Introducing Rewards: Gamify Your Affiliate Program to Drive More Sales
Affiliate programs perform best when creators feel motivated and rewarded for their impact. And that’s exactly what Aspire’s new Rewards feature is designed to do.
With Rewards, brands can gamify their affiliate programs by offering performance-based incentives tied to sales or conversion milestones. Brands can reward creators with cash bonuses, free products, or exclusive discount codes automatically when goals are reached.
As a result, creators are more motivated to drive sales, leading to more conversions for your brand.
What are Creator Rewards?
Rewards are performance-based incentives brands can offer creators for hitting specific milestones within an affiliate offer.
Rather than relying on commission alone, Rewards give creators clear targets and immediate incentives for driving results. Brands can encourage first-time conversions, reward sustained performance, or recognize top creators who scale revenue over time.
Rewards are available for both promo code offers and link offers.
What types of Rewards can brands offer?
Brands can choose from 3 Reward types depending on their goals and creator preferences.
1. Discount Code Rewards
Brands can issue a unique, single-use discount code once a creator qualifies for a reward. This is ideal for encouraging repeat purchases and strengthening brand loyalty. Here’s how to set up Discount Code Rewards.
2. Free Product Rewards
Creators can receive free products as a reward. Brands can either pre-select the product or allow creators to choose from a curated product catalog. This approach supports both performance incentives and future content creation. Here’s how to set up Free Product Rewards.
3. Cash Rewards
Cash rewards are added directly to a creator’s commission earnings. This option provides a clear and immediate financial incentive tied directly to performance. Here’s how to set up Cash Rewards.
How are Rewards triggered?
Rewards can be triggered based on conversions or sales, giving brands flexibility in how incentives are structured.
Conversion-Based Triggers
Conversion triggers are useful for encouraging consistent activity and early momentum.
- On first conversion: A Reward is triggered the first time a creator drives a conversion.
- When number of conversions equals X: A one-time Reward is triggered when a creator reaches an exact number of conversions.
- For every X conversions: A recurring Reward is triggered each time a creator reaches another conversion milestone.
Sales-Based Triggers
Sales triggers allow brands to align Rewards directly with revenue impact.
- When total sales are greater than or equal to $X: A Reward is triggered when a creator’s total sales meet or exceed a set threshold.
- For every $X in total sales: A Reward is triggered for every incremental sales milestone a creator reaches.
- On first order value greater than or equal to $X: A Reward is triggered when the creator drives their first qualifying order.
- When a single order subtotal is greater than or equal to $X: A Reward is triggered when any individual order meets the minimum order value.
How can brands maximize the impact of Rewards?
Rewards help brands go beyond static commissions and take action to boost affiliate performance. Whether you are onboarding new creators, driving momentum during a key campaign, or rewarding top performers, Rewards make it easy to motivate creators at the right moment with incentives tied directly to performance.
Here are a few ways to put it into action:
- Motivate creators to drive their first conversion. When a creator joins a new affiliate offer, the first sale often takes the most effort. Set a Reward that triggers on a creator’s first conversion to encourage early activation and help creators prioritize your brand. This works especially well for new program launches or when expanding your creator roster.
- Encourage consistent, ongoing performance with recurring milestones. Use Rewards that trigger for every X conversions or every $X in sales to keep creators engaged over time. These recurring incentives give creators clear goals to work toward and help maintain consistent promotion rather than one-time bursts of activity. This approach works well for always-on affiliate programs where sustained performance matters.
- Increase average order value through high-value incentives. Sales-based Rewards tied to order value thresholds can motivate creators to promote bundles, premium products, or higher-priced SKUs. This helps brands grow revenue per order while aligning creator incentives with business impact.
- Create urgency around seasonal or campaign pushes. Set active dates on Rewards to support product launches, holiday promotions, or limited-time sales events. Time-bound rewards focus creator attention during the moments that matter most and encourage faster action.
- Recognize and retain top-performing creators. Offer exclusive rewards to specific members or higher milestones for top performers. This helps brands recognize their most impactful creators, strengthen long-term relationships, and encourage continued growth within the program.
With Aspire’s Rewards, brands can turn performance into motivation and motivation into measurable revenue, all without adding manual work to their affiliate programs.
This feature is available to all brands on Aspire starting today, so log in to your Aspire account to get started.
