---
name: affiliate-recruitment
description: "Writes affiliate recruitment emails, landing pages, and onboarding materials to attract partners. Use when building or growing an affiliate program."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Affiliate Recruitment

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Write outreach emails to recruit affiliates and referral partners
- Create an affiliate program landing page with terms and benefits
- Build onboarding materials that help affiliates promote effectively
- Design commission structures and promotional asset packages

**DO NOT** use this skill for influencer marketing campaigns, joint venture partnerships, or general PR outreach. This is for structured affiliate and referral partner recruitment.

---

## Core Principle

AFFILIATES PROMOTE PRODUCTS THAT MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD AND PAY WELL — YOUR RECRUITMENT MUST PROVE BOTH: THAT YOUR PRODUCT CONVERTS AND THAT THE COMMISSION IS WORTH THEIR AUDIENCE'S TRUST.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Product** | "What product will affiliates promote?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Price point** | "What does the product cost?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Commission rate** | "What commission will you offer?" | 30% per sale |
| **Cookie duration** | "How long is the tracking window?" | 30 days |
| **Affiliate platform** | "What tool manages your affiliate program?" | Platform-agnostic |
| **Ideal affiliate profile** | "Who are your dream affiliates?" | Content creators and bloggers in the niche |

**GATE: Confirm before building recruitment materials.**

---

## Phase 2: Program Design

### Commission Structure

```
## Affiliate Commission Details

**Commission:** [X]% per sale ($[X] per conversion)
**Cookie duration:** [X] days
**Payment schedule:** Monthly, NET 30
**Minimum payout:** $50
**Recurring commissions (if subscription):** [X]% on renewals for [X] months
**Bonus tiers:**
- 10+ sales/month → 5% commission bump
- 25+ sales/month → 10% commission bump + featured partner status
```

### Affiliate Asset Package

```
## What Affiliates Receive

- Unique tracking link
- Email swipe copy (3-5 emails)
- Social media posts (5-10 ready-to-use)
- Banner ads (3-4 sizes)
- Product demo video or walkthrough
- Affiliate dashboard with real-time stats
- Dedicated affiliate support contact
```

**GATE: Approve the program structure before writing recruitment copy.**

---

## Phase 3: Write Recruitment Materials

### Outreach Email Template

```
Subject: Partner with [Brand] — earn $[X] per sale

Hi {name},

I've been following your content on [platform] and love what you're doing with [specific content reference].

I run [Brand], and we just launched an affiliate program for [Product]. Given your audience of [audience description], I think this could be a great fit.

Here's the quick overview:
- [X]% commission per sale ($[X] per conversion)
- [X]-day cookie window
- Ready-made promo materials (emails, social posts, banners)
- Average affiliate earns $[X]/month

If you're interested, I'd love to send you a free copy of [Product] so you can try it first.

[Apply/Learn More link]

Best,
[Name]
```

### Affiliate Landing Page

Structure:
1. Headline: "Earn $[X] for every customer you refer"
2. Program overview: commission, cookie, payment schedule
3. Why this product converts (conversion rate, customer satisfaction)
4. What you get: asset package list
5. Testimonials from existing affiliates (if available)
6. Application form

### Onboarding Email Sequence

- **Email 1:** Welcome + dashboard access + tracking link
- **Email 2:** Top promotion strategies that work for this product
- **Email 3:** Swipe copy and asset package delivery
- **Email 4:** Tips from top-performing affiliates

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Affiliate Terms Document

Cover: commission structure, prohibited promotion methods (spam, false claims), brand guidelines, payment terms, and termination conditions.

### 2. Recruitment Pipeline

- Target list: 20-50 potential affiliates with contact info
- Outreach cadence: initial email → follow-up (5 days) → final follow-up (10 days)
- Track: contacted, responded, applied, approved, first sale

### 3. Program Metrics

- Affiliate signup rate from outreach
- Active affiliate percentage (made at least 1 sale in 90 days)
- Revenue per active affiliate
- Top affiliate performance vs. average

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Low commission rates** — under 20% for digital products makes your program uncompetitive. Top programs offer 30-50%.
- **No promotional materials** — affiliates who have to create everything from scratch will not promote you.
- **Accepting everyone** — unvetted affiliates may spam or misrepresent your product. Have an approval process.
- **No product access for affiliates** — affiliates who have not used the product cannot promote it authentically.
- **Delayed payments** — paying affiliates late or making the minimum payout too high kills the relationship.

---

## Recovery

- **No affiliates yet:** Start with existing customers. Happy customers are the best first affiliates.
- **Low commission budget:** Offer higher commissions for the first 3 months to attract early affiliates, then adjust.
- **No affiliate platform:** Recommend simple tools (Rewardful, FirstPromoter, or manual tracking with coupon codes for very small programs).
- **Affiliates not promoting:** Send monthly "affiliate newsletter" with new assets, top performer spotlights, and promotion ideas.
