2025 The Year We Turned Momentum into Meaning

It feels as though this year 2026 is already going to feel like we'll be writing a new chapter. There’s something about this time of year that makes you want to pause, reflect and take a moment and it's not the big “wrap it up in a bow” kind of pause, but the kind where you look back and realise how much happened in between the plans you made in January 2025 and the reality you lived through and delivered by end December.

At Affiverse, 2025 has been one of BIG growth.

A year where we learned a lot, and grew in ways you can measure and in ways you can’t. A year where our affiliate community showed up for us again and again, and where we felt the responsibility that comes with being trusted as the #1 voice in this industry for affiliate marketing news and insight. (So says Google!)

So this is our momnet to take a look back.

To share with you our wins, the milestones, the moments we’re proud of, and the gratitude we want to put into words properly for all of you who show up and listen, read, watch and learn with us.

And yes, a small teaser too, because 2026 is already moving even if we're closing shop this week to celebrate the Festive Cheer! Be sure to listen to Lee-Ann's New Year's Day epsiode of the Affiliate Marketing Podcast to get a look at what's happening next year!

First, a massive Thank You

If you’ve read an article this year, listened to a podcast episode while doing the school run, sent a link to share something with your team, replied to an email, attended an event, partnered to publish with us, sponsored a live monthly round table or teaching webinar, or trusted us with your brand, you are part of why this year worked.

We are very aware that attention is hard won. Everyone is busy. Everyone is overwhelmed. Everyone is choosing what to engage with and what to ignore.

So when you choose Affiverse, even for five minutes, we don’t take that lightly.

Now, let’s get into it.

The Big Headline Wins For 2025

We built spaces for education, collaboration, and real connection

This year, we hosted another insightful and jam packed event ELEVATE summit, a 2 day curated industry event focused on education and collaboration for SME's who want to scale. Next year is no different and if you want to – you can book a ticket to join us this summer in London already!

What we loved most is that it didn’t feel performative. It felt real.

Real conversations. Real learning. People meeting the right people. Deals being discussed. Partnerships being formed. The kind of energy you only get when the room is filled with people who actually care about doing this work properly. ELEVATE wasn’t just a moment in the calendar. It became a statement about what we believe this industry needs more of, and we’re proud of what it created.

Our RAV Awards Celebrated The “Working Behind The Scenes” Affiliate Heroes

Alongside ELEVATE, we launched the Rising Affiliate Victors Awards (RAVs), and honestly, it was one of the most meaningful things we’ve done this year. Affiliate and performance marketing is powered by people who often don’t get the spotlight. The operators. The relationship builders. The program leads holding everything together. The teams driving growth quietly and consistently.

The RAVs was created for them. Seeing the response, the pride, the community energy, and the sense of “finally, we are being recognised” with our first edition winners – reminded us that recognition is not fluff. It’s fuel – it drives forward innovation and helps our industry to grow!

We Strengthened Our Training Programs (AMPP) with CPD Certification

This year, one of our proudest milestones was getting our AMPP training program officially CPD certified.

That sentence is short, but the meaning behind it is big. Because in an industry that still sometimes gets treated like it’s “just a channel”, CPD certification is a very clear signal that affiliate program management is a real digital discipline. It takes skill. It takes structure. It takes judgment, relationship building, commercial thinking, and operational excellence.

AMPP is now the only CPD certified affiliate management training program in the world, and we’ve trained over 200 students through this course, to date!

If you’ve ever wondered whether the industry is levelling up, this is one of the answers. To every student who has trusted us with your time, your energy, and your ambition, thank you. You’re part of the ripple effect that helps this industry grow.

The Affiliate Marketing Podcast Remained in Top 2% of Podcasts in the World!

Podcast growth is never just about the number. It’s about what the show becomes for people. This year, The Affiliate Marketing Podcast hit 155K downloads in 2025 – our biggest growth year yet! It also ranked in the Top 2 percent of podcasts worldwide according to ListenNotes measurement data with a listen score far outwaying other podcasts of similar nature.

But what matters most to us is what happens in the quieter moments.

The message that says, “I used this episode to convince leadership to invest in partnerships.”
The note that says, “I finally understand how to build an Affiliate program out properly.”
The person who says, “I felt less alone in this job because of the conversations you’re putting out.”

That’s the real win.

We also interviewed 52 expert practitioners from around the world, across multiple industries sharing a variety of skills and tactics to our audiences helping them grow. The best partnership strategies are never a one size fits all, and the most useful insight is often sitting inside someone else’s experience.

We Published over 600 Articles – FOR FREE – For You!

Affiverse Media has always been built on a simple belief: We want everyone to access education, news and insights that help their business grow. We managed to keep our content FREE and not locked behind paywalls – everyone can read, share and learn from it and we'd like to keep it that way!

In 2025, we published over 600 pieces of industry content and reached more than 11 million impressions globally. That’s a huge amount of work, but it’s also the heartbeat of what we do. Helping the industry learn. Helping teams make better calls. Helping people move beyond theory into practice.

