Affiliate programs can be powerful growth engines, but launching too early wastes resources and can damage relationships with potential partners. Launch too late, and you've missed years of compounding affiliate content.
This checklist helps you assess whether your SaaS is ready for an affiliate program today.
Sign 1: Product-Market Fit Is Established
The most important prerequisite. Without product-market fit, an affiliate program is pointless.
You have product-market fit if:
- Customers actively use your product (not just sign up and churn)
- You're getting organic referrals and word-of-mouth
- Customers can articulate the value clearly
- Retention is healthy (not losing most users after month 1)
- You have happy customers who would recommend you
You're NOT ready if:
- You're still pivoting frequently
- Most customers churn before experiencing value
- You can't clearly describe who your product is for
- Nobody's recommending you yet
Why it matters: Affiliates stake their reputation on recommendations. They won't (and shouldn't) promote a product that doesn't deliver value. And even if they do, the referrals will churn, costing you commissions without revenue.
Sign 2: Your Conversion Funnel Works
Affiliates drive traffic. Your funnel converts it. If your funnel is broken, affiliate traffic is wasted.
Healthy funnel indicators:
- Conversion rate from visitor to signup: 2-10% (varies by type)
- Conversion rate from signup to paid: 5-25% (varies by model)
- Clear understanding of what works and what doesn't
- Optimized onboarding that activates users
Warning signs:
- Very low conversion rates you haven't diagnosed
- High drop-off at specific funnel stages
- Confusing signup or onboarding process
- You don't know your conversion metrics
Why it matters: If 100 affiliate visitors result in 1 customer, affiliates won't see results and will stop promoting. Fix your funnel first.
Sign 3: Unit Economics Support Commissions
Can you afford to pay 15-30% of revenue for customer acquisition?
Calculate:
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
- Current Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Gross margin
You're ready if:
- LTV is 3x+ your target commission costs
- Current CAC is higher than affiliate CAC would be
- Margins support ongoing commission payments
Example:
- LTV: $1,500
- Target commission cost: $400 (27% of LTV)
- LTV:Commission ratio: 3.75x ✓
You're NOT ready if:
- You don't know your LTV or CAC
- Margins are razor-thin
- 25% of revenue would hurt significantly
Why it matters: If commissions eat into profitability too deeply, the program isn't sustainable. See our guide on setting commission rates.
Sign 4: You Have Capacity to Support Affiliates
An affiliate program isn't set-and-forget. It requires ongoing attention.
Capacity needed:
- Someone to review and approve affiliates
- Responding to affiliate questions
- Creating and updating marketing materials
- Monitoring for fraud and policy violations
- Building relationships with top performers
Time estimate:
- Small program: 2-5 hours/week
- Growing program: 10-20 hours/week
- Large program: Part/full-time role
You're ready if:
- You or someone on your team can dedicate this time
- You have bandwidth to onboard affiliates properly
- You can respond to affiliate inquiries within 24-48 hours
You're NOT ready if:
- Your team is completely maxed out
- Nobody wants to own affiliate relationships
- You expect it to run on autopilot
Why it matters: Neglected programs underperform. Affiliates who don't get support don't promote actively.
Sign 5: You Can Create Helpful Marketing Materials
Affiliates need resources to promote effectively.
Minimum materials:
- Clear product descriptions
- Screenshots and visual assets
- Key talking points
- Affiliate tracking links (provided by software)
Better programs also have:
- Banner ads in various sizes
- Email templates
- Video content or demos
- Case studies and social proof
You're ready if:
- You can create basic materials (or have budget to hire)
- Your brand and messaging are defined
- You have professional-quality visuals
You're NOT ready if:
- You have no marketing materials at all
- Your brand isn't defined
- You don't have product screenshots or demos
See our guide on creating affiliate marketing assets.
Sign 6: You Have a Clear Ideal Customer Profile
Affiliates need to know who to target.
Clear ICP includes:
- Who benefits most from your product
- Common characteristics of best customers
- Use cases that resonate
- Who is NOT a good fit
You're ready if:
- You can describe your ideal customer in one sentence
- You know which marketing channels reach them
- You understand what content resonates with them
You're NOT ready if:
- "Everyone" could be your customer
- You're still figuring out who you serve
- You don't know where your best customers come from
Why it matters: Affiliates need to match their audience to your ICP. Vague targeting means poor referral quality.
Sign 7: Your Product Has Natural Referral Potential
Some products are more affiliatable than others.
