Affiliate Marketing
Paying partners a commission for the customers or sales they refer to you, usually tracked through unique links. Performance-based, so you pay only for results.
Why it matters
Affiliates extend your reach at a cost tied directly to results, which keeps the risk low. It works best when the commission math fits your margins and the partners genuinely reach your buyers.
For example
A SaaS tool pays bloggers a 20 percent commission for every customer their referral links bring, so it only pays for results.
Related terms
Go deeper
See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.