The affiliate program launch checklist
Eleven things to settle before you send the first invite, in the order that stops you rewriting them later.
Most affiliate programs are launched twice: once in a hurry, and again three weeks later when the rate turns out to be wrong and half the catalogue shouldn't have been in it. This is the order that avoids the second launch.
Before anyone sees it
- 1Work out what a sale is worth after payment processing, per product.
- 2Pick a default commission you'd pay happily for a customer you'd never have reached.
- 3Override the rate on any product whose margin can't carry the default.
- 4Switch off anything that shouldn't be promoted at all.
- 5Choose an attribution window that matches how long your buyers actually take to decide.
- 6Decide whether you're approving applicants or letting anyone in.
The page itself
- 1Add a program image — your storefront cover is a fine default.
- 2Write a headline that names the number and the person: who this is for, what they earn.
- 3Write three or four concrete reasons, not adjectives. Conversion rate, audience, what already sells.
- 4Write house rules in plain language: no brand bidding, no coupon sites, no claims you don't make.
- 5Read the whole page as somebody deciding whether to bother.
The first week
Send it to ten specific people rather than posting it once to everybody. Personal asks convert; broadcasts get ignored. Then leave it alone for a fortnight — an affiliate program has a slow start by nature, and fiddling with the rate in week one teaches you nothing.
| Week | What to do |
|---|---|
| 0 | Set rates, write the page, test it yourself |
| 1 | Ten personal invitations |
| 2–4 | Answer questions, send materials, change nothing |
| 5+ | Look at who actually sold, raise their rate |
All of them that can carry a commission. Restricting it to one product makes the affiliate's job harder without saving you anything.
It's tempting and it usually backfires — lowering it later feels like a cut. Start where you can sustain.
Check whether you asked people directly. A program page that nobody was pointed at performs exactly as well as no program.
Work through the checklist on a real program — it takes about ten minutes.
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