Strong affiliate potential:
- Clear category people search for
- Problem your audience actively seeks solutions for
- Competitive space where reviews influence decisions
- Content naturally fits your product (tutorials, comparisons, reviews)
Weaker affiliate potential:
- Very narrow niche with few content creators
- Product category nobody searches for
- Low consideration purchases (people don't research)
- Hard to explain or demonstrate value
You're ready if:
- People are already writing/talking about your category
- There's search volume for related terms
- Competitors have affiliate programs
- Content creators exist who could promote you
You're NOT ready if:
- You're creating an entirely new category
- Nobody is searching for solutions in your space
- No content creators cover related topics
This doesn't mean affiliate programs can't work for novel products—just that it'll be harder.
Sign 8: You Have Satisfied Customers
The best affiliates are often your customers. Plus, happy customers validate that the product is worth promoting.
Signs of customer satisfaction:
- NPS score above 30
- Customers respond positively when asked for feedback
- Some customers refer others organically
- Low complaint volume
You're ready if:
- You could ask 5-10 customers to join your affiliate program
- Customers express genuine appreciation for your product
- You have testimonials or case studies
You're NOT ready if:
- Customer satisfaction is poor or unknown
- You're getting lots of complaints
- Asking customers to promote would feel awkward
Sign 9: You're Thinking Long-Term
Affiliate programs compound over time. Quick wins are possible but not the main value.
Long-term mindset:
- Willing to invest for 12+ months before judging results
- Focused on building relationships, not just transactions
- Patient with affiliate content creation cycles
- Committed to maintaining the program through ups and downs
Short-term mindset (problematic):
- Expecting significant revenue in month 1-2
- Likely to cut program if not immediately profitable
- Viewing affiliates as transactions, not partners
- Planning to launch and forget
You're ready if:
- You can commit to running the program for at least 1 year
- You're willing to invest time in relationships
- You understand it compounds like content marketing
You're NOT ready if:
- You need immediate results to justify the investment
- You'll cut the program in 3 months if it hasn't scaled
- You don't have patience for gradual growth
See our post on how affiliate marketing compounds.
Sign 10: You've Done Basic Competitive Research
Understanding the landscape helps you position effectively.
Research to complete:
- Do competitors have affiliate programs?
- What commission rates do they offer?
- What do their programs look like?
- Where's the opportunity to differentiate?
You're ready if:
- You know what competitors offer affiliates
- You can match or exceed market rates
- You understand how to position your program
You're NOT ready if:
- You haven't looked at competitor programs
- Your rates will be significantly below market
- You have no differentiation to offer
Self-Assessment Scorecard
Rate yourself on each factor:
| Factor | Not Ready (0) | Partial (1) | Ready (2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product-market fit | |||
| Conversion funnel | |||
| Unit economics | |||
| Capacity to support | |||
| Marketing materials | |||
| Clear ICP | |||
| Natural referral potential | |||
| Satisfied customers | |||
| Long-term thinking | |||
| Competitive research |
Scoring:
- 16-20: Launch confidently. You're ready.
- 12-15: Probably ready. Address weak areas but can proceed.
- 8-11: Borderline. Fix significant gaps before launching.
- 0-7: Not ready. Focus on fundamentals first.
What to Do If You're Not Ready
If you scored low, prioritize these:
Product-market fit issues:
- Talk to customers about what's working and what's not
- Focus on retention and activation
- Don't launch affiliate program until fundamentals are solid
Funnel issues:
- Audit your signup and onboarding flow
- Fix drop-off points
- Get conversion rates to reasonable levels
Economic issues:
- Work on improving margins or LTV
- Reconsider pricing
- Reduce churn to increase lifetime value
Capacity issues:
- Decide who will own the program
- Clear time in their schedule
- Consider starting small to test the waters
Material issues:
- Create basic marketing assets
- Define your messaging
- Build an affiliate program page
What to Do If You're Ready
Next steps:
- Choose your affiliate software (comparison guide)
- Define your commission structure (commission guide)
- Create your affiliate program page (page guide)
- Build initial marketing materials (asset guide)
- Recruit your first affiliates (recruitment guide)
- Set up onboarding and support (onboarding guide)
For the complete process, see our complete guide to starting an affiliate program.
Final Thought
Better to launch slightly later with strong foundations than to launch early and struggle. Affiliates who have poor experiences—low conversions, no support, delayed payments—will move on and may not return.
Build the foundation right, then launch confidently.