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Affiliate Marketing Agency

We help ecommerce brands build affiliate programmes that pay for real results, with Awin partners, commission and tracking set up around their Shopify store.

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Pay Partners Only When They Sell

Pay Partners Only When They Sell

Affiliate marketing pays partners a commission when they send you a sale. Done well, it brings new customers at a cost you set in advance; done badly, it pays for sales you would have made anyway.

Every engagement starts with a review of your margins, your current partners and your tracking. It shows which partners bring new customers, which only claim credit, and what commission you can afford.

Weighing up every source of new customers? See our guide to getting more traffic to your Shopify store.

  • PROGRAMME SETUP

    Affiliate programme setup icon
    Your programme launched on Awin, with terms, commission and creative ready before the first partner joins.

  • PUBLISHER RECRUITMENT

    Publisher recruitment icon
    Content sites, creators, cashback and voucher partners chosen for the customers they reach, not just the size of their audience.

  • COMMISSION STRATEGY

    Commission strategy icon
    Rates set from your margins, with more for new customers or priority products where your Awin plan and the numbers allow.

  • SHOPIFY TRACKING

    Affiliate tracking icon
    Awin's Shopify app, with server to server tracking and consent signals, so every sale is recorded and partners are paid correctly.

  • VALIDATION

    Sale validation icon
    Cancelled orders declined automatically and every other sale checked, so you do not pay commission on returned or cancelled orders.

Why Affiliate Marketing Needs Careful Management

Affiliate marketing looks simple: partners promote you, and you pay when they sell. The risk is in the detail, because commission can end up paying for customers who were already on their way to your checkout.

We work inside Shopify stores every day, so tracking, discount codes and order data are handled properly from the start. That lets us see which partners bring genuinely new customers, and reward them accordingly.

Why Matters is an Awin partner and a Shopify Select partner. For Dotty Dungarees, SEO and affiliate marketing together brought a reliable flow of new first time customers.

Affiliate partners sending new customers to a store

How Our Affiliate Management Works

We manage your programme to profit, not to the number of partners. Before recruiting anyone, we agree what a new customer is worth to you and what commission that allows.

We then set up tracking, recruit and brief partners, check sales before commission is paid and manage the programme every week. Each month you get a report on revenue, new customers, cost per sale and what we will do next.

Voucher and cashback partners are busiest around Black Friday, so peak trading gets its own plan. See our guide to preparing your Shopify store for Black Friday.

Monthly affiliate management cycle
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Setting Up Your Programme on Awin

Awin connects your programme to more than a million partners, by its own count, from one account.

We set up the programme, write the terms partners agree to, prepare banners and a product feed, and install Awin's Shopify app. For smaller brands, Awin Access is a self managed plan with low fixed costs and a three month introductory term.

Affiliate programme set up on a partner network

Recruiting the Right Publishers

The partners you recruit decide what your programme becomes. We look for publishers who reach the customers you want, such as specialist content sites, review sites and creators, rather than accepting everyone who applies.

Each partner gets a clear brief on your products, messages and rules. We track what each one delivers and move effort towards the partners who bring new customers at a profit.

Recruiting the right affiliate publishers

Commission That Protects Your Margin

Commission should come from your margins, not from what competitors seem to pay. We set rates by product group and, where your Awin plan allows, pay more for genuinely new customers.

Rates are reviewed as your data grows, so the partners who perform are rewarded and premium rates stop going to sales that would have happened anyway.

Commission set from product margins

Voucher Codes, Cashback and Creators

Voucher code and cashback sites can bring volume, but they often catch shoppers who were already at your checkout. We control which codes they can use and watch how many of their sales come from new customers. Partners also agree not to bid on your brand name in search ads unless you allow it.

Creators can join the programme on commission too. UK rules require every affiliate post to be clearly labelled as an ad, and we brief partners to do exactly that.

For creators paid a fee or sent gifted products, see our social media marketing agency service.

Voucher, cashback and creator partners under control

Tracking and Validation You Can Trust

Commission is only fair if tracking is accurate. Awin's Shopify app records sales server to server as well as in the browser, removes duplicates and passes consent signals, and we test it with real orders before launch.

Cancelled orders are declined automatically, and partial refunds and returns adjust the commission. We check the rest against Shopify's orders before approving, which keeps the programme fair for you and for your partners.

Because we also build Shopify stores, our Shopify developers can fix tracking or landing pages when something breaks.

Affiliate tracking and sale validation
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Our Affiliate Marketing Process

  • 1. Programme and Margin Review: Your margins, current partners, codes and tracking reviewed.
  • 2. Commission Plan: Rates by product group and customer type, set from your margins.
  • 3. Awin Setup and Tracking: Programme, terms, feed and Shopify tracking set up and tested with real orders.
  • 4. Publisher Recruitment: Partners chosen for the customers they reach and briefed on your brand.
  • 5. Code and Partner Controls: Voucher codes, cashback terms and brand bidding rules agreed.
  • 6. Validation and Weekly Management: Sales checked, partners managed and new ones recruited every week.
  • 7. Monthly Reporting: Revenue, new customers, cost per sale and next month's plan.
Our seven step affiliate marketing process

Get a Free Affiliate Programme Review

Whether you run a programme already or are thinking of starting one, we will review it free of charge. You get a short list of the partners, codes and commission rates worth changing, or an honest view of whether affiliate suits your margins.

Ask for your free affiliate review

Free affiliate programme review for ecommerce brands

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an affiliate marketing agency cost?

Most agencies charge a monthly management fee, while partner commission and network fees, such as Awin's, are paid separately. We quote after the review, based on the size of your programme and the work involved. Retainer clients are billed one month in arrears and never tied into long contracts, and our Shopify packages show how we price our work.

Is affiliate marketing worth it for a small brand?

It can be, if your margins allow a meaningful commission and you keep codes and cashback under control. Awin Access keeps fixed costs low for smaller brands, and we will tell you honestly if the numbers do not work.

Why use Awin?

Awin offers more than a million partners by its own count, a Shopify app that handles tracking and validation, and plans for brands of different sizes. That is why we recommend it for most UK ecommerce programmes, and we are an Awin partner.

How long does affiliate marketing take to work?

Setup and first recruitment usually take a few weeks. A programme then takes a few months to build momentum as partners join and start promoting you.

How do you stop affiliates claiming sales they did not drive?

We control which voucher codes partners can use, stop partners bidding on your brand in search ads, track new customers separately and check every sale before commission is paid.

Do influencers count as affiliates?

They can. Creators often join on commission through the same programme, and UK rules require every affiliate post to be clearly labelled as an ad.