Why Your Affiliate Outreach Doesn’t Work And How Tiered Messaging Saves It | HackerNoon

If you’ve ever tried scaling an affiliate program for your SaaS or side project, you’ve probably run into this:

You send a friendly update or promotional email to your entire affiliate list… and hear crickets. Or worse, only a handful of your top affiliates engage, while the rest stay silent.

It’s not that your affiliates don’t care. It’s that your affiliate email message wasn’t built for them.

The truth is, lumping all your affiliates into one group is the fastest way to stall growth. Some affiliates are power users generating thousands in MRR, while others signed up months ago and never even grabbed their tracking link. Sending the same generic message to every affiliate is like trying to pitch your product to everyone with one script. It simply falls flat.

So, what works, then? No need for fancy automation tools or massive resources to fix it. You just need a better approach: communicate based on where each affiliate is in their journey.

Hi, I’m Tomas. I’m a Growth Manager at Rewardful. I want to share how to tailor your affiliate outreach for different affiliate tiers, whether you’re dealing with heavy hitters, growth-stage contributors, or totally inactive partners. Plus, some tactics you can use today to build stronger affiliate relationships and boost engagement, without dangling extra commission as bait.

Affiliate Email Personalization That Works

Before segmenting your affiliates by tier, let’s clear something up: not all affiliate outreach is created equal.

If you’ve ever blasted your entire affiliate list with a generic “Hey, don’t forget to use your tracking link!” email and gotten zero response, you know the pain. These kinds of impersonal affiliate messages make your affiliates feel like numbers, not partners, and that kills affiliate engagement.

What you want are affiliate emails and affiliate messaging that show you see your affiliates’ unique value and help them get better results. Not just reminders or announcements they skim and forget.

Here’s how that looks in real affiliate communication:

The takeaway? You don’t need complicated email funnels. Go one step further than a generic note and highlight something specific that your affiliate can act on.

If you’re worried about how to even start doing this at scale, don’t sweat it. That’s exactly what I’ll cover next: how to group your affiliates by tiers so your messages hit home every time.

Is your affiliate email campaign performance declining? Avoid these common affiliate email outreach mistakes.

Breakdown of Affiliate Tiers and How to Communicate with Each One

It’s time to stop thinking of all the affiliates in your affiliate marketing program as one group. In most cases, you’re actually managing four distinct teams.

1. Power Partners (typically the top 5-10% affiliates).

   These partners have consistently climbed to become critical revenue channels, driving significant business results. Because of this, they require (and deserve!) executive-level attention and specialized communication.

2. Growth Contributors (typically 15-20% of your affiliates).

   They’re promising performers who show consistent results and represent your affiliate program’s future. When nurtured correctly, they can grow to great heights.

3. Occasional Performers (typically 30-40% of your affiliate members).

   These affiliates convert sporadically but haven’t prioritized promoting your brand. They either need more guidance or more reminders.

4. New or Inactive Affiliates (typically 30-40% of your partners).

   These include fresh sign-ups who are still learning your affiliate marketing offering and previously active affiliates who’ve gone silent. Let’s break down exactly what each tier needs and how to deliver a personalized affiliate communication approach.

Affiliate Tier 1: Power Partners – High-Touch Communication for Top-Performing Affiliates

Your top affiliates contribute significantly to your business results. They deserve and expect top-notch treatment. Here are some examples of how you could set that up.

Use Executive-Level Communication Channels, Not Just Updates

• Dedicated Slack channel: Create private, direct-access channels with your top 5-10 affiliates.
• Quarterly strategy calls: Schedule focused sessions to align on upcoming promotions, gather feedback, and share roadmap details.
• Phone or dedicated email address access for urgency: Provide direct contact for time-sensitive opportunities.

Share Strategic Insights, Not Generic Marketing Materials

• Pre-release briefings: Share upcoming product changes and positioning 3-4 weeks before public announcement.
• Performance insights: Provide deeper conversion data, including customer retention patterns by traffic source.
• Competitive positioning guidance: Share exactly how your solution compares to competitors.

Affiliate Tier 2: Growth Contributors – Support Rising Affiliates with Targeted Guidance

Growth Contributors are looking for achievement-oriented communication with clear pathways to higher status. They require a balance between personalization and scalability.

Here are some ideas on how to frame every interaction around specific actions that move them toward Tier 1 Affiliates.

Deliver Tier-Specific Content That Drives Performance

• Tier-specific newsletter: Monthly communication exclusively for Growth Contributors with targeted strategies.
• Private Slack/Discord group: Create a community specifically for this tier to share wins and challenges.
• Monthly group strategy sessions: Host focused calls where these affiliates can learn from each other.

Upskill Affiliates Through Educational and Strategic Content

• “What top performers do differently”: Specific tactical differences between their current approach and what your Tier 1 Affiliates implement (interviews would work great!).
• Conversion analysis: Provide a detailed breakdown of where their traffic is dropping off compared to higher-performing affiliates.
• Promotion calendars: A strategic roadmap of exactly when and how to promote upcoming features or sales.

