Affiliate vs influencer marketing
Pay for the post, or pay for the sale?
Affiliate marketing pays for results: a partner earns a commission when a sale they referred completes. Influencer marketing usually pays for reach: a flat fee for a post, whatever it sells. The two overlap, because the same creator can be paid either way, and many programs now pay a fee and a commission together.
- Affiliates are paid on results
- Influencers are paid for reach
- Most programs end up paying both
How affiliates are paid
After the sale, from the sale. A partner who sells nothing costs nothing. One who sells a lot is expensive in the only way you want.
Percentage or flat, per conversion
Triggered when the sale records and attributes to their link or coupon.
Cost moves with revenue
No retainers, no minimums. The channel prices itself.
They carry the risk, so they ask questions
Conversion rate, cookie window, recurring or not, payout speed. Have answers.
How influencers are paid
Up front, for the placement. Write it as influencer vs affiliate marketing or the reverse, the question underneath is the same: who carries the risk.
A flat fee per post
Agreed before publication, paid whether it converts or not.
Priced on audience, not sales
You are buying attention from people who already trust them.
You carry the risk
A fee buys certainty of publication. A commission buys certainty of price.
Try it
Same campaign, three ways to pay for it
Revenue referred
$4,800
Flat fee
$1,500
Paid on publication, whatever it sells. · You carry the risk
$37.50 per sale
Commission only
$960
20% of everything the campaign refers. · They carry the risk
$24.00 per sale
Fee plus commission
$1,176
$600 signing bonus, then 12% per sale. · Split between you
$29.40 per sale
Running both in one program
The usual deal is a signing bonus plus a commission. The creator is paid for the work, you pay for the outcome, and both sides see the same numbers.
One set of links, one payout system
The distinction becomes a settings question: which group, which plan.
Signing bonuses built in
A fixed amount for agreeing to publish, then a rate on everything after.
Recruit from evidence
Influencer Discovery shows what a partner already sells, not their follower count.
In Referly
Recruit partners who already sell
Search verified partners by category, audience and results. Invite the good ones straight into a group and a commission plan, with a signing bonus attached.
See how discovery works
Related terms
All ten termsAffiliate vs referral program
An affiliate promotes you for income; a referrer recommends what they already bought.
EPC (earnings per click)
Earnings per click: what one click on a partner's link is worth, on average.
MLM vs affiliate marketing
MLM pays for recruiting people; affiliate marketing pays for referring sales.
Referral program
A program that rewards your existing customers for bringing you new ones.