Affiliate Marketing Checklist 2025: 21 Proven Steps for DTC Stores

A shocking 87% of stores that start affiliate marketing fail because they dive in without a roadmap. That’s why we built this affiliate marketing checklist for 2025, a step-by-step guide for DTC stores to launch profitable affiliate programs. 

To help e-commerce owners, we’ve created this comprehensive affiliate marketing strategies guide for 2025 that covers everything you need to consider before, during, and after launching your affiliate program.

This is the only affiliate program best practices guide you need because it’s built from real data and proven strategies that successful stores use to generate consistent affiliate revenue.

Follow this affiliate marketing checklist and you’ll skip the trial-and-error most brands waste months on.

Affiliate Marketing Checklist 2025: 21 Proven Steps

• Pre-launch affiliate marketing checklist
  • 1. Review your store’s readiness for affiliates
  • 2. Forecast affiliate revenue goals & KPIs
• Affiliate marketing setup checklist
  • 3. Choose the right affiliate platform tool
  • 4. Decide on your affiliate commission model
  • 5. Set up payout methods and tax/GDPR compliance
• Affiliate assets & onboarding checklist
  • 6. Build an affiliate welcome kit
  • 7. Automate affiliate onboarding
• Affiliate recruitment checklist
  • 8. Identify top channels for finding affiliates
  • 9. Outreach with ready-to-use affiliate recruitment templates
• Affiliate marketing compliance & risk checklist
  • 10. Draft affiliate program terms & conditions
  • 11. Add affiliate disclosures 
  • 12. Set up affiliate fraud monitoring
• Affiliate Program Launch Checklist
  • 13. Run a full affiliate program test
  • 14. Double-check tracking and reporting dashboards
  • 15. Announce your affiliate program via email & social
• Affiliate marketing optimization checklist
  • 16. Track KPIs (sales, AOV, top affiliates, ROI)
  • 17. Reward affiliates with contests, tiers & seasonal bonuses
  • 18. Audit program quarterly for performance & compliance
• Affiliate marketing audit & scale checklist
  • 19. Run a monthly affiliate program audit
  • 20. Expand your affiliates & influencer partnerships
  • 21. Scale your affiliate program globally 

What to know before starting affiliate marketing for your e-commerce store?

Before starting your affiliate marketing, you need to understand what you’re getting into. Affiliate marketing isn’t just about finding people to promote your products. It’s about partnering with the right people who, while promoting your product, also become your brand voice.

Furthermore, affiliate partnerships play a major role in brand positioning and building authenticity around the brand story.

Thus, ensure your store is affiliate-ready. This means having solid profit margins, clear tracking systems, and products that affiliates actually want to promote.

Most importantly, you need realistic expectations because successful affiliate programs don’t happen overnight. They require consistent effort, proper tools, and ongoing optimization.

This checklist for affiliate marketing will drive you in the right direction to make profits for your e-commerce store.

Pre-launch affiliate marketing checklist

1. Review your store’s readiness for affiliates

Your store needs to meet specific criteria before launching an affiliate program. This marketing checklist helps identify if your store is ready for an affiliate program.

Firstly, start by evaluating your product margins. You need enough profit to pay competitive commissions to affiliates while maintaining profitability.

Then, check your website’s conversion rate. If it’s below 2%, focus on optimization first, as affiliates won’t promote stores that don’t convert their traffic effectively.

Finally, ensure your customer support is solid. Affiliates will send questions your way, and poor support reflects badly on both you and them.

In addition, review your product catalog while focusing on items with broad appeal and proven sales history for your initial affiliate offerings.

2. Forecast affiliate revenue goals & KPIs

It is important that you set realistic revenue targets for your affiliate marketing program. Most successful programs aim for 15-30% of total revenue from affiliates within the first year.

Define your key performance indicators (KPIs). Track metrics like:

• Number of active affiliates
• Average order value from affiliate traffic
• Customer lifetime value
• Return on investment (ROI)

You can, firstly, create monthly and quarterly goals. This helps you measure progress and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Then, you can measure your benchmark against industry standards. This will help you set the right goal.

Affiliate marketing setup checklist

3. Choose the right affiliate platform tool

Selecting the right affiliate marketing tool is important for success, as it helps manage the entire affiliate lifecycle.

For Shopify stores, consider promising solutions like Yuko Affiliate Marketing. For influencer marketing, you can

However, evaluate the features of all tools carefully. You need reliable tracking, automated payouts, fraud protection, and detailed reporting capabilities.

In addition, consider your budget and transaction volume. Following this, test the platform thoroughly. Since most providers offer free trials or demos, you can try before committing.

4. Decide on your affiliate commission model

Your affiliate commission setup determines how much your partners will be paid.

