Affiliate network
A partner programme that someone actually runs
Most affiliate programmes are launched and then left. Recruitment stalls, the top three partners deliver everything, and the long tail quietly dies. Running one properly is a job, and this is the job.
Overview
Managed affiliate programmes on Performetra
A managed affiliate programme is your own partner channel, run as a job rather than left as software: continuous partner recruitment with a monthly target, commission architecture built from your contribution margin, compliance enforcement that actually removes rule-breakers, and payouts that land on schedule — the single strongest recruitment argument a programme has.
Programmes run on the same tracking and reconciliation stack as the network, and most start from one of three briefs: launch from zero, grow an existing partner base, or migrate off a platform where the programme has stalled. E-commerce brands should pair this with the delivered-order CPS structure; if you are still comparing options, start with how to choose an affiliate network in India.
At a glance
- Engagements
- Managed · network access · migration · audit
- Pricing
- Monthly fee + performance commission, fully disclosed
- Recruitment
- Monthly new-active-partner target, reported against
- Compliance
- Brand bidding, coupon leakage, claims — enforced
- Payouts
- Administered by us, on schedule, every cycle
- White-label
- Available for agencies
The approach
Recruitment is the whole game
A programme is only as good as the partners in it, and partners join programmes that are actively managed and actively paid. We recruit continuously, brief partners properly, refresh creative before it fatigues, and enforce the rules consistently so good partners are not competing with rule-breakers.
- Continuous recruitment. A monthly target for new active partners, reported against, not just promised at pitch stage.
- Commission architecture. Tiers, new-customer premiums and category rates designed around your contribution margin.
- Compliance enforcement. Brand bidding, coupon leakage and claim violations monitored and acted on, not merely prohibited on paper.
- Partner communication. Regular offer updates, seasonal briefs and creative refreshes, so partners have a reason to keep promoting.
Pricing models
- Managed programme
- A monthly management fee plus performance commission. We run recruitment, compliance, payouts and growth.
- Network access
- Your offer live in the Performetra network with no dedicated management layer — fastest to launch, lightest touch.
- Migration
- Moving an existing programme from another network or platform, including partner outreach so you keep your best partners.
- Audit & rebuild
- A one-off review of an underperforming programme, with a written rebuild plan you can execute yourself or hand back to us.
What we need
To quote you a payout, we need five things
None of them take long to gather, and having them ready is the difference between a quote today and a quote next week.
- Access to your existing programme data, if there is one
- Contribution margin by category, so commission can be set sustainably
- Brand assets, claim rules and any partner types you will not work with
- A conversion postback with order value and status
- Sign-off on the partner terms and the traffic policy
Guardrails
- Partner vetting
- Every partner is reviewed before approval — site quality, traffic sources, and past behaviour where visible.
- Tiered access
- Sensitive offers are restricted to proven partners rather than opened to the whole network on day one.
- Regular purges
- Dormant and rule-breaking partners are removed. A partner count that only rises is a vanity metric.
- Payout reliability
- Partners are paid on schedule. It is the single strongest recruitment argument any programme has.
Affiliate network — questions
The operating work a partner channel needs to grow: recruiting partners, designing commissions, briefing and creative refreshes, policing compliance, administering payouts and reporting honestly. Software alone does none of that — which is why unmanaged programmes stall at a handful of active partners.
A platform gives you tracking; a managed programme gives you the growth work on top of tracking. If you have an in-house affiliate manager with time to recruit weekly, a platform can be enough. If nobody owns recruitment, the platform becomes an expensive list of dormant signups.
Two to three weeks to launch — terms, tracking, creative, first partner set — and about a quarter to reach a stable revenue rhythm, because recruitment compounds. Anyone promising a transformative programme in a month is selling registrations, not revenue.
Direct outreach to publishers already ranking or buying in your category, activation from our existing network where the fit is real, competitor-programme analysis, and the quiet compounding of paying people on time. A monthly new-active-partner target is written into the engagement and reported against.
Tiers built from contribution margin: a base rate partners can rely on, a new-customer premium so acquisition is rewarded over interception, category rates where margins differ, and volume tiers that reward partners who build. Flat single-rate programmes are simple and almost always leave growth unbought.
Active partners producing revenue each month, new-customer share of programme revenue, delivered (not placed) revenue, and programme ROAS after commissions and fees. Registered partner count is the vanity metric — we report it, but we do not manage to it.
Yes, and migration is a common brief. The priority is retaining your top partners through the transition, so outreach starts before any technical change, not after.
Active partners matter, not registered ones. A programme with forty partners producing revenue every month is healthier than one with four thousand registrations and six that convert.
Yes. Several agencies run client programmes through us with their own branding on reporting and partner communication.
Recruitment, partner support, compliance monitoring, creative production and refreshes, payout administration and reporting. Media spend and partner commissions are separate and fully disclosed.
Explore the silo
Other Performetra solutions
Most advertisers combine two or three of these — a lower-funnel network buy plus a reach or creator layer, measured in one place.
App growth
Installs are easy to buy and easy to fake.
Lead generation
A lead is only worth what the sales floor can do with it.
E-commerce & sales
Placed orders are a vanity metric in markets where a third of them never get delivered.
Programmatic media
Programmatic goes wrong when the buying team is measured on delivery and the marketing team is measured on cost per acquisition.
Influencer & creators
Reach is not a result.
All solutions
The six campaign types compared, with a decision guide for which model prices your outcome best.
Next step
Price this campaign properly.
Send the conversion event, the geos and the volume. You get a written payout, an expected volume band and the guardrails that come with it.