In the 1990s, a new form of online marketing began to take shape – affiliate programs. Initially popularized by Amazon, affiliate programs allow businesses to partner with individuals or organizations who promote their products or services in exchange for a commission on any resulting sales.
While the affiliate space was once dominated by deal and coupon sites, prestigious media outlets have started to adopt the affiliate approach as a means of creating new revenue streams, particularly as old monetization streams reliant on traditional advertising have become far less lucrative. Today, affiliates are pervasive across the editorial space. Sites like Business Insider and Wirecutter have always had sections of their sites featuring product recommendations, but today, there’s an opportunity for them to make a commission should a customer use their link to purchase a product after reading about it.
As a result, the distinction between an affiliate marketer and a PR professional is more intertwined than ever before and professionals on both sides would be wise to learn the strategies of one another to be the most effective in their outreach and relationship building strategies.
The Early Days of Affiliate Programs: 1996-2000
The first affiliate program was introduced in 1996 by William J. Tobin, the founder of PC Flowers & Gifts. Dubbed “Associate Programs,” Tobin’s brainchild allowed websites to earn commissions by referral traffic to flowershop.com. While other companies had experimented with similar programs prior to this, PC Flowers & Gifts is widely considered to be the first successful implementation of an affiliate program.
The late 1990s saw a boom in ecommerce and a corresponding increase in the number of companies launching affiliate programs. In 1998 alone, Amazon reported that they had recruited over 2 million affiliates worldwide. By 2000, over 500 companies were using some form of affiliate program.
2001-2010: The Dot-com Bubble Bursts…then Rebounds
The early 2000s were not kind to many companies – including those relying on affiliate programs for revenue. The dot-com bubble burst in 2001, leading to mass layoffs and the closure of thousands of websites. For many companies, affiliate programs were one of the first casualties as they looked to cut costs wherever possible.
Fortunately, the rebound from the dot-com crash was just as swift as the fall. By 2003, spending on internet advertising had returned to pre-crash levels and continued to grow steadily in the years that followed. This increase in ad spending led to a corresponding increase in spending on affiliate programs; between 2005 and 2010, spending on affiliate marketing grew by more than 10% each year.
2011-present: The Rise of Influencer Marketing
The merger of PR and affiliate marketing is rooted in the rise of influencer marketing, whereby individuals who have established followings would promote a product or service in a way that felt organic and authentic. Similarly on the PR side, recommendations for products and round-ups that were once featured by media outlets solely for the purpose of general readership and traffic to a site, are now capable of earning a revenue stream from affiliates.
Preparing for the Future
As a result of this thinning line between affiliate marketing, influencer marketing and media relations, it’s essential that professionals across the three areas learn more about the tried and true methods that have worked in their individual fields for years, and learn how to best implement them into their day to day work.
As for those who are still clinging to their respective fields, those who don’t approach the future with a forward-looking mentality that embraces this fusion of their respective spaces are only likely to fall behind the curve as changes become more and more apparent in their day to day roles.
