The Ultimate Guide to Affiliate Marketing

From Commission-Based to Strategic Partnerships Just a few years ago, affiliate marketing was seen as a simple commission-based sales channel. But the landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years.

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing channel where third-party websites, known as affiliates or publishers, promote products or services on behalf of a brand. In return, affiliates earn a commission for every completed action – CPA, CPC, CPL. This model creates a win-win scenario: businesses gain more exposure and sales, while Affiliates earn income for their promotional efforts.

The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing

With the industry accounting for over £1.67bn spend and 67,000 active UK publishers (APMA, 2024), Affiliates marketing is a channel that still heavily relies on nurturing relationships with partners to build and consistently grow a healthy Affiliate program.

As the industry has expended and shaped over the last 10 years, brands have been presented with many more new opportunities. It is now possible to grow brand awareness and revenue though the channel beyond the traditional Affiliate partnerships, using Brand to Brand and influencer partnerships to reach new audiences and touch customers at every stage of their journey.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

There are three main players that make up the Affiliate marketing industry – The Affiliate Network/SaaS solution, Affiliate/Publisher and the Brand/Merchant.

1. Affiliate Network/SaaS solution: A platform that connects publishers with merchants, tracks performance of publishers and records commission payouts.
2. Affiliate or Publisher: The entity that promotes the merchant’s offerings.
3. Merchant or Advertiser: The business that sells a product or service.

The Affiliate Marketing Ecosystem

1. A brand sets up an Affiliate program through their chosen network.
2. Affiliates sign up to the brands’ Affiliate program.
3. Affiliates promote the product or service of a brand by using unique Affiliate links.
4. A consumer clicks on the Affiliate’s link and makes a purchase.
5. The Affiliate earns a commission for every approved purchase.

Key Benefits of Affiliate Marketing

“Affiliate marketing is one of the most cost-effective and scalable ways to reach new customers and grow your business in today’s digital landscape.”

There are many benefits in running an Affiliate program, starting with the low risks due to little investment necessary at the set-up stage – Network fee and commission payout on measurable results, resulting in a much higher ROI compared to other performance-based channels. The Affiliate channel is a great way to leverage affiliates to reach diverse audiences, that would usually cost brands double or more, to reach through their own internal marketing efforts.

Types of Affiliates That Drive Results

Additionally, Affiliates Marketing offers the opportunity to work with any type of Affiliate (remember, anyone can be an Affiliate!), this would of course depend on the strategy implemented.

• Incentive: cashback, loyalty, and voucher, highly focused on the lower funnel.
• Content: editorials, product guides and blogs, highly focused at the start of the journey.
• Closed group: members only platforms, offering exclusive discounts to their members.
• Toolbars: browser extensions that allow customers to use voucher codes before making a purchase.
• Subnetworks: smaller affiliate networks that give brands access to 100s of coupon and content sites across the globe, usually on a commission model only.
• Directories: Feed focused websites that promote products and showcase prices for customers to have a comparison.
• Social: Influencers and social communities that are present on some of the most popular social media platforms.
• B2B: Brand to Brand relationships to help leverage each other’s audiences with the aim to grow reach and loyalty.

Choosing Your Perfect Network Partner

With the variety of networks available for a brand to start their affiliate program, it can often be a little daunting deciding which one is the most suitable for your brand. Here are a few factors to take into consideration:

• Geographical coverage: Ensure that the network is strongly established within the territory you’re wanting to launch, if they are, there is more opportunity when it comes to onboarding publishers and growing your program.
• Vertical experience: Ensure that the network is specialised within your niche, as this will give you access to a larger pool of publishers that can help you reach the audience you’re after.
• Accessibility: Ensure that the platform is easy to navigate when it comes to setting up commissions, sharing creatives and communicate with partners, as well as ensuring that reports are easy to read.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is a dynamic and effective channel that can help grow your business, with more than 50% of UK brands intend to increase their Affiliate spend in 2025 (APMA, 2024).

This channel offers “a much higher ROI compared to other performance-based channels” while allowing brands “to leverage affiliates to reach diverse audiences, that would usually cost brands double or more, to reach through their own internal marketing efforts.”

No matter your niche and business goal, here at RT our team thrives to achieve the greatest results for our clients. We help clients decide the best strategies for their business, and fully take charge of growing their Affiliate programs whatever the budget.