How to Recruit Affiliates When You Have No Email List (Or Reputation)

No audience? No brand? No problem.

You can still recruit affiliates to promote your product — even if no one knows who you are yet. You just need a good offer and a few smart moves.

Step 1: Make the Offer Worth It

No one wants to promote something boring, confusing, or low-commission.

You need:

  • 30%+ commission

  • Recurring if possible

  • Clear value prop (headline that sells itself)

  • Sales page that doesn't suck

Make it dead simple:
➡️ "You earn 40% monthly for every signup you send."
➡️ "No approval needed."
➡️ "Here’s your ready-to-use funnel."

Step 2: Create a Prebuilt Funnel for Affiliates

  • Give them a shareable funnel (Systeme.io has 1-click funnel cloning)

  • Include email swipes, banners, and promo angles

  • Make it plug-and-play

The easier it is to promote, the more people will.

Step 3: Promote Inside Affiliate Communities

Places to hit:

  • Facebook Groups: “Affiliate Marketing Beginners”, “Recurring Affiliate Programs”, “Make Money Online”

  • Reddit subs: r/affiliatemarketing, r/SideHustle

  • Indie Hackers, Warrior Forum

  • Niche Discord servers

Post value first, then drop your offer subtly.

Step 4: Cold DM with Value, Not Spam

Message micro-creators or bloggers like:
“Hey, not selling anything — just giving away 40% commissions on a software that’s converting really well for early users. Want to check it out?”

Short, no pressure, easy yes.

Step 5: Reward Early Affiliates

Offer a bump:

  • “First 5 signups = 50% for life”

  • “Bonus $25 on your first sale”

  • “Private chat support for serious promoters”

You don’t need a crowd — just 2–3 solid affiliates to get momentum.

If you're not tagging your leads the moment they come in, you're wasting segmentation power. Good news: you can do it automatically — and invisibly.

Here’s how to auto-tag new contacts so your list stays clean without lifting a finger.

What You’ll Use

  • Funnel or Form

  • Automation Rule

  • One-time config. That’s it.

Step-by-Step: Tag on Funnel Entry

  1. Go to your funnel

  2. Click on the step (e.g. opt-in page)

  3. Scroll to Automation Rules

  4. Click Add Rule

    • Trigger: Form submitted

    • Action: Add tag → e.g. lead, ebook-optin, from-seo, etc.

Now every new signup from that funnel gets tagged instantly.

Bonus: Stack Multiple Tags

You can add more than one.

Example:

  • Tag 1: lead

  • Tag 2: blog-reader

  • Tag 3: funnel-a-entry

Now you know who they are, where they came from, and what they want — without asking them anything.

Step-by-Step: Tag from Email Click

Want to tag contacts who click a specific email link?

  1. Go to your email

  2. Highlight a link

  3. Enable Tracking

  4. Set Action: Add tag (e.g. interested-in-product-A)

This is perfect for segmenting based on behavior — not guesses.

Why Tag Automatically?

  • Better targeting

  • Smarter automations

  • Higher conversions

  • Fewer unsubscribes

  • You stay organized as you scale

You don’t need to build logic trees in your head. Just tag as you go.

🙈 Low-Key Plug (It’s Relevant)

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