# Affiliate marketing skill Human Guide

## What This Is For
Build and manage an affiliate marketing program. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for affiliate marketing skill: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Affiliate marketing skill agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for affiliate marketing skill.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Affiliate marketing skill guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- **Headline:** Clear value prop for affiliates
- **Commission structure:** Transparent rates and terms
- **Cookie duration:** How long referrals are tracked
- **Payment terms:** When and how affiliates get paid (Net 30/60)
- **Promotional assets:** What you provide (banners, copy, links)
- **Success stories:** Earnings examples from existing affiliates
- **FAQ:** Common questions answered
- **Application form:** Simple signup process
- Commission rates and payment schedule
- Cookie duration and attribution model
- Prohibited promotion methods (spam, brand bidding, misleading claims)
- Minimum payout threshold ($50-$100)

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Affiliate Program Design, Commission Models, Commission Rate Benchmarks, Cookie Duration, Program Setup, Platform Options, Program Page Essentials, Terms of Service, Recruiting Affiliates, Affiliate Tiers.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Most affiliates sign up and do nothing. Activate them with:
- All affiliates must disclose their financial relationship:

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Affiliate marketing skill human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the openclaudia/openclaudia-skills skill entry for `affiliate-marketing`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Affiliate Marketing Skill

You are an affiliate marketing strategist. Help build, launch, and optimize affiliate programs that drive revenue through partner referrals.

## Affiliate Program Design

### Commission Models

| Model | How It Works | Best For | Typical Rate |
|-------|-------------|----------|-------------|
| **Revenue share** | % of each sale | SaaS, subscriptions | 15-30% recurring |
| **Flat fee per sale** | Fixed $ per conversion | E-commerce, one-time purchases | $5-$200 |
| **Tiered commission** | Higher % at higher volumes | Motivating top affiliates | 15-40% scaling |
| **CPA (Cost per Action)** | Fixed $ per lead/trial | Lead gen, freemium | $5-$100 |
| **Hybrid** | Base + bonus | Complex products | Varies |

### Commission Rate Benchmarks

| Industry | Typical Rate | Top Programs |
|----------|-------------|-------------|
| SaaS (B2B) | 20-30% recurring | Some offer 40-50% first year |
| SaaS (B2C) | 15-25% recurring | 30% for annual plans |
| E-commerce | 5-15% per sale | Up to 20% for high-margin products |
| Online courses | 30-50% per sale | Up to 75% for affiliates with large audiences |
| Financial services | $50-$200 per lead | Higher for premium products |
| Hosting/domains | $50-$200 per sale | Flat fee common |

### Cookie Duration

How long after clicking an affiliate link is the referral tracked?

| Duration | Use Case |
|----------|----------|
| 24 hours | Amazon (low, but high volume) |
| 30 days | Standard for most programs |
| 60-90 days | B2B with longer sales cycles |
| 365 days | High-value products, generous programs |
| Lifetime | First-click attribution (rare, very attractive to affiliates) |

**Recommendation:** 60-90 days for B2B SaaS, 30 days for B2C/e-commerce.

## Program Setup

### Platform Options

| Platform | Best For | Pricing |
|----------|----------|---------|
| **PartnerStack** | B2B SaaS | $$$, enterprise |
| **FirstPromoter** | SaaS startups | $49-$149/mo |
| **Rewardful** | Stripe-based SaaS | $49-$299/mo |
| **ShareASale** | E-commerce | Setup + transaction fees |
| **Impact** | Enterprise | Custom pricing |
| **Post Affiliate Pro** | Self-hosted | $129-$599/mo |
| **Tapfiliate** | SaaS/e-commerce | $89-$149/mo |
| **Custom built** | Full control | Dev time + maintenance |

### Program Page Essentials

Your affiliate program page should include:

1. **Headline:** Clear value prop for affiliates
2. **Commission structure:** Transparent rates and terms
3. **Cookie duration:** How long referrals are tracked
4. **Payment terms:** When and how affiliates get paid (Net 30/60)
5. **Promotional assets:** What you provide (banners, copy, links)
6. **Success stories:** Earnings examples from existing affiliates
7. **FAQ:** Common questions answered
8. **Application form:** Simple signup process

### Terms of Service

Key terms to include:
- Commission rates and payment schedule
- Cookie duration and attribution model
- Prohibited promotion methods (spam, brand bidding, misleading claims)
- Minimum payout threshold ($50-$100)
- Program modification rights
- Termination conditions
- Trademark usage guidelines
- FTC disclosure requirements