The ultimate guide to affiliate marketing agencies for brands in 2025

The global affiliate marketing industry is worth over $17 billion and growing to nearly $28 billion by 2027—but most brands struggle to capture their share of this growth.

If you’re a marketing leader at a brand trying to scale affiliate partnerships, you’ve likely hit these roadblocks: recruiting quality partners takes months, managing relationships becomes overwhelming, and proving return on investment (ROI) remains frustratingly difficult. Meanwhile, your competitors are pulling ahead with sophisticated partnership ecosystems that seem impossible to replicate in-house.

Here’s what the fastest-growing brands know: The secret isn’t choosing between agencies or technology—it’s combining both.

Top-performing brands pair specialized affiliate marketing agencies with robust partnership platforms like impact.com to create a competitive advantage that neither solution delivers alone. This powerful combination:

• Accelerates partner acquisition through agencies’ established networks and impact.com’s discovery tools
• Scales program management with expert strategy plus automated workflows
• Proves incremental value using advanced attribution and performance tracking

Ready to understand how this partnership approach could transform your affiliate marketing results? Here’s your complete guide to building a winning combination.

Why the agency + platform combination outperforms either solution alone

Most brands approach affiliate marketing with an either-or mindset: hire an agency OR invest in technology. But the fastest-growing affiliate programs have discovered a different approach entirely.

Here’s the reality: impact.com is a sophisticated platform with enterprise-grade capabilities that can transform your affiliate program—but maximizing its potential requires specialized expertise that most brand managers simply don’t have time to develop.

Think of it like this: You wouldn’t implement Salesforce without expert guidance, and affiliate marketing platforms deserve the same strategic approach. The most successful brands treat agencies as their specialized services team—experts who know exactly how to configure, optimize, and scale programs using impact.com’s full feature set.

When you combine impact.com’s technology with a certified agency partner, you get:

• Expert platform utilization from teams who know every feature, integration, and optimization technique
• Strategic program architecture designed by specialists who’ve built hundreds of successful programs
• Immediate best-practice implementation instead of months of trial-and-error learning
• Ongoing optimization expertise to continuously improve performance as your program scales
• Dedicated relationship management so your internal team can focus on broader marketing strategy

The result: You get enterprise-level affiliate marketing capabilities without building an enterprise-level internal team.

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Why use an agency?

Agencies bring added value to your affiliate program through:

• Expertise: Deep knowledge of the affiliate space.
• Partnerships: Existing networks of affiliates, influencers, and creators.
• Strategy: Building strategic partnerships to deliver measurable results efficiently.
• Speed and scale: Agencies help brands accelerate growth and expand reach much faster.

The role affiliate marketing agencies play in modern digital marketing

Affiliate marketing agencies bring valuable insights to brands, helping them navigate complex marketing campaigns. These agencies act as matchmakers, facilitators, and strategists, ensuring that every partnership aligns with your business goals. 

The team works to align partnerships and affiliate strategies so they work seamlessly and drive measurable outcomes.

What makes these partnerships even more effective? Agencies help brands stay ahead of the competition. 

Using impact.com’s automation features, agencies can efficiently scale these creative campaigns while maintaining a high degree of personalization, so every touchpoint resonates with the target audience and maximizes the potential for affiliate sales.

Affiliate marketing agencies bring specialized expertise to help brands grow its marketing potential through strategic partnerships and optimized program execution.

Agencies maximize program growth through impact.com  

Agencies take on critical program functions for your brand. By combining impact.com’s technology with an agency’s expertise, you create a winning formula for growth.

Our certified agency partners undergo comprehensive impact.com training, so they arrive already knowing how to configure, optimize, and scale your program using our most advanced features. This means no learning curve—just immediate strategic implementation designed around your business objectives.

If your brand doesn’t have an in-house affiliate account manager, agencies can help. They can take over and manage everything for you. This means you can enjoy the benefits of a strong affiliate program. All without the hassle of handling the operational workload yourself.

Core program offerings handled by your agency

Your agency provides a comprehensive approach to affiliate marketing, designed to maximize your program’s reach, performance, and ROI. 

The strategic use of impact.com’s robust platform is central to how your agency executes these offerings, ensuring top-tier performance.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the program management responsibilities your agency will cover:

Program structure, strategy, and setup

Your agency builds a strong foundation for your affiliate program. This includes:

• Developing a comprehensive program plan: Your agency defines your objectives, target audiences, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Designing commission plans: They create fair and motivating ways to pay different types of partners.
• Setting up the platform in impact.com: Your agency configures your program, creates offer terms, and integrates all tracking tools to ensure seamless data collection from day one.

