Best practices: a commission structure that scales
Your commission structure decides how hard partners work to promote you and how much margin you keep on every sale. Anchor the rate to your profit margin, pick the commission type that matches your orders, and start low so you can reward proven performers rather than cut everyone later.
Every affiliate belongs to one campaign, and the campaign holds the structure.
Anchor the rate to margin
Section titled “Anchor the rate to margin”Before choosing a number, decide what share of the profit on an affiliate-driven order you are willing to give away, then back into the rate from there. A 20% commission on a 60%-margin candle is healthy; the same 20% on a 12%-margin electronics order erases your profit. When unsure, start lower. It is far easier to raise a rate for a top performer than to cut one across the board.
Pick the model that fits your store
Section titled “Pick the model that fits your store”The right model follows your margins, your average order value, and your product range.
| Store profile | Margin | Order pattern | Suggested model | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion & apparel | Healthy (50–60%) | Mid-value, varied baskets | Percentage of sales | Scales fairly with order size without per-item math |
| Beauty & cosmetics | High, repeat | Small, frequent | Percentage of sales with Maximum affiliate commission per customer | Keeps rates attractive while limiting what one customer’s repeat orders can earn an affiliate |
| Electronics & high-ticket | Thin (10–20%) | Infrequent, large | Fix per order | A fixed amount keeps payout predictable on thin margins |
| Single hero product / DTC | Known per-unit profit | One product, varied quantity | Fix per item | Pays exactly per unit, so cost per sale is predictable |
| Subscription | Recurring value | First order, then renewals | Fix per order, with Maximum affiliate commission per customer | A fixed amount keeps each payout predictable, and the maximum limits what one subscriber can earn an affiliate over time |
| Mixed catalog | Ranges widely | Anything | Percentage of sales base + product-specific commissions | Safe base rate everywhere, richer rates only where margin allows |
| High-value creator partners | Any | High volume | Advanced mode, with levels | Bigger orders earn a higher rate, motivating larger baskets |
Bloop pays commission on every order attributed to an affiliate, so it cannot pay on a subscriber’s first order only. For subscriptions, choose Fix per order and turn on Maximum affiliate commission per customer to cap the total.
The pattern: Percentage of sales suits healthy, variable margins. Fix per order protects thin or high-ticket margins. Fix per item fits predictable per-unit profit. Advanced mode (levels by order size) and product-specific commissions let you reward selectively once a base program works.
Build in guardrails before you scale
Section titled “Build in guardrails before you scale”A structure that scales needs limits, not just rates.
- Cap per customer. Maximum affiliate commission per customer limits what an affiliate can earn from one customer, across all of that customer’s orders. It keeps payouts predictable when a referred customer keeps reordering or places very large baskets, and pairs well with Percentage of sales, which would otherwise scale without limit.
- Exclude what is not profit. Shipping, taxes and tips are included by default. Under Commission calculation, tick Exclude shipping and Exclude taxes so you don’t pay on money that never lands as margin.
- Cookie days. This is how long a visit through an affiliate’s link counts (30 days by default). A longer window suits considered, slower purchases; a shorter one suits impulse buys.
Use campaigns to segment, not to complicate
Section titled “Use campaigns to segment, not to complicate”You can run multiple campaigns and assign each affiliate to one. The cleanest way to scale is a standard campaign for everyone and a higher-rate campaign for proven top performers, rather than negotiating one-off deals. A short-term, richer campaign for a product launch is another common, contained pattern.
Set it up in Bloop
Section titled “Set it up in Bloop”
- Configure the commission type, cap, exclusions and Cookie days in Affiliate campaigns and commissions.
- Pay against approved balances in Affiliate payouts.
- For the full reasoning on setting a number, see how to set affiliate commission rates.