If you’ve been running an affiliate program but aren’t seeing the results you expected, you’re not alone.
Here’s what’s probably happening:
1. Affiliates don’t even know your program exists.
2. The ones who do apply are low-quality (random coupon sites, small influencers, or disengaged audiences).
3. You’re not reaching enough high-performing affiliates to make a real impact.
The problem is relying too much on inbound applications.
You set up your program, maybe on Impact, ShareASale, or Refersion, and wait for affiliates to find you.
But the best affiliates aren’t just scrolling for new programs. They partner with brands that actively pitch them.
The #1 strategy to actually scale: Proactive affiliate recruitment.
Here’s how it works:
1. Identify high-value affiliates by researching competitors, scanning affiliate networks, and analyzing social media or YouTube creators who already promote similar products.
2. Reach out directly with short, personalized messages that show the value of partnering with you. Don’t sell the program upfront; rather, start a conversation.
3. Get on a call with top affiliates to understand their audience, explain why your brand matters, and offer exclusive incentives like higher commissions or custom landing pages.
4. Follow up consistently. Most top affiliates need multiple touchpoints before saying yes.
This approach turns affiliate marketing into a relationship-driven sales process. You hand-pick affiliates that match your ideal customer, build partnerships that actually drive revenue, and scale your program predictably.
If you’re ready to stop waiting and start growing, it’s time to take control.
Start identifying, reaching out, and building relationships with the affiliates who can really move the needle.
Your next top-performing affiliate may be waiting for you to reach out. Who knows!
I can share exactly how we recruit affiliates to scale a DTC brand. Book a free strategy call here and let’s talk.
With that, let me quickly give a shoutout to a partner that’s crushing its affiliate marketing campaign.
Brand Spotlight:
Who They Are & Why It Works
Founded in 2015 in Southern California, Koi CBD is one of the most trusted names in hemp-derived wellness. Their products are crafted from USA-grown hemp, manufactured in cGMP and ISO-certified facilities, and third-party tested to ensure purity and consistency.
Performance & Fit
Average Order Value: $110
Conversion Rate: 2.8%
500+ daily sales with CPA $90–$110
Flexible bonuses for top-performing partners
Koi is a strong fit for affiliates in wellness, lifestyle, or performance supplement verticals looking to promote premium cannabinoid-based products with proven conversion metrics.
How To Partner
Koi operates through Impact, offering clean tracking, mapped customer data, and transparent reporting.
To explore partnership opportunities or top-performing SKUs, reply to this email to connect with Koi CBD.
Content resource for the week:
Let me share a couple of my favourite content pieces to improve your affiliate marketing strategy and overall business.
Affiliate Spotlight:
Who They Are & Why It Works
It is a content-driven eCommerce publisher that helps millions of readers make smarter purchase decisions through expert reviews, Top 10 lists, and buying guides.
Their editorial model blends data-driven product scoring with customer insights, ensuring each recommendation aligns with what buyers actually want.
Performance & Best Fit
450K monthly active users and 15K daily active users.
Average time on site: 1.5 minutes.
50,000+ email subscribers with 23%+ open rates for newsletter promotions.
Best suited for consumer brands in pet care, home, electronics, health, beauty, finance, and travel categories. Their audience is primed for top-of-funnel awareness and mid-funnel conversions through trusted recommendations.
How To Partner
They offer sponsored placements, content integrations, and banner campaigns across high-performing product review pages and newsletters.
Reply to this email to explore Q4 placements with Buying(dot)Expert.
Your Question & My Answer:
What’s the biggest mistake brands make when starting an affiliate program?
A: Thinking volume is more important than quality. We’ve seen brands waste resources on low-converting affiliates when just a few elite partners could drive most of the revenue.
That’s it for this issue. If you want intros to any of our partners, reply today and I’ll connect you personally.
And if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.
I read all of the emails. (Even the spammy ones!:)
Thank you for reading till the end.
Talk soon,
Fred