The most common models include:

• Percentage-based commissions work well for most e-commerce stores. Typical rates range from 5-20% depending on your industry and margins.
• Fixed-rate commissions suit stores with consistent average order values. This provides predictable costs and clear affiliate expectations.
• Tiered commission structures reward top performers with higher rates. This incentivizes affiliates to drive more sales and stay engaged.

Consider offering performance bonuses for reaching monthly sales targets. This keeps your best affiliates motivated and exclusive to your program.

5. Set up payout methods and tax/GDPR compliance

Implement your GDPR checklist for affiliate marketers early. This includes compliance with data collection consent, right to deletion, and transparent privacy policies.

Additionally, establish clear tax documentation requirements.

For example, US affiliates earning over $600 annually need 1099 forms, while international partners have different requirements.

Following this, set up multiple payout methods. For example, PayPal, bank transfers, and digital wallets etc. Thus, affiliates will get flexibility in how they receive payments, encouraging more to sign up.

You can create automated affiliate payout schedules. Monthly payments work well for most programs, but consider bi-weekly for top performers.

Document everything clearly in your affiliate agreement. Thus, you can prevent disputes and ensure compliance across regions.

Affiliate marketing assets & onboarding checklist

6. Build an affiliate welcome kit

Following an affiliate recruitment, you should immediately give them a welcome kit that has everything they’ll need to start working with you.

This should include your brand guidelines, logo variations, and approved marketing copy.

In addition, you can also create product-specific promotional materials. Ensure you have high-quality images, product descriptions, and key selling points to help affiliates promote effectively.

Furthermore, develop email templates and social media content.

Ready-to-use materials increase affiliate activity and also maintain brand consistency.

Apart from emailing them post-recruitment, ensure it’s easily accessible through your affiliate portal.

Once you are ready with this, you can proceed with building your affiliate marketing onboarding checklist.

7. Automate affiliate onboarding

You can streamline your affiliate onboarding with automated workflows. Hence, set up welcome emails that trigger immediately after affiliate approval.

In addition, create a structured onboarding sequence across multiple touchpoints.

You can include interactive elements like video tutorials or webinars along with other visual learning materials that help.

Furthermore, set up automated check-ins at 7, 30, and 90 days. Thus, these touchpoints help identify issues early and keep new affiliates engaged.

You can also build feedback loops into your process through regular surveys. Thus helping you improve onboarding and identify successful affiliates early.

Affiliate recruitment checklist

8. Identify top channels for finding affiliates

Your affiliate recruitment strategy should focus on multiple channels.

Firstly, start with your existing customer base. Identify satisfied customers as they often make excellent affiliates.

Following that, leverage affiliate networks like ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, and Impact. These platforms have thousands of active affiliates looking for new programs.

Then, use social media to find influencer marketing opportunities. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube creators often have engaged audiences perfect for affiliate partnerships.

In addition, you can also attend industry events and conferences for face-to-face networking to build stronger relationships and attract quality affiliates.

9. Outreach with ready-to-use affiliate recruitment templates

Develop personalized outreach templates for different affiliate types. For example, bloggers need different messaging than social media influencers or deal sites.

Strategize your affiliate program promotion with a focus on the value proposition in your initial contact.

Then, follow up consistently but respectfully. Most successful recruits require 3-5 touchpoints before joining your program.

Track your outreach metrics and monitor response rates, conversion rates, and affiliate quality to optimize your recruitment efforts.

You can also use affiliate recruitment tools to automate your process.

Affiliate marketing compliance & risk checklist

10. Draft affiliate program terms & conditions

Your affiliate compliance documentation protects both you and your partners. Thus, include clear guidelines about acceptable promotional methods and prohibited practices.

Define commission structures, payment terms, and performance requirements. Additionally, address intellectual property usage.

Specifically, mention how affiliates can use your brand assets and what requires prior approval.

Furthermore, add termination clauses and dispute resolution procedures.

11. Add affiliate disclosures

Implement proper affiliate disclosure requirements immediately. FTC guidelines require clear, conspicuous disclosure of affiliate relationships in all promotional content.

Thus, create disclosure templates for different content types. For example, blog posts, social media, and video content each need different yet appropriate disclosure language.

Provide disclosure training in your onboarding materials and educate affiliates to be compliant.

12. Set up affiliate fraud monitoring

Affiliate fraud can devastate your program’s profitability. Hence, implement monitoring systems from day one to catch fraudulent activity early.

Watch for unusual traffic patterns, high return rates, and suspicious conversion timing.

Then, use fraud detection tools built into your affiliate platform.

You can set up manual review processes because human oversight catches sophisticated fraud that automated systems miss.

Additionally, create clear fraud policies and consequences for easy reference.

