I’ve experienced a lot—some great things, and some I deeply regret.
Here are some mistakes you should avoid:
- Hiring someone just because they’re your friend. It can work, but only if they meet a clear standard. Make sure they respect your authority.
- Having clear guidelines. You must know exactly what you want them to do before assigning tasks.
- Don’t rush your decision. The first candidate isn’t always the best. Someone may check all your boxes, but keep interviewing until you’re 100% sure.
I’ve hired the wrong people before, and every time, I regretted it. I wasted months on hires who couldn’t get the job done.
I should have spent an extra month finding the right person instead.
Build a Solid Hiring Process
You need a thorough recruitment process: carefully review resumes, check work history, and even assign test tasks to evaluate their skills.
And remember—personality matters. Do they fit your company culture? Do they bring positive energy?
You can role-play as an interviewer with them to gauge their personality, as they might end up working with you in the future.
But don’t be afraid to hire people you’ve never met.
When reviewing candidates, pay close attention to their introduction:
- How are their communication skills?
- Is their English fluent?
- Do they show signs of creative thinking?
Read resumes carefully. Do they have the required skills? Are they genuinely passionate about the field? Have they attended any events or forums?
When reviewing job applications, you might have to discard half of them because most are unclear and lack transparency.
Most of them are copied from the internet and rewritten without any originality or creativity.
And those people won’t get the job done.
Where to Recruit Affiliate Teammates?
Affjobs is backed by industry giants like Affiliate World Forum, Affiliate World Conferences. It has now become one of the top platforms for affiliate recruitment.
This is my go-to place for finding the right team members. With two of the biggest industry brands supporting it, it’s a powerful recruitment hub.
Here’s what you’ll find:
- Media buyers who have managed over $100 million in ad spend.
- Serious entrepreneurs.
- Marketers who understand the affiliate industry inside out.
- Talented professionals from over 60+ countries—perfect for someone like me who prefers running a remote team.
Affjobs: The Easiest Way to Hire Affiliates
A clean, user-friendly interface. You can post a job in just a few clicks.
Candidates can create professional profiles on Affjobs, making it easy to assess and compare them.
You’ll have full control over the hiring process alongside your interviewers, giving you total peace of mind.
Sorting candidates is seamless—you can easily categorize them as rejected, in interviews, or hired, while keeping all key notes synced in one account.
And most importantly, Affjobs ensures you won’t deal with shady players.
Be confident.
Start hiring top talent for your company.
Should Newbies Look for a Job in Affiliate Marketing?
Here’s the truth—not every newbie wins their first battles in affiliate marketing.
Most affiliates start running campaigns while still working a corporate job.
That’s fine, but why not take a different, more secure path that could help you become a self-sufficient affiliate?
Why not become an affiliate manager for a reputable network or work under a super affiliate?
Learn the game from the inside out.
And most importantly—you’ll have a steady income while saving up more money to run your own campaigns.
Working for a professional affiliate means you won’t go broke from failed campaigns or deal with networks that don’t pay on time.
You avoid major risks.
And you get the best of both worlds—learning affiliate marketing while earning a stable income.
