It’s safe to say that just two days at Affiliate Summit East can produce far more than two days’ worth of conversations after the fact. The value, of course, is in what happens now that we’re home.
Kinetic319’s Dorine Mooney attended Affiliate Summit East 2026 in New York, meeting face-to-face with publishers, networks, technology partners, and other people she works with across affiliate programs every day.
For Dorine, that is her favorite reason for attending: “Having two days to sit down face-to-face with publishers, networks and technology partners that I work with every day — as well as meet new partners — is incredibly valuable and moves conversations forward much faster than months of emails and calls,” she said.
But those conversations also provide a good snapshot of where affiliate marketing is headed next. Content and creator partnerships are becoming more important, all while advertisers begin to ask tougher questions about incrementality. Artificial intelligence is changing how affiliates approach everything from content to attribution.
And some of the most interesting opportunities are coming from publishers that may not have been part of a traditional affiliate strategy just a few years ago.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from Affiliate Summit East 2026.
Affiliate Marketing is Becoming More Diverse
Affiliate marketing has long had a reputation as a lower-funnel channel dominated by coupon, cashback, and deal sites. And while those partners still have a role, the publisher landscape has become much broader.
“One of my biggest takeaways was the continued shift toward content, creators, and more diversified publisher partnerships,” Dorine said.
Brands want partners who are capable of reaching customers earlier in their decision-making process, while publishers increasingly want more from advertisers than a standard affiliate link and commission structure. They’re looking for reasons to actively feature a brand.
This might mean better commissions, exclusive offers, paid placements, product samples, or original content opportunities. Successful partnerships increasingly require advertisers to think about what they can offer publishers rather than simply recruiting them into a program and waiting for those sales to appear on their own.
For affiliate managers, that means publisher development needs to be much more intentional. A strong affiliate program might include traditional affiliate partners along with editorial publishers, influencers, newsletters, niche websites and other creators, each playing a different role in reaching and converting customers.
Smaller Publishers Can Create Big Opportunities
Some of Dorine’s most promising conversations at ASE weren’t necessarily with the largest publishers in attendance.
“I saw a lot of opportunities with smaller and emerging publishers,” she says. “Niche content sites, newsletters, Substack publishers, and specialized creators can bring highly engaged audiences and are becoming an increasingly important part of the affiliate mix.”
A publisher doesn’t necessarily need millions of monthly visitors to make a partnership worthwhile. A smaller publisher whose audience closely overlaps with an advertiser’s ideal customer can potentially deliver more meaningful results than a much larger site with a broad audience.
These partnerships also give brands access to audiences and traffic sources they aren’t already reaching through their largest affiliate relationships. For advertisers, the message here is a simple one: don’t evaluate publisher opportunities on size and size alone. Audience fit, engagement, content quality, traffic sources, and the publisher’s relationship with its readers or followers all deserve consideration.
AI is Changing Affiliate Marketing, but Relationships Still Win
No 2026 marketing conference would be complete without a lot of conversation about AI, and ASE was no exception.
“AI was obviously everywhere, particularly around content, search, optimization, tracking, and attribution,” Dorine said. “But my takeaway wasn't that AI is replacing affiliate marketing.” In fact, she came away with almost the opposite conclusion. “If anything, it makes strong publisher relationships and diversified traffic sources even more important,” she explained.
AI is changing how consumers find information, how publishers create and distribute content, and how marketers analyze performance. But technology can't replace the fundamental work behind a productive affiliate relationship.
“The industry continues to change, but the fundamentals haven't,” Dorine said. “Finding the right partners, giving them the tools and incentives to succeed, and building relationships that generate incremental revenue.”
AI may change the tools affiliate marketers use, but it doesn't eliminate the need for a good partnership strategy.
Revenue Alone Isn’t Enough Anymore
Another recurring theme at ASE was new customer acquisition and incrementality.
“Brands aren't just asking how much revenue affiliate generated anymore,” Dorine told us. “They want to know who the channel is bringing in, whether those customers are new, and whether the publisher is adding value that would not have happened otherwise.”
That changes how affiliate programs need to be managed. A content publisher introducing someone to a product for the first time isn't necessarily providing the same value as a coupon site visited immediately before checkout. If both are evaluated only on last-click revenue, advertisers can miss a substantial part of the story.
“That makes publisher mix, commission strategy, and attribution increasingly important,” Dorine continued. For advertisers, it means looking beyond total affiliate revenue and asking which partners are helping acquire new customers, introduce brands to new audiences, and generate sales that wouldn't otherwise have happened.
The Most Important Work Starts After ASE
After two days in New York, Dorine came home with more than notes and business cards. “Overall, ASE was a very productive two days,” she said. “I came away with new publisher opportunities, stronger relationships with existing partners, exposure opportunities to follow up on, and a healthy pipeline of partners to onboard and activate across my programs.”
But a promising meeting isn't a partnership, and a partnership isn't valuable until it starts producing results. “Now comes the important part — turning all of those meetings into live partnerships and revenue,” Dorine said.
That means moving quickly while conversations are still fresh. “My post-ASE focus is on following up quickly, getting new partners onboarded, moving content and exposure opportunities forward, and making sure the conversations we had in New York translate into measurable results over the next several months.”
That follow-through is easy to overlook after a conference, when everyone returns to overflowing inboxes and existing priorities. Promising conversations can quickly lose momentum.
Yet for affiliate teams, post-conference follow-up should be treated as part of the event itself: document opportunities, establish next steps, onboard promising publishers, and move potential placements toward execution.
What ASE 2026 Says About Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing may look very different a year from now. AI will keep changing how people find content, attribution will get more sophisticated, and new types of publishers will continue finding their way into the channel. But after two packed days at ASE, Dorine came away convinced that the human side of affiliate marketing is only becoming more valuable.
Relationships still drive the channel. The best programs aren’t built simply by recruiting more publishers; they’re built by finding the right partners, understanding what will make those partnerships worthwhile, and giving both sides a reason to keep investing in them.
That’s where the real work begins after ASE. For Kinetic319, the conversations started in New York are already moving forward as we apply what we learned to our affiliate marketing management.
If you’re looking to grow your affiliate program, diversify your publisher mix, or get more measurable value from the partnerships you already have, Kinetic319 can help. Learn more about our affiliate marketing management services and let’s turn the right relationships into revenue.