Snapchat Affiliate Program: Worth Joining?

<PodcastEmbed spotifyUrl="https://open.spotify.com/show/2REHyOBFQ8vPJM78atTU0y" appleUrl="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rocket-agents-podcast/id1807401699" amazonUrl="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2d3fa50e-1d28-45fb-a6f9-5a9b5645f5e8/rocket-agents-podcast" />

⬇️ Prefer to listen instead? ⬇️

---

• Snapchat reported a 15% year-over-year revenue growth and doubled its active advertisers in Q3 2024.
• The Snapchat Affiliate Program only pays commissions when referred advertisers activate ad campaigns within 90 days.
• PartnerStack powers the affiliate backend, ensuring smooth tracking, payments, and resource delivery.
• Affiliates must guide advertisers beyond just signup, offering strategic onboarding and campaign education.
• Snapchat ads are especially effective for Gen Z and Millennial-focused brands, making it useful for visually driven marketers.

---

Snapchat started an affiliate program, making a clear push into affiliate marketing. It rewards creators, publishers, agencies, and marketers who bring new advertisers to Snapchat. The program gives ongoing commissions based on how well affiliates perform. It also helps businesses get the most out of Snapchat Ads. But this program is different from typical referral programs. Snapchat wants more than just a name. It pays affiliates for helping advertisers run actual ad campaigns that reach people.

What Exactly Is the Snapchat Affiliate Program?

The Snapchat Affiliate Program works like many affiliate programs, but it really focuses on performance and getting advertisers started. Affiliates get paid only if new advertisers they bring in start Snapchat Ads campaigns within 90 days of signing up.

Snapchat doesn't pay for simple things like getting emails or signups that don't lead to action. Instead, it wants to encourage real activity. This kind of affiliate marketing is about creating value, not just getting a lot of signups. For example, if you bring in a direct-to-consumer (DTC) fashion brand and help them make a good video campaign, you get paid. And Snapchat gets a new advertiser who might spend a lot later on. This way of doing things based on performance is different from the usual affiliate model. It pays people who truly help advertisers do well on Snapchat.

What's In It for Affiliates?

Usually, affiliates get a percentage of what the advertiser they bring in spends on ads. But Snapchat hasn't shared the exact percentages yet. Because this system depends on actual ad campaigns running, affiliates could keep earning over time if the advertiser spends more on Snapchat Ads.

Also, when affiliates help advertisers get started, they become partners, not just people in between. Doing both jobs, marketing and teaching, can lead to ongoing consulting work or working with agencies. This can make your affiliate work pay off more over time.

What Affiliates Do: More Than Just Finding Leads

Affiliates in the Snapchat Affiliate Program have a special role. Unlike programs like Amazon's that use simple link sharing, this program gives real value to advertisers by helping them go from wanting to advertise to actually doing it. This is especially important for Snapchat Ads, which have many ad types like:

• AR Lenses
• Story Ads
• Collection Ads
• Dynamic Ads
• App Install Ads

Businesses new to the platform might find it hard to figure out how to set up these ad types well, target the right people, and use Snapchat's ad tools. Affiliates who can make these steps clear become very important.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Teach advertisers about how to target people and use creative tools on Snapchat.
• Give tips on making content for mobile phones first.
• Help with setting up first ads or suggest how to plan campaigns.
• Share examples, templates, and good ways of doing things.
• Help new advertisers set up Snapchat's pixel or Conversions API so they can see where sales come from better.

This higher level of involvement makes this affiliate model good for digital marketers, media buyers, agencies, teachers, or creators who know a lot about advertising on mobile.

Competitive Commission Model

Snapchat is different because it links payment to real results: advertisers must start and run at least one campaign within 90 days of joining for affiliates to get paid. This is different from other programs that pay just for signing up or a set amount, no matter if the user does anything.

The Technical Infrastructure: PartnerStack Partnership

Snapchat chose to work with PartnerStack, which gives the program a strong technical base. PartnerStack is a very trusted platform for affiliate marketing. It's known for easy tracking, clear dashboards, simple analytics, and dependable payments.

Snapchat’s Strategic Goals

Snapchat didn't just start this program for no reason. It's part of a bigger plan to get advertisers back and get more money from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Competitors like Meta and TikTok are already strong with these businesses.

Consider These KPIs:

• 15% YoY revenue growth in Q3 2024
• A doubling of active advertisers during the same quarter
• Significant increase in adoption among SMBs
• Expansion of Conversions API (CAPI) capabilities
• Introduction of Snap Promote for lightweight ad creation

These numbers show Snapchat wants to make it easier to start and wants everyone to be able to use its ad tools. By getting affiliates to teach and promote, Snapchat can reach more people without making its own sales and support teams work too hard. The affiliate program is like having outside people teach and help the platform grow.

Why This Matters for Content-Focused Businesses

If you have a blog, newsletter, website, YouTube channel, or even a small agency, this program can be a smart way to make money from what you know about content. Snapchat's creative tools are just right for people who like well-made, vertical videos and interactive stories. This means mainly Gen Z and Millennials. Businesses that do well with pictures and videos (like beauty, clothes, tech, fitness, or home design) can use the good features of Snapchat Ads.

