What It Is
Affiliate partnerships are performance-based relationships where partners promote your product and earn a reward, usually a commission, for every lead or sale they drive. Affiliates don't handle the sales process themselves. Instead, they drive traffic or leads, and you take it from there. It's a low-lift, high-scale way to expand reach, especially in the early stages of growth.
When to Use Affiliate Partnerships
Use affiliate partnerships when you need scalable lead generation without upfront marketing costs. They work best for companies with clear conversion funnels, self-service products, or established sales processes that can handle high lead volume. Affiliate programs are ideal when entering new markets, testing messaging with different audiences, or supplementing other partner types like channel or technology partnerships.
How It Works
Affiliates join your partner program and receive unique tracking links or promo codes. They promote your product through content, ads, email lists, or social media. When someone clicks their link and converts, the affiliate earns a commission based on your program structure. Most affiliate programs use tracking software to monitor clicks, conversions, and payouts automatically. Commission rates vary by industry but typically range from 10-30% for SaaS products.
Benefits for Partner Programs
Affiliate partnerships provide scalable, performance-based marketing with minimal risk. You only pay for results, not for exposure. Affiliates expand your reach into audiences and channels you might not access directly. They're easier to activate than complex channel partnerships and require less hand-holding than reseller programs. For B2B companies, affiliate programs complement higher-touch partnership types by filling the top of the funnel.
Affiliate Partnerships vs Referral Partners
Affiliate partnerships are structured, commission-based, and designed for scale through tracking links and automation. Referral partners are typically relationship-based, making targeted introductions to specific accounts they know personally. Affiliates focus on volume and content-driven promotion. Referral partners focus on quality and warm introductions. Many partner programs include both, using affiliates for broad awareness and referrals for strategic accounts.
