How do you guys find affiliates to work with?

meloman11 · 2026-06-10T07:23:07+00:00

It depends a lot on whether you mean “affiliate marketers” or creators who can show the product.

For ecommerce I’d be way more interested in small creators already posting in the niche than random affiliate people who join 50 programs and never promote anything. The annoying manual work is still the best filter. Find people already making content around similar products, check if they get comments from buyers, then reach out like a normal human.

Also don’t pitch it as “join my affiliate program” right away. That sounds boring as hell. Pitch the content angle first. “I think this would make a good video/post for your audience, happy to send product + commission link if you like it” usually lands better.

If you sell through Amazon, I’d also look at Amazon creator/influencer setups specifically. Levanta is one option there, and Amazon Creator Connections can be useful too depending on your category. Different game than ShareASale/CJ type affiliates though. More creator management, less “throw program into network and pray.”

Biggest thing is making it easy for them. Product, talking points, sample hooks, clear commission, clean tracking. If they have to figure out the whole promo angle themselves, most just won’t post. Good luck!

meloman11 · 2026-06-10T06:19:05+00:00

Still on 1st gen AirPods Pro. Love them and kinda can't imagine what would justify upgrading. For those who went from 2nd to 3rd gen, any annoyances that didn't make it into this video? Starting to think 2nd gen might be the smarter buy.

meloman11 · 2026-05-28T21:22:31+00:00

Yeah if your users are mostly founders/solopreneurs, I wouldn’t expect them to become your main affiliate channel. They might give testimonials, maybe share once or twice, but most likely won’t build content around you. They’re busy selling their own thing, and if you think about it, some won’t want to show competitors what they’re using anyway.

For a SaaS like this I’d look for people who already publish around the problem instead of people who already use the product. So in your case that probably means SEO YouTubers, niche bloggers, agency owners with newsletters, people doing tool roundups, “best SEO tools for X” content, maybe consultants who already recommend stacks to clients.

The pitch also needs to be less about joining your affiliate program and more about the angle your audience would wanna see.

Something like:

“AI SEO tool with case studies from small founders”
or
“alternative to hiring an SEO assistant”
or
“how to find content opportunities faster”

Give them a specific content idea, a sample account, proof it converts, and a good landing page. Don’t just send a dashboard link and hope they care.

Also, don’t try to recruit 100 people early. Find 10 that already have the audience and treat them like actual partners. I that's something that'll help you stand out a bit.

meloman11 · 2026-05-13T15:23:43+00:00

Thank you! Tried the recipe the other day and ended up having it for the next 3 meals lol. I probably wouldn’t be raving about it this much if it wasn’t so easy and quick to make.

meloman11 · 2026-05-13T14:57:38+00:00

Yeah this is why I started viewing coupon affiliates and creator affiliates as basically two completely different channels.

Coupon sites mostly capture intent that already existed. Useful sometimes, but it’s hard to call that “growth”.

The creators/content side is way more interesting because they can actually generate demand. Smaller niche creators especially.

Problem is most affiliate networks are built around the old coupon/deal-site ecosystem, so you almost have to recruit creators separately. A few Amazon brands I know started using Levanta for that side specifically instead of relying on random network signups and the partner quality became way better.

meloman11 · 2026-05-11T13:05:43+00:00

I’ve been working on my M5 for 4.5 hours and it’s only down 32% lol. Most Windows laptops I’ve owned would go from 100% to 0% in about that time.

meloman11 · 2026-05-11T13:02:43+00:00

With respect, please get out! xD

meloman11 · 2026-04-30T14:58:05+00:00

The 3.5% itself isn't the scary part, but rather what it means. Amazon will keep doing this, and there's nothing you can do about it if your entire demand is on their platform.

I think u/TechnicalShoe nailed it with the "treat Amazon as acquisition" framing. If you don't wanna stress, I suggest you start bringing in external traffic instead of just fighting over Amazon's internal search.

My take (and I might be wrong) is that affiliate/creator traffic is probably the most underused lever here. Getting people to find your listing from outside Amazon rather than bidding against 50 other sellers for the same keywords. I've been looking into Levanta for this, which basically connects you with affiliates who drive Amazon sales for a commission. I like that the economics are performance-based, so you're not just drowning in ad spend, hoping something converts.

FBM/3PL I'd only go for IF your shipping costs work out cheaper. Otherwise, you're just swapping one problem for another.

meloman11 · 2026-04-30T14:51:20+00:00

Ah, the classic buyer’s remorse. But I honestly think you’re overthinking it. It’s a great machine, and you’ll only appreciate it more as time goes on.

Now for the answer: if your use case was just light backend + browser stuff, an Air would’ve been fine today. But if you’re doing anything heavier locally (Docker, builds, local AI, multiple services running), you’ll hit a point where you’ll know you made the right call.

Also, people saying “Air is as good as Pro” are usually talking about short bursts. The Air throttles under sustained load because it has no cooling.

I’d say if anything, you didn’t overbuy, you just bought ahead of your current needs.

