affiliate-marketing
This skill guides affiliate marketing strategy for AI and SaaS products, helping users plan commission structures, recruit affiliates, and optimize performance using the cost-per-sale model. Use it when the user discusses affiliate programs, commission rates, partner recruitment, tracking mechanisms, or specific affiliate terms like CPS model or partner networks.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills /tmp/affiliate-marketing && cp -r /tmp/affiliate-marketing/skills/channels/partnerships/affiliate-marketing ~/.claude/skills/affiliate-marketingSKILL.md
# Channels: Affiliate Guides affiliate marketing strategy for AI/SaaS products. Affiliate marketing uses a CPS (Cost Per Sale) model—pay only when sales occur. ROI typically 5:1 to 10:1; CAC 40%–50% lower than paid ads. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Initial Assessment **Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for product, audience, and positioning. Identify: 1. **Product type**: SaaS, AI tool, subscription 2. **Commission model**: Pay-per-sale, pay-per-lead, pay-per-click 3. **Target affiliates**: Content creators, publishers, coupon sites ## Commission Models | Model | Use | Typical Rate | |-------|-----|--------------| | **Pay-per-sale** | Most common; pay on conversion | 10%–20% | | **Pay-per-lead** | Lead gen (signup, form fill) | $5–50/lead | | **Pay-per-click** | Rare; risk of abuse | $0.01–10.50/click | For SaaS: Prefer pay-per-sale or pay-per-lead. Recurring commissions for subscriptions. ## Key Terms | Term | Definition | |------|------------| | **Cookie duration** | Attribution window (typically 30–90 days) | | **Recurring commission** | Ongoing % from subscription renewals | | **Sub-affiliate** | Affiliates who recruit other affiliates | | **Performance bonus** | Extra reward when affiliate hits sales targets | | **Attribution** | Linking sale to correct affiliate | ## Promotion Channels - **Content creators**: Bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, social influencers - **Publishers**: Media, niche sites, email newsletters - **Coupon/cashback**: Price-sensitive users; see **discount-marketing-strategy** for code strategy - **Professional affiliates**: Agencies managing multiple programs - **Communities**: Facebook Groups, Discord, Reddit, forums - **Existing customers**: Word-of-mouth via referral rewards ## Setup Options *Product and website examples are illustrative only. No affiliation, partnership, or endorsement implied.* | Approach | Use | |----------|-----| | **Self-build** | Forms (e.g. Google Forms); quick, low budget | | **Third-party** | Affiliate tracking platforms (e.g. Rewardful, Tapfiliate) for AI/SaaS | Submit program to affiliate program directories after launch for discoverability. ## Recruitment Strategies 1. **Dedicated landing page**: Clear commission, payout terms, cookie duration, signup flow; link in nav/footer. 2. **Partner personas**: Define 5+ personas (bloggers, YouTubers, newsletter owners, community admins); list audience fit and motivations. 3. **Target high-influence types**: SEO content owners ranking for your keywords; reviewers/listicle sites; media buyers. 4. **Reverse research**: Find affiliates promoting competitors; they may promote you too. 5. **Unconventional outreach**: Competitor backlink analysis; creative outreach beyond cold email and networks. Expect a small fraction of partners to drive most sales—quality over vanity metrics. ## Implementation Flow 1. **Assess product fit**: Target audience size, product complexity, commission margin, tracking feasibility. SaaS subscriptions suit recurring commissions. 2. **Design commission structure**: 20%–40% typical; cookie 60–90 days; payment cycle (e.g., 15th of month); minimum payout (e.g., $50). 3. **Create marketing materials**: Banners, social posts, email templates; landing page with commission details and signup flow. 4. **Recruit partners**: Publish to affiliate program directories; outreach to creators and influencers. 