My Affiliate Coach Story

My affiliate marketing career started during the .com boom and nearly ended when the boom turned into a bust. I was one of the lucky ones. I learned enough during those tough times to continue my affiliate marketing career with the billion dollar multi-channel retail giant Coldwater Creek.

When I became part of the Coldwater Creek team I learned that affiliate marketing is the needed revenue multiplier. When I started at Coldwater Creek we were in a recession just like today. People were losing their jobs, selling their homes and trying to find work. One day I realized, the revenue from our affiliate marketing department were saving jobs—including my own.

Back then in affiliate marketing, there was not really any formal mentorship or coaching programs to help affiliate marketing managers. If you were struggling you just kept working until you figured it out or got fired. I kept working and figured out enough, but made a mental note that there had to be a better way.  My affiliate marketing career at Coldwater Creek proved I learned how to navigate as an affiliate manager within a multi-channel near-billion dollar company. I learned how to produce incremental sales in an intense Return on Investment culture while carving out new ways to produce incremental sales and protect the company against fraud. Coldwater Creek was a great opportunity and an affiliate marketing education.

Like many others, I felt the desire to start my own company. I decided to leave my marketing family at Coldwater Creek and create my own as the Founder and President of JEB Commerce. I knew that I wanted to stay in the affiliate marketing world, but I was sorting out in my mind the different services I would offer.

One day at a conference I would receive my confirmation. It happened at an unlikely place-a lunch table. I bet some of you reading this can relate to those type of light-bulb moments in the most unlikely places.

During my time at Coldwater Creek I met a colleague, Herschel, from a large, multi brand retailer at a Conference.  We shared pleasantries and I helped him briefly with his program.  Years later, at the same conference, he introduced me to his new affiliate manager, Heather. I could tell right away that he had wanted us two to chat for some time, so I made sure to find her during lunch.  I could tell she was pretty frazzled and when I simply asked “how’s it going”, her frustration poured out through our entire lunch.

Neither her nor I ate a bite that day.  I listened for that hour as she told me her story.  She had just been thrown into this position, managing affiliate programs, and had no experience in it.  She was a copywriter by trade and the company needed someone competent to fill the role.  Her company also had multiple brands, went through a bankruptcy, sold off part of their brands and affiliates were in general very upset and confused.  There were issues of unresponsive previous managers, non-payment through the bankruptcy and a host of other issues that, at the end of her unloading, almost brought her to tears.  She was frustrated, tired, burnt out and really was a few days away from calling it quits.

She finished with her frustrations and we began to discuss each problem one by one.  I shared with Heather the problems, obstacles and trials and had not only been through myself, but learned to navigate through and around, not only at Coldwater Creek, but other merchants like Hilton Hotels, Mikasa, Zappos and others.  The similarities between my multi channel past and her present were many.

I’ve always had a heart for teaching, and this moment presented me with an opportunity to really help someone out who was struggling.  We spent the next hour dissecting each problem one by one and I helped her lay out a plan to move forward, alleviate some of the stress and grow her program.  I’ll never forget her face or her words when we finished.  “I think I can do this” she said with a smile and something I hadn’t seen in her that day, hope.

At that moment I knew I wanted to do something to help more people like this.  I know I wish I had someone who walked beside me during my affiliate marketing struggles and I knew that I had experience to offer that could help other Heathers.  And the idea of MyAffiliateCoach was born.

At the end of the day, I’m a coach. I love affiliate marketing managers and I have a heart for coaching. I’m an affiliate marketing coach. Since that fateful lunch over 15 years ago, JEB Commerce has used virtual technology to replicate that lunch meeting over and over again with affiliate managers around the country.