The Affiliate Marketing Podcast

The Year Affiliate Marketing Proved Its Power While Rewriting All the RulesIf you thought affiliate marketing was mature, predictable, or figured out, this year proved you spectacularly wrong. Lee-Ann Johnstone takes you inside the most transformative year our industry has ever experienced, where UK brands delivered £16 for every £1 invested while simultaneously watching 60% of searches end without a single click. This isn't just a recap of what happened. It's a master class in how the smartest operators adapted when zero-click search, AI integration, and algorithm chaos threatened to upend everything we thought we knew about performance marketing.Talking Points Include:The shocking numbers that prove affiliate marketing dominates digital marketing with £19 billion in UK basket revenue, $113 billion in US e-commerce sales, and ROI figures that make other channels look obsoleteWhy 60% of searches now end without clicks and what the smartest publishers did differently when AI Overviews decimated traffic by up to 89%The three business lessons that changed how Lee-Ann runs Affiverse including why saying no to clients actually increased demand and how community building became the antidote to algorithm dependency.Listen to Find Out More About:Why independent bloggers overtook major media outlets in content affiliate spend for the first time, and what this shift reveals about authentic voices versus corporate content farmsThe exact community building strategies that made some programs resilient when algorithm changes devastated others, and why owning your audience relationships transcends platform dependencyHow Affiverse reached nearly a million podcast downloads, trained over 3,000 practitioners globally, and launched the ELEVATE Summit and RAV Awards while doubling agency clientsThe innovation that genuinely worked this year, from community-led programs building true partnerships to video-first publishers seeing engagement rates that dwarfed traditional contentWhy data privacy will define winners and losers, and what first-party data strategies look like for brands that excel at collection and leverageThe specific metrics proving affiliate marketing delivers ROI other channels can't match, with sector-by-sector breakdowns showing 11:1 to 21:1 returnsKey Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:[10:30] The UK and US industry numbers that prove affiliate marketing delivers ROI other channels can't match, with specific sector breakdowns[35:45] The three business lessons that changed how Lee-Ann approaches agency work, event planning, and community building[56:00] What's coming in 2026 and 2027, including specialized roles, attribution evolution, and data privacy defining winners[1:02:15] Affiverse milestones across media, agency, and community impact, plus what's launching in 2026Call to ActionThis episode captures the year that separated operators who adapt from those who wait for best practices to emerge. If these insights sparked ideas for how you'll approach affiliate marketing differently in 2026, subscribe to the Affiliate Marketing Podcast so you never miss the strategic frameworks that help you stay ahead. Join us at the ELEVATE Summit in July 2026 in London, where the industry comes together not just to learn, but to actually move forward. Early bird tickets launch in January.Send me a text with your questions

