At your business, there are endless marketing channels you can test to determine where the greatest ROI lies. Affiliate marketing is a popular option. Once you recruit the right people, they do the selling for you. All you have to do is sign their check and watch the conversions roll in.
But why does it feel like affiliate programs are slow to start? Here’s why the beginnings of recruitment feel tricky and why you shouldn’t lose hope just yet.
The affiliate marketing industry is huge, and only continues to grow. As of 2025, industry experts are expecting affiliate marketing to grow to $31.7 billion by 2031, according to Hostinger. Not only do thousands of businesses rely on it as a source of revenue, but affiliates themselves are increasingly making affiliate marketing their primary source of income.
According to the same statistics roundup from Hostinger, there are over 11 million affiliate marketers worldwide, ranging from casual TikTokers to dedicated full-time digital marketers. E-commerce is an ever-growing industry, and social content marketing remains an integral piece for any successful business.
It’s a great question and subject to a lot of debate. There’s a movement of conscious consumption circulating the internet. Consumers are thinking twice about purchasing only needs instead of wants, opting for one item instead of many, and are generally shopping with sustainability in mind.
But that doesn’t mean they’re buying nothing. In a world where it feels like minimalism is king, the movement isn’t great enough to shake the e-commerce industry with any significance. But that means that your method of advertising should be more thoughtful. If consumers are choosing to buy, they are more likely to opt for products that come with a glowing recommendation. That’s where affiliates come in.
Your best sellers are the people who already know and love your products. Do some digging to identify purchasers who:
From there, draft a simple 2-3 part email sequence to announce your affiliate program launch (or revamp). Chances are, a handful of people will be eager because selling from the heart comes naturally to them. Plus, there’s a good chance that at least a few of them have a modest audience.
The best way to get your affiliate marketing ads in front of the right people is through paid channels. YouTube ads, Meta ads, and paid search engine marketing ensure your callout reaches the views you need.
The nice thing about paid ads is also the control. Run the campaign for a set amount of time, and stay in control of your budget. From there, watch the interested affiliates roll in.
Affiliates, before they partner with you, are influencers. And where do influencers spend their time?
That’s right. Social media.
Use relevant hashtags, look at your competitor’s audience, and narrow down your ICP for the most tailored search. But before you slide in with a DM pitch, see if the influencer has an email link or a business contact. You don’t want to get caught in DM requests like a scammer. A highly tailored pitch, along with links to your social media profiles and website, is your best bet.
Using an affiliate network or an affiliate recruitment app is like shooting fish in a barrel. These groups and apps already host people who are actively looking to partner with affiliate programs. It’s more than likely that they’ve been working as affiliates for some time, so onboarding and ramping them up should also be streamlined. Examples of networks and apps include:
It’s more than likely that your marketing team, sales team, or executive teams attend different business functions throughout the year. It’s a prime time for networking, and it’s also effective for finding affiliates.
Events like Affiliate Summit, Affiliate World, and general e-commerce events and meetups could be great for finding your next partners or, at the very least, swapping tricks of the trade when it comes to recruitment. Get your brand’s booth ready, create a one-pager with your messaging and value proposition on it, and go find your next top-performing affiliate.
Where do recurring customers or prospective customers land to learn about your brand? Your website.
You should have CTAs on your website, showing you’re actively recruiting to grow your affiliate or ambassador program. You could use website banners, popups, or have a dedicated menu dropdown for media and partnerships.
This shows influencers that you’re serious about your partnerships and might make all the difference when it comes to recruitment.
At the end of the day, you and your affiliate both have a business to run. Compensating your affiliates well means paying them a competitive commission and paying them on time. There are two popular ways businesses pay their affiliates.
Recurring commission is the more popular (and lucrative) option by a mile. Motivating your affiliates to encourage their audience to make a purchase increases the likelihood of revenue for your business, as opposed to one-time payout affiliates, who primarily make their biggest impact in terms of raising brand awareness.
At Simple Affiliate, we make it easy to onboard, track, and pay your affiliates. Get comprehensive dashboards, automate your payments, track KPIs, and grow your program and your business.
With over 100 glowing Shopify reviews, we’re dedicated to making your program, well, simple. Book a demo with the team today.
