The 2025 State of PR Measurement report revealed something we’ve all felt but haven’t had the guts to say out loud: our reports suck.

PR teams are drowning in data (and substacks, sorry not sorry), but still struggling to prove what their clients actually care about ehhh emmm… revenue, authority, and impact.

Omnichannel brands are everywhere today. And in case you don’t work with one, it’s a brand that is selling across multiple channels (DTC, website, Amazon, Walmart, Target, retail stores, etc.) BUT the key is they need to have an integrated strategy where all channels work together meeting shoppers where they are when they’re ready to purchase. And in the content era (although Sora 2 will change content forever), this also means you need to meet creators where they are as well.

Even when it’s too busy to breathe, hello Q4 holiday pitching, now is the time to get your ducks in a row for next year. No really. Now is when clients are nailing down their 2026 budgets which means you only have a few short weeks to make the most of your planning time.

Here are a few areas that you need to prepare for now if you want to make a full-scale affiliate push in 2026. They’re practical steps every PR pro should take if you’re ready to go all in. PLUS an interview with Sarah Evans of Zen Media and Published Monthly.

As a publicist, getting featured in top tier outlets is your bread and butter. But when journalists have 1,000 emails in their inbox every day, it’s getting harder and harder to break through and ensure they open your pitch.

This is where relationships come into play. Being sure your name is one media know and trust when it pops into their inbox is key. They know when they open your pitch, it’s going to have all of the essentials to help make their job easier.

But, what if we told you that alongside the edit team and freelancers, your media list is missing a critical player in the commerce game? Enter the affiliate manager.

What is Linkby exactly? In our first-ever Affiliate Manager Q&A, (which will be a regular feature in the substack), we sat down with Reid Webb, one of our favorite affiliate managers to get real answers. Reid has worked on both sides—he was skeptical of Linkby when he was at The Daily Beast, then joined their team after seeing the results firsthand.

We've talked a lot about organic CPA driven affiliate coverage—you know, those beautiful earned placements where editors genuinely love your product and feature it because it deserves the spotlight. But let's be real: sometimes organic just isn't cutting it, and you need a placement with guaranteed results.

Enter paid affiliate partnerships.

So what is Affiliate Summit, anyway?

It’s where brands, networks, affiliate and brand managers alongside heavily caffeinated PR pros gather to connect, swap insights and plot their next big commission wins.