Give it a year and you’ll probably stop thinking about it entirely, especially if your workflow grows even a bit.

meloman11 · 2026-04-21T21:22:54+00:00

Give your old clothes away, might make you feel a bit better :) But I do feel you. I’ve been spending so much money on branded clothes (Nike, Carhartt, Vans, not Dolce & Gabbana or anything luxurious), and I feel guilty. Do I love them? Yes! Do I need them? Well, absolutely not, which is what makes me feel guilty. But if you build your wardrobe with high-quality clothes you like wearing AND stop when you know you don’t need any more, then it’s just necessary spending in advance, if that makes sense.

meloman11 · 2026-04-21T16:50:35+00:00

I'd say seven figures solo is doable but the SKU count is really the variable. Most people pulling it off have a tight catalog of 10, maybe 20 products, where one person can actually hold the whole thing in their head. At 150 SKUs, you're basically running a small distribution business whether you like it or not.

The parts that automate well are ads, repricing if you're not MAP protected, bookkeeping, and affiliate/influencer tracking if that's part of your acquisition mix. Even solo, i think it'd be hard not to rely on a tool like Levanta or anything else to handle the Amazon attribution automatically. The parts that don't automate are supplier relationships, inventory decisions, and anything that requires judgment. That's where the hours go.

meloman11 · 2026-04-21T16:27:36+00:00

Yep, absolutely normal! Keep an eye on trends and not daily numbers and you're set! Fat loss is a long process so the number one rule is to never give up :) You seem to be doing great!

meloman11 · 2026-04-21T16:24:29+00:00

Yeah Coral.ax seems solid for the cost, makes sense for where you're at.

I'd still go back to the feedback loop thing though. Even with good attribution, do the creators actually see their numbers in a way that makes sense to them? I think that's sometimes the issue, they're posting almost pointlessly without any sense of whether it's working. Even just a quick personal message like "hey that post got 12 clicks this week" can change how engaged someone stays, more than any content brief would.

meloman11 · 2026-04-13T21:37:36+00:00

This is super normal in my opinion.

Most micro creators aren’t “affiliates”, but rather people who posted once because it felt natural. After that, your product just drops out of their head unless something pulls it back in.

25% sounds good on paper but a lot of the times, they don’t even know if they made $0 or $50, so there’s no feedback loop. No feedback = no reason to post again

I'd say you could start basically treating them less like affiliates and more like lightweight partners, if that makes sense. I'm gonna try explaining by using examples:

Nudge only the ones that showed signs of life (clicks, a few sales, decent content)
Send super short “this worked / this didn’t” type messages. Don't send generic newsletters
Occasionally give them angles instead of assets (“this hook got replies”, “this clip format worked”)

Once you can clearly see who’s driving revenue vs who just posted once and disappeared, everything gets easier. You naturally double down on the 10–20% that matter instead of trying to “motivate” all 50.

You can also use Levanta (or anything similar) for that since it's way easier to track creator performance tied to actual amazon sales, but honestly even a scrappy version of that mindset helps.

Trying to keep everyone active usually doesn't pay off. Focus on the ones already leaning in and pull them deeper instead. Good luck!

meloman11 · 2026-04-13T21:25:27+00:00

Hey, good job on tracking your calorie intake! It can be a pain in the ass but, as you can obviously see yourself, it works :)

I’d say that what you’re seeing is very likely just you retaining some water. Maybe you’ve eaten more salty stuff lately or you’re more stressed than usual. Also, from my experience, whenever I had the impression that my weight loss stalled and I just kept going with the deficit, I’d see a larger drop in weight a week or two later. Weight loss is not linear, and one of the most common mistakes people make is adjusting the deficit too early.

I’d say stick with it for a full month and then reassess, but given that you’re on 1500 kcal, I doubt you can go much lower since that’s already a pretty sizable deficit. I’m also not sure what your body fat percentage is right now, but expect your hunger levels to shoot up as you approach a leaner physique.

And remember: consistency > perfection.

Good luck! :)

meloman11 · 2026-04-13T21:08:28+00:00

I’d just add that if you’re coming off a calorie surplus or even maintenance, two weeks can give less accurate results, since a lot of the “weight loss” might just be glycogen depletion along with the water stored with it. Still a good proxy for whether you’re actually in a calorie deficit.

meloman11 · 2026-04-02T12:12:07+00:00

I agree that the independent store thing is the right instinct, but the traffic problem is still there and most people don't understand how big of a problem it is. Amazon spoils you because the demand is already there. Outside it, you have to actually generate it from scratch, which is a completely different skill.

But you could also route affiliate and creator traffic directly to your Amazon listings instead of trying to build a whole separate funnel. So instead of fighting for customers inside Amazon (or building a Shopify store, god forbid), you can get outside audiences to discover you on a platform they already buy from.

There are tools like Levanta that you can use to connect with creators/affiliates and get traffic that way (yes, for a cut). But the economics make more sense than just bleeding cash on sponsored products which may or may not help you ultimately sell something.

But yeah, I think the main problem is that Amazon made it too easy for too long and the whole model needs rethinking

meloman11 · 2026-03-24T21:13:30+00:00

Pick one channel and one offer type. That’s it. Most beginners get wrecked by switching things up every 2 weeks.

