How to Create an Affiliate Program For Your DTC Brand

An affiliate program is a way for brands to boost their sales by partnering with people or other businesses to promote their products.

The brands give special links or codes to these partners (called affiliates). When the affiliates share these links or codes with their audience and someone makes a purchase using them, the affiliate earns a commission.

When someone buys the product using the influencers' code, the brand's system can record it as a sale coming through that influencers. From this, they can figure out how much money the influencers should get as her reward for helping sell their products.

Here's an example of an affiliate coupon code (CHEVI20) shared by an influencer on social media:

But why should you create an affiliate program, and how do you exactly do that? That's what we're going to discuss in this blog.

Why to start an affiliate marketing program?

Reason #1— It's a direct sales channel that's less costly than running Meta ads or paying influencers upfront.

In affiliate marketing, instead of paying influencers upfront with no guarantee of returns, you only pay for the sales you actually get. This reduces your financial risk while still allowing you to tap into the power of influencer marketing.

What makes this model even more attractive is the cash flow advantage. When a sale happens through an affiliate, the money is already in your bank account before you pay out any commissions. You're not spending from your pocket first and then waiting anxiously to see if it pays off.

As long as your margins are healthy and you set commissions that leave you with a profit after payout, you're in a win-win situation. Even factoring in some upfront costs for setting up tools or hiring a program manager, the risk of losing money is significantly lower compared to other marketing channels.

Reason #2— You get to build social proof across popular search platforms

Google search is no longer the only place people look for product information. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have become powerful search engines in their own right. But simply having a brand account on these platforms isn't enough — you need other people talking about your brand.

Affiliate marketing offers a cost-effective way to build this social proof. When affiliates promote your products on these platforms, they create a network of recommendations and reviews that potential customers can refer to.

For example of the TikTok feed if you search for Olipop, there:

All these posts are either by affiliates, influencers, or customers who love the product.

While you can't directly control where affiliates promote, many naturally gravitate towards these popular platforms. By collaborating with influencers who are already active on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you increase the chances of your brand appearing in potential customers' searches. And the best part of it is that you're achieving this expanded reach and credibility while being cost-effective.

Reason #3— You can get creatives for your social media or ads from the content that affiliates create

To promote your products, affiliates will create content for their own social media channels. All this content doesn't have to stay just on their channels. You can use it for your own marketing.

Affiliate content often shows your products in real-life situations, which can be more relatable and authentic to potential customers. Many affiliates are willing to let you use their content for extra perks or a small fee. Some might even allow reposting for free if you have a large following, as it gives them more exposure. This is more cost-effective than commissioning a full-scale production for each of your marketing campaigns.

For example, Magic Spoon utilizes influencer or affiliate-generated content for their ads:

You also have the advantage of seeing how a content piece performed organically before deciding to use it. You can cherry-pick the pieces that got the most engagement.

With multiple affiliates creating content, you get a variety of styles and perspectives to choose from. This diverse content pool gives you more options for your marketing campaigns without the high costs of producing everything in-house.

Step 1— Decide on an affiliate offer

When starting an affiliate marketing program, the first step isn't finding influencers — it's deciding what you'll offer to your affiliates in return for the sales they bring in. A compelling affiliate offer includes three components:

1. Commission: The financial incentive for sales. This could be a percentage of each sale or a flat fee. For example, Snif offers a 10% commission, while HexClad provides up to 15%. Otuway socks offered $15 for every sale, no matter the order value.

1. Discounts for the affiliate's audience: This helps affiliates drive sales by incentivizing potential customers who are considering a purchase but haven't committed yet.
2. Perks for the affiliate: These are intangible benefits of being associated with your brand that the affiliates might not get anywhere else. For example, Snif offers early access to new products, exclusive merchandise, and direct communication with the founders.

A strong offer isn't just about money. It should make affiliates feel valued and motivated to authentically promote your brand.

Step 2— Build an affiliate program landing page

Many brands don't know how to effectively showcase their affiliate program. They often create a basic form to gather affiliate information but don't have a place to put the form, and explain about their program. It's unrealistic to think influencers will flock to your program just because it exists. Influencers have many options to choose from, and a hidden form on your website won't catch their attention.

Instead, brands should treat their affiliate program like they're launching a new product. This means creating a well-designed, dedicated landing page that really sells the program. The page should be easy to find and understand. It needs to grab attention and make influencers want to join.

Here are the key elements to include on your affiliate marketing landing page:

• A value proposition — whether that's joining a community, brand's mission, or earning extra income
• Clear program benefits and commission structure
• Eligibility criteria
• Application form or link to apply
• Testimonials from successful affiliates (if available)
• Contact information for support

Our favorite example of an affiliate program landing page is from Snif, a perfume brand. Check out the full breakdown of this page here.

