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How to Set Up an Affiliate Program For Your Shopify Store

Updated: Feb 21, 2023

I know that we typically talk about being an affiliate for other people's products but in this article we will discuss how to make money with your own affiliate program and affiliates.



We are also going to discuss and amazing affiliate commission tracking program called Affiliatly that can be used to set up and track the sales that affiliates make for you and the commissions that you owe them .


What is Affiliatly?


Are you a Shopify store owner who dreams of boosting your sales and expanding your customer base? Well, you're in luck because I have a secret weapon to share with you: Affiliatly!


Affiliatly is like a magical fairy godmother for your e-commerce store, helping you create a profitable affiliate program that will make your competitors green with envy. With Affiliatly, you can easily recruit a team of affiliates who will promote your products and services to their followers and earn a commission for each sale they generate.


But what makes Affiliatly so special?


For starters, it integrates seamlessly with your Shopify store, making it super easy to set up and manage your affiliate program. Plus, it offers a ton of features to help you customize your program, including customizable affiliate registration forms, referral links, and discount codes.


But that's not all! Affiliatly also provides real-time tracking and reporting, so you can easily see how much traffic and revenue your affiliates are generating. You can even set up automatic payouts and customize commission rates for individual affiliates.


Select Your Products


Alright, it's time to talk about the fun stuff: selecting your products! This is where you get to showcase all the amazing stuff you're selling and give your affiliates the chance to share it with the world (and make some cash while they're at it).


Now, before you start throwing all your products into your affiliate program, take a step back and think about your audience. Who are they? What are they interested in? What kind of products are they looking for? This will help you select the right products to promote through your affiliate program.


And don't forget to have a little fun with it! Think about what sets your products apart and what makes them awesome. Do you have a product that's so popular it's practically a legend? Is there a product that's so unique it makes people stop and stare? This is the kind of stuff that will get your affiliates excited and ready to promote your products like crazy.


So go ahead and select your products with care.


Choose products that you're proud of and that you know your audience will love. And don't forget to throw in a few fun surprises to keep things interesting. After all, a little bit of fun goes a long way in the world of affiliate marketing!


What is an example of affiliate marketing?


If you're new to affiliate marketing, you might be wondering what it looks like in action. Let's take a look at a hypothetical example to help you understand how it works:


Let's say you own an online store that sells handmade candles. You decide to set up an affiliate program to help promote your products and grow your business. You create an affiliate program through your Shopify store and invite interested affiliates to sign up.


One of your affiliates is a popular lifestyle blogger who has a huge following on social media. She signs up for your affiliate program and begins promoting your candles to her followers. She writes a blog post about the benefits of using handmade candles and includes a link to your store. She also shares a photo of your candles on her Instagram account and includes a link in her bio.




Her followers love your candles and click on the links to your store. Some of them make a purchase and the blogger earns a commission on those sales. You also benefit from the exposure and increased sales. It's a win-win situation for everyone!


In this example, the affiliate (the blogger) promotes your products to her followers and earns a commission on the sales she generates. You benefit from the exposure and increased sales, and the customers benefit from discovering a new product that they love. This is the essence of affiliate marketing: promoting products to an audience in exchange for a commission on the sales you generate.


What Cookie Duration Does Shopify Offer?


If you're setting up an affiliate program for your Shopify store, you may be wondering about cookie duration. In case you're not familiar with the term, a cookie is a small piece of data that's stored on a user's computer when they visit your website. It helps track their activity on your site and provides important data for your affiliate program.


The Shopify affiliate program offers a default cookie duration of 30 days. This means that if a user clicks on an affiliate link to your store and makes a purchase within 30 days, the affiliate will earn a commission on that sale. This is a standard cookie duration for most affiliate programs and is a good balance between giving customers enough time to make a purchase and ensuring that the affiliate gets credit for the sale.


However, it's important to note that you can adjust the cookie duration in your affiliate program settings. If you find that 30 days isn't long enough for your audience to make a purchase, you can increase the cookie duration to 60 or 90 days. This can be especially helpful if you sell products that have a longer buying cycle, such as high-end electronics or luxury items.


It's important to find the right balance between cookie duration and commission rates. A longer cookie duration can mean more sales for your affiliates, but it also means more time for the customer to potentially buy from a competitor. On the other hand, a shorter cookie duration can help prevent customers from shopping around and can lead to higher conversion rates for your store.


Ultimately, the right cookie duration for your affiliate program will depend on your specific products and audience. It's a good idea to experiment with different durations and see what works best for you. And if you're not sure where to start, Shopify offers a lot of helpful resources and support to help you set up a successful affiliate program.


