What is an affiliate program?

An affiliate program is best defined as a marketing arrangement where a business rewards partners for generating traffic or sales. In this setup, businesses create partnerships with affiliates, who promote the business's products or services. Affiliates earn commissions based on the sales or leads they produce through their marketing efforts. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship where the business can extend its reach and increase sales without upfront advertising costs, while affiliates earn money for their promotional activities.

In this context, the other options do not accurately describe an affiliate program. A social media campaign targeting influencers involves a different strategy focused on direct engagement with influencers to promote products, which does not necessarily include a reward system based on performance. A type of direct sales strategy typically involves selling products directly to consumers, often without intermediaries, which diverges from the nature of affiliate marketing. An advertising method using chatbots focuses on automated communication rather than the performance-based partnership model that defines affiliate programs.