Affiliate Marketing

Workflow

1. Program Structure

In-house vs network:

Recommendation: Start in-house with a SaaS tracker (Rewardful, PartnerStack, FirstPromoter). Move to network only if you need volume affiliate recruitment.

2. Commission Models

Setting commission rates:

• Calculate your CAC from other channels
• Set affiliate commission at 30-50% of your average CAC (profitable from day 1)
• For SaaS: recurring commission should cap at 12 months (prevents perpetual liability)
• Review rates quarterly based on affiliate-sourced LTV vs other channels

3. Tracking Implementation

Server-side tracking (recommended — survives ad blockers):

// On referral click — store affiliate ID
app.get('/ref/:affiliateId', (req, res) => {
  res.cookie('affiliate_id', req.params.affiliateId, {
    maxAge: 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 30-day cookie
    httpOnly: true,
    secure: true,
    sameSite: 'lax'
  });
  res.redirect('/');
});

// On conversion — attribute to affiliate
app.post('/api/signup', async (req, res) => {
  const affiliateId = req.cookies.affiliate_id;
  if (affiliateId) {
    await recordConversion({
      affiliateId,
      customerId: newUser.id,
      value: plan.price,
      type: 'signup'
    });
  }
});

Cookie window standards:

Attribution rules:

• Last click wins (standard, simplest)
• First click wins (rewards discovery, used by Amazon)
• Linear (split credit) — complex, avoid unless needed
• Direct traffic always overrides affiliate (prevent self-referral fraud)

4. Partner Recruitment

Ideal affiliate profiles:

Recruitment outreach template:

Subject: Partner with [Product] — [X]% commission

Hi [Name],

I've been following your content on [specific topic] — [genuine compliment].

We're building [Product], which helps [audience] with [value prop].
I think it'd be a natural fit for your audience.

Our affiliate program:
- [X]% recurring commission (or flat $X per signup)
- [X]-day cookie window
- Dedicated affiliate dashboard
- Custom landing pages and creatives

Interested in trying it out? Happy to set you up with a free account
and walk through the program.

[Name]

5. Compliance

FTC disclosure requirements:

• Affiliates MUST disclose the relationship ("I earn a commission if you buy through my link")
• Disclosure must be clear, conspicuous, and BEFORE the link
• "Ad" or "Sponsored" labels on social media
• Include disclosure guidelines in your affiliate agreement

Fraud prevention:

• Monitor for self-referrals (same IP for click and conversion)
• Flag unusually high conversion rates (> 20% = suspicious)
• Require minimum cookie age (> 1 second between click and conversion)
• Ban coupon/deal sites from bidding on your brand keywords
• Review top affiliates manually quarterly

6. Performance Optimization

Monthly affiliate dashboard:

Top performer strategy:

• Identify top 10% of affiliates by revenue
• Offer exclusive commission rates (+5-10%)
• Provide early access to new features for content
• Quarterly check-in call with affiliate manager
• Custom creatives and co-branded landing pages