Partner recruitment

Expanding your affiliate network for growth is entirely handled by your agency. This means:

• Using impact.com’s partner discovery tools: Your agency finds and vets potential affiliate partners from a vast marketplace.
• Running targeted outreach campaigns: They reach out to prospective partners, showing them why your program is valuable.
• Onboarding and activation: Your agency guides new partners through the signup process and makes sure they’re ready to promote your brand effectively, all using impact.com’s easy onboarding features.

Program management

Day-to-day operations, crucial for maintaining program health and performance, are fully managed by your agency. This includes:

• Creating content and managing assets: Your agency develops and shares engaging creatives, affiliate links, and marketing materials through impact.com’s central platform.
• Communication and support: They keep in touch with partners regularly, answer their questions, and offer ongoing help.
• Optimizing campaigns: Your agency constantly watches campaign performance and makes adjustments to improve results, including A/B testing and offer adjustments.
• Handling contracts and payments: They manage affiliate agreements and ensure partners are paid on time and correctly, all automated through impact.com’s built-in tools.

Reporting and optimizations

Making decisions based on data to improve your program is a key agency function. This involves:

• Using impact.com’s detailed analytics: Your agency pulls complete reports on key numbers like clicks, conversions, sales, and ROI.
• Spotting performance trends: They examine data to determine what’s working well and where improvements can be made.
• Putting optimization plans into action: Your agency refines campaigns, adjusts what you offer partners, and moves resources based on what the data shows to get the best return on your investment.

Compliance

Ensuring your program follows industry rules and laws, critical for brand protection, is managed by your agency. This includes:

• Monitoring affiliate activities: Your agency regularly checks how partners promote your brand to stay compliant with guidelines and legal rules.
• Using impact.com’s compliance tools: They use platform features to quickly spot and deal with activities that don’t follow the rules.
• Staying current with industry best practices: Your agency updates program guidelines to reflect affiliate marketing laws and standards changes.

Choosing the right agency in 7 steps

Finding the perfect agency for your brand involves clear expectations and a thorough understanding of their capabilities. Follow these seven steps to find the right match:

1. Set expectations: Aligning on the basics

Before diving in, ask the agency about:

• Timelines
• Deliverables
• Meetings
• Reporting
• Key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Your responsibilities

2. Assess the agency’s experience and expertise

Look for:

• Proven track record
• Specialized verticals
• Case studies
• Team experience
• Global reach

3. Understand their strategy

Key areas to assess:

• Affiliate management philosophy
• Core strategies (recruitment, activation, optimization)
• Partner network

4. Outline a vision for your brand

Ask about:

• Program customization
• Forecasted KPIs
• High-level strategy (events, cost per acquisition, budget)

5. Communication and collaboration

Clarify:

• Collaboration models
• Time commitment
• Meeting cadence

6. Measurement and success: Proving ROI

How will they demonstrate value? Consider:

• Success metrics
• Timelines
• Reporting frequency/format

7. Pricing, contracts, and scope

Ask about the:

• Fee structure
• Included services
• Additional costs
• Contract terms

By asking these crucial questions, you’ll be well-equipped to find an agency that truly aligns with your brand’s vision and goals. 

Use our handy worksheet to get your ideas down: Find an Agency Partnership Program Worksheet

Next up, we’ll look at the core agency benefits powered by impact.com.

5 affiliate marketing agency benefits amplified by impact.com

Affiliate marketing agencies can supercharge your growth. With seasoned strategists, trusted partner networks, and a focus on real results, they help you scale faster and smarter. But to truly maximize your affiliate program, you need the right tools to back their expertise—and that’s where impact.com comes in.

A great agency brings experience, strategy, and high-value relationships that would take months (even years) to build on your own. Pair that with impact.com’s powerful partnership platform, and you can launch stronger, grow faster, and sidestep common roadblocks.

Whether you’re just starting out or refining your program, agencies combined with impact.com’s technology make it easier to scale efficiently and achieve more. 

Let’s dive into five ways this partnership can elevate your brand’s affiliate marketing program:

1. Extend your team’s bandwidth and scale without the burnout 

Your internal team only has so many hours in the day. Pairing with an affiliate marketing agency and leveraging impact.com doesn’t just give you tools and support; it provides you with the expertise of a dedicated team at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house. 

