Earnings in affiliate marketing – how much can you earn? From a few zlotys to several tens of thousands per month!

People increasingly ask the same question: “How much can you actually earn from affiliate marketing?” It’s one thing to know how the system works, and another to see if you can actually live off it. The internet is full of stories about five-digit payments from affiliate programs, but also tales of those who earned 15 PLN in half a year. The difference? Usually not luck, but strategy. This post was created to give you a real picture of what affiliate marketing earnings look like, what influences them, and what you can expect if you really want to take this seriously.

From a few groszy to tens of thousands – what really affects earnings in affiliate marketing?

How much you earn depends on so many factors that it’s impossible to provide a single specific number. But you can talk about a certain range and the variables that shape it. Affiliate earnings are directly tied to the niche you operate in, the type of products you promote, and the scale of your reach. 

• By promoting cheap items with low margins (e.g., books, small gadgets), you can expect 2–5% of the transaction value, which without significant traffic, results in rather symbolic amounts. 
• On the other hand, affiliates working in the B2B sector, software, or online courses, can earn 30–50% from a single sale worth several thousand PLN. 

Earnings from affiliate links can range from several PLN per month to tens of thousands – and this is not an exaggeration, but a matter of scale, strategy, and topic.

Earnings in affiliate marketing – not all commissions are equal. How much can you earn by promoting a course, credit, or blender?

Here, details make the difference. If you promote, for example, software for business, where a single recommendation means selling a tool for 1000–2000 PLN, and you get 30–50% commission – you don’t need hundreds of clicks to see real money. By comparison, if you’re recommending a book for 40 PLN earning 5%, you need dozens, or even hundreds, of sales to make it worthwhile. 

In the CPL model (cost per lead), you can earn 50–200 PLN for a single registration in a bank, financial comparison site, or subscription service. The largest affiliate platforms operating in Poland – such as Ceneo, Convertiser, or Admitad – have various models, but it’s up to you to decide what you promote and how. Affiliate earnings can range from 2 PLN to 3000 PLN per recommendation, depending on the product and compensation model. You just need to know what to choose.

10,000 PLN monthly from affiliation? Yes, but only if you know where to get traffic from

For affiliation to start bringing in bigger money, it’s not enough to have a good product and commission. The key is traffic – meaning how many people see your content and click on the link. Organic traffic from SEO accounts for even 60–80% of top affiliates’ revenue. If your site generates 50,000 unique visits monthly, you can expect revenues of 10,000–30,000 PLN monthly, at a conversion rate of 2–5%. In the case of YouTube or TikTok, conversions can be even higher – reaching up to 7%, because people trust “live” recommendations more. Sure, this doesn’t happen overnight. But if someone really wants to work with affiliation seriously, then building traffic and conversion is the most important task. Because it’s from this that your earnings in affiliate marketing depend, regardless of the industry.

Does the remuneration model matter? Differences between CPS, CPL, and hybrid that make a difference in your wallet

Not every settlement model works the same. CPS – commission per sale – is the most classic and common model. It works well if you promote things people actually want to buy and you have good content. But if you’re in a sector where sales don’t happen immediately (e.g., insurance, loans), CPL works better, meaning payment per “lead,” or customer data. There are also hybrids, like RevShare – mainly used in casinos and SaaS applications – where you get a percentage of the company’s profit from the referred user during their entire active period. This model may be slower initially, but more stable in the long-term. The choice of model genuinely affects your earnings from affiliate links, so before choosing a program – think about which type of cooperation best suits your target group and form of promotion.

How much do the best earn in affiliation? Real examples, numbers, and strategies from the Polish market

In Poland, there are many people who treat affiliation as a regular business – and make real money from it. According to data from Amazon Associates, the average annual income of active partners in Poland is 323,144 PLN, and the best earn over a million annually. In the Ceneo program, you can earn up to 65% commission per sale, which at a large scale translates into real amounts – we’re talking about 30–50 thousand PLN monthly, mainly in the electronics industry. In online courses, affiliates earn even 3500 PLN per sale if they cleverly promote more expensive trainings and operate in well-established niches. These aren’t legends – these are concretes from partner program reports and case studies available online. Sure, not everyone earns this much. But if earnings in affiliate marketing are to be more than just an addition, you have to operate like an entrepreneur, not a random “linker.”

Want more than “a few hundred bucks”? Here’s what people do who live full-time from affiliation

There is money in affiliation, but only where there is strategy, diversification, and data analysis behind it. People who regularly generate 10–50 thousand PLN monthly, aren’t active in just one channel. They combine blogging, YouTube channel, mailing, cooperation with other creators, and sometimes also paid campaigns. They introduce automation – for example, through tools like Senuto, which allow for SEO analysis, or platforms for automatic newsletters. A large part operates in niches where few venture – e.g., specialized software, business tools, startup financing. But it’s not just about the niche. Affiliate earnings grow when you treat it like a business – testing, optimizing, learning, and adapting to changes. Then this work really pays off – and provides the independence many people seek.

RefSpace – if you want to earn like in affiliation, but without losses on commissions

Earning from affiliation can bring real money, but many creators lose up to 30–50% in commissions due to expiring cookies, ad blockers, and lack of full control over sales tracking. That’s why more and more people choose RefSpace – a platform that works similarly to affiliation (you earn by recommending other people’s products), but offers much greater transparency and capabilities.

Instead of posting links,  you create your own Space – a profile + free online shop, where you can add ready-made products from other brands (or your own) and link them with videos. All sales are tracked directly in your dashboard – they don’t get lost due to browser blocks or cookies. Moreover, you can place a buy now button directly under your video, and if you operate on YouTube – products from your Spacewill automatically display under your materials.

Example? See how Leszkomoto TV does it:
Shop: refspace.com/leszkomototv/shop
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@leszkomototv

RefSpace is a combination of video and your own shop – with more control, better results, and a space that you completely build for your brand.

🔍 Affiliate vs RefSpace – which gives you more?

✅ Function / Feature	💸 Affiliate	🚀 RefSpace
Earning without own products	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Commission for each sale	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Online shop with products	❌ None	✅ Ready-made, no-maintenance shop
Transaction visibility in dashboard	❌ Limited, depends on cookies	✅ Full – every sale assigned
No issues with adblocks/cookies	❌ Often lose 30–50% commission	✅ Nothing gets lost – full tracking
Ability to add video and description	🟡 Sometimes – depending on platform	✅ Yes – videos + “Buy” button
Integration with YouTube	❌ None	✅ Products visible under video
Personal brand building	🟡 Limited	✅ Your own Space – your style and offer
Ability to sell own services (e.g., consultations)	❌ No	✅ Yes – through the MeetMe product
Ready tools and automation	🟡 Depends on program	✅ Everything in one place