• Over the last 3 months there’s been a significant increase in the number of people who started affiliate marketing: 2.734 new accounts on the 2Performant platform
• 2Performant’s technology allows anyone who is passionate about online and digital to make money through affiliate marketing
• Over 14 million euros in commissions paid to affiliates since the company’s foundation

Affiliate marketing is one the spaces that were not affected by the pandemic crisis. Moreover, it saw significant increase based on the rise eCommerce saw during this period. A 2Performant analysis using figures from its affiliate marketing platform shows not only a doubling of online commerce in April and a significant growth over the whole lockdown period, but also a rising interest in doing affiliate marketing. Due to the crisis that also affected the jobs market, the 2Performant team noticed a rise in the number of people who started doing affiliate marketing on our platform. In other words, more and more people are interested in the technology which empowers them to earn a second revenue stream from affiliate commissions.

So, between March – May of 2020, 2.734 new accounts have been created in the 2Performant platform. Also, over the same period we’ve seen a rise in affiliates commissions compared to past years as a result of the eCommerce growth and the rising interest of the brands for such campaigns. During April 1-30, 2020 affiliates earned commissions totaling 345.300 euro, which represents a 75,9% increase, and during May 1-31, 2020 the increase was 58,1%, totaling 366.700 euro.

383 out of those 2.734 new accounts already cashed in their first commissions. Although it’s not an easy way of ”making money at home”, because doing affiliate marketing requires knowledge and education in marketing and online sales, the rising interest in this activity represents a positive sign in a market where the unemployment rate rose to 4,8% in April of 2020. 2Performant provides its affiliates not only the technology they can use to make money in a transparent and automated way, but also guidance. The Facebook Group First Steps in Affiliate Marketing (1500 members and counting) is the place where the users who are starting out gather as a community to get know-how and useful advice from the 2Performant team. Moreover, Dorin Boerescu, CEO of 2Performant, launched the Udemy course How to earn money as a 2Performant affiliate, a 3-hour course dedicated to any marketer or content creator interested in monetizing their digital talent through affiliate marketing, which attracted 1.020 new students during March-May 2020. The course has counted 50.274 minutes of watch time since its launch.

We’re witnessing an increased interest in affiliate marketing not only from the brands, but also from people who send traffic to these companies and earn sales-based commissions. The pandemic brought an eCommerce growth and a reactivation of the freelancing economy, influenced by the work-from-home phenomenon and by the changes on the employment market. Freelancers are expected to make up 50% of the American workforce by 2027 and I think the gig economy will take off in Romania too. Furthermore, studies show that technology is what helped most freelancers earn money, and affiliate marketing falls in this bucket. Affiliate marketing is based on performance, because in this line of work you earn as much as you sell. The better you are, the more you earn. And this is the future of marketing.

Dorin Boerescu, CEO 2Performant

Growing interest in affiliate marketing – how does the technology work?

Affiliate marketing was first brought to Romania by the 2Performant (the former 2Parale), company which generated sales of over 201 million euros for the online stores on the platform and over 14 million euros in affiliate commissions in its 12 years of existence. Known as pay per conversion advertising, affiliate marketing is the marketing of the future and it grows alongside the e-commerce growth. It’s a transparent collaboration between an online store and those who are able to send potential customers to that store using online advertising and in return they earn a commission for each sale. Today, there are over 1.000 online stores using affiliate marketing in Romania and over 600 of them are doing it through 2Performant’s platform, which has developed and operates on its own technology.

Through two important case studies we’ve shown how Vivre, one of our most important parteners, generated sales of over 1 million Euros through the platform, and how our affiliates helped NeaKaisa, an online home & deco retailer, increase their sales by almost 20%.

How you can make money working from anywhere in the world, on your own schedule

The growth the platform has seen lately shows people’s increased interest in the technology that allows them to make money on their own terms. The record number of new affiliates that have created an account over the last few months emphasizes the changes in the jobs market and also people’s perception of their workplaces. For example, the number of affiliates who generated sales and earned commissions rose by 12,1% during the lockdown period, amassing them an average of 10.000 euro/day cumulatively.

Who are the affiliates? From content creators (publishing, blogging, dedicated content projects) – general or commercial, broad or niched down, to PayPerClick specialists (Google & Facebook ads), publishers (newspapers, TV stations, online publications, etc.), email marketing freelancers or agencies, cashback projects, product aggregators or price comparison websites to Facebook shopping communities, the affiliates act like an extended marketing team who contribute to the sales of the online shops present on the platform. For many of the affiliates, this becomes their lifestyle, where a good internet connection, creativity and hard work bring them an income stream with flexible hours and location.

The 2Performant platform has thousands of affiliates, some who are well-known on the Romanian market, like Stirileprotv.ro, ING Bazar, BCRplusincont.ro, Bonusway.ro, Picodi.ro, Use-beez.com, Andreea Balaban, Cuponeria.ro, Kuplio.ro, Myblog.ro, Pricy.ro, Clovis.ro, Mobilissimo.ro, Booknation.ro, Discount.ro, and also many other digital marketing specialists. Every month, thousands of affiliates generate commissions.

2Performant

2Performant is a Romanian technology company which develops and operates https://2performant.com/, an integrated affiliate marketing and influencer marketing platform. Brands can use the platform to collaborate with different partners, affiliates and influencers, using one of the two available models: affiliate marketing and influencer marketing. According to our own data, 2Performant represents the biggest traffic source for the Romanian online shops, sending over 5 million clicks per month to our portfolio of clients.

With 12 years of activity, 2Performant launched the first affiliate marketing network in Romania, the then called 2Parale.ro. We launched on the Bulgarian market after 3 years. Back in 2016, we migrated the platform and the operations to 2Performant.com, a new technical solution and a new way of operation focusing on selfservice and prepay payments. The company has invested over 1 million euros in tehnology with the aim of increasing the performance and process optimization, launching an influencer marketing platform, improving the UX and UI of the platform.

With a unique vision about the uberization of marketing based on performance and transparency, 2Performant managed to intermediate sales of over 200 million Euros, through almost 400 million clicks, for over 600 eCommerce players from Romania and Central & Eastern Europe in over 30 industries. We are actively contributing to educational projects and we are one of the initiators of the AjutorSpitale project, a civic movement project initiated during the Coronavirus crisis who brought together over 80 volunteers who helped hospitals in Romania get medical and non-medical supplies from the business community.