·4 min read
MVP Affiliate Program Basics
Affiliates can scale your reach beyond your marketing budget. But timing and structure matter.
Affiliate vs Referral
| Referral | Affiliate |
|---|---|
| Customers referring customers | Anyone promoting for commission |
| Usually non-monetary rewards | Cash or percentage commission |
| Organic, trust-based | Marketing-driven |
| Lower volume, higher quality | Higher volume, variable quality |
When to Start Affiliates
- •Product is proven and stable
- •You have predictable unit economics
- •Customer lifetime value is known
- •You can afford to pay commissions
- •Not in early MVP phase
Commission Structures
- •One-time: 20-50% of first payment
- •Recurring: 10-30% of payments for 12 months
- •Lifetime: 10-20% forever (expensive)
- •Hybrid: Higher first month, lower recurring
Affiliate Tools
- •Rewardful: Simple, Stripe-integrated
- •PartnerStack: More features, B2B focused
- •FirstPromoter: Good for SaaS
- •Tapfiliate: Flexible, many integrations
Affiliate Program Pitfalls
- •Launching too early (before product-market fit)
- •Commission too low to attract good affiliates
- •No vetting of affiliates (spam risk)
- •Cookie duration too short
- •Slow payouts damaging relationships
Start with a few hand-picked affiliates you trust. Scale the program only after proving the model works.