What Are the Shopify Affiliate Program Commission Rates?


When setting up an affiliate program for your Shopify store, one of the most important things to consider is the commission rate. This is the percentage of the sale that the affiliate will earn as a commission for promoting your products.


It's important to note that the commission rate can vary depending on the specific products you're selling and the competition in your industry. For example, if you sell high-end luxury products that have a high profit margin, you may be able to offer a higher commission rate to your affiliates. On the other hand, if you sell low-margin products in a highly competitive industry, you may need to offer a lower commission rate to ensure that your program is profitable.


It's also worth considering whether you want to offer a flat rate or a tiered commission structure. With a flat rate, all affiliates earn the same commission rate regardless of how many sales they generate. With a tiered structure, affiliates earn a higher commission rate as they generate more sales. This can be a good way to incentivize affiliates to work harder and generate more sales for your store.


When setting your commission rate, it's important to consider both the value of the sale and the value of the customer. While a higher commission rate may attract more affiliates, it may also attract low-quality traffic that doesn't convert into paying customers. On the other hand, a lower commission rate may attract higher-quality traffic that is more likely to make a purchase and become a repeat customer.


In the end, the right commission rate for your Shopify affiliate marketing program will depend on your specific products, industry, and goals. It's important to experiment with different rates and structures and track your results to see what works best for your store.


How to Set Up a Successful Affiliate Program on Shopify


Alright, my fellow e-commerce enthusiasts, it's time to talk about setting up a successful affiliate program on Shopify. Because let's be real, who doesn't want a team of affiliate rockstars promoting their products and bringing in the moolah?


First things first, you need to make sure you have a solid foundation. This means setting clear goals and defining your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? What products are they interested in? What kind of affiliate program will be most appealing to them? Once you have a clear picture of your audience, you can start crafting an affiliate program that will speak directly to their interests and needs and more importantly result in affiliate sales.


Next up, you need to select your products with care. Choose products that are popular, unique, and high-quality. Don't just throw everything into your affiliate program and hope for the best. Be strategic and selective about what you offer, and your affiliates will thank you for it.


But wait, there's more! You also need to consider your commission rates and cookie duration. These are the bread and butter of your affiliate program and can make or break your success. Consider what commission rates will be most appealing to your affiliates and what cookie duration will give them enough time to make a sale without leaving them hanging for too long.


And remember the importance of communication. You need to stay in touch with your affiliates and make sure they have all the tools and resources they need to promote your products effectively. This means creating a dashboard where they can track their progress, providing them with marketing materials and resources, and being available to answer any questions they may have.


Finally, you need to stay on top of your program and track your results. This means monitoring your traffic and sales, tracking your affiliate's progress, and tweaking your program as needed. Don't just set it and forget it - a successful affiliate program requires ongoing attention and maintenance.


Create an affiliate link (referral link)


Alrighty, folks, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty and talk about how to create an affiliate link. This is the bread and butter of your affiliate program - it's how your affiliates will promote your products and earn those sweet, sweet commissions.


So, how do you create an affiliate link? It's actually pretty easy.


First, you need to log in to your Shopify store and navigate to the "Affiliate" section of your dashboard. From there, you can select the product you want to create a link for and generate a unique link for your affiliate to use.


But wait, there's more! You also need to make sure your affiliate link (referral links) is properly formatted and easy to share. This means including tracking information and UTM parameters to help you track your affiliate's progress and see where your traffic is coming from.


Bonus step: And if you really want to go the extra mile, you can customize your affiliate link with a catchy and memorable URL.


But don't stop there! You can also provide your affiliates with custom landing pages, content for their website and discount codes to make their promotions even more effective and not just their referral link, plus tips on how to drive traffic. This can help increase conversion rates and make your affiliates feel like VIPs.


Which Payment Methods Can Shopify Affiliates Choose for their Commission Payments?


Alright, let's talk about everyone's favorite topic: money! As an affiliate marketer, getting paid is kind of a big deal. You need to really understand this if you want to run a successful affiliate program.

So which payment methods can Shopify affiliates choose when they promote products and make sales? Let's break it down:


First up, there's PayPal. This is a popular and convenient payment method that's widely used around the world. If you're an affiliate marketer, chances are you already have a PayPal account, so this is a no-brainer.

Next, there's direct deposit. This is another popular payment method that allows you to receive your commissions directly to your bank account. It's fast, secure, and convenient, and means you don't have to mess around with checks or physical payments.


