The Affiliate Marketing Podcast

• Pathways to Performance: Mastering the Modern User Journey

  Why Your Clicks Are Down But Your Impact Might Be UpIf your affiliate traffic feels fragmented and you're wondering whether to panic about AI search, this episode cuts through the noise. Ewen Finser, CEO of ScaleVisible, shares battle-tested insights from managing over 100 websites through Google's algorithm upheavals and into the AI era. Lee-Ann and Ewen discuss why Reddit threads now outrank traditional reviews, how zero-click searches create hidden value for brands, and why YouTube might be your smartest investment right now. This conversation reveals a counterintuitive truth: the scariest disruptions often create the biggest opportunities for those willing to adapt strategically.Talking Points Include:The payment partnership that signals where AI search is heading and why PayPal's integration with Perplexity matters more than most affiliate managers realise for the future of attributionWhy your editorial placements are already providing AI value and the exact framework for describing citation impact to justify budgets when traditional clicks declineThe three-platform strategy that influences multiple AI engines simultaneously from YouTube rankings in ChatGPT to Reddit dominance in Google's AI OverviewsListen to Find Out More About:Why some de-indexed spam blogs are suddenly ranking in ChatGPT and what that means for content strategy in the short term versus long termThe exact correlation overlap between top 10 Google rankings and ChatGPT citations (hint: it's shockingly low at around 15 percent)How ReddVisible pivoted from affiliate publishing to Reddit reputation management to AI visibility strategy through three distinct market disruptionsWhy query fan-out matters more than individual keywords when optimizing for AI search engines that personalize every responseThe specific metrics Ewen tracks to demonstrate AI visibility impact when traditional attribution falls shortHow trust signals accumulate across Reddit, YouTube, and third-party blogs to influence AI recommendations without generating direct clicksKey Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:[16:03] The real-world shopping journey example that illustrates search fragmentation across Which, Google, YouTube, ChatGPT, and Amazon[20:43] Why PayPal's Perplexity partnership signals the zero-click future and what affiliate managers should watch for next[32:39] Original content versus AI-generated spam: what works now versus what will work as AI engines develop their own web spam teamsRate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts"I love the Affiliate Marketing Podcast." <-- If that sounds like you, please give us a 5 Star rating here! Taking the time to do that helps us support more people in our community to access affiliate marketing insights, expert-led learnings, and allows us to share the latest tactics that help affiliate programs and businesses grow.Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review."Send me a text with your questions

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• 5 Tips for Growing your Affiliate Program in Emerging Markets like LATAM

  Why Trading Programs That Move Fast Break Everything (And How Slow Growth Built a 115-Country Empire)If your affiliate program chases explosive growth with aggressive spend and flashy campaigns, this episode reveals why you might be building on sand. Yana Ivanova and Nir Iter from Exness share how they scaled from 18 to 115 countries not through brute force marketing, but through something radical in trading: patience. Lee-Ann and her guests discuss why daily payouts matter more than commission rates, how localisation means hiring humans who actually understand regional nuances, and why the Latin American market demands emotional connection before transactional relationships. This conversation reveals a counterintuitive truth: sometimes slow and steady really does win the race.Talking Points Include:The payment infrastructure breakthrough that built trust faster than any marketing campaign and why waiting until month-end to pay affiliates destroys credibility in emerging marketsWhy treating LATAM as a single homogeneous market is the fastest path to failure and the exact localisation strategy that transformed passive content into community engagement across culturally distinct countriesThe team structure that prevents cannibalisation when 11 account managers chase global traffic and how individual KPIs combined with team goals create collaboration instead of internal competitionListen to Find Out More About:How Exness structures team KPIs to prevent account managers from fighting over global affiliates while maintaining healthy competitionThe buddy program that integrates new team members without creating hierarchical friction in an 11-person global teamWhy the company prioritises quality over quantity now, deliberately slowing growth to ensure sustainable partnershipsThe specific data points Exness analyses constantly to identify which markets deserve localised attention versus broad global treatmentHow mobile measurement platforms become essential tools for LATAM affiliates where phone traffic dominatesThe real reason trading affiliate programs traditionally used CPA models and how Exness diversified beyond that constraintKey Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:[08:17] The long-term mindset explained through hotel guest analogies and why three-year plans beat quarterly targets[16:29] Daily payment implementation and the risk mitigation strategy that made it viable without enabling fraud[20:34] Team scaling from a handful to 11 professionals and how specialisation by region prevents global chaos[33:03] Honest advice for newcomers: pick your niche, build community, trust your dataLatin America: The Opportunity AheadFor affiliates considering Latin America in 2026, both guests offered clear direction. Yana's focus centres on local communities, as the region values authentic, community-driven marketing over impersonal automation. Nir emphasised mobile optimisation, noting that with young, mobile-first audiences, ensuring your tracking, creatives, and user experience are optimised for phones is non-negotiable. Tools like AppsFlyer or other mobile measurement platforms are essential.Send me a text with your questions

