affiliate-marketing

name	affiliate-marketing
description	Build high-converting SaaS affiliate programs with 20-40% commissions, KOL/KOC partnerships, and fraud prevention. Covers platform selection (PartnerStack, FirstPromoter, Rewardful), commission structures (recurring vs one-time, tiered), influencer outreach strategies, FTC/GDPR compliance, risk management, and case studies (Dropbox 3900%, PayPal 100M users). Use for designing affiliate programs, recruiting partners, optimizing conversion rates, preventing fraud, or scaling referral revenue.
version	1.0.0

Affiliate Marketing

Build and scale SaaS affiliate programs that drive 20-50% of customer acquisition at 30-50% lower CAC.

Quick Start

1. Define Program → Choose commission model matching business stage
2. Select Platform → Pick tool based on scale and integration needs
3. Recruit Partners → Identify KOL/KOC aligned with ICP
4. Prevent Fraud → Implement multi-layer protection
5. Scale & Optimize → Track KPIs, iterate on performance

Commission Models

Model	Best For	Rate	Cookie
Recurring	SaaS subscriptions	20-30%	90 days
One-time	High-ticket products	$50-200	60 days
Tiered	Scaling programs	20→40%	90 days
Hybrid	Top affiliates	Base + %	120 days

Platform Quick Reference

Platform	Best For	Price	Setup
FirstPromoter	Early-stage SaaS	$49/mo	1 hour
Rewardful	Stripe-first	$29/mo	30 min
PartnerStack	Enterprise	$500+/mo	1 week
Impact.com	Large scale	Custom	2 weeks

Key Metrics

• Conversion Rate: Target 3-5%
• EPC (Earnings/Click): $5-50 for SaaS
• CAC via Affiliate: 30-50% lower than paid
• Affiliate Retention: Target >70%
• Program ROI: 3:1 to 5:1 typical

References

Strategy & Design

• Program Structure - Commission models, tiering, cookie windows
• Platform Selection - FirstPromoter vs PartnerStack vs Rewardful

Partner Recruitment

• KOL/KOC Partnerships - Influencer identification, vetting, compensation
• Outreach Templates - Cold emails, proposals, onboarding

Operations

• Fraud Prevention - Detection, clawbacks, risk management
• Compliance & Legal - FTC disclosure, GDPR, contracts
• Case Studies - Dropbox, PayPal, Shopify, ConvertKit

Decision Tree

GOAL → STRATEGY
├─ Launch Program → FirstPromoter + 25% recurring + 10-20 affiliates
├─ Scale Revenue → Tiered commissions + content creators + KOC focus
├─ Enterprise → PartnerStack + agency partners + hybrid compensation
├─ Reduce Fraud → 90-day holds + vetting + clawback policies
└─ Optimize ROI → Track EPC + CLV attribution + retention bonuses

Quick Wins

1. Two-sided rewards - Both referrer AND referee get incentives (68% higher participation)
2. 90-day cookie - Industry standard for B2B SaaS sales cycles
3. Recurring commission - Aligns affiliate motivation with customer retention
4. Commission holds - 60-90 days matching refund window prevents fraud
5. Tier advancement - 20%→30%→40% based on performance

Report Output

Activate: assets-organizing skill for report file paths

Affiliate reports go to assets/reports/performance/{date}-affiliate-program.md

Anti-Patterns

Issue	Fix
Low participation	Increase commission to 25-30%
High fraud rate	Implement 90-day hold + vetting
Inactive affiliates	Monthly check-ins + content support
Brand bidding	Explicit TOS prohibition + monitoring
Poor conversion	Provide better landing pages + training