Affiliate marketers who employ email marketing get 66.4% more conversions than those who don’t.
Yet, here’s the problem—most affiliate marketers still rely heavily on social media or ads, only to struggle with fluctuating algorithms, declining organic reach, and ad costs that keep rising.
Their biggest mistake? Building their audience on someone else’s platform instead of owning it.
Email marketing changes that. It gives you direct, personal access to your audience.
That’s why, in this article, we’ve shared
- Complete steps to build a successful affiliate email campaign
- 10 best affiliate programs for email marketers
- 5 best email automation platforms for affiliate email marketing
- Common mistakes to avoid in affiliate email marketing
Customize your affiliate emails within minutes using Retainful’s pre-designed email templates.
What is affiliate email marketing?
Affiliate email marketing is a strategy where you promote other brands’ products/services through email for a commission. In affiliate marketing, you receive a unique tracking link (the affiliate link).
When a user clicks this link, a small file called a cookie is placed on their browser. If the user makes a purchase within the cookie’s lifespan (e.g., 30 or 90 days), the sale is attributed to you, and you earn a commission.
Why are emails important for affiliate marketing?
Here are the top 5 reasons why emails are important for affiliate marketing
- Asset ownership: You own your email list. Your access to your audience isn’t dependent on algorithms (like social media) or ad policy changes. This is your “exit plan” for long-term independence.
- Trust & credibility: Email marketing allows you to build a personal relationship with your subscribers. By consistently sharing valuable, non-promotional content, you position yourself as a trusted source of recommendations — not just a hard-seller. (following the 80/20 rule: 80% value, 20% pitch)
- High personalization & targeting: Segment your list based on interests, past purchases, or subscriber behavior. This lets you send highly relevant targeted emails.
- Direct connection: Reach subscribers directly in their inbox, bypassing the clutter of social media feeds and search results. This leads to better engagement and higher click-through rates (CTR).
- Automation: Use email marketing software to create drip campaigns (automated email sequence) that acquire customers, nurture new leads, and promote offers over time.
Related reading: Email Automation: An Ultimate Guide for Beginners 2025
Automate your affiliate emails with a few clicks using Retainful’s pre-built automation workflows.
Top 10 affiliate programs to join for email marketers
We’ve curated a list of the top 10 affiliate programs along with their niche and commission structure.
For even more affiliate programs beyond the digital product focus of ClickBank and the major brand access of CJ Affiliate.
Consider platforms like Amazon Associates for e-commerce marketing or ShareASale for niche and mid-sized merchants.
| Affiliate program | Niche | Commission structure | Noteworthy feature |
| GetResponse | Email Marketing, Automation | 40-60% Recurring commission for up to 12 months, or a flat $100 per sale. | Excellent for a reliable, long-term recurring revenue stream in email marketing. |
| HubSpot | CRM, Marketing, Sales Software | 30% Recurring commission for up to one year. | High-ticket platform, meaning a 30% commission can be substantial. |
| Semrush | SEO & Digital Marketing Tools | $200 flat rate per new subscription sale. | An extremely popular and essential tool for digital marketers and bloggers. |
| ActiveCampaign | Email Marketing, CRM, Automation | 20% to 30% Lifetime Recurring commission. | A robust, industry-leading automation platform with excellent long-term potential. |
| ClickFunnels | Sales Funnel Builder | Up to 30% Recurring commission. | Highly promoted platform in the entrepreneur and online business space. |
| Shopify | E-commerce Platform | 200% Bounty (equal to two months of the referral’s paid subscription). | The leading platform for e-commerce makes it a high-volume promotion. |
| AWeber | Email Marketing | 30% to 50% Recurring commission (based on annual sales volume). | A long-standing, trusted name in the email marketing industry. |
| Kinsta | Managed WordPress Hosting | $50 to $500 One-time per sale PLUS 10% Recurring commission. | High-quality, premium hosting means high payout per sale, plus recurring. |
| Elementor | WordPress Website Builder | 50% Per Sale (one-time commission). | One of the most popular WordPress builders with a high conversion rate. |
| Teachable | Online Course Creation | Up to 30% Recurring commission for up to a year. | Capitalizes on the huge market for online courses and digital education. |
How to launch a successful affiliate email marketing campaign?
Any successful email marketing strategy will have a quality, engaging email list. The same applies to affiliate email campaigns.
Here are the 4 steps to launch a successful affiliate email marketing campaign:
- Build a high-quality, engaging email list for affiliate marketing
- Choose the right product and platform
- Create a high-converting email sequence
- Track and optimize
Build a high-quality, engaging email list for affiliate marketing
- Offer a valuable incentive: Capture emails by offering something valuable in return — such as a free guide, checklist, or template. This attracts highly targeted subscribers who are genuinely interested in your content.