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• The Future is Agentic: How to Prepare for AI in Affiliate Marketing

  Guest: Katie King, Author of AI Strategy for Sales and Marketing: Connecting Marketing, Sales and Customer ExperienceIf you've been treating AI like a search engine or worrying you're falling behind, this episode cuts through the noise. Katie King, who's been tracking AI developments since 2019 and advises major brands like O2, Arsenal, and Virgin, joins Lee-Ann Johnstone to reveal why 80% of AI success depends on people, not tools. She shares the strategic frameworks that turn scattered experiments into measurable business impact, explains why board-level resistance creates organizational AI imposter syndrome, and demonstrates how affiliate marketers can build competitive advantage through ethical implementation and agile adoption.Talking Points Include:Why AI projects fail without frameworks – how creating AI champion groups, weekly strategy meetings, and clear codes of conduct transforms random tool adoption into systematic competitive advantageThe ethics gap that threatens customer trust – why transparency, attribution clarity, and responsible governance must be designed into affiliate programs before regulation forces itStrategic agility over early adoption – how building continuous learning and due diligence into your operations prepares you for agentic AI and quantum computing without burning out your teamListen to Find Out More About:The exact prompt engineering techniques that teach AI your brand voice without requiring technical skills or expensive custom modelsWhy Circle and Mighty Networks platforms fail for community building while simple weekly Zoom calls succeed, and how this same principle applies to AI tool selectionThe six-month AI implementation roadmap Katie uses with clients that balances quick wins with sustainable capability buildingHow affiliate marketers should approach AI differently than other marketing channels because of the trust dynamics and partnership relationships at stakeWhy China leads in AI patents, Europe leads in ethical frameworks, and what that geopolitical split means for international affiliate programsThe specific metrics beyond sales that reveal whether your AI adoption creates genuine business value or just impressive-looking dashboardsKey Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:[12:35] Why you don't need technical skills for AI success, and the hospitality management principles that make AI adoption feel natural instead of overwhelming[18:51] The reality check on organizational AI maturity: why even brands with impressive case studies struggle with board-level adoption and what that reveals about implementation gaps[27:42] Ethical AI requirements for affiliate marketing specifically, including transparency obligations, attribution clarity, and avoiding black-box decisioning that erodes partner trust[34:20] Katie's final advice for marketers who haven't started their AI journey: why strategic agility matters more than early adoption, and how to build frameworks that prepare you for what comes nextSend me a text with your questions

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• The Power of Building Community Around your Affiliate Program

