Media buying through the affiliate lens

Media buying can look very different depending on which side of the business you sit on. Jasin Impiglia has worked as an advertiser, affiliate, and network builder. As CEO of LeadX Pro, he has seen how each role approaches risk, profitability, and campaign decisions differently. In his three-question interview with AGS, Impiglia discusses killing losing tests, protecting advertiser economics, and building stronger partnerships.

What the affiliate side taught him

Of the three roles, working as an affiliate changed Impiglia’s perspective the most. The difference came down to how directly affiliates carry the financial risk of every test. Networks can earn margin across what gets run, while advertisers generally operate with more structure. Affiliates, meanwhile, put their own money behind campaigns without knowing which tests will survive.

“You can test 20 things and maybe 2 or 3 actually become winners,” Impiglia said. In one example, three offers accounted for 45 per cent of his team’s native traffic revenue. That experience made cutting losses just as important as finding successful campaigns. “A big part of the game is not just finding winners, but knowing what to kill quickly,” he said.

Working across Dating, Lead Generation, and Nutra has also changed how Impiglia approaches profitability. A campaign making money for the affiliate does not automatically mean the wider partnership is working. Dating and Lead Generation taught him to pay closer attention to whether the advertiser was profitable too. He carried that approach into Nutra, where pushing volume without that balance can damage the relationship.

“If the advertiser loses money, I also lose the relationship and collaboration,” Impiglia said. For him, campaign performance therefore has to work for both sides before volume increases. Short-term affiliate profit means less if the advertiser cannot sustain the economics behind it. That makes communication between both sides especially important once a campaign begins to scale.

Impiglia also believes affiliates and advertisers need to share more than they did previously. Affiliates cannot simply take a link and expect the campaign to work without additional context. Advertisers also benefit from sharing what is performing and what is not, as well as other useful campaign information. Better information can help affiliates adjust faster, rather than testing without visibility.

His strongest partnerships have gone further than campaign data alone. Impiglia says the best relationships often become more personal as both sides invest time in working together. That familiarity can make people more open about what is happening behind the numbers. For him, that openness is often where better commercial outcomes begin.

Catch Jasin Impiglia’s session at AGS

Impiglia will take the AGS stage for From Launch to Kill: The $1M/Month Media Buying Cycle, Live.

The session will follow the campaign cycle from launch through the decision to scale or stop. Impiglia will explain which metric he trusts at different stages of a campaign. He will also cover when a media buyer should kill a traffic source rather than the entire campaign. Another part of the session will examine why a profitable campaign can still cost an affiliate the offer.

Other speakers joining the AGS programme include Van Oakes of GOAT Media, Adam Young of RingBa, Attila Odri of iAmAttila, Niv Shaked of TikTo, and more.

Road to Rome

Affiliate Grand Slam Rome will bring together 5,000+ delegates and 270+ exhibitors across multiple performance marketing verticals. Affiliates, advertisers, media buyers, agencies, platforms, and technology providers will have three days to meet, compare opportunities, and build new partnerships.

The summit is presented by TrafficStars, a worldwide premium traffic provider with coverage across 200+ GEOs, seven advertising formats, and all major devices.

Get your ticket today and hear more from Jasin Impiglia and other industry leaders at the newly launched Affiliate Grand Slam, bringing 50+ expert speakers to Rome, 02–05 November 2026.