How to Set Up an Influencer Affiliate Program: Step-by-Step for Brands

Most brands that want an influencer affiliate program already have the pieces: products creators like, a few creators who have posted without being asked, and a store that can issue codes. What they lack is the setup that turns those pieces into a program, with clear terms, tracking that pays the right person, and a routine that keeps it running after launch week.

This is the step-by-step version. Our influencer affiliate program guide covers the strategy: when to pay fees, how the main platforms compare and how to measure results. Here we cover the order of operations, from the first decision to the first monthly review, so you can set the program up once and not rebuild it three months later.

Step 1: Decide what the program is for

Write one sentence that answers three questions: which products creators should sell, which customers you want (new only, or everyone) and what a good month looks like. A skincare brand that wants new customers on its starter kit sets the program up differently from an apparel brand that wants volume during seasonal drops.

That sentence drives every later choice. It tells you whether a returning customer’s order should earn the full commission, whether the code should work sitewide or only on certain products, and which creators to approach first. Brands that skip this step usually end up paying full commission on sales they would have made anyway.

Step 2: Choose where the program runs

Pick the platform by where the sale happens, not by which tool has the longest feature list. The main options for brands:

• Your Shopify store: Shopify Collabs lets you invite creators, accept applications through an online store page, send gifts or discount codes, track affiliate sales and pay creators. It is available on all Shopify plans except Starter and Retail (Shopify Help Center). The app is free to install, and a 2.9% processing fee applies to automatic commission payments (Shopify App Store). Third-party Shopify affiliate apps are the other route, and our Shopify affiliate recruitment playbook covers how to choose between Collabs, an app or a network.
• TikTok Shop: if your products sell inside TikTok, use its Affiliate Center. An open collaboration lets any creator promote chosen products; a target collaboration invites specific creators. Commission can be set between 1% and 80% of GMV per order, and when a product is in both, the target rate replaces the open rate (TikTok Shop).
• LTK: built around creators who publish shoppable links, mainly in fashion, beauty and home. Brands set their own commission rate; LTK says the average brand rate on its platform is 16% and recommends 14% (LTK for brands).
• An affiliate network: if you already run affiliates on impact.com or another network, add creators to the same program so links, codes and payouts sit in one place. impact.com’s Starter plan is the greater of $30 or 2.5% of monthly revenue on supported ecommerce platforms (impact.com pricing).

Many brands end up with two: their store for most creators, plus TikTok Shop for creators who sell there. That is fine, as long as each creator knows which link or code to use where.

Step 3: Set the commission and the customer offer

Every approved creator should get the same public base rate. Higher rates, bonuses and fees are individual deals for creators who have proven they sell. Set the base rate from your margin after product, shipping, discount and platform fees, not from what competitors advertise.

Decide the customer offer at the same time. A discount code gives followers a reason to buy now and gives you a second way to track sales, but every point of discount comes out of the same margin as the commission. Our guide to structuring creator commissions walks through flat fees, commission only, hybrid deals and tiers, and the wider affiliate commission structure guide covers rates by margin.

Step 4: Write the program terms

Terms are what make the program fair to every creator and defensible when something goes wrong. Keep them short and specific. At minimum, cover:

• What earns commission: which products, new or returning customers, and what happens with gift cards, shipping and tax.
• The tracking window: how long after a click a sale still counts. On impact.com, for example, the referral window is set in each partner’s contract (impact.com Help Center).
• Returns and holding period: how long commission waits before it is paid. Shopify Collabs holds commission for 30 days by default, adjustable between 1 and 90 days, and cancels commission on canceled and fully refunded orders during that period (Shopify Help Center).
• Code rules: codes are for the creator’s own channels only, never posted on coupon sites.
• Paid ads: whether creators may run ads, and whether they may bid on your brand name (usually not).
• Disclosure: every post must make the relationship clear (see step 8).
• Changes and ending: how much notice you give before changing rates, and when either side can leave.

This is a practical checklist, not legal advice. Have your lawyer review the final terms, especially for disclosure, payments and any market outside your home country.

Step 5: Set up tracking before anyone posts

Give every creator a unique link and a unique code, both tied to them in your platform. Links capture followers who tap through; codes capture people who watch a video, then type your store name into a browser days later. Using both means fewer sales go unpaid, which keeps creators motivated.

Test both before launch: place a test order through a creator link, then another with the code, and check each appears against the right creator. Add UTM parameters to creator links so your analytics shows creator traffic by name. Our post on influencer commission tracking covers links, codes, attribution rules and tools in detail.

Step 6: Build an application page and approval rules

An application page lets creators who already like your products raise their hand. Ask for the handle and platform, audience location, content examples featuring products like yours and how they plan to promote you. Shopify Collabs and most affiliate apps include an application page you can add to your store.

Write your approval rules down so decisions are consistent: audience in the markets you ship to, content that matches your brand, real engagement rather than bought followers, and no history of posting codes on deal sites. Decline politely and quickly; a creator left waiting for weeks rarely applies again.

Step 7: Recruit a first group you can onboard personally

Start with people who already know the product: customers who post about you, creators who tagged you without being paid, and creators your best customers follow. Then search the platforms your audience uses for creators who review products in your category. Our guides to finding affiliates for your product and recruitment email templates cover sources and outreach.

Keep the first group small enough to talk to each creator. You will learn which briefs work, which products creators prefer and where tracking breaks, and fixing that for a handful of creators is much easier than fixing it for a hundred.

Step 8: Onboard, brief and cover disclosure

Send each new creator a short welcome pack: their link and code, the commission and how payments work, product notes and claims they may and may not make, brand dos and don’ts, and examples of content that sold. Ship product samples where it makes sense; TikTok Shop lets you offer free samples per product in a collaboration (TikTok Shop).

Disclosure belongs in that pack, not in a footnote. In the US, the FTC’s Endorsement Guides say a material connection between an endorser and a seller must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and that material connections include payment and free or discounted products (16 CFR 255.5). Tell creators to disclose in the post itself, in words their audience will notice, and check new content for it.

Step 9: Pay on time and review every month

Pay commissions on a fixed schedule once the holding period ends. Late or unexplained payments lose good creators faster than a low rate does.

Once a month, review sales, commission and content by creator. Ask three questions: who is selling, who has posted but not sold, and who has not posted at all. Give the first group better rates or product launches, help the second with a new brief, and remove the third after a couple of reminders. Watch code usage too: a code showing up from a deal site is a leak, and our post on coupon vs content affiliates covers how to handle it.

Influencer affiliate program setup checklist

Common setup mistakes

• Choosing a tool before deciding which sales count, then paying commission on returning customers who would have bought anyway.
• Giving creators a code but no link (or the reverse), so some sales go untracked and creators lose trust in the reporting.
• Paying commission before returns clear.
• Negotiating a different rate with every creator from day one, which makes the program impossible to manage.
• Treating disclosure as the creator’s problem rather than part of the brief.

If you are launching your first affiliate program of any kind, our affiliate program launch checklist covers the parts that apply to every partner type.

Want help setting it up?

We set up and run influencer affiliate programs for ecommerce and SaaS brands, from terms and tracking to creator recruitment and monthly reviews. If you want a program that is built properly from day one, get in touch.

Frequently asked questions