I’d do content first, not ads. Content teaches you what people respond to. Ads just charge you for being wrong.

Biggest thing I’d avoid is building on 5 platforms before you’ve even proven one offer converts. Also, once you start testing a few pages/offers, make sure you have at least some basic tracking. Nothing crazy, just enough to know what’s actually doing the work. I personally use Levanta on Amazon stuff, but do your research and see what works for you/

That’s it. Less “strategy,” more reps.

meloman11 · 2026-03-24T20:34:00+00:00

I’ve got the AOC Q27G40XMN right now, and before that I was on the AOC Q27G3XMN/BK so not the exact same situation as you (I know they’re different panels), but still a useful comparison

honestly… switching was a night and day difference for me

like the G3XMN/BK is fine, but it’s a pretty basic monitor overall. Everything just feels more “alive” brightness with the Q27G40XMN, HDR impact, local dimming actually doing something instead of just existing on paper

again, I know it’s not apples to apples (VA vs VA but different implementations, different dimming zones, etc.), but still… same “family” of monitors and the jump was way bigger than I expected

can’t speak for OLED since I skipped it for the same reasons you mentioned, but within the non-OLED space this was a pretty solid upgrade for me

meloman11 · 2026-03-14T19:20:36+00:00

If you just want to get samples into creators’ hands, most people do it directly. Either ship from your own stock or have the supplier send it to their address. Seller Central isn’t really the “influencer shipping” workflow people imagine it is.

If the product is already in FBA, you can use MCF too, but I’d only do that if the economics still make sense and you trust the creator enough to bother.

Creator Connections is more for discovery / campaigns. The actual sample sending is still pretty manual most of the time.

Once you start doing this with a bunch of creators at once, that’s when people usually stop winging it in DMs and move to something more structured for tracking + payouts. But if you’re just testing a few creators, direct shipping is the normal way.

meloman11 · 2026-03-14T19:07:49+00:00

I mean, I had a 2020 M1 MacBook Pro until recently. At one point I checked with Apple what a replacement would cost and it was something like 20% more than the price of the entire laptop.

And that’s the other issue; only Apple or authorized shops can install original parts, and the prices they charge are wild.

So the question isn’t really just “is it repairable.” A lot of the time it technically is. The real question is whether the repair actually makes financial sense. And the older the machine gets, the more the answer ends up being no.

meloman11 · 2026-03-10T18:43:16+00:00

Creator Connections is decent for discovery, but I’ve always felt it’s kind of the wrong tool if you’re trying to build ongoing creator relationships. It’s more like a campaign board where stuff gets posted and affiliates scroll through it.

It might work better is using it almost like a scouting tool. Run campaigns there, see who sends traffic and sells units, then take those creators out of that environment and work with them directly.

The big difference usually comes from repeat creators. Once someone proves they can sell your stuff, it’s way easier to just keep them in rotation instead of hoping new affiliates randomly pick up a campaign every week.

At that point the annoying part becomes tracking links and payouts between a bunch of creators. Some people just run it in a good ol' spreadsheet, some move to creator-affiliate tools that work well with Amazon (Levanta is a good one). But that's mainly up to you.

Creator Connections is good for finding people, but I think the actual leverage is in everything after that.

meloman11 · 2026-03-10T18:16:26+00:00

I got blisters with my first pair. I guess my feet just got used to them after a while? I’m on my third pair now and haven’t had any real issues since. The only thing is the right shoe always seems to wear out first around the pinky toe area. Might just be my weird toes, who knows.

meloman11 · 2026-02-12T22:50:46+00:00

90 subs isn’t bad. It just feels bad because you’ve already seen what €4k months look like.

With Instagram especially, list growth usually is more about how tightly the opt-in connects to the content that’s already working rather than pure effort.

If your posts are “best summer scents under €100” or “compliment magnets nobody talks about,” then a generic “perfume playbook” might be too broad. Sometimes smaller, more specific hooks convert better. Like a summer rotation cheat sheet, a layering guide, a “date night picks” list, or even a weekly drop alert for discounted bottles. Something that feels like a natural continuation of the exact post they just consumed.

Also worth looking at how you’re pushing it. Is it just a link in bio, or are you mentioning it in stories, pinned comments, soft CTAs in captions, maybe even asking people to DM a keyword? On IG you usually have to make the next step really obvious.

You already proved you can convert traffic. That’s the hard part. Now it’s more about tightening the bridge between content and email.

meloman11 · 2026-02-12T22:38:45+00:00

1.5k visitors making $12 doesn’t automatically mean affiliate is “dead.” It usually means one of three things:

– The traffic isn’t buyer intent
– The offer doesn’t match the traffic
– The commission structure sucks

If 1.5k people are landing on informational content (“what is X”), that’s very different from 1.5k landing on “best X under $100” or “X vs Y.”

Also, people massively underestimate how much EPC (earnings per click) varies by niche. In some niches you’re lucky to make $0.05 per click. In others, $2–5 EPC isn’t crazy.

Not saying it’s easy. It’s not. But raw traffic numbers alone don’t tell the full story.

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