- Use double opt-in: Verify email addresses during sign-up to minimize errors and confirm that each subscriber genuinely wants to receive your emails.
- Maintain list hygiene: Use list management tools like a suppression list to remove bounced or invalid email addresses. This improves deliverability and protects your sender reputation.
- Segment by interest: Segment new subscribers right away based on the lead magnet or topic they signed up for. This allows you to send personalized emails that match their interests.
Choose the right product & platform
- Relevance is key: Only promote products you genuinely use or that directly solve a problem for your specific audience segment. Do not promote random, high-commission products.
- Check ESP policy: Confirm your chosen email platform explicitly allows affiliate links
Craft a high-converting email sequence
- The 80/20 Rule: Send 80% educational/valuable content and 20% promotional emails.
- Tell a story (Soft Sell): Frame the discount email as a personal success story or a solution to a problem you overcame. Don’t just list features; explain the benefit to the reader.
- Strategic link placement: Place the affiliate link naturally in the middle of the email and again in the Call-to-Action (CTA) button at the bottom. Avoid placing a link too early.
- Use a pre-sell age (Optional): Instead of linking directly to the merchant, link to a review or landing page you own. This builds anticipation, allows you to capture additional lead data, and often improves conversion rates.
Related reading: Why are my emails going to spam? ( 11 Reasons + How to fix)
Monitor, test, and adjust
- Track key email metrics: Monitor your Open Rate, Click-Through Rate (CTR), and Unsubscribe Rate.
- A/B test everything: Experiment with different subject lines, CTA button colours, email copy lengths, and sending times to see what generates the highest CTR.
5 Best affiliate email marketing platforms
The 5 best email automation software programs for successful affiliate email campaigns.
| Platform | Key affiliate feature | Why it works for affiliates |
| Retainful | E-commerce-Focused & Next-Order Coupons | The ability to send dynamic “next order” coupons—a powerful tool for post-purchase affiliate follow-up. |
| ActiveCampaign | Advanced Automation & CRM | Allows complex, behavior-based email sequences to perfectly time product recommendations. |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | Great Value & Free Tier | Cost-effective, with a built-in CRM and a generous free plan for beginners to test campaigns. |
| EmailOctopus | Budget-Friendly & Lenient Policy | A lightweight tool that is openly supportive of affiliate marketers, unlike major competitors like Mailchimp. |
| Moosend | Simple Automation & Analytics | User-friendly platform with strong tracking and automation templates for affiliate campaigns. |
5 Common mistakes to avoid in affiliate marketing
Avoiding these pitfalls is as crucial as following best practices, especially when dealing with the high volume and reputation risks of email marketing.
- ❌ Selling, not helping: Prioritizing monetization over providing value. Your emails must solve a problem or offer insight. If you only pitch, your subscribers will leave.
- ❌ Not building an email list: Relying solely on volatile traffic sources like social media or SEO is risky. Your list is your safety net.
- ❌ Promoting poor quality products: Recommending a bad product for a quick commission will destroy the trust you’ve spent months building. Always use or thoroughly vet the product first.
- ❌ Overloading with links: Stuffing every paragraph with affiliate links triggers spam filters and annoys your readers. Integrate links naturally and sparingly.
- ❌ Ignoring compliance: Not including an easy unsubscribe link and a clear affiliate disclosure (stating you may earn a commission) can lead to legal issues and platform bans.
Do smarter affiliate email marketing with Retainful’s advanced and easy-to-use segmentation tools to increase your campaign’s success rate.
Wrap up!
Affiliate email marketing isn’t about blasting links or pushing promotions. It’s about building relationships that convert over time.
When you own your audience and consistently deliver value, your subscribers begin to trust your recommendations. And trust is what drives clicks, conversions, and commissions.
The real magic happens when you combine that trust with automation and smart segmentation. Imagine sending the right offer to the right person at the perfect moment, automatically.
That’s the difference between a one-time sale and a steady stream of passive income.
Also Read:
- 10 Free black friday email templates (examples + tips)
- 10 Proven Strategies to Increase Repeat Customers and 5x your ROI
- How to reduce email bounce rate? (10 proven ways)
Frequently asked questions
Build a quality list, pick a relevant product, craft persuasive emails, and optimise across metrics.
Useful content (80%) + relevant offer (20%), storytelling promotion, and timing based on subscriber behaviour.
Choose high-relevance products, generous commission structures, and platforms that allow affiliate links.
Tools that support automation, segmentation, affiliate tracking, and allow the kind of links you’ll use.
An email marketing affiliate promotes products via email and earns a commission for every purchase made through their referral links.
Yes — with a targeted email list, valuable content, and consistent promotion, earning $100 a day is achievable.
Build an email list, join affiliate programs, create trust-based content, and use automation to promote offers effectively.
Most marketers reach $5,000/month within 6–12 months with consistent effort, testing, and optimized email campaigns.
