How to run an affiliate program without a spreadsheet
Key factsRun an affiliate program with one clear conversion goal and a payout calendar
- Pick one conversion goal to track, such as paid signup, trial start, or qualified lead, not all three at once.
- Dub's Partners pricing starts at $90 a month for the Business plan, covering up to $2,500 in partner payouts.
- The Advanced plan costs $300 a month and covers up to $15,000 in partner payouts, with Enterprise custom-priced.
- Pay affiliate partners on a set calendar rather than whenever someone asks, and handle tax forms as part of the platform.
- Cut partners who send low-quality traffic; a program with 400 dead links performs worse than 12 that convert.
A spreadsheet of "who sent whom" dies the week you have a real payout. You need a link that can become a conversion, a rule for commission, and a way to pay people without a monthly argument.
We run Dub on the partner links on this site. That is not a metaphor. The via= and dub_id on these reviews go through Dub. New users get 20% off for three months through our Dub link. The switcher page is Bitly alternatives.
The short version
- Pick one conversion: paid signup, trial start, or qualified lead. Not all three on day one.
- Stand up Dub (or Rewardful if you only bill through Stripe and want the shortest path). Create the program. Make one test partner: you.
- Put the link on a real page, not a Notion graveyard. A review or a deals page is a page.
- Pay on a calendar, not when someone pings you. Tax forms are part of the product if the platform does payouts.
- Kill partners who send junk. A program with 400 dead links is worse than 12 that convert.
Dub's Partners pricing, from their site in September 2026: Business $90/mo ($2.5k partner payouts), Advanced $300/mo ($15k payouts), Enterprise custom. Links (shortener, QR, API) sit in the same product. If you only needed a pretty short URL, you are on the wrong page.
What we would not claim
We would not tell you Dub is cheaper than a free Bitly link. It is not. We would not tell you a coupon replaces a program people actually promote. The discounts page is inventory. This page is the plumbing.
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