You can use SARAL to build a custom influencer program landing page in minutes with no technical setup or design skills required:

• Choose from pre-designed templates
• Add your brand colors, logo, and copy
• Include an application for applying to your influencer program

Step 3— Find the right affiliates

While a dedicated landing page for your affiliate program will attract interest, you should also reach out to influencers you think would be perfect for your program. Don't just wait for them to discover you.

First, know who your ideal influencer is. Create a set of criteria to judge different profiles so you're not reaching out to everyone and later realizing they're not a good fit.

To find the right affiliates, you can use any of these methods:

• Check your customer list — Ask your customers if fit your criteria of being an affiliate, and if they would like to become your affiliate
• Hashtag research (Free to do, but takes time)
• Influencer marketplaces (expensive, and not very effective!)

But the best way to find affiliates is to use tools like SARAL.

SARAL helps you find all kinds of affiliates easily. Just type in what you're looking for, like "fitness expert" or "fashion blogger." SARAL then searches through millions of profiles and gives you a list of affiliates that match. You can save this list without copying and pasting, which is much neater than using spreadsheets.

To check if an affiliate is a good fit — if they have engaged followers who trust their recommendations — you can use SARAL's free Chrome extension. It shows you the affiliate's engagement stats and can even suggest a fair fee to pay if you ever do a paid collaboration with them.

Step 4 — Reach out to affiliates

Once you've identified potential affiliates, it's time to contact them. You can do this through direct messages (DMs) on social media or email if you have their address.

Template to reach out to influencers

Here's a sample message you can use as a template:

"Hey [Influencer's Name],

We really like your content and think you'd be a great partner. We're inviting you to be part of our affiliate network. You can find more info here [link]. Just ask me if you have any questions. Let me know if you'd like to be part of it. I'll make sure to set everything up for you if you're interested.

Cheers, [Your Name]"

Don't forget to follow up

Influencers get many messages every day, so your first DM or email might have been missed by accident. It's a good idea to follow up after 3-4 days. When you do, mention your earlier message and maybe add a new reason why you think they'd be great for your brand.

Here's a simple follow-up message you can use:

"Hi [Influencer's First Name],

I hope you're doing well. I sent you a message a few days ago about working together with [Brand Name]. I wanted to check if you saw it.

We're excited about the idea of partnering with you for [brief product description]. We think you'd be a great fit because [specific reason].

No problem if you're busy. Just let me know if you want to talk more about it.

Thanks for your time![Your Name]"

Handle objections smartly

Not all influencers you reach out to will say yes to your offer. Some might say they charge an upfront fee, or want a higher commission rate. And some might simply say "no" to your offer without willing to negotiate.

What should you do in that case?

Let's explore how you can turn these potential setbacks into stepping stones for successful collaborations with negotiations:

"Here's my fee" objection:

• Use social proof: Mention other influencers working with you, and how happy they are working with your brand
• Break down potential earnings: Show how they could earn more long-term if they partner as affiliates now
• Offer a minimum guarantee: Ensure a base payment even if sales targets aren't met (do this only if you think a particular influencer is worth getting special treatment).

"I don't do affiliate" objection:

• Suggest collaboration on a secondary platform with fewer followers.
• Negotiate for additional content or usage rights for the same fee.

Building relationships even after a "no":

• If they have an audience bigger than your other affiliates, propose collaborating on a giveaway.
• Keep the conversation going with regular check-ins.
• Share valuable content related to their niche.

SARAL makes the follow-up process a breeze by letting you schedule your messages in advance. The platform automatically sends them out at the times you choose, so you don't have to keep track of everything manually.

If an influencer responds, SARAL is smart enough to pause any scheduled follow-ups so you don't accidentally send them a message when you're already chatting. It's a super helpful tool for staying organized and on top of your influencer outreach. Get access to SARAL for free.

Step 5 — Get affiliates ready to promote your products

When you bring on new affiliates, you want to make them excited about your brand, tell them all about it, and give them details they need. There are 3 main things to do at this point:

• Send them your products
• Share a guideline document
• Create a unique discount code or link for their audience

Unboxing experience of your products

If you're offering free products, make the unboxing experience memorable. Affiliates often receive numerous free items, so yours needs to stand out. Create packaging that's not just visually appealing but also 'content-worthy.' This approach serves two purposes:

1. It simplifies the affiliate's content creation process.
2. It helps your product cut through the noise on social media platforms.

Think beyond basic packaging. Consider using bold colorful materials, adding stickers, or swags, or including surprise gifts that complement your main product.

