Affiliate marketing, a performance-based partnership between an advertiser and a publisher, can offer brands feeling pressure to prove short-term ROI peace of mind and predictability.

Unlike channels that rely on cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), affiliate marketing is a post-conversion payment channel—offering greater customization and transparency, according to Adam Rostan, SVP of product at Rakuten Advertising.

"In other channels, you're paying upfront for all that exposure, regardless of what consumers bought," he said. "In affiliate, they have a lot more control over that spend, because the platforms provide dynamic commissioning capabilities. This adds a level of ROAS [return on ad spend] precision they can't achieve in other channels."

Here are three reasons marketers should embrace the affiliate space:

1. Affiliate marketing delivers full-funnel impact

While affiliate is a performance channel, its value isn't limited to the bottom of the funnel. At least half of US senior affiliate marketers use affiliate marketing for upper-funnel objectives, according to a December 2023 Forrester report.

As cross-channel measurement advances, affiliate marketing allows marketers to track the consumer journey while offering a consistent experience, said Amalia Thomas, executive vice president of client development and network compliance at affiliate marketing agency CJ.

When brands are more intentional about their publishing partners, they can align affiliate with a broader strategy, said Thomas.

"Oftentimes, people will think of the more traditional coupon loyalty, but you also have your content and search partners that really help to amplify the brand's existing efforts," she said.

2. Consumers are prioritizing discounts and deals

While affiliate marketing isn't limited to coupons, consumers are prioritizing value amidst economic uncertainty. Some 62% of US consumers actively search and use promo codes, discounts, or coupons for online purchases, per June 2024 data by SimplyCodes.

Consumers dislike sales pitches, but affiliate marketing is a less aggressive, outcome-driven channel. While 41.3% of consumers find ads based on previous online activities "very intrusive," only 14.8% feel this way about exclusive discounts and coupons. Only 19.7% find affiliate text links intrusive, according to a July 2024 EMARKETER survey.

As consumers become more attuned to how advertising operates, they are increasingly sensitive to paid interruptions, which has provided the affiliate industry an opportunity, said Rostan.

"The affiliate style of advertising is much more graceful in marrying monetization and promotions with different types of content," he said.

Affiliate marketing platforms can help brands cater to cost-savvy consumers. In H1 2024, 32.3% of influencer affiliate conversions included a coupon, up from 8.8% the prior year, according to Awin data.

3. Creator partnerships enhance affiliate effectiveness

The key case for affiliate marketing is the growth of social shopping and influencer marketing as a lower-funnel channel. Nearly half (49.5%) of consumers said creator content influenced their purchase on social media, according to an EMARKETER survey.

Creators are the new publishers—at least 70% of the publishers added to Partnerize's Ascend platform this year have been creators.

In a channel defined by promo codes, marketers should also consider more creative solutions, said influencer marketing and creator economy consultant Lindsey Gamble.

Creating a customized storefront with a creator that combines their vision with owned media and messaging when they're "already in shopping mode" is one approach, he said.

"Can you get creative with those models?" he said. "Incentivizing creators to create content outside of those standard campaign deliverables is going to be really relevant to a long-term affiliate strategy."

Learn more by downloading our “EMARKETER Field Guide to Affiliate Marketing Platforms.”