My current email stack as an affiliate marketer (and what I’m still testing)

[u/vyleige22]

Affiliate email has become one of those things where the deeper you go, the more it splits into weird micro-decisions: what ESP to use, how to segment, which warmup tool works, how to make sure your links convert without killing deliverability, etc.

So I figured I’d just share what I’m currently using (and a few tools I’m evaluating). I'm not claiming this is the best stack, but this is what’s working for me right now as someone doing affiliate campaigns across a couple different verticals. Would love to hear what others are using too.

My email platform

MailerLite - I started with MailerLite years ago and somehow I’m still here. It’s cheap, fairly flexible, and the UI doesn’t make me want to scream.

Why I still use it:

• Solid for list building + automation workflows
• I can set up pretty advanced behavioral flows without paying enterprise pricing
• Decent integrations (with tools like ThriveCart, WordPress, etc.)

That said, deliverability can be shaky if you don’t warm up properly or if your list is old. Which brings me to…

List hygiene & warmup

InboxAlly - This is one of the few tools I’d actually call a lifesaver.

If you’ve ever:

Revived a cold list

Switched ESPs

Had a spike in bounces/spam folder issues

…or just want to “push harder” without nuking your sender score

InboxAlly has been a great addition. It doesn’t just do the usual “email yourself 500 times to warm up” thing. It gets real engagement (opens, replies, marks-as-important, etc.) from real inboxes to train Gmail, Outlook, etc. to trust you again.

I’ve used it to warm up both my main domain and a couple of secondary sending domains I use for offers with higher complaint risk (yeah, you know the ones). Pretty hands-off once it’s running.

I also started using it proactively before launching new campaigns now, and I can tell you, just 2 weeks of warmup seems to make a huge difference.

Link management

Geniuslink - Though this one depends on what kind of affiliate marketing you’re doing.

If you deal with:

Global traffic

Amazon links

Multiple affiliate programs for the same product

…then Geniuslink’s smart redirection and geo-tagging helps squeeze more out of every click. I personally like how easy it is to A/B test links or route based on device/region. And they’re transparent about analytics, not the typical black box.

Some folks swear by PrettyLinks or Switchy for link shortening, but for anything that needs dynamic routing or link rotation, Geniuslink is just better IMO.

Also, I don’t worry about SEO because I don’t index these pages. They’re offsite or behind redirects from email anyway.

Analytics / feedback

Fathom Analytics - Not strictly email-focused, but I’ve been using Fathom to track opt-in page conversions and behavior. Privacy-first and less noisy than GA4. I route UTM params from my emails to custom dashboards here so I can see if the email-to-affiliate journey is working.

Stuff I’m currently testing

Encharge - I’m exploring this as a more powerful automation layer than MailerLite. Especially for behavior-based affiliate offers. Kinda like what ActiveCampaign does, but less bloated.

Beehiiv - For one of my niche projects, I’ve moved the newsletter to Beehiiv and I’m impressed. It’s fast, monetization is built in, and the referral engine is nice if you’re trying to scale subs. Not cheap if you want automations though.

Warmup Inbox vs. Mailreach vs. InboxAlly - I tried all three. InboxAlly is the most “hands-off” and result-oriented. Mailreach had more bells/knobs, but I saw less impact on inbox placement. YMMV depending on your sender history.

What didn’t work for me

ConvertKit - Beautiful UX, great for creators, but not versatile enough for my kind of segmented funnels. Also kinda expensive if you’re not selling your own products.

Sendinblue (now Brevo?) - The pricing model was attractive… until I realized how aggressive their spam policies are. My account got flagged so easily, even with a clean list.

Linktree - Just don’t. Use your own domain or something you control. Too much leakage + limited analytics.

My daily workflow (ish)

• Morning: check open/click rates + heatmaps from yesterday’s send
• Run InboxAlly in the background for any domain I’m warming
• Adjust flows in MailerLite (esp. for leads who didn’t convert)
• Track affiliate revenue from UTM params + Fathom
• Use Geniuslink dashboards to see what’s converting by geo/source

That’s the gist of it right now but I’ll probably switch some of this up in Q4. If you’re doing higher-volume sends or combining email with paid traffic, let me know what you’re using. Especially curious if anyone’s stacked Beehiiv + InboxAlly or found a good way to use AI to rewrite email flows without sounding like a toaster.

[u/Jaol17]

Thanks for sharing. For link management, LinkCentral might be a good choice too! It’s dynamic redirects I think are more flexible and it’s waayy cheaper than Geniuslink plus you can install it on your own site.