When Snif, the perfume brand sends packages to its influencers they include seasonal flowers, a hand-written note, some extra gifts to make the package share-worthy:

Creative guideline document

Avoid giving them a sales script. But do give them all the information while letting their authentic voice shine through. To do this, you can share a creative guidelines document that should tell them:

• Your brand's core values and mission
• Unique selling propositions of your product
• Clear dos and don'ts for brand representation
• Detailed description of your target audience
• Content ideas and inspiration (without being prescriptive)
• Key messaging points
• Preferred hashtags
• Technical specifications (if applicable)

Unique coupon code or discount link

Provide each affiliate with a unique discount code or tracking link.

One problem that you might face with coupon codes is that they get leaked to sites like RetailMeNot or get automatically applied by browser extensions like Honey. When leaked codes are attributed to influencers who didn't actually drive those sales, it can lead to inflated performance metrics. This could result in overpaying influencers or undervaluing those who are truly effective.

The only solution to this is — SARAL's Dynamic Discount Codes.  We will generate unique, time-restricted coupon codes each time a customer clicks on an affiliate link.

This features comes with:

• Quick expiry: Codes are valid for a short time only. By the time someone tries to share the code on a coupon site or with friends, it'll likely be expired.
• One-time use: These codes can only be used once. This makes it impossible for coupon-collecting websites to take advantage of them.
• Optional email capture: A popup can be enabled to capture the user's email before granting the discount,

Step 6 — Keep affiliates engaged and motivated

Happy affiliates are your best asset. When they genuinely like your brand, it shows in how they promote it. Here are some ideas to keep them motivated to promote your brand:

Tiered reward system

Create a system where affiliates earn higher commissions as they increase sales. This gives them clear goals to strive for and encourages consistent promotion of your products. For example, the standard rate can be 10% commission but once they bring in 20 orders, their commission jumps to 15%.

Stay in touch

Affiliates have new content and opportunities coming to them daily. So it's all too easy for your brand to slip from an affiliate's radar if you're not making consistent efforts to stay connected.

You can send them regular emails with:

• Product sneak peeks
• Success stories of top performers

Your outreach doesn't always have to be business-focused. Personalize your communication:

• Share content relevant to their interests or niche
• Congratulate them on recent achievements, both personal and professional
• Simply check in to see how they're doing

These small gestures go a long way in showing that you value them as individuals, not just as marketing channels. It's about building genuine relationships.

Take a leaf out of Snif's book. They give their affiliates direct access to the company's founders. This level of connection makes affiliates feel truly valued and integral to the brand's success.

Heart & Soil (they use SARAL!) is another brand that has cracked the code to building relationships with influencers.

They treat influencers like real partners, not just marketing tools.

I know when these people have weddings, their birthdays, and their kids are graduating. This human element establishes a beautiful trust. If you view these relationships as relationships, that is the key. ~Noël Ostrosky, affiliate program manager at Heart & Soil

This approach pays off. Noël tells the story of an athlete who left for a higher-paying offer, only to return two months later. Because he missed the personal touch Heart & Soil offered.

Heart & Soil's philosophy is simple: be open, be flexible, and sometimes, be willing to let go. They work with influencers to meet halfway when possible. But if they can't? They encourage the influencer to take the better offer.

It's almost like true love. Sometimes, letting go is the right thing. And sometimes, they come back.

This unique approach has helped Heart and Soil build a loyal, authentic influencer network.

Step 7 — Track affiliate performance

Tracking ROI from your influencer or affiliate program isn't about micromanaging your affiliates. It's about gathering insights to help both you and your affiliates succeed. Use this data to have meaningful conversations with your affiliates, offer tailored support, and continuously improve your program. When you can clearly show them their impact, it motivates them to continue putting effort into promoting your brand.

Two important metrics to track are:

• Sales and Revenue: While this is the most obvious metric, dig deeper than just the total. Analyze patterns in sales timing, identify your best-selling products, and compare performance across different affiliates. This granular view can reveal valuable insights about your market and the effectiveness of various promotional strategies.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Ask yourself, "Are the customers brought in by affiliates one-time buyers or do they become loyal to your brand?" A high CLV indicates that affiliates are attracting quality customers who align well with your brand, potentially leading to sustained growth. It's also worth comparing the CLV of customers acquired through different affiliates to identify which partnerships are most valuable in the long run.

If you use an all-in-one influencer marketing tool like SARAL, you'll get detailed performance reports.

Using these reports, you can show stakeholders the direct impact of your affiliate marketing efforts on revenue or brand.

Final Thoughts

If you're running a DTC brand in any niche, you know how fierce the competition is, and how cutthroat the margins are. It's not enough to stay nimble and simple anymore. You've got a run for growth... while somehow staying profitable!

That's possible with affiliate marketing, but only when you do it at scale. You need hundreds of affiliates talking about your brand, daily.

And to execute affiliate marketing at scale, managing your affiliates in spreadsheets or manually sifting through social media to find them is inefficient.

You need tools like SARAL — all-in-one influencer. By automating the grunt work, you'll free you to focus on what really matters: strategy and growth. Claim your free trial here.