How do affiliate emails impact sender deliverability and what legal risks exist?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
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.
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.
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.
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.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares to get an indemnification clause from affiliates, but to also check them out yourself.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
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.
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.
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.