A Christmas Day Special Celebrating the Insights, Breakthroughs, and Bold Conversations That Defined Our SeasonWelcome to this very special Christmas Day edition of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast. Throughout Season 23, we dug deep into the engines behind impactful content, questioned the role of SEO and AI algorithms in a world that still craves human connection, and spotlighted the evolution of affiliate marketing from community-driven growth to loyalty-first strategies and consumer discovery beyond the usual channels. Today's episode is a moment to look back on all we shared this season, appreciate how far we've come together, and celebrate the insights we gathered along the way. Grab a cup of something warm, settle in, and enjoy this Christmas Day Special as we wind up the season that's past and get ready for an even bigger one ahead.What You'll Hear in This Episode:The 6:1 content ratio that's reshaping digital marketing as Saurabh Singh reveals why educational content consistently outperforms promotional posts and how trust has become the new currency in affiliate marketingWhy most affiliate programs stall before they ever hit momentum with Florin Simovici's operational insights from 15 years of hands-on experience building scalable, sustainable programsThe harsh reality of building a content-first publisher from scratch as George Sullivan opens up about facing rejection after rejection and what affiliate managers misunderstand about the publisher's journeyWhy user-generated content is now the most powerful lever in affiliate growth from Dennis Yu's billion-dollar ad spend experience with brands like Nike and StarbucksHow AI-powered answer engines are capturing a quarter of global queries and what Colin Jeavons says this disruption really means for affiliate managers navigating an uncertain futureThe loyalty-building principles that turn silent affiliates into thriving communities as Alex Hitt shares why genuine connection, not higher commissions, truly drives retentionWhy most organisations stall on AI adoption with Katie King's roadmap for building strategic frameworks and embedding responsible governance before regulation arrivesHow daily payouts became the most powerful micro trust signal as the Exness team reveals their journey scaling from 18 to more than 100 countries with human-centric logicWhy platforms like Reddit are suddenly outranking traditional reviews and how Ewen Finser steered more than 100 websites through Google's volatility into the AI-driven landscapeHow to run your affiliate program ethically in the age of AI as Leanna Klyne and Lee-Ann discuss automation that stays human and what regulation might mean for your partner management.Call to ActionSeason 23 gave you the frameworks, now it's time to implement them. Whether you're rebuilding your onboarding process using Alex's white-glove approach, restructuring your content strategy around Saurabh's 6:1 ratio, or preparing your team for AI adoption using Katie's governance roadmap, the insights from this season only create value when you put them into action. Subscribe to the Affiliate Marketing Podcast so you're ready when Season 24 launches on New Year's Day with bold predictions for 2026 and conversations that push the boundaries of where affiliate and performance marketing are headed. DM Lee-Ann on LinkedIn and share what you're struggling with or want to know more about, and she'll find the right expert to get on the mic and talk us through it.Send me a text with your questions

When Automation Becomes Dehumanisation (And How to Stop It Before You Lose Your Best Partners)If you're using AI to manage your affiliate program but wondering why engagement keeps dropping, this episode explains exactly what's going wrong. Leanna Klyne, Affiverse's Agency Director with 18 years in the trenches, joins Lee-Ann to dissect the hidden cost of over-automation. They explore why AI-approved partners sometimes include your competitors, how content creators are being misrepresented by tools that don't understand context, and why the human touch still drives the partnerships that actually convert. This conversation offers practical guardrails for using AI responsibly without sacrificing the relationships that make affiliate marketing work.Talking Points Include:The approval automation trap that declined a top publisher because AI couldn't distinguish between a media buyer and a content site, costing the program a valuable winter sports partner during summer dormancyWhy segmented outreach beats mass emails every time and how investing four extra hours monthly to tailor content by partner type builds the micro-trust relationships that drive long-term revenueThe compliance blind spot that could make you legally liable when faceless accounts and user-generated content creators slip through automated vetting without legitimate contact detailsListen to Find Out More About:Why being transparent about AI use in outreach emails actually increases response rates and adds humor that builds rapport instead of destroying trustThe specific data you should never put into public AI tools like ChatGPT because it becomes open source and violates client confidentialityHow to write program terms that clearly define acceptable AI usage for partners while protecting your brand from deepfakes and unauthorised voice replicationThe exact compliance risks that emerge when automated approvals let unverifiable partners into regulated verticals without legitimate contact informationWhy boring consistency often outperforms fancy AI implementation, and how simple calendar reminders maintain partner relationships better than sophisticated automationLee-Ann's personal policy on LinkedIn messages and why every response comes from her, not a chatbot pretending to be herKey Segments of This Podcast and Where You Can Tune In to Go Direct:[18:08] The segmentation strategy that achieves industry-leading open rates by speaking directly to six or seven partner types instead of mass-blasting generic content[27:00] How to use AI for trend spotting within partner data to identify optimal booking windows that increase performance 7% above industry mean while cutting wasted spend[37:09] The essential ethical guardrails that preserve humanity while enabling innovation, including the perspective shift that changes how you evaluate every AI decisionCall to ActionHuge thanks to Leanna Klyne for sharing the real-world AI frameworks she implements daily across Affiverse's agency clients. If this episode helped you see where automation enhances relationships versus where it destroys them, subscribe to the Affiliate Marketing Podcast so you catch every practical insight that helps you build programs partners actually want to join. Share this with another affiliate manager wrestling with AI adoption, and let's raise the standard for ethical partnership management across the entire industry.Send me a text with your questions

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

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