What Is Affiliate Marketing? A Simple Guide for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based digital marketing channel where brands partner with third parties (called affiliates) who promote their products or services online. You only pay these partners a commission when they successfully refer a sale, lead, or other conversion.

Instead of paying upfront for ads that might work, you only pay for results.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

Here’s how a typical affiliate marketing program works:

1. A publisher, content creator, or website joins your affiliate program.

2. They promote your product using a unique tracking link.

3. A customer clicks the link and makes a purchase.

4. You pay the affiliate a commission—typically a percentage of the sale.

This structure makes affiliate marketing one of the lowest-risk digital marketing channels available to SMBs.

What Are Affiliate Partners?

Affiliate partners (also known as publishers) come in many forms. A successful affiliate program often includes a diverse mix of partner types, such as:

• Content sites: Blogs, product review sites, and media publications that drive SEO and product discovery

• Influencers and creators: Promoting products through social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube

• Voucher and cashback sites: Driving conversions through incentives

• Comparison engines and shopping tools: Like Google CSS or price comparison platforms

• Email marketers and loyalty programs: Adding your product into curated email sends or point-based systems

A balanced affiliate program doesn’t rely too heavily on discounts—it creates visibility across the whole customer journey.

Why Is Affiliate Marketing Important for SMBs?

Affiliate marketing is particularly effective for small and medium-sized eCommerce brands, because it:

• 📈 Only charges you when a sale is made (pay-per-performance)

• 🚀 Scales with your business as you grow

• 💡 Increases your online visibility through trusted third-party endorsements

• 🔍 Reaches new customers who may never have discovered your brand

• 💰 Delivers a strong ROI with clear attribution and low overhead costs

Done right, affiliate marketing helps SMBs compete with bigger brands—without needing a massive media budget.

Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Many SMBs launch an affiliate program but see little growth. Why?

Here are a few common mistakes we see when new clients come to us:

• Over-reliance on voucher and cashback sites that don’t drive new customers

• No partner recruitment strategy—no one is actively finding high-quality affiliates

• Poor tracking and attribution, leading to missed revenue opportunities

• “Set it and forget it” mindset—affiliate marketing requires consistent management and optimisation

A successful affiliate program isn’t about just being live on a network—it’s about being active, strategic, and intentional.

How RevWise Helps SMBs Grow Through Affiliate Marketing

At RevWise, we specialise in helping SMBs grow their revenue through high-performing affiliate marketing programs.

Whether you’re just starting or need to overhaul an underperforming program, we provide:

• ✅ Affiliate strategy tailored to your goals and industry

• 🔎 Recruitment of high-quality partners (not just coupon sites)

• 🤝 Relationship management with publishers, influencers, and media teams

• 📊 Full tracking, reporting, and performance optimisation

• 💼 A team of specialists who manage your program day in, day out

We're more than a setup service—we're your affiliate growth partner.

Is Affiliate Marketing Right for Your Business?

If you're a small or mid-sized eCommerce brand looking to drive scalable revenue, affiliate marketing could be the most efficient marketing channel you haven’t fully tapped into yet.

We’ve helped brands across beauty, fitness, alcohol, fashion, and leisure sectors unlock real, measurable growth through smarter affiliate strategies.

Ready to Grow with Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing works—but only when it’s done properly.

If you want to stop wasting time and budget on low-quality partners, and start building an affiliate program that actually drives new customer growth, we’d love to help.

Get in touch today to chat with our team of affiliate marketing experts. No fluff, no jargon—just a clear plan to scale your business through affiliate.