What it means
Publishers, creators, coupon sites, and comparison platforms promote you and earn a cut of each conversion they drive. Because payout is tied to outcomes, the model is low-risk on paper.
Why it matters
The catch is attribution quality: affiliates often claim last-click credit for demand you created elsewhere, so manage the program with incrementality in mind and watch for coupon-site cannibalisation. Run well, it adds a scalable, pay-for-performance channel; run loosely, it quietly taxes sales you would have made anyway.