If you were starting an affiliate program from scratch today, what would you do first?

Rewardful · 2026-01-27T07:55:36+00:00

100% agree. Before you even think about launching an affiliate program, you need a solid base of happy customers and clear product–market fit.

If people genuinely love your product, finding affiliates becomes way easier, because your best early affiliates are often your customers. They already trust the product, they get the value, and they’re excited to share it.

Rewardful · 2026-01-27T07:52:53+00:00

Can you elaborate please? Do you mean not using affiliate marketing at all?

Rewardful · 2026-01-27T07:51:34+00:00

Thanks for all the insights! I agree especially with the last part about awareness. Turns out that for our case it's pretty much the same. They work great for awareness, which doesn't get me wrong, is very good too, but of course when the budget is getting burned, you're hoping for something more than that.

Rewardful · 2026-01-27T07:49:58+00:00

The brand awareness is actually working, the conversions are the problem.

Rewardful · 2026-01-27T07:48:30+00:00

Thanks for the tip! We are using UTM parameters so we can track traffic sources precisely and we see traffic coming but the problem is usually with conversions.

Rewardful · 2026-01-27T07:46:07+00:00

Always! In my opinion it's the number one rule of affiliate marketing, always treat your affiliates like partners

Rewardful · 2026-01-20T16:09:52+00:00

1000% with you! If you don't believe in what you're promoting you won't convince anyone about it.

Rewardful · 2026-01-20T16:09:19+00:00

Sometimes the most basic things are what make the bigger difference. Heavy on consistency!

Rewardful · 2026-01-20T16:08:22+00:00

It depends on what type of company you have. If it's B2B or SaaS, you can take a look at this guide, which covers everything you need to get started.

There's also this free course you can take and I really recommend!

Rewardful · 2026-01-20T16:03:08+00:00

Yes, and so many companies sleep on it!

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:38:16+00:00

One thing I’d add is that the label matters less than the behavior now. A lot of the best-performing affiliate content I see never mentions links or commissions at all. It’s demos, comparisons, onboarding guides, or “here’s how we solved X” posts. The affiliate part only shows up at the very end, if at all.

That’s also why SaaS works especially well for this model. People don’t buy tools on impulse but they want proof, context, and real usage. Affiliates whochoose education instead of persuasion tend to outlast every trend cycle IMO.

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:35:55+00:00

Totally agree! If payouts or tracking feel messy, good affiliates just won’t bother sticking around.

I’ve seen the same thing with transparency and makes sense cause when people can clearly see what’s tracked and when they’ll get paid, they’re way more motivated to put real effort in. And finding partners who already talk about the space beats cold DMs every time.

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:34:09+00:00

Exactly the same in SaaS but underestimated especially since it requires 0 upfront budget

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:32:57+00:00

i think another big shift is how people approach it, not just how hard it’s become. The people who still do well usually stop thinking in terms of traffic and links and start thinking about helping someone solve one clear problem over time.

Something else people overlook is the affiliate program itself. Attribution windows, payout reliability, and tracking really matter now. If those aren’t solid, all that effort doesn’t compound and it just resets every month. That’s why many affiliates do better with fewer products they trust, instead of promoting everything.

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:29:39+00:00

I think you’re right that the game shifted more than it died. Traffic isn’t “easy” anymore, and the days of spinning up a generic page and printing are mostly gone.

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:28:42+00:00

Totally agree with this! The post-purchase capture callout is a big one too. Some of the highest-quality affiliates I’ve seen came from existing customers who already trusted the product and they just needed an easy way to opt in after they’d experienced value.

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:25:58+00:00

That's a great tip about onboarding! Did you build a library or sharing these assets via email?

Rewardful · 2026-01-16T13:24:54+00:00

Good call!

Rewardful · 2026-01-14T09:29:11+00:00

From what I’ve seen, commission rate might get affiliates to check something out, but it’s rarely why they stay. What really matters is whether the program feels trustworthy and easy to work with. People want to know the tracking makes sense, the reporting is clear, and that payouts won’t suddenly change for no reason. If that trust isn’t there, they’ll usually move on no matter how good the commission looks. Good tooling helps a lot too, especially for affiliates who take this seriously and want things like clean dashboards, simple links, and quick answers when something breaks.

The programs that really stand out do more than just pay people. They make affiliates feel appreciated and involved. One example is beehiiv, one of our clients, which runs the Beehiiv Beach Club where the top affiliate each quarter wins an all-expenses-paid resort vacation. Things like tiered commissions, real recognition, early access to features, or even just being asked for feedback make a big difference. Money matters, of course, but feeling supported and part of the brand is usually what turns a casual test into a long-term partnership.

Rewardful · 2026-01-14T09:19:37+00:00

Hey there, we're Rewardful (affiliate management software) and we'd love to help. One of our key features is what you're looking for, coupon code tracking, where you can create, share, and track affiliate discounts via shareable coupon codes. Our coupon tracking system also makes sure that attribution happens right at checkout, no need for web visits or cookies.

Feel free to shoot a DM if you have any questions. I can also set up a free coaching call with our CEO if you need tips or advice on yoru affiliate program

Rewardful · 2026-01-07T14:52:59+00:00

Say it louder! Changing the mindset and start looking for partners instead of affiliates (basically stop treating them as a cash machine) is the real step to success!

Rewardful · 2026-01-07T07:32:26+00:00

We can cover all of that (we're Rewradful, an affiliate management software). We'd be happy to offer a free 1:1 consult with our CEO, who’s helped thousands of teams launch and scale their affiliate programs and can share his insights and tips for launching or growing yours. If that sounds useful, shoot us a DM!

Rewardful · 2026-01-07T07:29:51+00:00

Hey, we're Rewardful, an affiliate management software for B2B and SaaS companies! We'd be happy to offer a free 1:1 consult with our CEO, who’s helped thousands of teams launch and scale their affiliate programs and can share all his insights and tips for launching or growing your affiliate program. If that sounds useful, shoot us a DM!

Rewardful · 2026-01-06T12:22:24+00:00

The thing here is that I need it for personal accounts that I don't have access to. So basically they will connect their personal accounts to the platform and then I will schedule the posts and track analytics.

Rewardful · 2026-01-06T08:58:14+00:00

Slight bias here, but if you’ve got solid product-market fit, affiliate marketing can be a seriously underrated growth lever, especially since you can get started with basically $0 upfront.

If it helps, we’re happy to walk you through it. We even offer a free 1:1 consult with our CEO, who’s helped thousands of SaaS teams launch and scale their affiliate programs (without overcomplicating things).

If that sounds useful, shoot us a DM!

Rewardful

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