With over two decades of digital marketing and affiliate performance experience earned within the E-commerce/ retail, Fintech and iGaming industry, Lee-Ann Johnstone is a veteran influencer in the affiliate and performance marketing industry, having started her career in this space in the early 2000s. She’s the host of The Affiliate Marketing Podcast and she created Affiverse, an award-winning performance and affiliate marketing agency and media company based in the U.K. Visit affiversemedia.com to find out more about how Lee-Ann and her team are helping the world do affiliate marketing better. goes a long way. I’ve seen affiliates stick with programs paying lower commissions simply because payments were reliable and hassle-free. I’ve also seen affiliates abandon high-paying programs after two or three payment issues as trust was broken. Consistency matters more than you might think. 6. P r oBmu iol dt eABf rf ialni adt eVLaol uyeasl tayn d Here’s what separates good affiliate programs from great ones: they treat partnerships like actual partnerships, not suppliers who provide transactions. The programs that earn long-term loyalty have account managers who genuinely care about affiliate success. They proactively share insights, suggest optimizations, and celebrate wins together. They remember that affiliates are real people running real businesses, not just traffic sources to be exploited. Brand values matter too. Affiliates increasingly want to work with programs that operate ethically, treat players fairly, and contribute positively to the industry. They are not just promoting products or offers. They’re putting their reputations behind them. If your brand gets caught in a scandal or treats customers poorly, that reflects on them. The best programs create community. They host affiliate events (virtual or in-person) where partners can connect, learn, and share strategies. They recognize top performers publicly. They ask for feedback and actually implement changes based on what they hear. Loyalty is a two-way street. Programs that stick with affiliates during slow months, that offer support during algorithm changes or traffic challenges, that invest in the relationship beyond just monthly stats, are the programs that build devoted partner bases. I’ve built my entire career on relationships, and I can tell you that affiliates remember how you treat them. They remember when you went to bat for them with your compliance team. They remember when you adjusted terms to help them through a rough patch. They also definitely remember when you don’t. The Bottom Line Being affiliate-friendly isn’t about grand gestures or revolutionary technology. It’s about consistently executing the basics with professionalism and respect. It’s about recognizing that when your affiliates succeed, you succeed. So, if you’re running an affiliate program, ask yourself: are you genuinely affiliate-friendly, or are you just going through the motions? In this industry, affiliates do have a lot of options. They’ll work hardest for the programs that work hardest for them. Make it easy for affiliates to succeed, treat them with respect, and watch what happens. It’s not complicated, it’s just good business. 27 GPWAtimes.org
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