Launching an affiliate program shouldn’t take weeks or require developer help. Rewardful is affiliate software built for fast, no-code setup, and most SaaS teams get their program live in under 15 minutes—including connecting Stripe.
If you’re looking for affiliate marketing software with a minimal learning curve, Rewardful is a strong choice. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to launch an affiliate program with Rewardful (powered by Stripe affiliate tracking) and show how it handles tracking, commissions, payouts, and campaigns from one dashboard. We’ll also share simple pre- and post-launch checklists at the end.
How to Start Your Affiliate Program with Rewardful
Rewardful is designed for businesses that want an easy-to-use affiliate software that works out of the box. You don’t need custom scripts, spreadsheets, or ongoing manual work—just connect your Stripe to Rewardful and configure your campaign.
Follow the steps below to launch your affiliate program with Rewardful.
Step 1: Start Your Rewardful Free Trial
Create your Rewardful account by adding your business details and confirming your email. You can start a 14-day free trial to access Rewardful’s full feature set, including affiliate tracking, campaigns, and payouts.
During signup, you’ll get access to Rewardful’s complete feature set on the free trial. If you want to see everything you can test and use, you can view Rewardful pricing plans to explore the features included across plans.
Once you’re in the Rewardful dashboard, you’ll be ready to connect Stripe and start setting up your affiliate program immediately.
Step 2: Connect Stripe to Rewardful
Once you’re in the Rewardful dashboard, connect your payment processor to start tracking affiliate referrals automatically. Rewardful supports Paddle and Stripe integration out of the box.
Follow the in-app prompts to connect your account securely. Once connected, Rewardful starts tracking signups and payments, attributing conversions, calculating commissions, and preparing payouts without manual setup.
Step 3: Configure Affiliate Commission Payouts and Currency
After your payment processor is connected, set up how commissions are paid directly inside Rewardful.
Choose the currency your affiliate program will use, then select how affiliates receive payouts. Rewardful supports PayPal and Wise, both with mass payout support, so you can pay affiliates at scale without manual transfers.
For more automatic affiliate commission payments, you can also opt for Rewardful Managed Payouts. With it, your commissions are automatically sent to affiliates based on your payout rules—so you don’t have to handle payment runs, calculations, or manual processing. Learn more about Managed Payouts here.
Once this is set, Rewardful applies these settings across your affiliate program automatically.
Step 4: Create Your First Rewardful Campaign
Affiliate programs in Rewardful are managed through campaigns. This is where you define how affiliates earn, how referrals are tracked, and how commissions are paid.
Inside your Rewardful campaign settings, you can:
- Group affiliates by commission rate to support different partner tiers
- Set campaign details like welcome text and website URL. Rewardful automatically generates affiliate links from this URL
- Enable double-sided incentives to apply customer discounts automatically
- Limit affiliate earnings per customer by time or number of payments
- Define tracking rules, including cookie duration and payout waiting periods
- Control payouts and data access, such as minimum payout thresholds and visibility into sales or customer details for private campaigns
Once saved, your campaign is live and ready to accept affiliates.
Pro Tip: Unsure how to calculate your affiliate commissions? This article will tell you how much you should pay your affiliates.
Step 5: Complete the Setup
Once the integration is complete, you’ll see a Setup Complete confirmation in your Rewardful dashboard.
Your affiliates, website, and payment processing are now fully connected. Rewardful is tracking referrals, attributing conversions, and preparing commissions automatically—your affiliate program is live.
Here is a high-level walk-through of the Rewardful platform.
Ready to get started with Rewardful? Join now.
Pre- and Post-Launch Affiliate Program Checklists
Have you done everything to set yourself (and your affiliates) up for success? These checklists help you stay on track and not miss a beat.
Pre-Launch Affiliate Checklist
Before you launch your affiliate program, ask yourself:
- Is the affiliate management software easy to use? You want a simple tool that can be set up easily and doesn't require a tech team to manage.
- Does it have everything you need? Make sure you have tested the affiliate software through a free trial and that it has all the features you're looking for.
- Can it work with other tools you use? Check whether it seamlessly integrates with your favorite tools, such as payment platforms and email campaign services.
- Will it keep your data safe? Look for signs that it implements top-rated security measures, like encryption and secure storage.
- Can you customize the affiliate program to match your needs? Find out if you can tweak it to fit your brand's look and feel.
- Will it grow with you? See if you can easily upgrade or change your plan without breaking the bank.
- Are there any hidden costs? Know what you’re paying now and potentially later.
