Welcome to the Affiliate and Partner Marketing Association’s first guide to affiliate and influencer marketing subnetworks.
In late 2024, the APMA Governance Board prioritised work on subnetworks, and this guide marks the first significant piece of work published about the topic in five years.
In that time, the landscape has changed dramatically with a raft of new subnetworks emerging. In the APMA’s 2025 State of the Affiliate Nation, brand expenditure through subnetworks hit double figures for the first time, cementing it as the fourth largest recipient of channel spend.
As business models grow, so does the need for additional scrutiny. This document should be used to help you navigate the variety of subnetworks available in the UK.
What’s in the guide?
We kick off with a brief history, followed by a guide about working with subnetworks. Finally, we provide a comprehensive matrix featuring 20 subnetworks’ responses to 16 questions devised by the subnetwork project group.
The project group, formed in November 2024, comprises affiliate networks, agencies, a compliance business and subenwork. I’m hugely grateful for their support and hard work in delivering this important document.
The guide you are about to read is the output from this project group over the past six months. The APMA will continue to monitor the space and update this document in the future. We will continue to shine a light on best practices for subnetworks and the wider affiliate community.
Kevin Edwards, Founder, APMA
Click here to access the UK Affiliate & Influencer Marketing Guide to Subnetworks.
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