Affiliate Newsletter: How to Write One Your Affiliates Actually Read (+ Template)

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The short answer: send your affiliates a short email once or twice a month. Give each one a single focus (a promotion, a new product or a commission change), put their links and codes in the email itself so they can act without logging in, and close with one clear ask. Everything else, like sale notifications and payouts, should go out automatically.

Most affiliates sign up, grab their link and then go quiet. A good affiliate newsletter keeps you on their radar. It tells them what’s coming up and hands them something they can post today.

This guide is for brands writing to their own affiliates. It covers what to include, how often to send, a copy-and-paste template, and the email rules that apply. If you write a newsletter and want to earn from affiliate links in it, skip to the section for newsletter writers.

Disclosure: we make Coupon Affiliates, a WooCommerce affiliate plugin with a built-in affiliate newsletter tool. We cover it near the end. The rest of the advice works with any email tool.

Key takeaways

  • The affiliate newsletter is for news and promotions. Welcome emails, sale alerts and payout notices should be automated separately.
  • Send at least monthly. Awin recommends no more than two or three messages a week.
  • Keep each issue short and practical, with the links already in it.
  • Promotional email to affiliates is marketing email, so include an unsubscribe link and your business address.

In this guide

What an affiliate newsletter is for

An affiliate newsletter is a regular email from you to the people promoting your products. Its job is to get affiliates promoting you more often, and with better material.

It shouldn’t have to do everything, though. Some messages are better sent automatically, the moment something happens:

  • The welcome email when an application is approved, with their code and dashboard link. Our guide to affiliate onboarding covers what to put in it.
  • An alert each time they earn commission, or when an order is refunded.
  • Payout confirmations and a regular performance report.

With those running on their own (see how to automate your affiliate program), the newsletter can stick to news, promotions and ideas.

Affiliate application accepted email settings in Coupon Affiliates, with the subject, message editor and merge tags for coupon code, dashboard URL and referral URL
The welcome email goes out automatically when an application is accepted, so the newsletter doesn’t need to repeat it.

What to include in an affiliate newsletter

Pick one main topic per issue, and fill in around it with a few of these:

  • Upcoming promotions, with dates. Affiliates plan content ahead, especially YouTubers and bloggers. Tell them about a sale two or three weeks early and they can build it into their schedule.
  • Links and codes ready to use. Adam Riemer, an affiliate program consultant, writes in his guide to affiliate newsletters: “the affiliate should not have to click into a network to find the links.” Include the product link, their code, and an image they can post.
  • Changes to commission or terms. Awin’s advice for advertisers says commission changes and promotional restrictions should reach affiliates “with suitable notice periods.” Don’t bury a rate cut in paragraph four.
  • One useful number. Your best-selling product this month, or the landing page that converts best. It helps affiliates decide what to push.
  • A short affiliate win. How one partner got results, with their permission. Other affiliates copy what works.
  • A single call to action. “Share the new bundle before Friday” gets more done than five different asks.

Keep the design simple. Affiliate manager Matt McWilliams recommends near-plain emails of a few hundred words over heavy HTML. Sign it with your name, not “The Team”.

How often to send it

Awin recommends communicating with partners “at least once monthly and no more than two to three times per week.” For a small store’s own program, once or twice a month is a comfortable rhythm. Send extra emails only for urgent news, such as a price change or a flash sale.

Pick a day and stick to it. A newsletter that arrives on the first Tuesday of each month gets read. Bursts followed by long gaps get ignored.

Affiliate newsletter template

Copy this, swap in your details, and cut anything you don’t need for this issue:

Subject: [Main topic] starts [date], your links are inside

Hi {name},

Quick update from [store name] this month.

THE BIG ONE
[One or two sentences on the main topic, such as a sale, a launch or a new bundle.]
Dates: [start] to [end]
Your link: [referral link]
Your code: [code] ([discount] off for your audience)
Image to share: [link to image or creatives tab]

ALSO THIS MONTH
- [Best-selling product this month, and why it's selling]
- [Any change to commission or terms, with the date it applies]

AFFILIATE WIN
[Two sentences on what worked for one affiliate, shared with their permission.]

ONE THING TO DO
[The single action you want, with a deadline.]

Questions? Just reply to this email.

[Your name]
[Store name], [business address]
Unsubscribe from affiliate newsletters: [link]

Some example subject lines that tell affiliates exactly what’s inside:

  • “Black Friday: 25% off codes for your audience (live Nov 27)”
  • “New product next week, here’s your early link”
  • “Commission going up to 15% from March 1”
  • “What our top affiliates promoted in June”

For banners and graphics to include, our guide to making creatives for affiliates has ideas.

Send different emails to different affiliates

Once you have more than a few dozen affiliates, one email for everyone starts to miss. impact.com’s write-up on affiliate newsletters suggests matching the content to where each partner is: getting new ones active, supporting regular sellers, and winning back quiet ones.

A simple split works for most stores:

  • New affiliates (joined in the last month): a reminder of how to get their first sale and where to find their link.
  • Active affiliates: the full newsletter, plus early notice of promotions.
  • Quiet affiliates (no sales in 90 days): a short, direct email asking what would help, or offering a one-off bonus.