But wait, there's more! Shopify also offers payment via store credit, which can be a great option for affiliates who want to use their earnings to buy products from your store. This can help incentivize your affiliates to promote your products even more, and can lead to increased sales and repeat customers.


And if none of those payment methods tickle your fancy, there's always the option to create a custom payment method. This can be useful if you have a unique payment system that you want to use for your affiliate program, or if you want to offer multiple payment options to your affiliate marketers.


What is included in the Shopify Partner Program Agreement?


Buckle up, my friend, because there's a lot to cover when it comes to the Shopify Partner Program Agreement.


First up, there's the juicy stuff - the commission rates. As a Shopify Partner, you'll earn a commission of 20% for every new store you refer to Shopify. That's right, 20%! That's like finding a $20 bill on the ground, but better, because it happens every time you refer someone to Shopify.


But wait, there's more! The Partner Program Agreement also covers all sorts of legal mumbo jumbo, like intellectual property rights, indemnification, and termination. Don't worry, we won't bore you with the details - just know that you'll be well-protected as a Shopify Partner, and you'll have all the legal jargon you need to feel like a true business badass.


There's also a section on confidentiality, which is basically a fancy way of saying you can't spill the beans on Shopify's secret sauce. So don't go blabbing to your friends about how Shopify runs the world - it's our little secret.


And finally, there's a section on representation and warranties. This basically means that you're promising that you're not doing anything shady or illegal, and that you're not misrepresenting yourself or your business in any way. It's just Shopify's way of making sure we're all playing by the rules and being good, upstanding citizens.


Which Affiliate Marketing Strategy will Work Best for Your New Affiliates?


So you've set up your Shopify store's affiliate program, selected your products, and figured out the payment methods - now what? Well, it's time to think about which affiliate marketing strategy will work best for your new affiliates.


There are a few different affiliate marketing strategies to consider, and the one that will work best for your affiliates will depend on your specific products and audience. But fear not - we're here to break it down for you in a way that's fun, engaging, and easy to understand.


First up, there's content marketing. This strategy involves creating high-quality blog posts, social media content, and other types of content that will appeal to your audience and promote your products. This can be a great option if you have a niche audience that's interested in reading in-depth articles and learning more about your products.


Next, there's influencer marketing. This strategy involves partnering with influencers and other high-profile individuals in your industry to promote your products to their followers. This can be a great way to reach a wider audience and generate buzz around your brand.


There's also email marketing, paid advertising, and social media marketing.


Each of these strategies has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the one that will work best for your affiliates will depend on your specific products and audience.


It's important to remember that the key to success with affiliate marketing is to find the right balance between promotion and value. You don't want your affiliates to come across as pushy or salesy, but you also want them to be effective in promoting your products and generating sales for your successful affiliate program.


Does the Shopify Affiliate Program Work with Affiliate Marketing Apps?


Well, well, well, look who's asking all the right questions! If you're curious about whether the Shopify Affiliate Program works with affiliate marketing apps, we've got good news for you - the answer is a resounding YES.


That's right, my fellow e-commerce enthusiasts, you can use affiliate marketing apps to promote your Shopify products and earn those sweet, sweet commissions.


Shopify even has its own app store, where you can find a whole range of affiliate marketing apps with various features that will help you take your affiliate program to the next level.


But wait, there's more! These apps can help you do all sorts of things, like track your affiliate's progress, create custom landing pages, and even automate your entire affiliate program. It's like having a team of affiliate rockstars at your fingertips, ready to promote your products and bring in those sales.


The Shopify Affiliate Program Can Be a Huge Boost to Your Sales


Alrighty, folks, we've covered a lot of ground in this article on how to set up an affiliate program for your Shopify store. From selecting your products to creating custom landing pages, we've given you all the tools and tips you need to create an affiliate program that's both fun and profitable.

But before we go, we want to leave you with one final piece of advice before recruiting affiliates: don't be afraid to get a little weird. That's right, we said it. If you want your affiliate program to stand out from the crowd and make sales, you need to be willing to think outside the box and get a little bit wacky.


Maybe it means creating a funny and irreverent video to promote your products or coming up with a catchy and memorable hashtag to get people talking about your brand. Whatever it is, don't be afraid to let your freak flag fly and get a little bit wild with your marketing.


After all, isn't that what affiliate marketing is all about? It's about finding creative ways to promote your products and connect with your audience. So go forth, my fellow e-commerce enthusiasts, and let your weirdness shine. Who knows - it just might be the key to taking your affiliate program to the next level.


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