After twenty years of powering commercial and casual conversations in the affiliate marketing industry, Microsoft today has officially announced the shutdown of Skype by May 5, 2025—marking the end of one of the most widely used communication platforms between affiliate managers and affiliates since the industry started.
While Microsoft is encouraging users to switch to Microsoft Teams, the announcement leaves many affiliate professionals considering which alternative messaging platforms to migrate years of contacts and chat histories to as the deadline looms closer.
Why This Matters to Affiliate Marketing
Skype has been a staple instant chat tool in affiliate marketing for over two decades, acting as the go-to platform for:
- Quick, real-time chats between affiliates and Affiliate program managers
- Informal conversations to troubleshoot campaigns or discuss deals or simply connect and have a conversation to keep contact points with partners in a growing program
- A reliable alternative to slower email responses
Losing Skype could feel like losing a direct line to quick responses and new opportunities if you aren’t prepared to plan in advance and encourage your contacts to find you in other platforms.
What Are the best alternatives to consider?
The affiliate industry has already started shifting towards Teams, Slack and Telegram as the new communication platform of choice. Here’s how Telegram stacks up against Skype:
| Feature | Skype | Telegram | Microsoft Teams | Slack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy Options | Limited | Allows hidden phone numbers | Basic privacy settings | Granular privacy controls |
| File Sharing | Restricted to smaller files | Up to 2GB file transfers | Up to 250GB with premium | Up to 1GB in free plans, larger in paid plans |
| Multi-Device Sync | Single device-centric | Cloud-based, accessible from any device | Cross-platform sync | Cloud-based, multi-device sync |
| Customisation | Basic | Bots, channels, and group management | Channels and meeting scheduling | Bots, integrations, and advanced group management |
How to Prepare for the Skype Sunset
For Affiliate Managers:
- Export Contacts: You have the choice to transfer your contacts to Teams. However if you are not sure what to use yet – consider downloading your full list of Skype contacts and chat histories before the shutdown before the 5 May deadline
- Trial New Platforms: Test both Microsoft Teams, Slack and Telegram to see which suits your affiliate communication needs best and ask your affiliates what platforms they prefer to use to communicate with you as well.
- Notify Your Affiliate Partners: Start conversations now about where you’ll be moving to and how Affiliates who typically chat with you can avoid losing direct connections.
- Set Up Groups Early: Create Telegram channels or Teams groups or A slack community to replicate the structure of your existing Skype chats across your team structure and centralise your communication and connectivity ahead of the closure.
For Affiliates:
- Backup Important Chats: Save key conversations or files from your Skype history especially commercial decisions and confirmations that may have happened on these chats in this platform.
- Join Industry Telegram Groups and Slack communities: No doubt your affiliate managers will be letting you know where to find them. Many affiliate networks are already setting up groups to maintain community communication so dive right in and get to know people first hand as these groups grow.
- Update Your Contact Info: Share your Telegram or Teams handle in your email signatures going forward as you communicate day to day with your affiliate managers so that they can add you to their chosen channels and you avoid losing valuable communication lines.
- Test Platforms: Familiarise yourself with the new tools—Telegram bots, pinned messages, and file-sharing capabilities can streamline your workflows – now is a good time to do an administrative clean up on processes and communication workflows too.
Final Word: There is No Need to Panic
Affiliate marketing has always been an industry built on adaptability. While saying goodbye to Skype is the end of an era, it’s also an opportunity to upgrade to more secure, scalable platforms.
Whether it’s Telegram, Microsoft Teams, or another messaging app, the affiliate industry will find a way to stay connected and thrive in the face of change.
Be proactive, start testing new platforms now, and make sure your affiliate relationships are ready for the next chapter and channel of communication.
If all else fails – you can still send an email!