Popular Snapchat Ad Formats for Visual Niches:

• AR Lenses: Ads using augmented reality, good for virtual try-ons or interactive tours.
• Collection Ads: Ad sets you can swipe through, good for selling things online.
• Story Ads: Ads placed in Snap Discover content.
• Dynamic Ads: Ads that change automatically based on product lists.

When you understand these ad types, you can talk directly about the problems and good things that potential advertisers care about.

Marketing Materials & Resource Support

An affiliate program with clear guides can help people start fast instead of getting stuck trying to decide. Snapchat knows this and gives affiliates many strong marketing tools to help them do well.

Affiliate Resources Include:

• Marketing stuff chosen for you (pictures for ads, videos, logos).
• Emails and presentations you can send right away.
• Examples of ad campaigns that did well.
• Full guides on running good Snapchat Ads.
• Online talks, common questions answers, and guides to help you start.

Using these tools, affiliates can quickly use Snapchat strategies as their own or use materials trusted in the industry when talking to clients. This builds trust faster than making everything yourself.

Education is Important: Helping Affiliates and Advertisers Learn

One interesting thing about Snapchat's affiliate program is how much it focuses on teaching. It doesn't just want people to sign up. It wants advertisers who are involved, who learn, and who know the platform's good points from the start.

Affiliates are important for making that learning happen faster.

Benefits of a Teaching Model:

• Makes you more valuable to advertisers (can lead to consulting work).
• Helps advertisers get better campaign results (which helps your commission).
• Leads to people staying on the platform more, increasing how much money can be made over time.
• Makes you look trustworthy and knowledgeable among other affiliates in your area.

This is one of the few affiliate programs that gives two good things: money and looking like you know what you're talking about in the industry.

Building a Global Affiliate Community

Having a community is another good thing about this program. By making places for people to work together, like online groups, newsletters, and lists showing who is doing well, Snapchat asks affiliates to share instead of just trying to beat each other.

This might mean:

• Online groups for quick questions and sharing ideas.
• Regular online meetings or talks about ad trends.
• Contests every few months to reward new campaign ideas.
• Showing examples of work from top affiliates.

If you're used to competing by yourself in the affiliate world, this friendly approach is nice and works well. Learning new things about Snapchat Ads can also help you with other places you buy ads. This can improve how you buy media overall.

How to Start: Simple Steps to Join

Joining Snapchat's Affiliate Program is easy if you have a presence online or experience in marketing.

Check Your Eligibility

Most affiliates who do well are in groups like:

• People or companies who buy ads for others.
• People who make content for audiences interested in marketing.
• People who write email newsletters.
• Influencers in specific areas like tech or advertising.
• Websites or places that teach digital skills.

Apply via PartnerStack

Go to Snapchat's page on PartnerStack. You'll fill out a short form, say how you plan to promote, and show any audience you have or examples of your marketing work.

Get Access to the Toolkit

Once you're approved, you'll get:

• Your own links to track who you send.
• An easy-to-use dashboard.
• Pictures, videos, and other creative stuff just for affiliates.
• Guides to help you teach advertisers well.

Start Promoting and Helping Advertisers

Don't just share links. Start talking to people. Make guides with both your name and Snapchat's name, write about how Snapchat Ads work, offer to check potential advertisers' work for free on your site, or hold short online classes for them.

Comparing Snapchat’s Program to Existing Affiliate Networks

Snapchat’s program is similar to others but has some good differences.

 

Feature Snapchat Google Ads Affiliate Meta/Facebook Ads Affiliate

How Commission Is Paid Campaign activity Leads only Leads or product sales

Help Tools for Ads Many resources Few guides Varies by type of business

Affiliate Platform PartnerStack Uses its own tools Uses Facebook Business Suite

Affiliate Community Yes No Groups are shared by users

Help with Creative Stuff Yes Very little Enough for most needs

 

Main Points to Remember

• The program pays for good ad results. You don't get paid unless someone spends money on a campaign.
• Affiliates also help people get started. They are not just promoters.
• Using PartnerStack means things are clear and easy to use.
• More people are using Snapchat Ads, especially small businesses and brands that target Gen Z.
• A good community and focus on teaching means affiliates can do well for a long time.

Is the Snapchat Affiliate Program Worth It?

In the end, Snapchat's program is a newer kind of affiliate marketing. It links what you get paid to what actually happens. You only get paid if the person you refer does something. This makes a system that cares more about results than just clicks.

✅ Best Suited For:

• Agencies or people who work for themselves and know how to run paid ads.
• Marketers who already make things about Snapchat.
• Teachers who build groups or teach people about planning ads.
• Influencers in specific areas who can reach small and medium-sized businesses.

❌ May Not Suit:

• Affiliates who just want to drop links and get paid easily.
• Marketers who don't help with making creative things or teaching others.
• Businesses trying to reach people who are not mainly Gen Z or Millennials.

First Movers Get the Edge

As more people join the Snapchat Affiliate Program, those who start early will get good things from being known in that area, gaining trust, and having experience they got from doing the work. If you want to get involved in the quickly growing area of mobile ads and affiliate marketing, starting now could give you a head start with both money and your plans.