We’re proud to say Affiverse is now ranked as the number one site for “affiliate marketing news” globally as ranked by Google. Not as an ego thing, but as a commitment to our responsibility and dedication to helping our community grow. When people come to us for clarity, we show up – consistently.

We launched an independent “Indy Affiliate Magazine”

This one is close to our hearts, because it’s about creating something tangible and intentional in an internet that can feel chaotic. Our Affiverse print Magazine launched at the ELEVATE summit and supported affiliate managers with a built in quarterly playbooks along with interesting reads, industry insights and interviews with practitioners around the globe.

It’s another way we’re trying to make education feel more curated, more thoughtful, and more human.

One of our favourite memories this year was writing a live lyrical poem at ELEVATE for all our delegates to take away with them as a momento of the days we'd spent together. It might sound small, but it’s not. It’s a reminder that performance marketing can be sharp and commercial and still full of heart.

That’s the culture we’re building.

Serious about growth, still human.

The agency wins we’re proud of

We Doubled Delivery And Doubled Our Team

2025 was a year of expansion for our agency work. Our team doubled as we sought to help more brands grow their performance programs. We worked with brands like Semrush, Deal, Sage Accounting, Capsule CRM and IPVanish, and continued building a delivery model that doesn’t just chase quick wins, but builds foundations that last.

We Achieved Big Agency Wins : Sage UK Best Start Up Program – Tekpon Awards

One of the most meaningful moments for our agency this year was our work on Sage UK’s affiliate program being recognised at the Tekpon B2B SaaS Awards. This matters because B2B SaaS affiliate growth is not the easy route to scale but our team managed to deliver and outperform client expectations throughout the year. So recognition like this isn’t just “nice”. It’s validation that the work behind the scenes is making an impact within our Agency division.

We Market Your Program and We Can Run It Too!

This year, we also expanded our offering in a way that reflects how the market is changing. We now help brands market their affiliate programs, not only grow it. Adding in additional agency services such as Audits, Events Management, Content Marketing and Award Submission writing – because growth doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s influenced by positioning, visibility, narrative, and trust.

One of the advantages we have as Affiverse is that we don’t just understand program management. We also have media, events, and education channels that support demand and credibility and parnterships too! That is a unique place to be and we’re leaning into it.

Our Agency is Now Also A Sustainable Supplier – We Achieved EcoVadis Certification

We also became EcoVadis certified this year.

It’s a strong proof point for brands and partners who care about ethics and sustainability. It also strengthens how we show up in partnership and procurement conversations, because sustainability is no longer optional. It’s part of how modern businesses choose who to work with.

Industry recognition we’re grateful for

Awards are not the goal, but they are a meaningful signal that the wider industry can see the work.

This year, our Leadership Team were:
Shortlisted for the Hero100 and placed in the Top 50 at the Hello Partner Awards
Shortlisted for the Pinnacle Award at the Partnership Week Awards 2026
Named in the European Top 50 Affiliate Voices as Industry Icon

As a company, Affiverse was:
Nominated for a European Affiliate Award and made the shortlist for Best Affiliate Agency
Shortlisted at iGB for Best Digital Agency
Nominated at the Global Performance Marketing Awards with Sage x Affiverse for Best Affiliate Programme Launch, plus a second nomination in Best Agency

It’s a lot.

And we’re proud, not just because of the titles, but because each one reflects work that happened quietly over months.

The strategy sessions. The decisions. The delivery. The consistency.

The ripple effects that made us smile

Some of the most powerful moments aren’t the ones you can build a slide for. Affiverse travelled to India as part of our global expansion strategy to Speak at the CLICK summit. Our founder took on two APMA mentees, supporting rising talent in the industry. And in one of the most surreal “wait what?” moments of the year, our ELEVATE Summit and RAV Awards made it all the way onto to Chinese terrestrial TV at a PartnerBoost showcase event.

Sometimes you build something local and it echoes global.

That’s been a theme this year. 🙂

2026: A Teaser, Because We Just Can't Help Ourselves

Now for the part everyone wants. We’re not going to share everything yet, but we can say this with confidence:

2026 is going to be a year of sharper focus, bigger moves, and a new chapter in how we show up.

You’ll see us continue to invest in the things you already know us for: content, education, training, community, and real industry conversations. But you’ll also feel a shift.

Something is converging.

If you’ve been watching closely, you’ll know what we mean.

Before We Go Celebrate A New Year…

If you’ve been part of our year in any way, thank you. You helped build this.

And if you’re heading into a slower season now, we hope you get a bit of rest. Proper rest. The kind that gives you your energy back.

We’ll be back soon with more highlights, more learning, and a lot more of what we’re building next. And when we say 2026 is going to be big, we mean it.

From all of us at Affiverse, we’re wishing you a safe, happy festive season, and a 2026 full of growth that actually feels good.

We’ll see you on the other side.