Why Affiliate Programme Management Is Broken
Affiliate programmes stall when agencies are paid to manage, not to grow. We flipped the incentive.
Most affiliate programmes underperform. Not because affiliates are a bad channel. Because the standard model creates the wrong incentives.
Traditional affiliate management agencies charge a monthly retainer plus pass-through costs: AWIN network fees, affiliate commissions on top. The agency is paid regardless of what the programme generates.
This means the agency is incentivised to manage, not to grow. Reporting is the output. Revenue is incidental.
We built our affiliate offer differently. On our standalone programme, we charge a percentage of affiliate-generated revenue only. AWIN network fees and affiliate commissions are covered within our fee. If your programme generates nothing, we earn nothing.
The practical difference: our team is actively recruiting new partners, negotiating placements, and pushing commission strategy because every incremental pound of affiliate revenue directly affects our fee. That is not charity. It is alignment.
The market is not offering this at scale. Most affiliate agencies are still on the retainer model, which means most affiliate programmes are still underperforming.
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