# What is an affiliate program?

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With an affiliate program, more potential customers can engage with your products and more easily. You must only pay once there are referral orders, thus lowering the risk.&#x20;

*In this example, you recruited influencer A as an affiliate. A promotes your products on his YouTube channel and customers use the affiliate coupons he gives to place orders. As A successfully made referral orders, you pay him commissions.*

## Roles in an affiliate program

There are three parties: **Merchant**, **Affiliate**, and **Customer**. The customer pays for the products. Both merchant and affiliate receive a portion of that money by following a win-win situation where the merchant can increase revenue and the affiliate receives a commission.

* **Merchant:** A merchant in an affiliate program's role is to set up and manage the program. This includes recruiting affiliates, defining commission structures, providing marketing materials, and tracking affiliate sales. Merchants are responsible for paying affiliates and optimizing the program to increase sales.
* **Affiliate:** Affiliates promote the merchant’s products using unique links or coupons to drive traffic and sales. They create content to engage their audience, sharing these promotions on blogs, social media, or websites. Affiliates earn commissions based on the sales or leads they generate.
* **Customer:** The buyer who purchases a product through an affiliate asset. They may receive special offers or discounts, driving sales for the merchant and earning commissions for the affiliate.
