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According to Harvard Business Review, 95% of purchasing decisions are driven by emotions. The same holds true in affiliate partnerships. Brands decide which publishers they want representing them, publishers decide which brands are actually worth promoting, and affiliate managers spend their time building relationships meant to outlast any one campaign. None of that runs purely on numbers; trust and credibility carry just as much weight.
To discuss why the human side of affiliate marketing is as important as performance, vCommission, in association with Affiliate Social, hosted a webinar titled “The Human Side of Affiliate Marketing: Building Partnerships That Last.” During the session, Parul Mehta Bhargava, CEO of vCommission, and Dustin Howes, VP of Business Development at XPFlow, shared practical insights on building trust, strengthening partnerships, and creating relationships that last far beyond a single campaign.
Here’s what came out of the conversation.
Dustin opened the session by talking about how affiliate marketing has become increasingly transactional. As programs grow, it’s easy to focus only on numbers. Brands want more sales. Affiliates want better commissions. Managers spend most of their time reviewing reports, answering emails, and launching new campaigns. Somewhere along the way, relationships start taking a back seat.
His advice was simple. Lead with help.
Helping someone doesn’t always mean making a huge effort. It could be introducing two people who should know each other, sharing a useful resource, or offering honest advice without expecting anything in return. These small actions build trust over time. And in an industry where everyone is focused on performance, genuine support is often what makes a partnership stand out.
To explain this idea further, Dustin shared the story behind his podcast, Affiliate Nerd Out.
He admitted that when he started the podcast, the goal was to promote products and grow his business. But over time, the focus shifted from selling to learning.
Before recording every episode, he spent time getting to know each guest. Those conversations helped build real connections, making the discussions more natural and enjoyable.
After interviewing more than 150 guests, many of those professional connections turned into genuine friendships. His message was clear. People remember how you make them feel more than what you try to sell.
Whether you’re meeting someone at a conference, reaching out on LinkedIn, or speaking with an existing partner, taking the time to build a real connection can lead to opportunities that last for years.
Dustin also reminded everyone that the affiliate industry is closely connected. People change roles all the time. Someone you work with today might join a different brand, agency, publisher, or network tomorrow. That’s why every interaction matters.
He shared stories of his own where former professional rivals eventually became some of his closest friends and collaborators. The disagreements were never personal. They were a product of the different responsibilities people held at the time.
His advice was practical: don’t let one rough patch define an entire relationship. Stay respectful, keep communication honest, and handle friction like a professional.
In this industry, your reputation carries more weight than any single campaign. People forget the details of the work eventually, but they remember how you treated them. That kind of trust is often what opens doors you didn’t even know existed.
As the webinar came to a close, Dustin left the audience with three simple principles that anyone in affiliate marketing can start applying right away.
These ideas may sound simple, but they’re often the difference between short-term partnerships and long-term success.
And finally, he left attendees with a task- three things to do this week. Make an introduction between two people who should know each other. Reach out to a partner you haven’t spoken to in a while, without needing a reason. And take an honest look at how much of your week goes to admin work that an AI assistant could be handling instead.
Sometimes, the smallest actions are the ones that build the strongest partnerships.
Usually, it comes down to attribution. The sale got credited to someone else, often because of last-click logic in the affiliate program. As an affiliate manager, the job is to be transparent about why that happened and find another way to make it right when the commission itself can’t be saved.
This comes back to being genuine instead of generic. Every email is worth treating as important. Spend an extra 10-15 minutes researching someone’s social profile before reaching out. It shows in how you write to them, and people notice the difference.
If someone’s ready to buy, the job is to make sure it’s genuinely the right fit for them before pushing the sale through. Almost disqualify them before you qualify them. It might not convert right away, but it builds the kind of trust that gets someone to buy because it’s the right decision for them, not just a fast one. Asking the right questions matters more than closing fast.
There are two formats running side by side. One is a lighter Friday show for affiliates. The other is built around a topic people actually want to learn about, with three panelists who are real experts brought in to discuss it. The topic comes first, and the guests are chosen to serve it.
Mostly LinkedIn. The first message is always simple and specific: here’s an idea, would this be a fit for you? He further said he’s also gotten good at tracking down direct email addresses for people he wants to reach when LinkedIn alone doesn’t work.