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Start a referral or affiliate program

Pay happy customers and creators to bring you more customers.

Guide for AI agents
Time per week
1 day to set up, then 1 hour
First results
1 to 3 months
Cost
Free to about $29+ a month for software, plus the rewards
Best for
Products that already have happy, paying customers
Checked
4 October 2026

How it works

A referral program rewards customers for inviting friends, often with a reward on both sides (for example, a free month each). An affiliate program pays creators and partners a commission for customers they send.

For subscription software, affiliates are commonly paid a share of each payment for a set time. Rewardful's own affiliate program, for example, pays 25% of payments for the first 12 months.

Software tracks who referred whom. Tools like PromoteKit (reported to have a free plan for very small programs), Rewardful and Tolt connect to Stripe. Check their pricing pages, because prices change.

In the US, the FTC requires affiliates to clearly disclose that they earn a commission, in a way that's hard to miss.

Good fit if

  • Products people already recommend
  • Tools that creators, consultants or agencies use with their clients

Skip it if

  • You don't have happy customers yet. Fix that first

Before you start, get these ready

Tick them off. This page remembers your ticks on this device.

0 of 5 ready

Step by step

  1. 1

    Start with referrals from customers

    Ask your happiest customers first. Give both them and their friend a reward. Put the invite link inside your product where people feel success.

  2. 2

    Pick a commission for affiliates

    Choose a percentage and a time limit you can afford. Make sure you still make money after paying it.

  3. 3

    Write clear terms

    Say how long a referral counts, the minimum payout, and what's banned (self-referrals, spam, bidding on your brand name in ads).

  4. 4

    Invite the right partners

    Creators who already make content about your problem, consultants and agencies who'd use your tool with clients. Write to each personally.

  5. 5

    Help them sell

    Give them assets, a demo account and quick answers. Partners who understand the product send better customers.

Mistakes that waste your effort or get you banned

  • Require affiliates to clearly disclose that they earn a commission (FTC rule in the US)
  • Ban spam, fake reviews and misleading claims in your terms, and remove partners who break them
  • Don't pay out before the refund window ends. It protects you from fraud

Tips

  • A double-sided reward (both people get something) usually works better than one-sided
  • Show referral stats inside the product so people see progress

How to know it's working

  • Share of new customers that came through referrals or affiliates
  • Revenue per partner, minus commissions paid
  • Refund and cancel rate of referred customers

Template: Partner invite

Fill in the [brackets]. Keep it in your own voice.

Subject: Partner with [product]? [X]% for [N] months

Hi [name],

I loved your [video/post] about [topic]. Your audience has exactly the problem [product] solves: [one sentence].

We pay [X]% of every payment for [N] months for customers you send. You get a free account, a demo video and screenshots to use.

Want me to set you up?

[Your name]

Where this comes from

Checked 4 October 2026. Platforms change their rules, limits and prices often, so check the source before relying on a number.