How to Evaluate an Affiliate Program Before You Join: A Creator's Checklist
Before you join an affiliate program, check six things: what the commission is paid on, how long the cookie window lasts, how sales are attributed, when and how you get paid, what the brand allows you to do in your content and whether the products fit your audience. A high headline rate means little if the cookie window is a day long, refunds wipe out half your commissions or the payout threshold takes a year to reach. This checklist walks through each point so you can compare programs side by side and choose the ones that will actually pay.
If any of the terms below are new to you, our guide to affiliate marketing terms explained covers commission, CPA, EPC, cookie windows and attribution in plain English.
What Is the Commission Actually Paid On?
Every program advertises a rate, but the rate is only half of the number. The other half is what that rate is calculated from. Read the terms for three details:
- The base. Most programs pay on the order subtotal, which usually leaves out shipping, taxes and gift card purchases. Some exclude discounted or sale items entirely.
- Percentage or flat fee. A percentage grows with bigger baskets. A flat fee per sale is predictable but does not reward you when a shopper buys more.
- New or returning customers. Some brands pay only for first-time customers, or pay a lower rate on repeat buyers. If your audience already shops with the brand, that matters.
A 15% rate on the subtotal of full-price items can pay less than a 10% rate on the whole order. Work out what a typical order from your audience would earn before you compare headline numbers.
How Long Is the Cookie Window?
The cookie window is how long after a click a purchase still counts as yours. A shopper who clicks your link today and buys within the window is credited to you, even if they leave and come back later.
Match the window to how people buy the product. Everyday items are often bought on the spot, so a short window costs you little. Considered purchases such as furniture, skincare routines or courses can take days or weeks of thinking, so a short window means many of the sales you inspire will never be credited to you. When two programs pay a similar rate, the longer window usually wins.
How Are Sales Attributed?
Attribution is the rule that decides who gets credit when more than one affiliate is involved. Most programs use last click: the most recent affiliate click inside the cookie window takes the commission. That means a shopper who saw your video first but clicked a coupon site last may be credited to the coupon site.
Ask two questions. First, does the program issue affiliate discount codes, and does a code credit you even with no click? Codes help on podcasts, livestreams and in person. Second, what happens when a click and a code from different affiliates land on the same order? Programs answer this differently, and the answer tells you how protected your work is.
When and How Do You Get Paid?
A commission is not money in your account until it clears. Look for four things in the payment terms:
- The pending period. Commissions usually wait a set time before they are approved, so returns and cancellations can be taken back out first.
- Refund and reversal rules. Most programs reverse the commission on a refunded order. Check whether partial returns reverse part or all of it.
- The payout threshold. The minimum balance you need before a payment is sent. A high threshold on a low-commission program can take months to reach.
- Payment method and schedule. Bank transfer or another method, monthly or on request, and in which currency.
Together these decide how soon you are actually paid. A program that approves in 30 days and pays monthly with a low threshold can be worth more to a new creator than a slightly higher rate that pays once a quarter.
What Are You Allowed to Do in Your Content?
Every program sets rules for how you promote it, and breaking them can cost you your commissions. Read the promotional terms for:
- Where you can promote. Some programs restrict paid search on the brand's name, coupon sites, email or certain platforms.
- Codes and discounts. Whether you can share discount codes, and whether codes from public coupon sites still credit you.
- Brand guidelines. Approved product images, claims you may and may not make and how to describe the products.
- Approval. Whether you can join instantly or must apply, and what the brand looks for when it reviews applications.
Disclosure is not optional either. In the US, the FTC's endorsement rules in 16 CFR Part 255 require a clear disclosure when you earn from a brand you promote. In the UK, the ASA says affiliate marketing must be obviously identifiable as advertising. A good program will expect you to label your links, and our guide on how to disclose affiliate links properly shows how.
Do the Products Fit Your Audience?
The best terms in the world will not help if your audience does not want the product. Before you join, ask yourself:
- Have I bought this, or would I? Recommendations you genuinely believe in convert better and keep your audience's trust.
- Does the price suit my audience? A premium product can earn more per sale but sell less often.
- Does the brand ship where my audience lives? A US-only brand will not pay on clicks from UK followers who cannot order.
- Does the brand reflect my values? Many creators choose to promote Black-owned brands because they want their recommendations to support the businesses their community already cares about.
How Do You Compare Two Programs Side by Side?
Once you have the terms, compare programs on the number that combines them: EPC, earnings per click. EPC is your total commission divided by your total clicks, so it reflects the rate, the order value and how often clicks turn into sales.
Before you have any clicks, estimate it. Multiply the likely order value by the commission rate to get your earnings per sale, then multiply by the share of clicks you expect to buy. A program paying 20% that converts poorly can earn less per click than one paying 10% that converts well. After a few weeks of real clicks, replace your estimate with your actual EPC and move your effort to the programs that earn the most.
What Are the Red Flags?
Walk away, or at least ask questions, when you see any of these:
- No written terms, or terms that the brand can change without notice.
- Commission rates that seem far above the brand's margins, with no clear explanation of how they are paid.
- No tracking dashboard, so you cannot see your own clicks and sales.
- Vague answers about the cookie window, attribution or when payments are sent.
- Pressure to make claims about the product that you cannot back up.
Where Can You Find Programs That Pass the Checklist?
An affiliate network brings programs together in one place, with the same tracking, the same dashboard and clear terms for each brand. Afrofiliate is an affiliate network built for Black-owned businesses: each program lists its commission, cookie window and approval rules up front, so you can check them before you apply, then get your link and track every click and sale from one dashboard.
Run your favorite brands through this checklist, keep the ones that pass and sign up at Afrofiliate to start earning from the sales you send.