This allows your internal staff to focus on what matters most while the agency handles the heavy lifting, acting as a seamless extension of your team. With an agency, you can scale rapidly with ease and efficiently manage a large network of partners, all while keeping your costs down.

Keep your internal team focused

With impact.com’s automation tools and an agency’s expertise, partner communication, campaign management, and tracking tasks are off your plate. Your in-house team can stay focused on driving brand growth, enhancing creative development, and executing big-picture strategies—all while the agency and impact.com handle the details.

Scale without missing opportunities 

Tight timelines? Big campaigns? Stay ahead with impact.com’s tools and agency expertise:

• Real-time tracking: Monitor performance instantly.
• Actionable insights: Identify what’s working and where to focus.
• Dynamic strategy: Agencies handle planning, adjustments, and quick responses.

From seasonal pushes to product launches, seize every opportunity without overwhelming your team.

Take manual work off your plate

With impact.com’s streamlined workflows, automated reporting, and optimization tools, combined with the agency’s hands-on support, manual tasks are a thing of the past. Let your agency do the heavy lifting. Free yourself from time-consuming admin and focus on steering the vision and growth of your affiliate program.

2. Gain expertise and scale faster

A strong partnership combines the power of impact.com with a skilled agency to act as an extension of your team. With the right tools and support, your affiliate program will gain structure, strategy, and staying power—here’s how:

Keep things moving

Keep your campaigns running smoothly with the perfect blend of your agency’s expertise and impact.com’s powerful automation tools. Let your agency focus on strategy and innovation while automation takes care of the repetitive tasks. 

No more delays, missed opportunities, or incomplete launches—just seamless execution. Together, expert guidance and advanced automation ensure consistent progress, even when internal priorities change or resources are stretched thin.

Work with someone who knows your program 

Pairing impact.com’s centralized platform with a dedicated agency team means everything stays organized and running smoothly. With a single point of contact managing timelines, communication, and deliverables, you’ll avoid juggling tasks or chasing updates. Plus, impact.com’s reporting tools make it easy to stay in the loop without micromanaging.

Access specialized skills without adding headcount 

impact.com gives you the data and tools to optimize results, while your agency brings affiliate expertise and industry know-how to avoid common pitfalls. Together, they help you execute faster and more effectively—no need to hire in-house experts.

Support that fits your structure

Whether your junior team members need strategy guidance or your stretched-thin strategists need help with execution, impact.com and your agency flex to fit your needs. The platform’s customization options and robust integration capabilities make scaling seamless without reshuffling your entire team.

3. Connect with high-performing partners faster

Finding the right partners can feel like a full-time job—time-consuming outreach, trial and error, and endless research. 

That’s where affiliate marketing agencies, paired with impact.com’s powerful partnership management tools, make all the difference. Together, they connect with the right affiliates, influencers, and creators faster and more effectively.

Build stronger strategic partnerships, faster

Skip the cold outreach and discovery phases. With an agency’s curated network and impact.com’s tools like the Google Chrome extension and creator profile slide-outs, you can instantly see if a potential partner is the right fit. Plus, program managers can check if a partner is already on the impact.com network, speeding up onboarding and getting you closer to results.

Break into new markets with confidence: 

Expanding into new regions or verticals? Agencies bring the relationships, and impact.com brings the insights. By partnering with affiliates who already understand your audience and leveraging performance data from the platform, you can launch in new markets seamlessly and see results faster.

Match with partners who fit your brand

Agencies excel at finding affiliates that align with your brand’s tone, voice, and audience. With impact.com’s in-depth partner profiles and advanced matching tools, you’ll pair with partners who act as a natural extension of your team. This alignment drives long-term, meaningful growth—not just short-term clicks.

With impact.com and a great agency by your side, building partnerships has never been easier or more effective.

4. Unlock better negotiating power

When you partner with an affiliate marketing agency powered by impact.com, you’re not negotiating alone. You’re backed by their expertise, impact.com’s technology, and a network of trusted relationships, giving you an unmatched advantage at the table.

Negotiate better rates 

Agencies using impact.com’s platform can tap into performance data and insights to secure stronger deals. With access to premium placements and partner opportunities, you’ll get better rates without paying top dollar.

