Affiliate Marketing
RGM° · Training
Affiliate Fundamentals
Performance-only acquisition. Vs influencer, payment models, partner types, networks, strategy.
Why affiliate
Affiliate marketing pays only for performance — conversions or qualified actions. Lower-risk acquisition channel than upfront media buying. Done strategically, drives 5–20% of ecommerce revenue with predictable economics.
vs influencer
- Affiliate: performance-paid; broader partner network.
- Influencer: brand + content; relationship-driven.
- Overlap (creators on affiliate networks).
- Different management approaches.
Payment models
- CPA (cost per acquisition).
- CPS (cost per sale; revenue share).
- CPL (cost per lead).
- Hybrid (flat + commission).
- Tiered commissions.
- Bonus structures.
Partner types
- Content / blog affiliates: Reviews, comparisons.
- Coupon / deal sites: RetailMeNot, Honey, Slickdeals.
- Cashback sites: Rakuten, TopCashback.
- Loyalty / rewards: Capital One Shopping, Ibotta.
- Influencers / creators: On affiliate networks.
- Sub-affiliates: Partners' networks.
- Mass media: NYT Wirecutter, etc.
- Impact: Mid-to-enterprise.
- Awin: Global; broad.
- CJ (Commission Junction): Established.
- Rakuten Advertising: Tier-1 brands.
- ShareASale: SMB friendly.
- Refersion: Shopify-native.
- Partnerize: Enterprise.
- Direct programs: In-house management.
Strategy
- Define partner mix.
- Commission tiers per partner type.
- Brand safety standards.
- Fraud detection.
- Partner recruitment ongoing.
- Performance measurement.
- Long-term relationship investment.
Advanced
- Annual affiliate strategy review.
- Tiered partner relationships.
- Top-partner co-marketing.
- Custom landing pages per partner.
- Fraud detection automated.
- Cohort LTV by affiliate source.
- Cross-channel attribution adjusted.
- Annual program ROI assessment.
- Partner-led product feedback.
- Industry award nominations.
Mistakes
- Affiliate program set and forget.
- Single commission rate; partner mix not differentiated.
- Fraud not monitored.
- Brand safety not enforced.
- Cohort LTV by source not tracked.
- Cross-channel attribution naive.
- Top partners not invested in.
- Annual review skipped.
- Coupon affiliate over-reliance erodes margin.
- Sub-affiliate fraud uncaught.
Checklist
- Annual affiliate strategy
- Tiered partner relationships
- Commission tiers
- Brand safety standards
- Fraud detection
- Cohort LTV tracking
- Cross-channel attribution adjusted
- Top-partner co-marketing
- Annual ROI assessment
- Compliance discipline (FTC, etc.)
Sources and further reading
- Impact, Awin, CJ documentation
- Rakuten Advertising research
- Affiliate Summit conferences
- PMA (Performance Marketing Association)
- iAB affiliate guidelines
- RGM Performance Marketing series
- RGM Influencer Marketing series
- Common Thread Collective affiliate playbooks
- Awin annual reports
- Wirecutter / Engadget affiliate examples
- Marketing Brew affiliate coverage
- Andrew Faris affiliate writing
Part of the Affiliate Marketing series.