Influencer Hero, an Influencer Marketing platform for D2C and ecommerce brands, has acquired Afluencer, a creator marketplace with more than 17,000 registered members and 3,500 brands.

According to an announcement, Afluencer will continue operating as a standalone, self-serve marketplace where brands post collaboration opportunities and connect directly with creators. Influencer Hero will handle the layer above it: creator discovery, automated outreach, relationship management, affiliate tracking, payments, and campaign management at scale.

“Afluencer built a real community and a brand that creators and marketers trust. That is exactly the kind of foundation you cannot shortcut,” said Peter Nettesheim, Director and co-founder of Influencer Hero. “Bringing it into Influencer Hero lets us serve brands at every stage, from their very first creator collaboration to managing thousands of partnerships at scale.”

The deal pairs two ends of the same funnel. Afluencer gives brands a low-friction way to start working with creators; Influencer Hero’s software takes over once a brand’s creator program grows past ad hoc collaborations into something that needs discovery tools, CRM, affiliate tracking, and reporting in one place.

“Afluencer and Influencer Hero are highly complementary,” Nettesheim said. “Afluencer makes it easier for brands to get started with creators. Influencer Hero helps them scale once creator partnerships become a serious growth channel.”

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Afluencer will keep its branding and marketplace experience, now operating with Influencer Hero’s technology, team, and product infrastructure behind it.

Influencer Hero currently provides infrastructure for D2C brands and agencies managing large-scale creator partnerships, combining discovery, outreach, CRM, affiliate and discount code tracking, campaign management, content collection and performance reporting into a single platform.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Check Out Our Podcast