Commission Models
Part of Coupon and cashback affiliates
Separating public discounts from exclusive affiliate offers
An exclusive affiliate offer should give the partner's audience a distinct, agreed benefit.
An exclusive affiliate offer should give the partner's audience a distinct, agreed benefit. A public sale code that anyone can find is a different promotion, even if an affiliate displays it.
Keep a promotion register with the code, value, eligible products and customers, start and end dates, permitted placements, owner and commission treatment. Where the platform and contract support separate codes, use them.
Discount eligibility and limits are configured separately from partner crediting rules. Test both systems together. A discount working at checkout does not prove the correct partner receives credit, and partner credit does not prove the discount was truly exclusive.
Before launch, try an eligible and an ineligible basket and check the message shown to the shopper. Confirm how the offer interacts with other discounts. If a public promotion has the same value, tell the partner rather than describing its code as a special benefit.
After launch, compare usage from the intended placement with orders arriving through other paths. If distribution broadens, update the classification and economics.
Post-Launch Monitoring Process for Affiliate Offer Distribution
- Track usage from intended affiliate placementMonitor via platform analytics or UTM tagging
- Compare with orders from other channels (e.g., direct, social media)Identify unexpected distribution patterns
- Update classification and commission structure if broader use is detectedReclassify as public offer if necessary
