How do affiliate emails impact sender deliverability and what legal risks exist?

Summary

Affiliate email marketing presents significant risks to sender deliverability and carries substantial legal implications. Spammy practices by affiliates, including sending unsolicited emails or using low-quality links, can negatively impact sender reputation, leading to potential blocklisting by organizations like Spamhaus. Additionally, links in affiliate emails carry a reputation and if spam complaints are associated with them, the sender's domain can be affected. Legal liabilities arise under US Federal Law and the CAN-SPAM Act, making senders responsible for their affiliates' compliance with email marketing regulations. This includes ensuring clear disclosure of the affiliate relationship, adhering to GDPR and other privacy laws, and refraining from deceptive practices. To mitigate these risks, it's essential for brands to thoroughly vet affiliates, monitor their marketing practices, establish clear agreements outlining acceptable behaviors, and prioritize the generation of high-quality traffic. Due diligence, including implementing measures to prevent spam, monitoring engagement metrics, and securing indemnification clauses, is also crucial to protect the sender's reputation and avoid legal repercussions.

Key findings

  • Deliverability Risks: Affiliate spam and poor email practices negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability.
  • Legal Liabilities: Senders are legally responsible for affiliates' compliance with regulations like CAN-SPAM and GDPR.
  • Reputation Impact: Unethical affiliate practices erode brand trust and damage the sender's reputation.
  • Disclosure Required: The FTC mandates clear disclosure of the affiliate relationship in marketing materials.
  • Spam Monitoring: Organizations like Spamhaus actively monitor affiliate spam, potentially leading to blocklisting.
  • SEO Risks: Low-quality affiliate links can negatively impact search engine rankings.

Key considerations

  • Affiliate Vetting: Thoroughly vet affiliates to ensure they adhere to ethical and compliant email practices.
  • Compliance Monitoring: Actively monitor affiliate marketing activities for compliance with regulations and best practices.
  • Clear Agreements: Establish clear agreements with affiliates outlining acceptable practices, compliance requirements, and consequences for violations.
  • High-Quality Traffic: Prioritize affiliates who drive high-quality traffic and avoid spammy or unethical tactics.
  • Risk Mitigation: Implement measures to mitigate legal and deliverability risks associated with affiliate marketing.
  • Domain Reputation: Protect your domain reputation by regularly reviewing affiliate practices for any signs of spam or legal non-compliance
  • Link Monitoring: Regularly check links to identify spam complaints and ensure SEO value

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

Affiliate marketing can significantly impact a sender's email deliverability and carries legal risks. Negative impacts arise from affiliates engaging in spammy practices, using low-quality links, or failing to comply with email marketing best practices and legal regulations. These actions can damage sender reputation, lead to blocklisting, and result in legal liabilities under laws like CAN-SPAM. To mitigate these risks, brands need to carefully vet affiliates, monitor their marketing practices, enforce compliance with regulations such as GDPR, segment email lists for better monitoring, and maintain clear agreements outlining acceptable practices. Ensuring high-quality traffic and ethical conduct from affiliates is crucial for preserving sender reputation and avoiding legal repercussions.

Key opinions

  • Reputation Damage: Affiliates using spammy tactics or low-quality links can damage the sender's reputation, leading to decreased deliverability.
  • Legal Liability: Under laws like CAN-SPAM and US Federal law, senders can be held liable for the actions of their affiliates if they are aware of violations and fail to take corrective action.
  • SEO Impact: Low-quality affiliate links can negatively affect search rankings, despite the potential for increased traffic from affiliate marketing.
  • Brand Trust Erosion: Unethical or spammy affiliate practices can lead to negative reviews and a loss of customer trust, damaging the brand's reputation.

Key considerations

  • Affiliate Vetting: Carefully vet potential affiliates to ensure they adhere to ethical marketing practices and comply with email marketing best practices.
  • Compliance Monitoring: Monitor affiliates' marketing practices to ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM, and enforce adherence to email marketing best practices.
  • Clear Agreements: Establish clear agreements with affiliates outlining acceptable email marketing practices, legal compliance requirements, and consequences for violations.
  • Quality Traffic: Focus on driving high-quality traffic through affiliate marketing, avoiding spammy or unethical practices that could harm sender reputation.
  • Segmentation and Monitoring: Segment email lists based on affiliate referrals and monitor engagement metrics to identify and address any deliverability issues caused by specific affiliates.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that links have reputation and if spam complaints are collected on emails with your links, it will affect you.

November 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from IAmAffiliate forum responds that one approach is to ask existing affiliates to re-apply to the affiliate program and explain their marketing practices. This enables you to remove spammy affiliates.

December 2023 - IAmAffiliate
Marketer view

Email marketer from Impact Blog shares that a common challenge of partner programs is ensuring quality traffic is being driven by affiliates. A successful partnership is built on high quality traffic, otherwise, the brand could be at risk.

August 2022 - Impact Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from PartnerStack Blog shares that affiliates can damage a brand's reputation by engaging in practices that are spammy, use stolen creative, brand bidding, cookie stuffing and more.

