Who (and Why) Affiliates Trust — a Піарся Survey. Part 3

In today's media landscape, the concept of a "source" has taken on an almost supernatural weight. For some, becoming such a source is a long-term goal, while others emphasize the subjective nature of their claims. This is the next edition of analytics from Piarcia, and this time we're talking about trust, accountability, and their role in the blogosphere. With receipts.

In a large-scale survey we conducted in collaboration with the outstanding Palai Media among our discerning readers, we asked several questions about what motivates people to unsubscribe. We had a pretty good idea what would top the anti-ranking, but here are two tablets of Skepticin for you:

Success Porn has already been canonized as an industry meme — and not just ours. Wherever there's money, there will always be someone ready to explain just how easy it is to make it, armed with 5 unique insights. Paid ones, naturally.

Hollow self-promotion and cookie-cutter content are the darker sides of the modern approach to advertising, so their presence in our niche is entirely predictable. However, they are largely symptoms of a global problem — one whose roots run far deeper than affiliate marketing and media buying.

And here, finally, a truly important topic comes into focus: Unverified and unreliable information. This factor was flagged by many of our readers — including a significant number of decision-makers who rely on… sources, and whose reliability can be a deciding factor.

It's also worth unpacking the factors broadly grouped as "Fakeness" and "Pay-to-play". For everyone it means something slightly different, but it always feels the same — like a nagging sense that something's off. We gave our audience a list of common red flags and let them pick multiple options. The paraphrase effect is hard to ignore:

When someone unsubscribes from a channel, they don't leave a farewell note with an explanation — but when asked about their primary reason for unsubscribing, 58% of our respondents cited "Fake expertise and fabricated case studies." That's third place, right behind "Decline in content quality" and the undisputed leader — "Intrusive and low-quality advertising."

That's precisely why the trust factor is becoming an issue worth raising more often — because every post you publish affects it, whether you're thinking about that or not. Watch closely:

The line between "want to" and "have to"

The same devices let us consume both entertainment and work-related content across the same social platforms. Naturally, we'd rather get lost in cat videos, so every visit to Instagram or Telegram is, in one way or another, a choice. Every subscription has a meaningful rationale behind it — and for work-related channels, that rationale is most often the practical value of the information found there (let's exclude memes from the equation as a category unto themselves).

This turns the process of curating and maintaining your source list into a responsible, multi-step exercise — one where failures carry an underestimated destructive potential that nobody particularly enjoys. And that's exactly where the dichotomous dilemma between "want to" and "have to" comes from.

Why "have to"

It's important to understand that we're essentially talking about advertising as a whole — a cutting-edge industry that evolves without pause, only picking up speed. Staying on top of it, even within a single niche, means keeping your finger on the pulse: always being aware of trends, announcements, conflicts, and other shifts in the current. From collective experience, we already know that news spreads fastest through social media — so splitting your attention across dozens of potentially useful posts is an unavoidable reality for anyone who does this as a daily routine.

It's precisely these love-hate dynamics that information speculators exploit — bloggers, influencers, and journalists all trying to grab their slice. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, since sharing experience is the foundation of new achievements… But everyone has their own agenda, and to make things easier on themselves, creators may cut corners on content — which ultimately affects quality.

We can see that genuinely useful content naturally drives those coveted engagement metrics — likes, reposts, and saves. The problem starts when, in pursuit of those metrics, creators try to manufacture that value artificially — using cheap tricks like fabricated case studies (we covered the difference between a real case study and a made-up one in another article).

Why "want to"

That said, the number of sources claiming to be useful is growing far faster than the number of purely entertainment ones — and as we already know, an oversupply raises the bar for demand. Among the niche channels a user browses, subscriptions will go to those who not only make a strong first impression but also prove their value over time. Let's start with that first impression:

When it comes to work-related content, Educational and Explanatory formats take the top spots — articles, news, and guides. That's exactly why a timely news piece matters more than a clever meme: it justifies the core reason the subscription was made in the first place. The aggregate value of information from work-related sources should help with real tasks — otherwise, those sources risk being replaced by more meme and cat channels.