Post-Launch Affiliate Checklist
After the affiliate program launch, here's what you need to do:
- Get your affiliates on board smoothly. Streamline the signup process and provide guides to help them start converting.
- Stay in touch. Use built-in tools to communicate updates and feedback.
- Pay them on time, every time. Set up a variety of payout options and automated payments.
- Be there when they need you. Ensure you've got a responsive support system in place.
- Keep an eye on things. Regularly check how your affiliates are doing and find ways to boost their performance.
For the detailed steps of each task, refer to this before and after affiliate launch checklist guide.
How to Choose the Right Affiliate Software for Your Business?
If you're still undecided about whether Rewardful is the right choice for you, let's consider what features should be on your wishlist when choosing an excellent affiliate marketing tool:
- Simplicity: check if the tool is easy to use with a short learning curve.
- Customer support: see if it offers onboarding guides and troubleshooting documents and whether customer support is included in your chosen plan.
- Features: confirm with a free trial and dig into plan details. When in doubt, ask. Better safe than sorry.
- Starting up: ensure a friendly signup process and supporting resources.
- Communication: look for built-in messaging or email tools.
- Payouts: explore various automated and multi-currency payout options.
- Scalability: ensure the tool can adapt to your expanding needs.
- Integrations: it should sync seamlessly with your existing tech stack.
- Security: provide top-notch security standards, including self-fraud referral alerts.
- Customization: look for customizable looks and messaging.
If you can find software that ticks all these boxes, you’ve found the gem!
Why Choose Rewardful Affiliate Software?
Renowned for its user-friendly features, Rewardful is one of the best SaaS affiliate program management software. Our tool is designed to help companies set up and manage affiliate and referral programs effortlessly. This is demonstrated in our intuitive affiliate onboarding, automated commission payout, and customizable cookies, among others.
More than 2,600 customers are using Rewardful to grow their business with affiliate marketing. Some even have yielded amazing results, earning $700,000 in referral sales.
That said, those are not everything you’ll get from adopting Rewardful. Here are 10 more reasons why you should choose Rewardful for your affiliate management software:
- We offer transparent and scalable pricing with no hidden fees, adjusting as your business grows.
- Affiliates love us for our exceptional 24/7 customer support, backed by a team of SaaS affiliate marketing experts.
- We offer seamless no-code integrations, effortlessly connecting with over 30+ popular tools.
- You can set up your affiliate program in under 15 minutes with our efficient, five-step setup process.
- We are specially built for SaaS, offering specialized tools for rapid growth and marketing success.
- Affiliates adore us for our reliable payments and intuitive, user-friendly portal.
- We make managing your affiliates easy thanks to comprehensive commission structures and segmentation.
- Our platform is packed with useful, actionable features focusing on what SaaS businesses need most.
- We provide a unified system for affiliate and referral programs, simplifying management.
- We have a proven track record of measurable success, with countless SaaS businesses thriving through our software.
What are Rewardful Pricing Plans?
Our powerful features are packaged with affordable pricing plans and world-class customer service. Here is what you’ll get:
- Starting off is easy with our 14-day free trial. No credit card details are needed, just sign up and dive in.
- Our plans are built to accommodate businesses at any stage of their journey, from startups just getting started to scaling enterprises looking to expand their reach.
- There are no hidden fees or sneaky transaction costs. What you see is what you pay, allowing for straightforward budgeting and financial planning.
Start your SaaS Affiliate Marketing with Rewardful
Congratulations! You've successfully launched your affiliate program with Rewardful. Make the best of Rewardful's features and support to maximize your affiliate marketing efforts and drive growth for your business.
How to Launch an Affiliate Program with Rewardful - FAQs
What Do I Need to Start My Trial With Rewardful?
Fill in your details, and confirm your email. Then, choose a plan that suits your needs, and your 14-day free trial will begin automatically.
Can I Connect Rewardful With My Existing Payment Merchants?
Yes, Rewardful seamlessly integrates with Stripe and Paddle, allowing you to connect your preferred payment platform effortlessly.
How Does Rewardful Ensure Accurate Affiliate Tracking?
Rewardful uses advanced tracking technologies, including customizable cookie durations and precise tracking links. These ensure that every referral is accurately attributed to the correct affiliate.
Can I Set Different Commission Rates for Different Affiliates with Rewardful?
Absolutely. Rewardful enables you to customize commission structures to better incentivize your affiliates. This includes setting different rates and types (fixed amount, percentage-based, one-time payment, or recurring commissions).
