How to Build the Ultimate Affiliate Program

About this video

Martell lays out four strategies for a powerful SaaS affiliate program, claiming he learned them generating tens of millions of dollars in his own businesses through affiliates and partners and teaching 500 SaaS clients, for whom he says affiliates can become a third of demand generation. First, payout strategy: he cites Clay Collins paying 30% lifetime, notes the SaaS average is about 25%, and says most businesses pay out a third of customer lifetime value to acquire a customer; cookie length averages 90 days, with 120 days generous and 30 days low. Second, a bulletproof offer: treat the affiliate program like a sales page with headline, copy, case studies, and proof, as his friend Brennan did in a Google doc showing earnings-per-click math by list size. Third, resources to win: onboard and train affiliates like team members with landing page copy, ad copy, social posts, monthly calls, and business training, as he says he did at Flowtown. Fourth, operationalize the channel: do not abandon a working channel for a new tactic, but staff it, recruit continually, and use growth stacking.

Key takeaways

• Make payout attractive versus competitors: consider lifetime commissions around the cited 30% example, know the roughly 25% SaaS average, and set cookie length deliberately (90-day average).
• Sell the affiliate program on a dedicated page/doc with case studies, screenshots, and earnings-per-click math showing what a list of a given size could make.
• Give affiliates resources to win: onboarding, training, landing page and ad copy, social posts, and monthly calls sharing what top affiliates are doing.
• Treat affiliates like team members and help them grow their own businesses, because their growth drives referrals to your business.
• Operationalize and growth-stack a working affiliate channel with a dedicated owner instead of dropping it for Facebook ads or the next silver bullet.

Episode details: published December 12, 2022 · 6:53 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

← Previous: What I Learned in Rehab… · Next: 4 Steps to Building a High-Performance Team →

All Dan Martell videos · Dan Martell profile · Dan Martell (official site)