Stretch budgets further 

impact.com’s tracking and optimization tools help agencies maximize every campaign dollar. Agencies offer the ability to unlock bulk deals, preferred pricing tiers, and actionable insights. You’ll get more exposure, higher ROI, and results that truly make an impact. 

Gain exclusive access to partnerships 

Top-performing affiliates and creators are selective. Pairing with impact.com and an expert agency brings unmatched credibility and connections, helping you tap into high-performing partnerships you won’t find through cold outreach. With impact.com’s powerful partnership management tools—like discovery, recruitment, and tracking—you’ll amplify your efforts and unlock growth through seamless collaboration.

5. Consistently apply data-backed strategies

Affiliate marketing doesn’t have to be trial and error—especially when you’re working with impact.com and an experienced agency partner. Together, they bring structure, strategy, and data-driven insights to help you scale quickly and efficiently.

Apply what already works 

With impact.com’s robust tracking and reporting capabilities, paired with an agency’s expertise, you can skip the guesswork. Agencies use years of campaign experience combined with impact.com’s performance data to craft strategies rooted in proven results.

Stay ahead of a fast-moving channel 

Affiliate marketing evolves constantly. Agencies stay on top of platform changes, partner expectations, and emerging trends. impact.com’s centralized platform ensures you can adapt quickly, with tools to streamline communication, optimize campaigns, and stay ahead without the heavy lifting.

Time your moves with precision 

Expanding to new markets or tweaking your strategy? Agencies provide the expertise, while impact.com offers actionable insights powered by advanced analytics. Together, they ensure every decision—from adjusting payouts to launching new campaigns—is made strategically and backed by data you can trust.

With impact.com and the right agency, you’ve got the tools and expertise to supercharge your affiliate program and see results faster.

Why impact.com’s curated network eliminates the usual agency selection headaches

Finding the right agency partner doesn’t have to be overwhelming—especially with impact.com by your side. We’ve created a simple, five-step process to match you with the perfect agency to achieve your unique goals.

Our platform connects you with over 250 trusted agencies and leverages powerful tools like performance tracking, seamless onboarding, and real-time insights. Together, they drive maximum results from your partnerships.

By pairing your brand with the right agency and amplifying your efforts through impact.com’s features, we’ll guide you to success.

1. impact.com streamlines initial assessments

We learn about your brand’s business goals, challenges, and growth potential. Through a guided assessment, impact.com gets to know your needs and set you up with an agency partnership designed to drive results. 

From day one, our platform provides a clear view of your current performance and future opportunities, allowing us to align your business with the perfect agency fit.

2. A simplified application process

Next, you’ll submit a referral request with help from your Customer Success Manager or Account Executive on impact.com. Whether you’re looking for full program management, strategic guidance, or hands-on execution, you’ll outline your specific needs directly within our platform.

Opt to receive a curated shortlist of agency partners or direct introductions—you’re in control. The more details you share about your goals, budget, and vision, the better we can tailor the recommendations. With impact.com’s tools, this process is streamlined, saving you time and effort.

3. Find the right partner faster

Once we’ve reviewed your request, we tap into impact.com’s extensive agency network to find the best match. By leveraging our platform’s comprehensive partner data, we evaluate agencies based on metrics like industry expertise, service offerings, and past performance. Our recommendations are customized to your needs, and when you’re ready, we seamlessly connect you with your selected agency or share a vetted list to choose from.

4. Experience seamless onboarding 

After selecting an agency, impact.com facilitates a smooth onboarding experience. If you’re new to the platform, your agency will assist with setup, integration, and quick implementation using our intuitive tools. 

Existing customers benefit from a collaborative onboarding process where your agency is fully briefed on your program. Additionally, we provide access to resources, templates, and guides to help you and your agency hit the ground running.

5. Beyond onboarding: Use robust tools to accelerate growth and scaling 

The partnership doesn’t end with onboarding. With impact.com’s robust tracking and reporting tools, we help you and your agency identify growth opportunities, monitor performance milestones, and refine your strategy as your program evolves. 

Whether you’re expanding into new markets or optimizing your current efforts, our platform supports long-term success with actionable insights and scalable solutions.

With impact.com’s structured five-step approach, you’re always guided towards your next milestone. By pairing the right agency with our powerful partnership management platform, you get a results-driven experience that’s clear, practical, and focused on helping your brand’s affiliate program scale faster.

The next step: impact.com tools that help agencies refine your affiliate program

Once you’ve partnered with an agency, setting that partnership up for long-term success is the next step. impact.com has the tools, templates, and performance benchmarks to help you build a program that scales smoothly.

