{"id":4710,"date":"2024-07-25T10:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T08:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=4710"},"modified":"2025-04-14T12:57:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:57:53","slug":"difference-between-affiliate-marketing-and-influencer-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/difference-between-affiliate-marketing-and-influencer-marketing.html","title":{"rendered":"What’s the difference between affiliate marketing and influencer marketing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a new website owner or blogger, the idea of marketing<\/a> and strategies for it may be making you uncomfortable. This kind of thing happens to lots of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of today\u2019s post is to separate a couple of these strategies, break them down, and go over some of the pros and cons of each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to learn about some of these powerful techniques and become an expert on the difference between affiliate marketing and influencer marketing? Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Affiliate Marketing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Affiliate marketing is created by brands. They want to sell products. But their sales and marketing teams are limited. So what\u2019s the play?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company sets up an affiliate marketing program for content creators to sell the products for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brand creates the program and opens it to the creators. The creators, provided they like the product, or simply want to review it for their audience, add these affiliate links to their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When someone from their audience clicks on the link and makes a purchase, the content creator receives a commission in either a percentage of the sale or a flat fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will see affiliate links anywhere and everywhere. They\u2019re created by some of the most profitable companies in the world. Amazon was one of the most well-known affiliate programs for nearly two decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anytime you\u2019ve read a review of a product on a blog and then seen a Buy Now<\/strong> button that goes to an Amazon product page, congrats, you just clicked on an affiliate link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other companies make a fortune off of affiliate sales. A good example of this is NerdWallet<\/a>. They\u2019re now a publicly-traded company with almost the entirety of their revenue coming from credit card affiliate programs<\/a> as well as affiliate links for other financial services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compensation models in affiliate marketing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. CPA (Cost Per Action): Affiliate earns when a specific action occurs (e.g., sale, sign-up).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. CPC (Cost Per Click): Affiliate is paid for each click on their promotional link.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. CPL (Cost Per Lead): Compensation for generating qualified leads.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Revenue Share: Affiliate receives a percentage of the sale amount.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. CPI (Cost Per Install): Payment for each app installation driven by the affiliate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. CPM (Cost Per Mille): Affiliate earns per thousand ad impressions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Each model aligns with different marketing goals and product types. Advertisers choose based on their objectives and budget constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Affiliate Marketing in Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Affiliate marketing needs three parties to be successful. The most obvious is the customer. Without it, the brand and the influencer are irrelevant. So we\u2019re going to assume your brand has a great product and there are lots of influencers that would love to promote it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Creating an Affiliate Program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    When you\u2019re starting a business, you need revenue. Word of mouth referrals are still a great marketing tool and have better ROI than any other marketing effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To create your affiliate program<\/a>, you first need to decide if you\u2019re going to run the program yourself or if you\u2019re going to use a network like ShareASale<\/a> to run it for you. The upside of this is it will be a worry-free thing for your business. However, these networks will be taking a cut of the commissions for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you decide to run the program yourself, the next step will be to find influencers<\/a> to get the word out about your brand and why they should promote it. Get your marketing team to do some outreach to find the right influencers for your campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once influencers start to hear about your program, you won\u2019t have to do as much outreach. If the products and commissions are great, your program will take off quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Becoming an Affiliate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Being an affiliate for companies is how many people make a living. What\u2019s the fun in being an influencer if you can\u2019t get paid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a creator, you need content for your platforms. Doing reviews and promoting products you enjoy and believe in can help diversify your income streams and content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can join individual affiliate programs run by the companies. This strategy usually has a higher payout. However, you\u2019ll also run the risk of the affiliate program shutting down or the brand going out of business entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For this reason, it\u2019s important to use a variety of programs to promote in case the rug gets swept out from underneath you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The other option is to use networks like ShareASale and others similar to it. You join the networks and then browse all of the businesses that are partnered with the program. You can join and leave as you see fit. These networks have thousands of affiliate opportunities across a broad range of niches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What is Influencer Marketing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Influencer marketing is different from affiliate marketing. There is no program. Using influencers as part of your marketing strategy<\/a> is commonly known as brand deals or brand sponsorships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019ve ever looked on Instagram or YouTube and seen an influencer taking a photo of them drinking a Coke or having a Coke strategically placed in the photo or video, there is a good chance they were paid for doing that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Granted, Coke doesn\u2019t need to do this often. Everyone knows and consumes their products. But smaller brands aren\u2019t in the same class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is often seen with health supplements. Health and wellness influencers<\/a> make a killing by taking photos or videos with the newest and latest supplement or protein powder included in their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If a brand is reaching out to an influencer, there will usually be an offer and a specific set of criteria. This could be a number of posts, particular hashtags, content type, and more. The business offers the influencer a certain amount of money for their efforts and then the influencer will either agree or pass on the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here is the table summarizing the types of influencers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Type<\/th>Follower Range<\/th>Key Characteristics<\/th>Typical Engagement<\/th>Best For<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Nano<\/strong><\/td>1K – 10K<\/td>\u2022 Highly niche<br>\u2022 Very authentic<br>\u2022 Often locally focused<\/td>High<\/td>\u2022 Local campaigns<br>\u2022 Targeted niche marketing<br>\u2022 Product testing<\/td><\/tr>
    Micro<\/strong><\/td>10K – 100K<\/td>\u2022 Topic specialists<br>\u2022 Strong community ties<br>\u2022 Relatable<\/td>Medium to High<\/td>\u2022 Niche product promotion<br>\u2022 Community building<br>\u2022 Brand awareness in specific segments<\/td><\/tr>
    Macro<\/strong><\/td>100K – 1M<\/td>\u2022 Professional content creators<br>\u2022 Broader appeal<br>\u2022 Multiple niches<\/td>Medium<\/td>\u2022 Wider brand exposure<br>\u2022 Product launches<br>\u2022 Cross-category marketing<\/td><\/tr>
    Celebrity<\/strong><\/td>1M+<\/td>\u2022 Mainstream recognition<br>\u2022 Very high reach<br>\u2022 Often work with major brands<\/td>Low to Medium<\/td>\u2022 Mass market campaigns<br>\u2022 Brand prestige<br>\u2022 Nationwide or global reach<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Influencer Marketing Benchmarks in 2024<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Influencer Marketing Hub conducted a study of the influencer marketing industry and shared forecasts for the field’s future development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n