Business
Affiliate Marketing
Last updated
A revenue model where content publishers earn commission on sales generated through tracked links to vendor products.
Full definition
Affiliate marketing is a revenue model in which a content publisher (creator, review site, influencer) earns commission when readers click a tracked link and complete a qualifying action (sign up, purchase, subscribe) on the vendor's site. Commission structures vary: one-time payments (typical for finance products at $50-300 per lead), recurring percentages (typical for SaaS at 20-40% recurring), or per-action fees (typical for free signups at $5-20 per signup). The US affiliate marketing industry was valued at $13.2B in 2026 and projected to reach $15.8B by 2028. Ethical affiliate sites disclose relationships at the page level (FTC requirement under 16 CFR Part 255) and use methodology-driven recommendations rather than commission-driven ones.
Examples
- ·A review site recommending ElevenLabs and earning 20% recurring commission on referred subscriptions through Impact Radius.
- ·A creator linking to HeyGen with a custom referral URL and earning 20% recurring lifetime commission.
- ·A finance comparison site earning $50-300 per qualified credit card application via affiliated banks.