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Reditus Academy · Track 0 · Before day 1

Reditus

Should you run an affiliate program at all?: the checklist

Decide, honestly, whether an affiliate program will work for your SaaS right now, and know what to expect if you start.

Print it, or save it as a PDF, and work down it. Each step says how much counts as done. Full lessons at getreditus.com/academy/should-you-run-an-affiliate-program

By the end of this track you have

  • A yes or no on each of the three gate questions: product-market fit, a funnel that converts, signup and checkout on your own domainAffiliates test all three in their first minute on your site.
  • The affiliate-side arithmetic on your current pricing, showing at least $10 per customer payment for the affiliateBelow that line a professional affiliate does not bother, whatever the percentage says.
  • Your expected month for the first paid customer, from the timeline tool, written down next to your budgetPrograms judged on month-three revenue get cancelled before the lag chain finishes.

Lesson 1

Pass the readiness gate before you spend a day on this

Check your SaaS against the three conditions affiliates test in the first minute: product-market fit, a funnel that converts, and a site an affiliate can send traffic to.

  • Answer the three gate questions in writing: do you have product-market fit, does your funnel convert, is the whole signup on one domainTarget: 3 answers, yes or noIf any answer is no, the rest of the Academy can wait. Fix that first.
  • Open your signup and checkout and note the domain in the address barTarget: One domain, start to finishTracking works on one domain. This is the objection that ends the most sales calls.

Lesson 2

Recognise the bad-fit signals, including the ones where we tell you not to start

Spot the six signals that make a program fail regardless of platform: checkout off your own domain, a domain mismatch, an active AppSumo deal, sub-$10 pricing, no product-market fit, and a commission that earns an affiliate under $10 per customer payment.

  • Multiply your monthly ARPA by the commission you have in mindTarget: At least $10 per customer payment for the affiliateThat is the floor at which promoting you is worth an affiliate's effort.
  • Check your own pricing page for the two signals affiliates avoid: an active AppSumo deal and plans under $10 a monthTarget: Neither on the pageBoth tell an affiliate the commission will never add up.

Lesson 3

Know what a working program looks like before you start, in numbers and months

Set expectations from the cleared benchmarks: 20 to 30% of new revenue, month one for recruiting, months two and three for clicks, first paid customer around month five or six, break-even at nine to twelve months, all shifted by trial length and recruiting style.

  • Run the timeline tool with your real trial length and how you plan to recruitTarget: The month of your first paid customer, written downA seven-day trial with paid-ads partners and a thirty-day trial with blog affiliates land months apart. There is no single number.
  • Put the break-even month in your budget and share it with whoever approves the spendTarget: Month 9 to 12The channel gets cancelled in month three by people who were never told it takes nine.
Should you run an affiliate program at all?: checklist | Reditus Academy