Affiliate Tier 3: Growth Contributors – Support Rising Affiliates with Targeted Guidance

Occasional Performers often juggle multiple priorities or affiliate marketing programs. Your communication should emphasize efficiency and quick implementation rather than comprehensive strategies that overwhelm them.

Here’s how to give them ideas on how to get more out of your affiliate program.

Optimize Communication Touchpoints for Efficiency

• Targeted sections in the main newsletter: Highlight the quick wins in each general communication.
• Monthly office hours: Host drop-in sessions where they can get specific questions answered.
• Triggered milestone emails: Automate congratulations and next steps when they hit specific achievements.

Offer Quick-Win Resources to Spark Activity

• 15-minute promotion templates: Provide promotion frameworks that can be implemented in less than 15 minutes.
• Seasonal quick wins: Time-specific promotions requiring minimal effort during peak buying periods.
• Plug-and-play assets: Pre-formatted content that requires minimal customization.

Affiliate Tier 4: New and Inactive Affiliates – Activate and Re-Engage with Smart Strategies

New affiliates need clear direction for their next steps (that don’t take days!), while inactive affiliates need compelling reasons to re-engage. Both benefit from simplified messaging rather than comprehensive program information. Getting them that first tangible affiliate win will excite them about your program.

Related: Learn some best practices to activate new joiners in your affiliate program.

Streamlined Onboarding for New Affiliate Partners

• Welcome sequence: 5-part email series introducing one concept at a time.
• Visual progress dashboard: Clear indication of setup completion with next action highlighted.
• Early-win focus: Communication centered entirely on achieving first conversion (showcasing how others have done it could make it feel much more doable).

Use Re-Engagement Campaigns to Win Back Idle Affiliates

• “What you missed” campaigns: Updates highlighting new features or commission improvements.
• Success spotlights: Stories of affiliates who returned after inactivity and found success.
• Feedback requests: Direct outreach asking what prevented their active participation.

How to Build a Tiered Affiliate Communication System That Works

Every affiliate program is different, and you might have different or even undefined tiers. Here are some best practices to help you get started with confidence in creating a successful affiliate relationship management workflow.

Audit Your Current Affiliate Segments

• Run the numbers: Generate affiliate performance reports for the past 6-12 months.
• Set clear affiliate tier thresholds: Define specific metrics that place affiliates in each level.
• Create movement rules: Establish when affiliates move between tiers based on performance changes.

Create a Centralized Messaging and Resource Library by Tier

• Message frameworks: Create communication templates suitable for each tier.
• Resource collections: Organize promotional materials by tier appropriateness.
• FAQ documents: Compile and answer common questions specific to each segment.

Go Beyond Commission Rates When Measuring Affiliate Value

• Engagement rates by tier: Open rates, click-through rates, and response rates.
• Action completion: Percentage of affiliates who implement recommendations.
• Tier advancement: How many affiliates move up to higher tiers following communication changes?

Strengthening Affiliate Relationship Management and Loyalty Across All Tiers

While specific messages should vary by which group the affiliates are in, certain communication principles build loyalty regardless of an affiliate’s current performance.

Build Trust Through Transparent and Consistent Communication

• Admit mistakes quickly: When tracking errors or system issues occur, inform affiliates immediately.
• Provide context for changes: When affiliate commission rates or affiliate terms and conditions must change, explain why.
• Share performance realities: Be honest about what’s working and what isn’t across your affiliate program.

A sure-fire way to lose affiliate trust is to hide problems or changes. Being transparent about challenges builds strong affiliate loyalty that can survive the occasional program hiccups.

Recognize Affiliate Contributions Beyond Just Sales

• Highlight non-monetary impact: Acknowledge affiliates who provide valuable feedback or exceptional content.
• Celebrate affiliate milestones: Recognize their anniversaries or achievements, small or big.
• Amplify their expertise: Share an affiliate’s insights with your broader community.

Instead of just the usual “affiliate of the month” recognitions during an affiliate webinar, for instance, create specific callouts like “Most Innovative Promotion Approach” or “Most Valuable Program Feedback” that acknowledge various contributions.

Use Affiliate Feedback to Improve Communication Strategies

• Document suggestions: Track affiliate recommendations systematically.
• Provide clear responses: Explain specifically how you’ll address their input.
• Show implementation: When you implement affiliate suggestions, publicly credit the source.

Build Long-Term Partnerships Through Tiered Affiliate Communication

Tweaking the message to match the affiliate tiers ensures that your top performers feel valued, your promising affiliates get the direction they need, and your newcomers have everything they need to get started.

That said, overhauling your entire affiliate communication system overnight isn’t necessary. Begin with your most impactful segment: your Tier 1 Affiliates. Even small improvements on how you communicate with your top performers will yield significant results while you implement changes for other tiers.

Complement this effort with a robust affiliate management software like Rewardful. We’ve helped many SaaS and subscription-based businesses, like Podia, OpusClip, and beehiiv, grow their revenue through successful affiliate programs.

Check out how Podia doubled their affiliate revenues in just 5 months with Rewardful as their partner. And when you’re ready to give our SaaS affiliate management tool a try, sign up here to claim your 14-day free trial.