You can also split by type of affiliate, since a coupon site and a TikTok creator need different material. Affiliate groups make this easier to manage. For harder one-to-one messages, like telling someone their commission is changing, see the awkward conversations every affiliate manager will have.

Email laws for affiliate newsletters (CAN-SPAM and PECR)

Affiliates are business partners, but a newsletter that promotes sales and products still counts as marketing email in most places. This is a short summary, not legal advice.

US. The FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide says the law covers “all commercial messages” and “makes no exception for business-to-business email.” Among other requirements, commercial emails need an honest subject line, your physical postal address and a clear way to opt out, and they must be identified as an ad unless the recipient has opted in. Opt-outs have to be honored within 10 business days.

UK. Under PECR, the ICO’s guidance on electronic mail marketing treats companies differently from individuals: you can email corporate bodies, but sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals. Plenty of affiliates (bloggers, creators) are individuals or sole traders, so the safest route is to ask for consent when they sign up. The ICO’s guidance on routine and regulatory messages adds that “if your routine communication has marketing elements, then it is direct marketing,” even when that isn’t its main purpose. The ICO also says its PECR guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act. In the EU and Canada, consent is generally required too.

In practice, add an optional, unchecked newsletter checkbox to your affiliate registration form (not a condition of joining), and send the promotional newsletter only to people who check it. Commission and terms changes should still go to every affiliate, as plain service emails with no promotion in them. Keep your address and an unsubscribe link in every newsletter.

Sending an affiliate newsletter from WooCommerce

There are two ways to do it with Coupon Affiliates.

Send it from WordPress. The PRO Email Newsletters module lets you write and send a newsletter to all affiliates, or to specific groups, from your WordPress dashboard. It keeps a log of what you’ve sent, and the settings include an unsubscribe link for the footer. For bulk sending, connect an SMTP service (the plugin warns you if you haven’t) so the emails don’t land in spam.

Creating a new affiliate newsletter in the Coupon Affiliates Email Newsletters screen, with subject, content and recipient group selection
Log of sent affiliate newsletters showing each subject, send date and delivery status

Use your email marketing tool. If you already use a service like Mailchimp, Kit, MailerLite, Brevo, Klaviyo or FluentCRM, the PRO mailing list integrations add each affiliate to your list when their application is approved. That route gives you open and click tracking, plus automated sequences such as a welcome series.

Mailing list integration settings in Coupon Affiliates with Mailchimp selected and fields for the API key and audience ID

The automatic affiliate emails (application accepted, new commission and refunded orders) are included in the free version. Newsletters and mailing list integrations need PRO, which is $23.99 a month or $179.99 a year for one site at list price, with 25% off the first payment (see our pricing page).

Measuring whether it works

Open rates are a rough signal at best, since privacy features like Apple Mail Privacy Protection register many emails as opened whether or not anyone read them. The better test is what affiliates do afterwards. After each issue, check:

  • Affiliate sales of the product or promotion you featured, over the next two to three weeks
  • How many affiliates made a sale this month compared with last month
  • Replies, which often turn into the best ideas for the next issue

Our guide to affiliate marketing KPIs covers how to calculate these, including active affiliate rate.

For newsletter writers: affiliate marketing in your newsletter

If you’re here because you run a newsletter and want to earn from it, a few basics apply.

First, read each program’s terms. Some programs don’t allow promotion by email at all, or only allow it to your own opt-in list.

Second, disclose clearly. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides FAQ says “the closer the disclosure is to your recommendation, the better,” and warns that readers “might not understand that ‘affiliate link’ means that the person placing the link is getting paid.” A plain sentence like “I get a commission if you buy through links in this email” near the link does the job.

Third, track each issue separately. Most programs let you add a sub-ID or campaign name to your link, so you can see which email earned what and which products your readers actually buy.

Newsletter writers also make good partners for stores, because their readers already trust their picks. If you run a store, our guide to types of affiliates covers how to work with them, and how to recruit affiliates covers finding them.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I send an affiliate newsletter?

Once or twice a month suits most stores. Awin recommends at least monthly and no more than two or three times a week, with extra emails only for urgent news.

What should an affiliate newsletter include?

Start with the news affiliates can act on: promotion dates and any commission changes. Add the links and codes they’ll need, one thing you’d like them to do, and, if you have one, a short example of what’s working for another affiliate.

Do I need consent to email my affiliates?

For promotional newsletters, it’s safest to ask for it. In the UK, many affiliates count as individuals under PECR. In the US, CAN-SPAM applies to business email too, so include an unsubscribe link and your postal address either way.

Can I send an affiliate newsletter from WordPress?

Yes. Coupon Affiliates PRO has an Email Newsletters module that sends to all affiliates or selected groups from your dashboard. For open and click tracking, connect a mailing list tool instead.

Is an affiliate newsletter the same as affiliate marketing through a newsletter?

No. An affiliate newsletter is a brand emailing the people who promote it. Affiliate marketing through a newsletter is a writer adding affiliate links to the emails they send their own readers.

PS: Want to email your affiliates without another tool? Coupon Affiliates runs your affiliate program inside WooCommerce, from tracking and payouts to affiliate newsletters. Start with the free version, or try PRO with a 7-day free trial.

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