| name | affiliate-recruitment |
| description | Writes affiliate recruitment emails, landing pages, and onboarding materials to attract partners. Use when building or growing an affiliate program. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Affiliate Recruitment
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Write outreach emails to recruit affiliates and referral partners
- Create an affiliate program landing page with terms and benefits
- Build onboarding materials that help affiliates promote effectively
- Design commission structures and promotional asset packages
DO NOT use this skill for influencer marketing campaigns, joint venture partnerships, or general PR outreach. This is for structured affiliate and referral partner recruitment.
Core Principle
AFFILIATES PROMOTE PRODUCTS THAT MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD AND PAY WELL — YOUR RECRUITMENT MUST PROVE BOTH: THAT YOUR PRODUCT CONVERTS AND THAT THE COMMISSION IS WORTH THEIR AUDIENCE'S TRUST.
Phase 1: Brief
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Product | "What product will affiliates promote?" | No default — must be provided |
| Price point | "What does the product cost?" | No default — must be provided |
| Commission rate | "What commission will you offer?" | 30% per sale |
| Cookie duration | "How long is the tracking window?" | 30 days |
| Affiliate platform | "What tool manages your affiliate program?" | Platform-agnostic |
| Ideal affiliate profile | "Who are your dream affiliates?" | Content creators and bloggers in the niche |
GATE: Confirm before building recruitment materials.
Phase 2: Program Design
Commission Structure
## Affiliate Commission Details
**Commission:** [X]% per sale ($[X] per conversion)
**Cookie duration:** [X] days
**Payment schedule:** Monthly, NET 30
**Minimum payout:** $50
**Recurring commissions (if subscription):** [X]% on renewals for [X] months
**Bonus tiers:**
- 10+ sales/month → 5% commission bump
- 25+ sales/month → 10% commission bump + featured partner status
Affiliate Asset Package
## What Affiliates Receive
- Unique tracking link
- Email swipe copy (3-5 emails)
- Social media posts (5-10 ready-to-use)
- Banner ads (3-4 sizes)
- Product demo video or walkthrough
- Affiliate dashboard with real-time stats
- Dedicated affiliate support contact
GATE: Approve the program structure before writing recruitment copy.
Phase 3: Write Recruitment Materials
Outreach Email Template
Subject: Partner with [Brand] — earn $[X] per sale
Hi {name},
I've been following your content on [platform] and love what you're doing with [specific content reference].
I run [Brand], and we just launched an affiliate program for [Product]. Given your audience of [audience description], I think this could be a great fit.
Here's the quick overview:
- [X]% commission per sale ($[X] per conversion)
- [X]-day cookie window
- Ready-made promo materials (emails, social posts, banners)
- Average affiliate earns $[X]/month
If you're interested, I'd love to send you a free copy of [Product] so you can try it first.
[Apply/Learn More link]
Best,
[Name]
Affiliate Landing Page
Structure:
- Headline: "Earn $[X] for every customer you refer"
- Program overview: commission, cookie, payment schedule
- Why this product converts (conversion rate, customer satisfaction)
- What you get: asset package list
- Testimonials from existing affiliates (if available)
- Application form
Onboarding Email Sequence
- Email 1: Welcome + dashboard access + tracking link
- Email 2: Top promotion strategies that work for this product
- Email 3: Swipe copy and asset package delivery
- Email 4: Tips from top-performing affiliates
Phase 4: Polish
1. Affiliate Terms Document
Cover: commission structure, prohibited promotion methods (spam, false claims), brand guidelines, payment terms, and termination conditions.
2. Recruitment Pipeline
- Target list: 20-50 potential affiliates with contact info
- Outreach cadence: initial email → follow-up (5 days) → final follow-up (10 days)
- Track: contacted, responded, applied, approved, first sale
3. Program Metrics
- Affiliate signup rate from outreach
- Active affiliate percentage (made at least 1 sale in 90 days)
- Revenue per active affiliate
- Top affiliate performance vs. average
Anti-Patterns
- Low commission rates — under 20% for digital products makes your program uncompetitive. Top programs offer 30-50%.
- No promotional materials — affiliates who have to create everything from scratch will not promote you.
- Accepting everyone — unvetted affiliates may spam or misrepresent your product. Have an approval process.
- No product access for affiliates — affiliates who have not used the product cannot promote it authentically.
- Delayed payments — paying affiliates late or making the minimum payout too high kills the relationship.
Recovery
- No affiliates yet: Start with existing customers. Happy customers are the best first affiliates.
- Low commission budget: Offer higher commissions for the first 3 months to attract early affiliates, then adjust.
- No affiliate platform: Recommend simple tools (Rewardful, FirstPromoter, or manual tracking with coupon codes for very small programs).
- Affiliates not promoting: Send monthly "affiliate newsletter" with new assets, top performer spotlights, and promotion ideas.