These tools empower agencies to streamline operations and focus on strategic growth for their clients.

Step 1: Assess program maturity and estimate potential ROI

Before you map out your growth strategy, you need to know where you stand. Our diagnostic tools help agencies spot gaps, identify opportunities, and set the right expectations from day one.

Evaluating your current setup 

impact.com’s ROI estimator calculator gauges the potential value of your program. This tool offers data-driven projections to support smarter decisions on budgeting and resource allocation. 

Even brands with modest payouts can benefit from hiring an agency, despite fees ranging from $3,000 to $5,000. 

Forecast your upside 

Want to know what your program could earn with the right support? Our ROI calculator uses real-world performance data to project potential gains based on your current inputs. 

For context, affiliate marketing programs have seen returns as high as $15 for every $1 spent—but hitting those numbers takes the right strategy, partners, and investment. This tool helps you see how close you could get, and what it would take to get there. 

With these tools in hand, agencies can: 

• Help you plan your budget
• Set realistic goals
• Invest in the right areas with confidence

Step 2: Perfect your strategy using partner marketing guides

There’s no need to start your strategy from scratch. We’ve gathered everything your team and your agency need to move faster, stay aligned, and avoid the usual trial-and-error.

Learn best practices

We’ve worked with hundreds of brands and agencies to uncover what works and what doesn’t. 

Our guides cover everything from partner discovery to campaign optimization, so agencies can help you stay ahead of industry trends and avoid trial-and-error.

Use strategy templates 

Don’t start from a blank document. Our pre-built templates help agencies: 

• Plan your campaigns
• Outline influencer partnerships
• Structure revenue share tiers 
• Map out content partnerships tailored to your goals

Find your best-fit publishers 

Access curated publisher lists and category-specific partner recommendations to connect with affiliates who match your audience and objectives.

Access real benchmarks

We provide: 

• Industry-specific cost per action (CPA) targets
• Return on ad spend (ROAS) benchmarks
• Curated publisher lists 

These resources guide agencies on setting their goals and identifying the right partners to collaborate with.

Step 3: Automate key workflows with impact.com’s tools

Manual work slows growth. 

impact.com’s platform gives agencies the tools to: 

• Automate repetitive tasks
• Integrate with your tech stack 
• Free up time to focus on strategy

Manage everything in one place

From partner recruitment to performance reporting, our platform helps you run every stage of the partnership life cycle without switching tools.

Connect your systems 

Easily integrate with your CRM, ecommerce platform, and analytics tools to centralize performance data and streamline workflows.

Automate what matters

Skip manual partner payouts, contract management, and performance tracking. 

We’ve built in automation so you and your agency can focus on building relationships and driving growth for your clients.

FAQs

Grow with impact.com’s platform and trusted affiliate marketing agency partners

Affiliate marketing works best when the right tools and support back you.

Whether launching your first affiliate program or scaling an existing one, pairing with an experienced agency and leveraging impact.com’s platform gives you the structure, support, and tools to grow confidently. 

Agencies bring expertise, strong industry relationships, and time-tested strategies, while impact.com enhances this partnership with powerful automation, seamless tracking, and actionable insights to help you drive results faster.

Here’s a quick recap of how the right agency and impact.com work together to amplify your affiliate marketing success:

• Streamlined onboarding: Get partners activated and campaigns running quickly with impact.com’s automated workflows and an agency’s hands-on guidance.
• Actionable insights: impact.com’s tools help agencies track performance, refine strategies, and share data-driven insights with brands.
• Scalable growth: impact.com’s marketplace helps agencies quickly discover opportunities and access key stats to make informed decisions, leaving more time to build relationships and scale partnerships.
• Extra bandwidth and support: Let agencies manage relationships and automate tasks like payments and contracts using impact.com.
• Proven strategies: Agencies leverage their expertise to build a stronger strategy and maximize your partnership potential.

Explore more partner marketing resources:

• Turn affiliates into high-performing partnerships [blog]
• Integrating influencer and affiliate marketing programs [blog]
• Podcast: The benefits of running an affiliate program alongside an agency with Craig McGlynn [podcast]
• Why marketing leaders need more buy-in to affiliate and influencer channels [blog]
• Find an agency with our Partnership Program worksheet
• Video: How Stratagem elevated Italian brands through impact.com