By Jimi Barkway · Published 1 September 2026 · Updated 3 September 2026 · Part of the honest manual
The short version
Your first ten affiliates won't come from a directory. They're people who already know you. Customers who refer unprompted, writers who've covered you, hosts who've had you on, communities you're already in. Invite them by name. Expect most of them to do nothing. Treat the one who produces as the blueprint for the next fifty.
There's a fantasy version of launching an affiliate program. You flip it live and affiliates arrive. That happens to companies with serious traffic, years in. For everyone else, the program starts the way most good things start. You write to specific people, one at a time, and some of them say yes.
The good news is you already know who they are. In module 0 you named ten people who reach your buyers. This module is what to do with the list.
The five places your first ten are hiding
Customers who already refer. The best affiliates you'll ever have are already sending you customers for free. Look for the tells. Answers to "how did you hear about us" that name a person. Customers who arrive in pairs from the same company or community. The person who's tagged you in a recommendation thread. A commission doesn't change what they do. It thanks them for it.
People who've written or filmed about you. Has anyone reviewed your product, put you in a comparison post, or mentioned you in a video? They have already done the hard part in public. Their content is live right now, earning them nothing. An affiliate link puts an income on work they've already published. That makes this the easiest yes on the list.
Hosts you've stood next to. Podcasts you've been on. Newsletters that featured you. Communities where you've done a talk or an AMA. The relationship exists, and their audience already heard your name once.
Communities you're actually in. Not communities you could join to promote things, which is spam with extra steps. Places where you already have a name and a history. The move there is never a broadcast. It's noticing the individuals who keep answering the questions your product solves. Then writing to them directly.
Your own list. If you have an email list or an audience of any size, one honest announcement belongs there. Some of the people most likely to promote you are already listening to you.
What about cold outreach?
It works, eventually, at volume, with follow-up, done by someone who enjoys it. At 40 customers it's usually the wrong use of your afternoon. The warm list above converts at many times the rate for a fraction of the effort. Exhaust the warm list first. When you do go cold, go narrow. One specific creator whose audience is obviously your buyer. A message that proves you actually consumed their work. And a small ask. Ten of those beat a thousand from a spreadsheet.
Two messages that sound like a person
The template graveyard is full of "I hope this email finds you well" and "win-win partnership opportunity". Write like you'd write to someone you respect. Short. Specific. No deck attached.
To a customer who already refers
Hey [name], you've now sent at least three people our way (thank you, genuinely). We've set up a partner program and I'd love you to be one of the first in it. It's [rate] on everyone you refer, for [duration]. You'd be earning on the recommendations you're already making. Two-minute setup, here's your link if you want it: [link]. Zero pressure either way.
To someone who's written about you
Hey [name], I'm the founder of [product]. Your piece on [specific thing, correctly remembered] keeps sending us thoughtful signups, so first, thanks. We've opened a partner program: [rate] for [duration]. It would apply to the links already in that piece, so it earns from day one with no new work. Want me to set you up? Happy to answer anything. The landing-page article counts what 358 public program pages carry.
Notice what both messages do. They name the specific thing the person already did. They make the money concrete. They keep the effort near zero. And they give the person an easy out. That last part matters more than it looks. Nobody promotes well out of obligation.
Set your expectations before you send anything
Here's what the numbers say happens next. You want to know it in advance so it doesn't feel like failure. In the median program, only around 15% of approved affiliates ever produce a single referral. That's from FirstPromoter's July 2026 dataset, the largest published in the category. It covers 31.4 million referrals across 3,425 subscription programs, July 2026. The figure was re-checked 3 September 2026. Of your ten, expect several warm yeses that turn into nothing. A couple of link placements. And one or two people who actually produce. The onboarding article has the five messages that follow an approval.
That's not your program failing. That's the median program working. The goal of the first ten was never ten producers. It's finding the one who works. That person tells you what the next fifty should look like. Newsletter writer? Go find more newsletter writers. The first ten is a search party, not a sales team.
Before you hit send
Does cold outreach work for a small program?
It works eventually, at volume, with follow-up, done by someone who enjoys it. At 40 customers it is usually the wrong use of your afternoon. Exhaust the warm list first. When you do go cold, go narrow.
How many of the first ten will actually refer anyone?
In the median program only around 15% of approved affiliates ever produce a single referral. The goal of the first ten was never ten producers. It is finding the one who works. That person tells you what the next fifty should look like.