Does PR drive sales? We know empirically that PR can work wonders for your credibility and brand visibility, which add to your bottom line. But tracking the ROI directly from a particular piece of media coverage has always been a bit of a challenge. 

Until now.

Affiliate-driven PR, or the use of affiliate marketing links in earned media stories, is changing the dynamic – creating new opportunities for brands to earn clicks and sales directly from press coverage.

What Is Affiliate Marketing Anyway?

Content creators have been driving revenue with affiliate marketing for years. By adding affiliate links to their stories and posts, they’re earning a commission anytime a follower clicks that link and buys a product they recommend. Think of it as a little thank you for the referral.

But affiliate marketing is actually not so little – it’s growing by the billions. Want to supercharge that? Affiliate-driven PR goes beyond just setting up affiliate links. 

Affiliate-Driven PR: Where Media and Affiliate Marketing Intersect

Over the last few years, as advertising dollars dwindle, top-tier media outlets have increasingly recognized the revenue opportunity that affiliate marketing presents. As a result, they’ve transformed a large majority of their stories into shoppable content, utilizing – you guessed it – affiliate marketing links to drive referral traffic to brands’ websites and major online retailers. This is a win-win, giving brands an opportunity not only to build visibility and credibility from earned media, but potentially leverage PR to directly drive traffic and sales. 

But you have to be in it to win it – which means that brands must be optimized for affiliate marketing to even be considered for coverage by most major publishers, including Today.com, Business Insider, People, Wirecutter (NY Times), USA Today, and more. Unlike traditional affiliate marketing, having affiliate links alone is not enough to land top-tier PR coverage. The media still independently selects and recommends the products they feature – so this new style of affiliate PR requires a killer hook, a thoughtful pitch, and a quality product to grab the attention of a reporter or editor. And like traditional PR, affiliate-driven PR isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. One press clip might make it rain, while others barely cause a drizzle. The key here is persistence and time, creating a steady downpour that increases share of voice – along with clicks and sales – over the long run.

Optimizing Your Brand for Affiliate PR

So how can brands get in the affiliate PR game? The first step is to have the right affiliate links. If you’re already selling on a major retailer like Amazon, Walmart or Target, you’re all set – affiliate marketing is baked into the platform, at no additional cost to you. 

Not there yet? No problem! It’s easy for most e-commerce sites to add affiliate marketing on the back-end to generate the links that the media need for their stories. The catch? Not all platforms are preferred by the media for earned press coverage. Right now, two of the top media favorites are AWIN (formerly ShareASale) and Impact (our fave at Resound). The good news? Both are easy and relatively affordable to set up. And of course, if you need help, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Supercharge Your Affiliate Marketing With Affiliate PR

Resound is still one of the first and few agencies who truly understand affiliate PR, and how it can work best for brands. We blend our in-depth knowledge of affiliate marketing with our best practices and proven results in traditional PR to get real, sustained results for your brand. We’ll help you get optimized for affiliate, then leverage our trademark creative pitching and extensive network of media contacts to generate earned media that gets your brand noticed.

Our program includes:

• Optimize your affiliate back-end, whether it’s through a major retailer or your own DTC e-commerce site.
• Build out a comprehensive strategy and pitching calendar with compelling hooks and timely story angles to engage the media.
• Reach out to our expansive network of journalists, commerce editors, and freelancers to keep your brand top-of-mind for relevant stories.
• Coordinate interest and opportunities.
• Manage all interactions, tracking and reporting.