Affiliate program launch checklist

13. Run a full affiliate program test

Before launching publicly, run comprehensive tests of your affiliate program.

You can first start with a small group of trusted partners to identify issues.

Then, test all tracking mechanisms across different devices and browsers. Specifically, concentrate on mobile traffic as it represents a significant volume.

Following that, verify commission calculations and payout processes. You can run test transactions through your entire system to confirm accuracy.

Finally, check all affiliate portal functions like registration, login, reporting, and resource access.

14. Double-check tracking and reporting dashboards

Your affiliate tracking tools checklist must provide accurate, real-time data. Thus, test reporting across different scenarios and traffic sources.

Verify attribution models work correctly, as each multi-touch attribution serves a different purpose.

Following that, check the dashboard functionality for affiliates. They need easy access to performance data, creative assets, and commission information.

Ensure mobile compatibility, as many affiliates manage their activities primarily through mobile devices.

15. Announce your affiliate program via email & social

Launch your referral marketing campaign with a coordinated announcement strategy.

Firstly, send an invitation to your email list and existing customers.

Secondly, create social media content that explains your program’s benefits. Focus on mutual value rather than just asking for help.

Then, reach out to industry publications and blogs. You can also contact relevant affiliate marketing forums and communities.

Affiliate marketing optimization checklist

16. Track KPIs (sales, AOV, top affiliates, ROI)

Your affiliate marketing metrics and KPIs can provide important insights for optimization of the affiliate program.

Hence, continuously monitor sales volume, average order value, and conversion rates from affiliate traffic.

Identify your top-performing affiliates and analyze what makes them successful. Then, use these insights to recruit similar partners.

Calculate program ROI regularly by including all costs like platform fees, commissions, management time, and promotional materials.

Track affiliate engagement metrics to identify active affiliates, content creation frequency, and support ticket volume, which indicate program health.

Finally, monitor customer quality from affiliate traffic to know customer lifetime value and return rates, which help assess long-term program value.

17. Reward affiliates with contests, tiers & seasonal bonuses

Keep affiliates motivated with influencer partnership incentives. You can run monthly contests, create friendly competition, and drive short-term performance spikes.

Then, implement tier-based reward systems so that higher-performing affiliates receive better commission rates and exclusive perks.

Offer seasonal bonuses during peak shopping periods. Black Friday, holiday seasons, and back-to-school periods present major opportunities.

Create non-monetary rewards too. For example, early product access, exclusive content, and recognition programs build loyalty.

You can regularly survey affiliates about the incentives they like to get. Their feedback can help you design motivational programs that work.

18. Audit program quarterly for performance & compliance

Schedule regular program audits using your affiliate marketing compliance checklist. Review affiliate activity, commission accuracy, and compliance adherence.

Check for inactive affiliates and determine re-engagement or removal strategies.

Then, review commission structures against industry standards and profit margins. You can adjust rates as needed to remain competitive while maintaining profitability.

Analyze influencer marketing ROI trends. Then, identify areas where efficiency improvements could boost profitability.

Finally, update terms, conditions, and promotional materials as needed to keep everything current with legal requirements and business changes.

Affiliate marketing audit & scale checklist

19. Run a monthly affiliate program audit

Your affiliate program audit checklist for Shopify brands should cover all critical program elements. Hence, review affiliate performance, commission accuracy, and compliance status monthly.

Check tracking accuracy and ensure affiliate payouts are reached on time. This can help maintain the integrity of your program.

Moreover, review customer feedback related to affiliate-driven sales, as poor customer experiences reflect on your brand regardless of the traffic source.

20. Expand your affiliates & influencer partnerships

Scale your recruitment efforts using proven affiliate marketing strategies as learning opportunities.

Develop influencer marketing partnerships alongside traditional affiliates.

Explore international expansion opportunities, as global affiliates can help you enter new markets with local expertise.

Consider B2B referral program opportunities, as business customers and resellers often make excellent affiliate partners.

Build relationships with affiliate agencies and management companies. They can connect you with professional affiliates who focus on performance.

21. Scale your affiliate program globally

International expansion requires careful planning around currency, compliance, and cultural considerations. Therefore, start with English-speaking markets for easier initial expansion.

Following that, implement multi-currency commission payments as affiliates prefer payments in their local currency to avoid exchange rate complications.

You can localize marketing materials and program terms for cultural sensitivity and local compliance requirements.

Furthermore, consider time zone differences in your support and communication strategies.

Conclusion

This 21-step affiliate marketing checklist for 2025 gives e-commerce and DTC brands a clear roadmap. 

From setup and onboarding to scaling and compliance, it’s the most comprehensive affiliate program checklist available. Bookmark this guide and revisit it whenever you’re optimizing your affiliate strategy.