Use this checklist to find the work that is blocking your program. Mark each item done, needs work, or not applicable, and attach an owner to the important gaps. A perfect score does not promise growth. A clear, completed fix is the useful result.
1–5: Verify the customer and tracking path
For a fictional shoe store, the test reveals that a review links to an unavailable color and the proposed code excludes sale sizes. Fix the destination and offer wording before increasing recruitment. Those defects matter more immediately than adding another banner.
Mark each item done, needs work, or not applicable
- 1. Open an affiliate link on a phone.
- 2. Confirm the destination matches the recommendation.
- 3. Check price, stock, terms, and shipping information.
- 4. Reconcile a permitted test transaction with the commerce record.
- 5. Check how refunds, cancellations, and duplicates affect commission.
6–10: Establish clear economics and terms
Work through an order and a return using the written terms. A colleague should reach the same commission result. If the calculation depends on unstated assumptions, clarify the offer before asking publishers to invest in it.
Mark each item done, needs work, or not applicable
- 6. Model typical full-price and discounted orders.
- 7. Include commission, platform costs, placements, samples, and management.
- 8. Define the event that earns commission.
- 9. Make attribution, exclusions, validation, and payment rules accessible.
- 10. Assign an owner for transaction disputes.
11–15: Recruit and activate relevant partners
Track these stages separately. In a fictional week with ten qualified prospects, five replies, and three approvals but no placements, the next question is what those approved partners need. Another large prospect list may not solve the current bottleneck.
Mark each item done, needs work, or not applicable
- 11. Define the buyer question and suitable publisher types.
- 12. Save a specific placement opportunity for each prospect.
- 13. Verify the business contact route and preferences.
- 14. Send a relevant proposal with one clear next decision.
- 15. Help approved partners obtain the link and materials for a first promotion.
16–20: Make partner support useful
Test your resource kit with somebody who did not build it. Can they find the right image, explain a limitation, and generate the intended link? Improve the unclear step. A large library is less useful than a small set of reliable materials.
Mark each item done, needs work, or not applicable
- 16. Maintain current product specifications and permitted assets.
- 17. Give promotions exact dates, time zone, exclusions, and destination.
- 18. Provide a clear support contact and realistic response expectation.
- 19. Record and complete commitments from partner conversations.
- 20. Correct affected placements when offers or stock change.
21–25: Review the result and choose the next fix
Prioritize broken purchase or tracking paths first, inaccurate offers next, then activation and growth opportunities. Keep a short record of what changed and the observed effect. Do not treat a checklist total as a forecast of revenue or a substitute for investigating the underlying cases.
Mark each item done, needs work, or not applicable
- 21. Review promotional methods against program rules.
- 22. Separate clicks, orders, approved outcomes, and actual payments.
- 23. Inspect returns, customer mix, total cost, and contribution.
- 24. Ask partners what blocked publication or better results.
- 25. Give the next improvement an owner and review date.
Your Next Recruitment Step
Pick the three most consequential gaps and complete one this week. Use the next review to verify the result and choose the following task. The checklist should reduce unfinished work, not create a larger status report. For help taking ownership of recruitment, onboarding, and the ongoing management work in this checklist, explore Experience Advertising's affiliate program management service.
Founder & CEO, AffiliateFinders · 20+ Years in Affiliate Marketing
Evan Weber founded Experience Advertising in 2007 and builds marketing tools including AffiliateFinders. His work spans affiliate recruiting, paid advertising, conversion optimization, and online business growth.