August 2023 - PartnerStack Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Shopify Blog responds that it's crucial to have a clear agreement with affiliates regarding email marketing practices, including compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations.

June 2021 - Shopify Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Authority Hacker explains that one of the risks of affiliate marketing is the potential for brand damage if affiliates engage in unethical or spammy practices. This can lead to negative reviews and a loss of customer trust.

January 2025 - Authority Hacker
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that, under US Federal law, if an affiliate violates the law and you know but don't correct it, you are just as liable.

October 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that using affiliates can negatively impact deliverability if they engage in spamming tactics or don't properly authenticate their emails. This can hurt your sender reputation.

December 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from MailerLite Blog shares that brands can segment their email lists based on affiliate referrals and monitor engagement metrics to identify any potential deliverability issues caused by specific affiliates.

April 2022 - MailerLite Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that affiliate marketing can indirectly impact SEO through increased traffic and brand awareness. However, low-quality affiliate links can negatively affect search rankings, so it's important to focus on quality and relevance.

November 2024 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog explains that to avoid deliverability issues, brands should carefully vet their affiliates, monitor their marketing practices, and ensure they comply with email marketing best practices.

August 2022 - ActiveCampaign Blog

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

The use of affiliates in email marketing carries significant risks to sender deliverability and exposes organizations to potential legal liabilities. If affiliates engage in spammy practices, or don't follow compliance laws, the sender's reputation can be negatively impacted, potentially leading to blocklisting by services like Spamhaus. Furthermore, senders can be held legally responsible for their affiliates' actions, necessitating thorough due diligence. This includes vetting affiliates, ensuring they comply with CAN-SPAM and other relevant regulations, and potentially securing indemnification clauses to mitigate risks.

Key opinions

  • Deliverability Impact: Affiliate spam can significantly harm sender deliverability.
  • Legal Responsibility: Senders can be legally responsible for their affiliates' non-compliant actions.
  • Spamhaus Listing Risk: Hiring affiliates increases the risk of being listed by Spamhaus.

Key considerations

  • Affiliate Vetting: Thoroughly vet affiliates to assess their email practices and ensure compliance.
  • Due Diligence: Conduct due diligence on all third parties sending email on your behalf to verify compliance with relevant laws.
  • Indemnification: Obtain indemnification clauses from affiliates, but don't rely on these alone; actively monitor their practices.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that if affiliates are sending enough spam, it can negatively impact deliverability. There could also be legal issues related to unsolicited emails, and in some regions, you are responsible for your affiliate's legal compliance.

November 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks asks if the affiliates are being vetted or if traffic is being bought from a middleman who farms it out to spammers.

April 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that affiliate marketing can affect deliverability and the legal risks are higher. As you pay them, you are the 'advertiser' and can be held responsible for their behavior. They also share that there is a risk of a Spamhaus listing due to hiring affiliates.

November 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that companies need to do their due diligence on any third parties sending email on their behalf (including affiliates). This includes ensuring that the third party's sending practices are compliant with CAN-SPAM and other applicable laws and regulations.

January 2025 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise shares to get an indemnification clause from affiliates, but to also check them out yourself.

April 2021 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
3Technical articles

Affiliate marketing practices are subject to scrutiny from organizations like the FTC and Spamhaus. The FTC mandates clear and conspicuous disclosure of the affiliate relationship, with potential legal repercussions for non-compliance. Spamhaus actively monitors affiliate spam, and widespread spamming by affiliates can lead to the parent domain being blocklisted. Furthermore, the CAN-SPAM Act stipulates shared liability between affiliates and the companies they represent for violations, particularly if both parties benefit from deceptive practices.

Key findings

  • FTC Disclosure: Affiliate marketers must clearly disclose their relationship with the merchant to comply with FTC regulations.
  • Spamhaus Monitoring: Spamhaus tracks affiliate spam, and parent domains can be blocklisted due to widespread spamming by affiliates.
  • CAN-SPAM Liability: Both affiliates and the companies they advertise for can be held liable for CAN-SPAM violations if they benefit from deceptive practices.

Key considerations

  • Disclosure Compliance: Ensure that all affiliate marketing campaigns prominently display the affiliate relationship to avoid legal action from the FTC.
  • Spam Prevention: Implement measures to prevent affiliates from engaging in spammy email practices to protect the parent domain from being blocklisted by Spamhaus.
  • Shared Responsibility: Recognize the shared liability under CAN-SPAM and implement measures to ensure that both the company and its affiliates comply with the Act's requirements.
Technical article

Documentation from FTC.gov emphasizes that affiliate marketers must clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationship with the merchant. Failure to do so can result in legal action from the FTC.

March 2022 - FTC.gov
Technical article

Documentation from FTC states that under the CAN-SPAM Act, both the affiliate and the company being advertised can be held liable for violations if they benefit from deceptive practices.

November 2021 - FTC
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus explains that they track affiliate spam, and if a significant number of affiliates are sending spammy emails, the parent domain could be listed on their blocklists.

September 2022 - Spamhaus