Seeking Help Finding affiliates outside traditional networks for Saas products?

[Robleh_Boom]

We officially launched our product this year and the user response has been great. Some users wanted to know more about a referral program so we've decided to dip our toes into the affiliate world (30% commission etc.).

As we navigate this, I'm curious to hear if people have ideas on finding affiliates outside traditional affiliate networks that require ad-spend?

 

[Graybeard]

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Whether or not here is such a great place for you IDK. Maybe?

 

[T J Tutor]

We officially launched our product this year and the user response has been great.

What type of product is it?

Some users wanted to know more about a referral program

Just to be specific, referral programs are generally used for member/users and affiliate programs are generally far more comprehensive and rewarding as well as typically reaching out to a bigger pool of affiliates.

I'm curious to hear if people have ideas on finding affiliates outside traditional affiliate networks that require ad-spend?

So, this is a rather mis-aligned statement I think. You see, rarely does advertising get used to find affiliates. Also, using affiliate networks for an affiliate "program" is not typical, but there are some examples of this. What is typical for a businesses product affiliate program is someone in the company as an affiliate program manager with recruiting skills to make one on one contact with affiliates to bring them into the fold. For that they will want details, data, of the products current distribution, position in the field, known responsive demographics, and currently responsive geos, etc.

I highly recommend recruiting a few highly successful affiliates in your niche and giving them at least 50% commission (or more) for 30 days and letting them know it is strictly a one time push to determine affiliate program viability and to gather significant data for both you and them. If they find it a viable and profitable promotion option then maybe leave them at the higher affiliate commission as an anchor and to use them as an example for future affiliates at your lower commission rate.

 

[Robleh_Boom]

I registered our product as a new resource a few days ago. I'm currently waiting for approval from the mods/admin.

Our product is called Boom, it's a macOS camera app that elevates your Zoom/Google Meet/video conferencing experience through a virtual camera, advanced camera controls, customizable overlays (showing your name, title, location), on-screen gifs etc.

We definitely feel affiliates are an under-utilized growth vector and we're open to starting with a very generous split in the beginning.

I'm curious to hear if you have any ideas where to find these highly successful affiliates in this niche? Our primary user-base is composed of indie-hackers, founders, coaches, online educators, and anyone that is looking for a more customizable video conferencing experience.

 

[Graybeard]

Well, first I would widen my footprint:

**The Idea seems sound** however you are not able to serve the market well.
Only Mac is really going to limit your, as well as any affiliate's, productivity of finding markets to acquire new users.

 

[T J Tutor]

Only Mac is really going to limit your, as well as any affiliate's, productivity of finding markets to acquire new users.

So true, Mac computers hold around 15% of the global PC market share, with the majority of the market still dominated by Microsoft Windows computers.

The other side of that coin is that Mac is successful and demonstrates a very stable market as its market share has been quite steady for decades. There is a dedicated set of affiliates, products, offers, and users for that market. One simply needs to research, learn, and insert themselves in it to succeed. I'm not one to play in that pond, but there are many dedicated individuals and businesses who do.

 

[Robleh_Boom]

Very reasonable request to expand our market. However at this time we are a bootstrapped company with a small team which meant we had to niche down and focus. We've chosen to start by focusing on professionals and entrepreneurs who use macOS. Over time we'll be sure to introduce Boom for windows.

I don't believe AffiliateFix has any threads dedicated to Mac Apps. Do you have any insights on finding affiliates who are comfortable in this space?

 

[Graybeard]

• First of all, how many customers have you managed to acquire on your own?
• How did you acquire the customers?
• And what is the historical churn rate?
• If you've been doing this long enough to have a reasonable results and estimates.

I myself have tried bulk advertising to Mac OS operating system users segmented with the common browsers in the past, why?
Because interestingly enough Mac costs less to advertise to than Windows with DSP or RTB traffic.
I started with the same premise that they would be professionals and entrepreneurs, and would have more money to spend on what I was selling. Without elaborating with specifics, only saying that this was adult *entertainment,* this did not work. Now it could very well have been the quality in general of the DSP and the RTB type traffic.

That said, considering that your product is more business oriented, you might try advertising on the Owler email newsletter, or some other business oriented newsletters and seeing how that gets results for you. And having some real data to entice the "right affiliates."

Brand recognition matters a lot in business communication software.

 

[Robleh_Boom]

Definitely some great questions here.

We've acquired the entirety of our customers organically with no paid ads or affiliate programs. They primarily found out about us through social platforms (Twitter/LinkedIn) or by seeing someone who used our product during one of the Zoom meetings. Our churn among paid subscribers is close to 0 (< 1%).

Since our product is primarily targeting white-collar professionals, team managers, and founders who take a lot of Zoom/video calls, we're looking to find affiliates who are more comfortable with these audiences. We have explored sponsoring business newsletters in the past but the conversion isn't really there.

The most effective mechanism we've found is when people see our product either in a video online or during a live call because they can see the magic of it. Simple text or images describing our product don't seem to carry forward.

 

[Graybeard]

The most effective mechanism we've found is when people see our product either in a video online or during a live call because they can see the magic of it. Simple text or images describing our product don't seem to carry forward.

I would suggest not watermarking the software an affiliate would use for real-time demos. Instead, provide them with unique coupon codes to share with anyone who asks, 'I like this—where did you get it?' This way, you maintain the natural flow of recommendations while tracking referrals effectively. It’s simple and tracks referrals effectively.

 

[Chris Porter]

Great question! Building a network of affiliates without paying for placement on the big networks does take a bit more relationship-building, but it can be very effective for SaaS products.

One approach is to leverage niche communities and social media groups where your ideal users and marketers hang out. Forums like AffiliateFix (this one!), SaaS-specific Facebook and LinkedIn groups, and industry Slack channels often have members looking for new offers to promote. You can also reach out to bloggers and content creators in your niche who write about problems your product solves—offer them a review account and a recurring commission structure.

I manage the affiliate program for an AI‑powered social media automation SaaS, and we’ve found that providing detailed resources (landing pages, content ideas, target audiences) and a generous recurring commission motivates independent affiliates to join without us paying listing fees on networks. They, in turn, create tutorials, webinars and posts that convert well. Over time, word of mouth and good conversions attract more affiliates even without being on mainstream networks.

So, focus on educating potential partners about the value of your solution, make it easy for them to succeed, and stay active in communities. Good luck!