5. **Monitor and optimize**: Track conversion rate, ROI, AOV; review affiliate performance; detect fraud. ## Pitfalls and Prevention | Risk | Prevention | |------|------------| | **Affiliate fraud** | Fake clicks, self-referrals, fake conversions. Use platform fraud tools; vet affiliates; avoid auto-approve. | | **Brand bidding** | Affiliates bid on your brand terms in Google Ads; you pay commission for traffic you already own. Prohibit in terms; monitor paid search; use brand monitoring tools. See **paid-ads-strategy** for paid ads context. | | **Program terms** | Cookie length, performance bonus, sub-affiliate rules, payment threshold—set clearly in terms before launch. | ## Best Practices - **rel=sponsored**: Tag affiliate links per Google guidelines - **Transparent disclosure**: Disclose affiliate relationships - **Recruit authentic affiliates**: Align with brand; avoid low-quality networks - **Diversify partners**: Multiple affiliates reduce risk - **SEO for affiliate content**: Affiliate content drives organic traffic ## Output Format - **Commission model** recommendation - **Channel** strategy - **Recruitment** approach - **Tool** selection - **Checklist** for launch ## Related Skills - **paid-ads-strategy**: Paid ads context; brand bidding monitoring; when affiliates bid on brand terms - **discount-marketing-strategy**: Affiliate-specific promo codes; coupon sites; code strategy - **affiliate-page-generator**: Landing page for affiliate signup; apply landing-page-generator principles - **landing-page-generator**: Generic landing page structure, CTA, conversion; applies to affiliate signup pages - **influencer-marketing**: Often paired; influencers can be affiliates - **referral-program**: User-driven referral vs. affiliate-driven - **directory-submission**: Directory submission complements affiliate; both drive backlinks and traffic - **community-forum**: Communities (Discord, Reddit, forums) as affiliate recruitment channel
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit About page content. Also use when the user mentions "about page," "about us," "company story," "our team," "about section," "company overview," "brand story," "team page," or "who we are." For sitewide page planning, use website-structure.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit affiliate program page content. Also use when the user mentions "affiliate program," "affiliate page," "partner program," "referral program page," "affiliate landing," "partner landing," "commission page," or "affiliate signup." For affiliate program strategy, use affiliate-marketing.
When the user wants to track AI search traffic in GA4 or GSC. Also use when the user mentions "AI traffic," "ChatGPT referral," "Perplexity traffic," "AI Overviews," "GA4 AI sources," "AI search analytics," "track AI referrals," "AI search traffic," "Claude traffic," or "how to track AI traffic." For AI SEO strategy, use generative-engine-optimization.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit alternatives or comparison content (page or blog article). Also use when the user mentions "alternatives page," "alternatives listicle," "X alternatives," "competitor comparison," "vs page," "compare page," "best alternatives to X," "switch from X," "competitor brand traffic," "brand keyword ads," or "intercept competitor search." For competitor research, use competitor-research.
When the user wants to set up, audit, or optimize analytics tracking (GA4, events, conversions). Also use when the user mentions "Google Analytics," "GA4," "event tracking," "conversions," "attribution model," "gtag," "data layer," "GA4 setup," "conversion tracking," "event setup," "User ID tracking," or "CTA attribution." For traffic insights, use traffic-analysis.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit the API introduction/overview page. Also use when the user mentions "API page," "API landing page," "/api page," "API overview," "developer landing," "API marketing," or "API for developers." Note: API documentation (endpoint reference) lives in docs; use docs-page-generator.
When the user wants to write, generate, or create article body content—blog post body, long-form content, how-to guide, listicle. Also use when the user mentions "write article," "article content," "blog post content," "article body," "long-form content creation," "generate article," "article draft," "how-to guide content," "listicle content," "information gain," or "content density." For single post page structure, schema, and SEO metadata, use article-page-generator. For blog index/listing page, use blog-page-generator. For short ad, landing, or email copy, use copywriting.
When the user wants to create, optimize, or audit a single article/post page (not the blog index). Also use when the user mentions "article page," "blog post page," "single post," "post template," "article structure," "post optimization," "competitor article analysis," "optimize based on top-ranking articles," "analyze ranking articles," "optimize article for SEO," or "article schema." For writing article body copy, use article-content. For blog listing/index page, use blog-page-generator.