What do you agree before reviewing a first affiliate test?

[InVault]

Before a first affiliate test, I’d put the review plan on one page with the partner.

Start with one offer and a defined audience. Agree the traffic source, market, test period, spending cap where relevant and the customer action you want to measure.

Then decide how both sides will read the results: which report you’ll use, how pending and approved actions are shown, and when the numbers are ready to review. Name someone on each side who can resolve a mismatch.

At the review, follow the customer journey. If people click but few sign up, look at the offer and landing page together. If signups arrive but few become approved customers, work through the reasons with the partner. Agree one change for the next test and keep a note of it.

For people managing these partnerships, which detail has made your first test easier to judge?

[aiangels.io]

Good list. The one thing I'd add to that page is how reversals are handled: refunds, chargebacks, and how long a conversion stays pending before it counts. On subscription offers that is where most disputes start, because a signup can look fine in week one and get reversed in week five.

 

I'd also agree in advance what happens when the partner's report and your own tracking don't match. Either pick whose numbers win, or agree a small tolerance below which nobody chases the difference. That saves an awkward conversation right when you are deciding whether to scale.

 

And write down the payout terms that apply to the test itself: minimum threshold, hold period, payment method. A first test is often too small to reach the minimum, and it is better to know that before it starts.