Launch an affiliate program

Why This Playbook Works

Affiliate marketing is a win-win. For you, it's a low-risk growth channel where you only pay for actual results (a new customer or lead). This makes it highly capital-efficient compared to paid ads, where you pay for clicks regardless of conversion. It also scales trust-your product is being recommended by people your target customers already follow and respect.

For the affiliate, it's a way to monetize their audience and content without creating a product themselves. By aligning incentives, you create a powerful, self-sustaining growth loop. A strong affiliate program attracts influential creators, who create content about your product, which drives new customers and attracts even more affiliates.

Three real examples

According to research from Influencer Marketing Hub, affiliate marketing is a $17 billion industry, and it's still growing. Don't miss out.

The step-by-step playbook

1. 1

   Step 1: Define Your Commission Structure

   Decide what you'll pay and for what action. Common models include a percentage of the sale (e.g., 20%), a flat fee per sale (e.g., $50), or a recurring percentage for subscriptions (e.g., 25% for the first year). Recurring is best for SaaS as it aligns incentives. Make it generous enough to be attractive but sustainable for your business.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose Your Affiliate Platform

   You need software to manage tracking, payments, and communication. Options range from all-in-one platforms like PartnerStack or Rewardful to simpler self-hosted scripts. Pick one that integrates with your payment processor (like Stripe or Paddle) to automate tracking and payouts.

3. 3

   Step 3: Create an Affiliate Landing Page

   Build a clear, compelling page that sells your program. It should state the commission, cookie life (how long a referral is tracked), benefits, and include a clear call-to-action to sign up. This is your main recruitment tool.

4. 4

   Step 4: Write Your Program Policies

   Create a simple Terms of Service for your affiliates. This should cover payout terms, allowed (and disallowed) promotional methods (e.g., no bidding on your brand name in ads), and grounds for termination. This protects you and sets clear expectations.

5. 5

   Step 5: Create Onboarding Materials & Assets

   Don't just approve affiliates and leave them hanging. Give them a welcome email, a dashboard login, and a kit of promotional assets. This includes logos, product screenshots, pre-written copy, and talking points they can use.

6. 6

   Step 6: Recruit Your First Affiliates

   Your best first affiliates are your existing customers and fans. Send an email to your user list announcing the program. Also, manually reach out to influencers, bloggers, and YouTubers in your niche who you think would be a great fit.

7. 7

   Step 7: Track Performance and Communicate

   Monitor your key metrics: affiliate-driven traffic, conversion rates, and total commissions paid. Send a monthly newsletter to your affiliates with updates, top performers, and new assets to keep them engaged and motivated.

The Affiliate Recruitment Email

Use this template to manually recruit potential affiliates you've identified as a good fit for your brand. Personalize it with their content and audience.

Subject: Partnership with {your_company_name}?

Hi {their_name},

My name is {your_name} and I'm the founder of {your_company_name}. We help {target_customer} to {solve_a_problem}.

I've been following your work on {their_platform} and was really impressed by your recent post/video about {specific_topic}. The way you explained {concept} was super clear and I know your audience trusts your recommendations.

Because your audience is a perfect fit for what we do, I'd love to invite you to become a founding partner in our new affiliate program.

We offer a {commission_details, e.g., 'recurring 30% commission'} for every new customer you send our way. We provide all the creative assets, tracking links, and support you need to succeed.

You can read more and sign up here: {link_to_affiliate_page}

Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,
{your_name}

Questions to Ask Before You Start

• What is a sustainable commission I can pay for the lifetime of a customer?
• Is a recurring or one-time commission better for my business model?
• Who are my ideal affiliates? (e.g., customers, influencers, review sites)
• What's my 'dream list' of 20 affiliates I'd love to work with?
• What resources (swipe copy, images, videos) can I give my affiliates to make it easy for them to promote?

The first two questions about commission structure are the most critical. If the numbers don't work for you and for your partners, the program will fail.

Recommended tools

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Mistakes that kill this play

• ×Setting unsustainable commissions. If you offer too much, your margins evaporate. If you offer too little, no one will promote you.
• ×Making payouts difficult or late. Affiliates have businesses to run. If they can't rely on timely payments, they will stop promoting you. Use a platform that automates this.
• ×Not providing marketing assets. Don't expect affiliates to create everything from scratch. Give them logos, banners, swipe copy, and product talking points.
• ×Recruiting the wrong affiliates. Focusing on 'big names' who aren't a good fit is less effective than recruiting smaller creators whose audience is a perfect match.
• ×Lack of communication. Keep your affiliates engaged. Send them product updates, success stories, and performance reports to show you're invested in their success.
• ×Ignoring compliance. Be clear about FTC guidelines requiring affiliates to disclose their relationship with you. This protects them and your brand.
• ×Focusing only on recruitment, not activation. Getting 100 affiliates to sign up means nothing if only two of them ever share their link. Focus on onboarding and motivating your partners.

Your First 7 Days

• Day 1: Decide on your commission structure and cookie duration. Research 3-4 affiliate management platforms and choose one.
• Day 2: Sign up for your chosen platform and integrate it with your payment system. Configure your commission settings.
• Day 3: Use a tool like Softr or Super.so to build your affiliate program's landing page. Write the copy and link to the signup form from your platform.
• Day 4: Create a 'Partner Asset Kit' in Google Drive or Notion. Include logos, product screenshots, and a doc with swipe copy and talking points.
• Day 5: Draft and send an announcement email to your existing customer list. Personally invite your 10 most active/vocal users.
• Day 6-7: Use Apollo.io to build a list of 20 potential high-fit bloggers or creators. Send personalized recruitment emails to the first 5-10 on your list.

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