Affiliate marketing is a powerful channel for e-commerce brands, but many programs fail simply because they lack the right tools to track, recruit, and scale effectively.
If your affiliate program isn’t generating consistent sales and revenue, chances are you’re missing the right tech stack.
In this post, we’ll break down the three essential tools you need to successfully build and scale an affiliate program that drives real results.
Let’s dive in.
Tool #1: Affiliate Tracking Software (The Foundation of Your Program)
Why It’s Essential:
Affiliate marketing doesn’t work without accurate tracking. You need a centralized system to:
1. Track clicks, conversions, and revenue.
2. Automate affiliate payments.
3. Provide affiliates with real-time reporting.
Without proper tracking, affiliates won’t trust your program, and you’ll struggle to measure ROI.
Best Affiliate Tracking Software Options:
1. Impact – Ideal for large-scale affiliate programs.
2. Share A Sale – Great for e-commerce brands.
3. A win – Best for global affiliate networks.
4. Grin – Perfect for influencer-driven affiliate programs.
Pro Tip: Choose a platform that aligns with the type of affiliates you want to recruit.
Example:
1. If you’re targeting influencers, use Grin.
2. If you’re focused on content publishers, use Awin.
Why This Matters:
1. Big affiliates prefer trusted platforms—many won’t work with brands that don’t use professional tracking software.
2. Saves time by automating commission payments and reducing manual tracking efforts.
Actionable Step:
• Research affiliate platforms and pick one that best suits your business model & audience.
Tool #2: Affiliate Prospecting Software (Find & Recruit High-Quality Affiliates)
Most brands fail at affiliate marketing because they wait for affiliates to apply instead of actively recruiting the right ones.
Affiliate prospecting tools make it easy to find, analyze, and connect with top-performing affiliates in your industry.
Best Tools for Finding Affiliates:
1. Ahrefs – Find bloggers & review sites ranking for your competitors.
2. BuzzSumo – Identify top influencers & content creators in your niche.
3. SEMrush – Uncover backlinks & partnerships your competitors use.
4. Airstash – Automates affiliate prospecting for e-commerce brands.
Pro Tip:
1. Use Google Search to find blogs reviewing your competitors and outreach to those sites.
2. Look at backlink profiles of competing affiliate programs to identify affiliates already promoting similar products.
Why This Matters:
1. Saves hours of manual outreach by giving you a list of qualified affiliate partners.
2. Helps you target affiliates with proven success in your industry.
Actionable Step:
• Pick one prospecting tool and start researching potential affiliates today.
Tool #3: Email Outreach Software (Automate & Scale Recruitment)
Affiliate recruitment is a numbers game—you need to reach out to a high volume of affiliates while keeping the process personalized and efficient.
Email outreach tools allow you to send, track, and automate email campaigns to recruit new affiliates at scale.
Best Email Outreach Tools:
1. Instantly – Automates cold email outreach & follow-ups.
2. Hunter.io – Finds verified email addresses of potential affiliates.
3. Mailshake – Simple tool for cold outreach & affiliate recruitment.
4. Lemlist – Helps personalize email outreach at scale.
Pro Tip:
1. Keep your initial email short & direct.
2. Focus on why partnering with your brand is valuable for the affiliate.
3. Follow up at least 5-7 times—most responses happen after multiple follow-ups.
Why This Matters:
1. Automates affiliate recruitment, saving time and effort.
2. Ensures you don’t lose leads by following up automatically.
Example Email Template:
Subject: Let’s collaborate
Hey [Affiliate Name],
I came across your [blog/YouTube channel/social media] and love the content you create.
We’re launching an exclusive affiliate program for [Your Brand], and I think your audience would love it.
1. Competitive commission rates
2. Exclusive discounts for your audience
3. High-converting product with proven sales
Would you be open to discussing a collaboration?
Let me know your thoughts!
Best,
[Your Name]
Final Takeaways: Build a High-Performing Affiliate Program Today
1. Use tracking software to measure performance & automate payouts.
2. Leverage prospecting tools to find high-value affiliates who align with your brand.
3. Automate email outreach to scale your recruitment efforts.
If you have these three tools in place, your affiliate program will be structured for long-term success.
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Frederic Jean-Bart is a performance-based affiliate marketing expert with over 15 years of experience scaling multi-million dollar programs for some of the world’s top DTC brands. As the founder of Performance Partners, he has built a reputation as the go-to strategist for high-stakes affiliate deal-making—securing partnerships with the industry’s top-performing affiliates to drive explosive revenue growth.
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