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How to Create an Affiliate Program in Shopify Using Shortly

🚀 How to Create an Affiliate Program in Shopify Using Shortly

Welcome to the Shortly App! This guide will walk you through setting up your affiliate program inside your Shopify store — step-by-step.

✅ Step-by-Step: Create an Affiliate Program

1. Open the Shortly App

From your Shopify Admin, go to:

Apps → Shortly – Affiliate Marketing

2. Go to “Affiliate Programs”

Click on the Affiliate Programs tab in the sidebar.

3. Click “Create Program”

🔧 Program Settings

Customize your affiliate program to suit your brand and goals:

Manual Approval (optional): Require approval before influencers join.

Program Name & Description: Add a title and optional description.

Commission Rules

Commission Type: Choose between:
Percentage of order total
Fixed dollar amount

Influencer Commission

Commission Based On
This setting controls what part of the order total is used to calculate the influencer’s commission.
Here are the available options:

1. Order Price (Product Price + Shipping Cost + Tax)

Commission is calculated on the entire order amount.
Includes:
Product subtotal
Shipping fees
Taxes (e.g. VAT, sales tax)

Example:
Product: $100
Shipping: $10
Tax: $5
Commission Base = $115
If 15% commission → influencer earns $17.25

✅ Use this if you want to reward influencers for driving full-order value, not just product sales.

2. Product Price Only

Commission is based only on the product subtotal (no shipping or tax).

Example:
Product: $100
Shipping: $10
Tax: $5

Commission Base = $100

15% → influencer earns $15

✅ This is the most common and safest option, especially if shipping and taxes vary widely.

3. Product Price With Shipping Cost

Includes product subtotal + shipping, but excludes tax.

Example:
Product: $100
Shipping: $10
Tax: $5

Commission Base = $110

15% → influencer earns $16.50

✅ Use this if you want to give influencers credit for handling fees but not taxes.

4. Product Price With Tax

Includes product subtotal + tax, but excludes shipping.

Example:
Product: $100
Shipping: $10
Tax: $5
Commission Base = $105
15% → influencer earns $15.75

✅ Useful if your product prices vary by region due to tax.

Permissions

Note: Traffic Insight and View Referral Orders are mandatory. Influencers will always see them in their dashboard — these cannot be disabled.

Traffic Insight: Shows number of clicks and visitors from the influencer's links.
View Referral Orders: Lets influencers see all the orders they referred.
Create Links / Edit Links: Allows influencers to create and manage their own referral links.
Gross Revenue: Total value of referred sales (before refunds or deductions).
Net Revenue: Final revenue after refunds, discounts, etc.
Refund Report: Shows which referred orders were refunded.
Commission Report: Displays total commission earned and payout status.

Affiliate Program Discount

This setting determines how the discount is applied to a customer’s order when they use an affiliate’s link or code.

You can choose between:

1. Percentage Discount

Applies a percentage off the total product price (before or after tax, depending on your store setup).

🎯 Best for:

Flexible campaigns
Stores with variable pricing
Encouraging larger orders (scales with cart size)

2. Fixed Discount (Dollar Amount)

Gives a flat amount off the order total, regardless of how much is purchased.

🔁 Even if the cart total is $50 or $500 — the discount is always $10.

🎯 Best for:

Single-product offers
Small ticket items
Budget-friendly, fixed promotions

Use percentage for larger or flexible order sizes.

Use fixed amount for smaller, focused promos (like "Get $5 off your first order").

Affiliate Discount: Assign custom coupons or discounts.