Research · Policy matrix · Living page
Which email tools actually let you put affiliate links in email
The short answer: of the four programs we checked, only Kit addresses email promotion explicitly and permits it (CAN-SPAM conditions apply). GetResponse permits it by inference, gated on prior consent. Amazon Associates allows it only to opted-in recipients — far narrower than most roundups claim. beehiiv's program was inactive at our last check, so the question is moot there.
The matrix
"Affiliate links in email" here means: does the program's official terms allow you to promote your affiliate link in email you send to your list? Every cell below is backed by a quoted clause further down — not a paraphrase from someone else's listicle.
| Program | Email links | Conditions | Commission | Cookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | Yes — explicit | CAN-SPAM compliance; opt-out required; you must be identifiable as the sender. No SMS/text, ever. | 50% × 12 mo | 90 days |
| GetResponse | Yes — by inference | Prior consent required; CAN-SPAM; unsolicited email or purchased lists can deactivate your account. No explicit allow-sentence. | 40–60% × 12 mo | 90 days |
| Amazon Associates | Opted-in only | Solicited (opted-in) recipients only; the clause's wording may be narrower than it looks (see caveat below). | ~1–4.5% | 24 hours |
| beehiiv | Moot — program inactive | Partner page returned "no longer active" at our check. Prior terms never explicitly addressed email. | n/a | n/a |
The exact clauses
Kit — explicit, with conditions
"if you choose to promote our Program via e-mail campaigns, you represent and warrant that you will comply with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 … placing an opt-out in the email and making it clear that you are the sender … and not acting at the direction of Company."
"You will not send your Link or any marketing messages … via SMS or text message."
Commission is 50% of revenue for 12 months per referral (referrals from Oct 15, 2024 onward), with status tiers extending 10–20% beyond 12 months, and "clicks on Links are valid for 90 days." Kit's Help Center separately recommends keeping roughly 70–80% of your email about your own content — that guidance is not in the legal terms, but we treat it as a live condition anyway.
GetResponse — permitted by inference, consent-gated
"The Affiliate shall not send unsolicited e-mail and shall not send e-mail nor any other communication to a recipient if the recipient has not expressed their prior consent thereto."
"if the User provides a referral link to the Referred Customer by email, the email must be created and distributed according to CAN SPAM guidelines. Sending unsolicited e-mail messages (SPAM) can result in deactivation of their affiliate account."
Read carefully: that's a permission with conditions, not an explicit allow-sentence like Kit's. It regulates how referral links travel by email rather than plainly blessing the channel. Workable — but if your entire strategy is email promotion, "explicit" beats "inferred."
Amazon Associates — opted-in only, and read the caveat
"You may include Special Links in emails, SMS and direct messaging from your social media Sites; provided, that such communications are solicited (i.e., opted into by the receiving customer) and are otherwise in compliance with the Agreement."
The caveat most posts miss: "from your social media Sites" may scope this permission to messaging that originates from your registered social channels — potentially narrower than a general newsletter allowance. We flagged this internally as requiring a full Operating Agreement read before anyone relies on it. Add the 24-hour cookie and ~1–4.5% physical-goods rates, and email-first Amazon promotion is a weak strategy even where it's technically permitted.
beehiiv — the program you can't join right now
"Sorry, this affiliate program is no longer active."
beehiiv has real mindshare in the newsletter world, and its prior partner terms restricted paid search but never explicitly addressed email promotion. Until the program reopens, it earns a row here mostly as a warning: check that a program is alive before you build content around it. We include it precisely because we can't earn from it.
Method — replicate this check yourself
Roughly 20 minutes per program:
1. Find the program's legal terms (not the marketing page): search
site:vendor.com affiliate terms — for Kit that's
kit.com/affiliate-tos, for GetResponse
getresponse.com/legal/affiliate-program.
2. Search the document for email, CAN-SPAM, solicit, and
SMS — the absence of the word "email" is itself an answer (that's inference territory).
3. Record the quote, the URL, and the retrieval date. Terms change; undated quotes rot.
4. Distrust any roundup that gives you a yes/no without a quoted clause — including
this one. That's why the clauses are here.
What this page doesn't know yet
We haven't sent affiliate promotions through any of these programs ourselves — this is a terms-of-service analysis, not deliverability data. As our own newsletter operation accrues real send data, it gets added here. Terms also change without notice: every quote above carries its retrieval date, and this page gets re-verified when we re-fetch.