Affiliate Marketing 101: Everything Brands Need to Know Before They Launch
Thinking about launching an affiliate program but not sure where to start? You’re not alone. Whether you’re a retailer, a brand expanding overseas, or simply looking for a new growth channel, affiliate marketing can feel like a maze at first. The good news? It doesn’t have to be.
At its core, affiliate is simple: you only pay partners when they deliver results. That’s why it’s become one of the most efficient and scalable channels for growth. But like any channel, success comes down to how you set things up and how you manage it day to day.
Here’s everything you need to know before you hit “launch.”
What Affiliate Marketing Actually Is
Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where brands partner with third parties (publishers, influencers, loyalty sites, cashback platforms, and more) to drive sales, leads, or other outcomes. Instead of paying for impressions or clicks like with social or search, you’re paying for validated results.
That’s the beauty of it: it’s low-risk and scalable. But there’s a trade-off: you’re giving publishers freedom to market your brand their way. The trick is setting the right rules and relationships so both sides win.
Why Brands Should Care
Done right, affiliate is a genuine growth engine:
Revenue driver: In mature programs, affiliate can represent 10–20% of total e-commerce sales.
New customer acquisition: Many brands state that affiliate marketing is their top channel for acquiring new customers (especially in retail/e-commerce). Roughly 1 in 5 customers driven by affiliate are brand new.
Channel diversification: Affiliate gives you a revenue stream that isn’t at the mercy of Google or Meta algorithms.
Smarter loyalty: You can incentivise bigger baskets, repeat purchases, or even in-store traffic through the right partners.
📊 According to IAB Australia, 89% of advertisers and agencies using affiliate/partnership marketing plan to maintain or increase spend in the next 12 months, and 60% expect it to become even more important in today’s economy.
Who’s Involved (The Key Players)
To run an affiliate program, you’ll work with three main groups:
Affiliate Networks & Platforms:
The backbone of any program, networks and platforms provide the tech that tracks, reports, and pays your partners. They streamline the heavy lifting of admin and compliance. The right choice here sets the foundation for scale and transparency (Think Impact, Rakuten, Partnerize, Commission Factory or TradeDoubler)
Publishers: your partners out in the market. From cashback and loyalty programs to media houses, content sites, influencers, sub networks and card-linked offers. each type brings a different way to reach and convert audiences. The mix you choose shapes whether your program delivers quick wins, long-term growth, or both.
Agencies or Consultants : the people who keep it all running. Agencies like ND Agency keep everything moving. Managing publisher relationships so your brand stays visible, negotiating deals, protecting compliance, and continually optimising performance. Without this focus, programs risk stalling or becoming discount-heavy; with the right partner, you unlock faster growth, smarter spend, and a stronger brand presence.
How Money Flows (Commission Basics)
The standard setup is a CPA (cost per acquisition) model, where you pay a percentage of each validated sale. Some brands use fixed fees per action, or a hybrid.
You can keep it simple with a flat rate, or use tiered structures to reward higher-value customers, specific product categories, or even new customers only. Importantly, commissions are usually validated against your rules before they’re paid meaning you only reward the right behaviours.
💡 Worth noting: many publishers also charge tenancy fees — fixed upfront payments for premium placements or seasonal campaigns (e.g., Black Friday, Mother’s Day). These fees can make sense if the exposure is right, but they need to be factored into your budget guardrails.
What to Do Before You Launch
Before flicking the switch, make sure you’ve ticked off the basics:
Set clear objectives: is it new customers, incremental revenue, bigger baskets, or loyalty?
Define budget guardrails : commissions, overrides, and potential tenancy spend.
Prep assets: banners, product feeds, landing pages, T&Cs.
Assign ownership : someone (internal or agency) needs to keep the wheels turning.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
I’ve seen brands make the same mistakes when launching programs. The good news: they’re easy to avoid once you know them.
Treating affiliate as just a discount code channel.
Ignoring compliance and exposing your brand to risk.
Launching without clear partner rules or validation processes.
Running in a silo and not aligning with your other marketing channels.
Your First 90 Days (What Good Looks Like)
Once you’re live, momentum matters. Here’s what a healthy start usually looks like:
Recruit a balanced mix of publishers (content + cashback + loyalty).
Test tracking and validation workflows so there are no surprises.
Secure your first tenancy placement to give the program traction.
Lock in regular reporting and WIP calls so stakeholders stay aligned.
Quick Wins vs The Long Game
One of the most common questions I get is: “How soon will we see results?” The answer is: it depends on the type of partnerships you build.
Quick wins
Cashback partners, coupon placements, and tenancy buys can all drive a spike in traffic and sales almost immediately. These are great for testing tracking, building early revenue confidence, and making your program visible internally.The long game
Content partnerships, SEO integrations, and loyalty collaborations take longer to build but deliver compounding returns. For example, an evergreen product review on a high-authority publisher can keep sending new customers months (even years) after the campaign went live. Card-linked offers can grow into a steady in-store revenue stream. These strategies pay off not overnight, but over quarters.
👉 The real power of affiliate is when you blend both. Quick wins give you momentum and proof points, while the long game ensures sustainable growth.
Final Word
Affiliate marketing is one of the most versatile and measurable growth channels available to brands today. But the difference between a program that quietly ticks along and one that transforms your revenue comes down to strategy, structure, and management.
At ND Agency, we’ve helped brands launch their first programs in Australia, the UK, and the US and scale them into multi-market revenue drivers. If you’d like a sanity check before you launch, or just want to understand how affiliate could work for your brand, we'd love to chat.
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About ND Agency
ND Agency is an Australian-based performance marketing and affiliate management agency dedicated to helping brands grow across the globe. Our team brings strategic insight, flexible consulting, and genuine relationships to every partnership. From affiliate program strategy and publisher recruitment to hands-on account management and optimisation, we deliver scalable solutions that drive measurable revenue. Learn more about our services at ndagency.com.
