Affiliate Marketing

A performance-based partnership that rewards others for referred purchases or actions.

Affiliate marketing is a partnership in which you pay someone for a tracked result from their recommendation. For SaaS, that result is often a new paying customer. The partner might be a creator, consultant, educator, or publisher whose audience has a reason to need your product.

The link records the referral. The agreement decides when a commission is earned, how much it is worth, and what happens if the customer cancels or gets a refund.

Start with the recommendation 🤝

Imagine a consultant teaches agencies how to run client projects. If your software fits that workflow, the consultant can demonstrate it during a useful tutorial. That is a more plausible partnership than asking a large, unrelated account to paste a link.

Choose people whose audience and advice you understand. Read a few of their recommendations. Would you trust them to explain who should use your product—and who should choose something else?

Write down the rules before the first sale 📝

Qualifying result: a signup, first payment, or retained customer? Define it precisely.
Commission: a fixed amount or a share of eligible revenue? Specify duration, refunds, and exclusions.
Tracking: how long does a referral count, and which partner gets credit if several are involved?
Payout: when is the result confirmed, and when will the partner receive the money?
Promotion: which claims and methods are acceptable? Decide how to handle self-referrals and paid ads on your brand name.

Kit’s affiliate program illustrates why the details matter: it distinguishes first-year commissions from ongoing commissions tied to partner status. “Recurring commission” on its own is not enough information to compare programs.

Check the economics with an actual customer 🧮

Work through an illustrative sale. If a customer pays €40 a month and your agreement pays 25% of eligible subscription revenue for the first year, the commission is €10 for each paid month. A customer who leaves after two months generates a different payout from one who stays for twelve.

Those are fictional terms, not a recommended rate. Include partner support, software, refunds, and any setup fees when estimating customer acquisition cost. Then compare the acquired customers’ retention and value with your other channels.

Protect the trust behind the link 🗣️

A paid recommendation should be honest about the relationship. For US promotions, the FTC’s endorsement guidance explains when material connections need clear, conspicuous disclosure. Give partners practical disclosure guidance alongside the product information.

Referral marketing usually asks existing customers to recommend you. A sponsorship usually pays for a placement. An affiliate deal ties compensation to tracked outcomes. You can combine these arrangements, but write down what each payment covers.