How to Set Up an Affiliate Programme for Your Online Store: The First 90 Days
5 November 2026 · Leopold Landsdorff
Setting up an affiliate programme for an online store takes about 90 days: first strategy and tracking, then publishers, then agreements and reporting. Without ongoing management, a programme produces nothing.
Here I walk through what those 90 days look like in practice, and which parts belong to your team and which to the agency. The timelines are a realistic estimate based on my experience, not a promise. Every store and product range is different.
The short answer: what launching a programme requires
Launching requires four things:
- a clear offer to publishers: what you sell, at what margin and what commission you can afford to pay
- working tracking that you can rely on
- the right publishers, persuaded to take an interest in your store specifically
- ongoing work: optimisation, communication and reporting
The first three are done once. The fourth never ends. That is why we talk about a managed service, not a tool.
There are few Finnish-language pages on this topic. Some are written for publishers, some are networks’ own presentations. For example, Zoner’s affiliate page, written from the perspective of Adtraction’s Finland country manager, represents the advertiser’s point of view, but it does not describe the day-to-day reality of keeping a programme running. That is what I am trying to do here.
Days 1–30: strategy, offer and tracking
The first month is groundwork, and you will not see any sales from it yet. It can still be done the wrong way, which costs you later.
Strategy. Which products and markets are included? If you sell or want to sell abroad, decide right away whether you start from Finland or from several countries. Also decide what you expect from the programme: new customers, a specific product or a new market.
Offer. A publisher chooses which store to work with. Commission, cookie duration, campaigns and ready-made materials decide whether your store is interesting. A commission that your margin can bear but that is weaker than your competitors’ attracts nobody. Publisher commission is paid on each sale separately and is set programme by programme.
Tracking. Tracking must work before a single publisher is sent to your site. Test the purchase journey with real orders, check that orders and values are recorded correctly, and check that cancellations and returns are handled as agreed. Fixing things afterwards is expensive and weakens publishers’ trust.
Brachion works through the Awin network. According to Awin’s own information, it gives access to over a million active publishers. The pool is huge, and that is exactly why it does not solve anything on its own: the right publishers still have to be found and brought on board.
Days 31–60: recruiting and vetting publishers
The second month is handwork. Publishers do not turn up by themselves, even if the programme is visible in the network.
Recruitment. I approach publishers one by one: content sites, comparison sites, influencers, loyalty programmes and other suitable channels. The message is personal and explains why this particular store suits their audience. A mass message does not work.
Vetting. Not every applicant fits the programme. I look at whether the site is genuine, whether the audience is right, what kind of traffic it brings and whether its way of promoting suits your brand. Vetting protects your brand and your wallet. A small group of good publishers beats a large group of poor ones.
Activation. An approved publisher does not sell yet. They need materials, offers, a campaign calendar and someone to answer their questions. This is the part that is missing from an empty programme.
Days 61–90: agreements, optimisation and the first report
In the third month the programme comes to life, and now you see what works.
Agreements. Agree in writing what a publisher may and may not do: brand search, discount codes, use of images, communications. Clear terms save you from disputes that would otherwise arise.
Optimisation. See which publishers bring sales and which only bring clicks. Raise commission where it pays off. Cut back where nothing comes in. Run campaigns together with the best performers.
First report. At the three-month mark it makes sense to look at what has happened: sales, publishers, order value and where to invest next. Do not expect the programme to be finished in three months. It is usually only the beginning, and the real picture forms over a longer period.
The stages are described in more detail on the How it works page.
Why an empty programme produces nothing
This is something I see repeatedly. A store sets up a programme in the network, sets a commission and waits. Nothing happens.
The reason is simple: publishers are like a sales team that has not been onboarded. They have hundreds of stores to choose from, and they choose the one that is easy, profitable and backed by someone who answers messages. A programme without someone running it is just a listing.
That is why I do not call affiliate a free or risk-free channel. It is a channel where a large share of the costs is tied to realised sales, but the work and the fixed costs still exist.
What your team does and what the agency does
In a managed service the split is clear.
The agency handles: building the programme and the strategy, recruiting and vetting publishers, agreements and tracking, ongoing optimisation and reporting. The brand does not need its own affiliate expertise.
Your team handles: decisions on commission and margins, product information and materials, offers and campaigns, and the handling of orders and returns. In other words, the things only you know about your own store.
Costs consist of two parts. The Growth package is €500/month plus a 5% service commission on realised sales. The Fixed package is €1,500/month with no service commission. Publisher commission comes on top of these and is set programme by programme. More details on the Pricing page.
Does a programme make sense for you? Check your situation
A programme generally suits a store that has a working product, a margin that can bear publisher commission and a wish to grow into new markets. If your margin is thin or your purchase journey does not work yet, fix those first.
If you want to know what your situation looks like, take the market check. If you would rather talk directly, get in touch.
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