Affiliate PR Explained by an Expert

An interview with Emma Grace Moon, founder of Praize Studio

This post is brought to you by Praize Studio and is a gem for my readers working in marketing.

“People buy from people they know, like, and trust”

This is one of the universal power laws any consumer brand must understand when trying to scale.

Consumers are less swayed than ever by out of home marketing efforts like billboards, and unlikely to interact with your paid Meta ads in a sea of other brands fighting for attention.

Brands are not just competing with other brands. They’re competing with billions of people posting daily content online— all fighting in the war for our collective attention (and money)

And in this new landscape, many brands have resorted to a tried and true method to getting their products in the hands of influencers and incentivizing them to promote.

Enter affiliate marketing. Today, our most common exposure to affiliate marketing is on TikTok Shop, which has seen an astounding 219.4% in sales growth in its first 5 months of existence.

You’ve definitely seen brands like Peter Rahal’s David Protein Bars (great taste, great macros) use affiliate marketing to dominate the airwaves.

And affiliate marketing has propelled David into a phenomena.

@letsgosk8bordReplying to @Mitchell10 you won’t find a better deal on these David protein bars #david #davidproteinbar #davidbars #davidprotein #proteinbars #tiktokshopjumpstartsale #tiktokshopjumpstart

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Emily Sundberg, recently reported on the bars being sold out across NYC bodegas, representing insane sales velocity powered by flooding the zone with affiliate marketing videos.

Last Fall, I was at a preview of a new skincare brand launching soon. The one platform beauty insiders could not stop talking about was Substack.

And this isn't just a here today, gone tomorrow trend.We’ve seen countless brand partnerships with writers who hold real influence. And it creates a win-win for the brand and the writer.

But this new landscape is difficult for brands not from this world. They don’t know which writers to partner with, or what publications will help them reach their target consumer.

So how can other brands leverage affiliate marketing to nail their landing and become household names? And how can they develop this channel with the same level of tracking offered in other channels (and ensure a great LTV:CAC ratio)

To learn more and to get a deep dive on affiliate marketing, I sat down with an expert—

Emma Grace Moon is the founder of Praize, a boutique Affiliate PR agency. She’s currently based in Paris, France, but lived in New York City for about six years before this, working in-house at DTC brands and agency side at VaynerX, helping brands scale their Affiliate PR efforts before founding Praize in 2021. On the side, she’s an interior design nerd, always with a book in hand, and a long-distance runner!

We spoke about Praize’s work in Affiliate PR, how other brands can leverage this channel, and their new Masterclass which makes entering the world of Affiliate PR simple.

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My Interview with Emma Grace Moon

Jake Bell: Tell me more about Praize.

Emma Moon: At Praize, we specialize in Affiliate PR for DTC brands, using data-driven strategies to transform PR into revenue-generating engines. Praize is revolutionizing how DTC brands approach PR, uncovering the smoke and mirrors and bringing measurable growth to a historically top-of-funnel channel.

JB: What does the affiliate marketing landscape look like in 2025?

EM: The affiliate landscape has evolved dramatically since 2019. We've moved far beyond the 'get rich quick' blogs and coupon sites to partnerships with top-tier media like Vogue or Bon Appetit. But what's fascinating is watching two major trends converge: brands seeking alternatives to increasingly expensive META ads, and publications needing sustainable revenue streams. This intersection is where Affiliate PR thrives.

The shift has brought unprecedented interest, but also significant misinformation. There's a real knowledge gap in understanding what Affiliate PR truly entails. Many brands are unknowingly leaving money on the table or damaging press relationships through improper management.

But those who invested early and properly are seeing remarkable results - we're generating an average of $1 million in revenue per year for each client, with 50+ pieces of press coverage monthly and solving the pain points that brands have had with PR for years.

JB: What are some notable partnerships Praize has worked on?

EM: We've worked with some incredible DTC brands, including Great Jones, Jennifer Fisher, Dame, Golde, Jones Road, and Kinfield. Great Jones is particularly interesting - they came to us frustrated, unable to track revenue from press mentions and unsure how to reinvigorate their PR channel. Like many brands, they'd hit that wall where they'd exhausted their editor list and couldn't see a path to growth beyond re-pitching the same publications.

The beauty of Affiliate PR is its trackability. We can actually measure revenue from coverage and build a growth marketing strategy for PR - something that was impossible before. Not to mention, publications are incentivized by commission, so if you're not offering competitive rates, you're more often than not going to be overlooked in the editorial process. We completely revamped Great Jones' PR approach, transforming it into a significant revenue channel through a growth marketing, Affiliate PR approach rather than traditional PR.

JB: What does Praize do that other affiliate partners don’t?

EM: The affiliate landscape has been split into two main camps for the last few years: traditional affiliate agencies working with coupon sites, cashback sites, and obscure tech partners, and PR agencies that simply add "Affiliate" to their services to retain clients. There's only a handful of agencies doing Affiliate PR extremely well. We are growth marketing first, PR second. That's why we actually love to partner with PR agencies who own the traditional PR lever and are experts at storytelling. When you blend an Affiliate PR expert with a traditional PR expert, brands hit the jackpot.

JB: What are some tips for success for brands looking to try Affiliate PR?

EM: First, having the right person managing your program is non-negotiable. You need a partner who can report and analyze performance, build growth strategies, forecast revenue for your PR channel, secure consistent coverage in top-tier media, and work with Affiliate Managers at publications - the vital contacts who oversee affiliate partnerships at pubs.

Second, ditch the coupon sites - they'll actually steal attribution from press coverage and damage your relationships with publications.

Third, your business needs to be primarily DTC-focused (70-80%). If you're mainly retail, this might not be your channel.

Fourth, commission rates matter more than most realize. You need to be competitive within your category - publications won't give you a second look otherwise. You can't just simply offer a commission. It's got to be worthwhile for publications.

Finally, be patient. This isn't a 'quick wins' channel - it typically takes six months to really see results. But once it's working? You're looking at potentially $1M+ in additional revenue.

JB: Tell me more about your new education offering?

EM: I launched our Affiliate PR Masterclass because the industry has only existed since 2018/2019, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Initially, only a handful of us were doing true Affiliate PR. When the pandemic hit in 2020 and everything shifted online, the industry boomed. Publications needed to monetize digital content, brands needed online revenue streams, and Affiliate PR took off.

However, this rapid growth led to widespread misinformation. Many folks, fearing obsolescence, started adding "Affiliate" to their services without truly understanding the growth marketing mindset needed for brands to succeed. That's why I created this hub - to give brands the confidence to evaluate and implement Affiliate PR effectively.

To give people a sneak peek into the Masterclass, we launched a Free Three-Week Email Course. You can sign up HERE.

JB: What can we expect for Praize this year?

EM: Two things:

First, we're doubling down on education because even after almost six years in this industry, there are still many brands and leaders who don't fully grasp Affiliate PR, leaving money on the table. We're expanding our Substack, Business Wise, too.

Second, we're expanding our strategies beyond traditional publication partnerships to include Substacks. From our experience working with growth-focused businesses, the biggest wins come from combining proven PR strategies with innovative approaches. Expanding to new platforms like Substack is more important than ever.

The future of PR is measurable, and Affiliate PR is leading that charge. Whether you're a brand looking to dive in or just curious about the space, there's never been a more exciting time to explore this channel. Check out our free email course if you want to learn more - we're here to help demystify the process.

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To learn more about Praize and sign up for their Masterclass visit here.