Definition
Affiliate marketplace
An affiliate marketplace is a directory where programs and affiliates find each other, without cold outreach. It is the distribution side, not the tooling side.
It answers the problem tracking does not solve. A flawless tool, links that work, commissions calculated to the cent: none of it is worth anything with zero affiliates. That is where the vast majority of programs die — not on the technology, on recruitment.
Its value comes from a two-sided network effect, which is what makes it hard to copy. An empty directory attracts nobody on either side; past a critical mass, each new program makes the directory more interesting to affiliates, and each new affiliate makes it more interesting to programs. A feature can be copied in a quarter; that mass cannot.
The thing to check when comparing tools is simple: is the marketplace included, or reserved for a high tier? Some put it behind their most expensive plan — which makes it unavailable to exactly the people who need it, namely programs that are starting out and have no affiliates yet.
At earnwithaffiliate
Marketplace visibility is included from the free plan. What goes up with the plan is prominence, not access.
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Related terms
EPC (earnings per click)
EPC is the average revenue a click earns the affiliate: commissions earned divided by clicks sent. It is the first number an affiliate looks at.
Multi-tier commission
A multi-tier commission pays an affiliate on the sales of the affiliates they recruited, on top of their own.
Affiliate link
An affiliate link is a URL that identifies the affiliate who shared it, usually through a parameter such as ?via= or ?ref=.