  If your affiliate program has hundreds of inactive partners gathering dust, this episode reveals exactly how to bring them back. Alex Hitt, an affiliate marketer who built thriving communities of hundreds of active members, shares the hotel management principles he uses to create loyalty that goes far beyond commission payments. Lee-Ann and Alex discuss why most programs accidentally kill engagement, how to scale personalisation without burning out, and why one 30-minute weekly call does more for retention than any email campaign.Talking Points Include:The hospitality industry secret that made one hotel number one in the world – and how offering affiliates something valuable for free at exactly the right moment transforms transactional relationships into genuine partnershipsWhy community platforms often fail but weekly Zoom calls succeed – where real engagement actually happens and how to structure drop-in events that affiliates want to attendThe white-glove onboarding process that keeps new affiliates active – from putting the calendar invite directly in their hand to following up before their first eventListen to Find Out More About:Why Alex refuses most one-on-one meeting requests and what he offers instead that closes more deals with less pressureThe exact metrics Alex tracks to identify super-inviters versus super-producers in his community (and why these are two different people)How to enforce group chat boundaries without alienating members when conversations drift into birthday wishes and grocery shopping updatesThe six critical mistakes that kill affiliate communities before they launch, and how to plan strategically before investing time and resourcesWhy getting each affiliate to refer just 1.1 other people creates exponential program growth over timeHow to scale personalization by using mass email for announcements while reserving WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Facebook for genuine relationship buildingKey Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:[01:15] How getting laid off from a dream hotel job in Hawaii on day one forced Alex into entrepreneurship and eventually affiliate marketing[18:55] The efficiency math explained: one 30-minute Zoom call with 50 people versus trying to schedule 50 separate one-on-one meetings[27:00] What Alex tracks to measure community health beyond sales: last login time, external business growth, and engagement patternsHuge thanks to Alex Hitt for sharing his community-building strategies with us. If this episode sparked ideas for transforming your own affiliate program, subscribe to the Affiliate Marketing Podcast so you never miss practical insights like these. Share this episode with another affiliate manager struggling with retention, and let's raise the standard for how we treat our partners.Rate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts"I love the Affiliate Marketing Podcast." <– If that sounds like you, please give us a 5 Star rating here! Taking the time to do that helps us support more people in our community to access affiliate marketing insights, expert-led learnings, and allows us to share the latest tactics that help affiliate programs and businesses grow.Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review."Send me a text with your questions

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• Beyond Google: Navigating the Multi-Channel Search Revolution

  In this episode of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast, Lee-Ann Johnstone sits down with search industry veteran Colin Jeavons to unpack one of the most significant shifts in digital commerce since Google's CPC revolution. With 25% of global search queries now bypassing Google in favour of AI-powered answer engines, affiliate managers and publishers face a crossroads: adapt to emerging channels or risk becoming obsolete. Colin, whose career spans from the Yellow Pages era through to building semantic search technology for defence and intelligence, brings rare historical perspective on what's actually changing—and what isn't. This episode is essential listening for affiliate managers questioning their channel strategy, publishers wondering if SEO is dead, and any e-commerce brand trying to understand where consumer discovery is headed.Talking points include:From Yellow Pages to Answer Engines: How search has evolved from browser distribution monopolies to AI-driven discovery, and why Google's 2002 business model is facing its BlackBerry moment.The 75/25 Rule: Why traditional search still commands three-quarters of queries despite rapid AI adoption, and how to balance legacy channels with emerging opportunities.Beyond Traditional Affiliates: How CPA models are expanding into apps, creators, influencers, and AI search—creating entirely new verticals for performance marketing.Listen to find out more about: How browser distribution, not search quality, created Google's monopoly—and why that same moat is now crumbling.The specific verticals where CPA commerce is experiencing explosive growth: apps, creators, influencers, and AI search.The "fail fast" philosophy that's kept Colin relevant through 25 years of continuous technological disruption.Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct: [11:45] The case for not abandoning traditional search.[13:57] The 10-month revolution: how AI answer engines captured 25% of search volume at unprecedented speed.[29:13] Colin's advice for publishers and affiliate managers: always ask for help and don't fear failure.Would you like to talk about sponsoring our podcast, or gaining a brand mention? Take a look here.Never miss out on FREE insights and training! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.Send me a text with your questions

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