affiliate-program

name	affiliate-program
description	Design affiliate program structure — commission rates + payout logic + affiliate portal + promotion assets + recruitment outreach + compliance. Built for Stripe / ThriveCart / FirstPromoter / Everflow integrations.
signal	{"mode":"linguistic","genre":"affiliate-program-spec","type":"inform","format":"markdown","structure":"w-affiliate-program","receiver":"affiliates + operations","receiver_capacity":"medium"}
department	partnerships
agent_affinity	["partnerships-head"]
required_compartments	{"offer_architecture":60,"lifecycle_optimization":20}
upstream_dependency	design-offer
execution_mode	interactive
tier	structured_ai
temperature_gate	warm
required_tools	["file_read","file_write"]
required_mcps	["filesystem"]
required_integrations	{"affiliate_tracking":["firstpromoter-api","rewardful-api","everflow-api"],"payment":"stripe-api","email":"convertkit-api"}
credentials_required	["STRIPE_SECRET_KEY","CONVERTKIT_API_KEY"]
evidence_gate	["commission_structure_specified","payout_logic_clear","portal_assets_defined","recruitment_plan","compliance_disclosed","signal_score_gte_0_8"]
keywords	["affiliate","affiliate program","referral commission"]
priority	1
version	1

/affiliate-program — Affiliate Program Designer

Structure

W(affiliate-program) =
  1. Commission Structure (rates, tiers, recurring vs one-time)
  2. Payout Logic (cookie window, attribution, minimum payout, frequency)
  3. Affiliate Portal (login, links, assets, stats)
  4. Promotion Assets (ad creative / email swipes / social posts / landing pages)
  5. Recruitment Plan (who, outreach, qualification)
  6. Compliance (FTC disclosure, tax forms, contracts)
  7. Economics Validation (affiliate payout fits LTV:CAC math)

Decision Logic

Commission Rate Benchmarks

• Info / coaching: 20-50% first sale, 10-30% recurring
• Digital product: 30-50%
• SaaS: 20-30% first year, decaying
• Done-for-you: 10-20% (higher fulfillment cost)

Cookie Window

• 30-60 days standard
• 90+ days for high-consideration offers

Recruitment Tiers

• Tier 1 affiliates (top creators, influencers) — higher commission + custom terms
• Tier 2 (aligned partners) — standard rates
• Tier 3 (casual / customer-advocate) — self-serve portal

Output Format

# Affiliate Program — [Creator Brand]

**Commission Rate:** [%] first sale / [%] recurring
**Cookie Window:** [days]
**Payout Frequency:** [monthly]
**Minimum Payout:** $[N]
**Version:** 1.0

## Commission Structure
| Tier | First Sale | Recurring | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 40% | 25% | $500 for first referral |
| Tier 2 | 30% | 20% | N/A |
| Tier 3 | 20% | 10% | N/A |

## Payout Logic
- Cookie window: [N days]
- Attribution: last-click
- Payment: monthly via Stripe/PayPal
- Minimum payout: $[N]
- Hold period: [days post-refund window]

## Affiliate Portal
- Login URL: [...]
- Affiliate link format: [...]
- Stats dashboard: [metrics]
- Asset library: [below]

## Promotion Assets
- Email swipes (3-5 versions)
- Social posts (LinkedIn / X / IG templates)
- Ad creative (banners / video ads)
- Webinar invite copy
- Landing pages (if custom for affiliates)

## Recruitment Plan
- Tier 1: direct outreach (5-10 target affiliates)
- Tier 2: email existing buyers
- Tier 3: public signup page

## Compliance
- FTC disclosure template (affiliates must use)
- W-9 / W-8BEN collection
- Affiliate agreement contract
- Refund policy handling

## Economics Validation
- Payout as % of AOV: [%]
- Net AOV post-payout: $[N]
- LTV:CAC impact: [math]

Verification Checklist

• Commission structure specified
• Payout logic clear
• Portal + assets defined
• Recruitment plan
• Compliance complete
• Economics preserve ≥3:1 LTV:CAC
• Triple-layer S/N ≥ 0.8

Next Skills

• /referral-program — customer-referral mechanics (adjacent)
• /email-sequence — affiliate recruitment sequence

References

• Partnerships department Department

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v1.0 — 2026-04-19. Cycle 6 Partnerships.