Among the factors that influence subscription decisions, content value is the primary driver — but close behind, sharing the silver medal, are Transparency of communication and Visibility of the people behind the account (meaning their public presence and engagement with readers). The conclusion practically writes itself — and frankly, it would have even without the data: despite the wide range of options available, audiences gravitate toward channels whose content is thoughtful, genuinely useful, and made by real people — content that earns trust.

The delicate fabric of trust

Of course, trust isn't always the end goal — that's worth acknowledging too. For a meme page versus an insider intel channel, this metric plays very different roles, but that's simply a matter of perspective. The concept of "trust in a source" in a broader sense means the reader's confidence that they'll find what they're looking for, and that the quality of the material will meet their expectations. So for an insider channel, that means the accuracy of the information provided; for a meme channel — quality laughs with solid humor.

Looking specifically at content in the affiliate and performance marketing industry, the quality criteria are equally specific: for news channels, it's timely event announcements and follow-ups on industry developments; for analytical ones — breakdowns of common problems, statistical research, and so on. But since we had the opportunity to ask our readers directly, we asked about their trust factors:

Unsurprisingly, the top factor was content — specifically its quality, since that's the primary criterion regardless of category. Coming in second were visual quality and the relevance of case studies and supporting materials — but the second-place factor is one we'd like to dwell on a bit longer.

The presence of real people on screen — especially the project team or editorial staff — completely transforms how content is perceived. It automatically becomes "alive," simply by being associated with a person or a face. Eye contact, a conversational tone, and the right camera angles only deepen the effect — and when executed well, the reader feels like they're part of the team, an outside observer who's been let backstage.

That sense of exclusivity is a powerful loyalty booster — if you know how to use it. A post from the author will always stand out from the usual narrative, and as such it has a place in both entertainment and analytical content alike. Don't underestimate its potential.

Follower inflation

We emphasized the use of organic methods to boost engagement for good reason — it's an important point, and in the chase for impressive numbers, it's easy to forget that those numbers are seen by more than just investors in reports. Artificial inflation has become a commonplace phenomenon that we spot with the naked eye and simply draw our own conclusions about. As our research showed, those conclusions tend to be pretty one-sided:

A third of respondents are convinced that inflating metrics is manipulation — because, factually, it is — while only 14% see it as a justifiable tool for getting started. Don't count on audience trust if you're openly signaling that their attention isn't enough for you — though 38% say they'd forgive it if they genuinely enjoy the content.

The main thing is to never lose sight of the reader's perspective — they look at the substance first. Don't cut corners on content, because that's where the foundation of trust lies.

Honorable Mentions

Experience shows that learning from others' mistakes is the most efficient approach. We also believe that learning from others' successes is an equally important lesson. As part of our survey, participants could share the names of channels they trust and follow because they genuinely want to — not because they feel obligated. Here are a few names that came up most frequently:

Palai Media / @palai_media
A powerhouse Ukrainian media project covering affiliate marketing, crypto, and online business — and our incredible partner, whose collaboration made this piece possible. A distinctive editorial voice, timely news, and serious investment in content quality are immediately apparent and impossible to ignore.

Konstantyn Fox / @konstantyn_fox
A channel dedicated to affiliate marketing that also features news reviews, analytics, case studies, troubleshooting, and personal glimpses into the author's life. The combination of all these elements makes it a textbook example of a professional blog done right.

Ban Media / @ban_media
Positioned by its creators as a platform for content about affiliate marketing and adjacent topics. In practice, useful guides, case study breakdowns, and reposts of educational and analytical materials have turned it into a reliable source well worth subscribing to.

We're not hinting that you should watch what competitors do and try to replicate it in your own way. We're saying it outright. Learn from the best — and in the process, find your own angle that resonates with your audience and becomes synonymous with your brand.

On the other hand, who are we if not to offer a shortcut? More than that, we'd be happy to walk you through it ourselves — we already know every step. We'll develop a PR strategy tailored to your business and help you find a style that builds recognition. Need more? Merch? A blog? We've got it all — but let's start with an introduction.

We've already brewed the coffee with a kick and we're waiting for you in our DMs. Keep reading our analytics — and value your trusted sources.