BFCM Success Recipe: How Vetain Nearly Doubled Affiliate Revenue Without Increasing Commissions

Every Black Friday and Cyber Monday, brands go into overdrive — slashing prices, raising ad budgets, and offering bigger payouts to affiliates.

In 2024, Vetain proved there’s another way. Instead of joining the BFCM frenzy, they stuck to the same affiliate strategy they runs all year round.

The result was an 87% jump in Gross Merchandise Volume, from €217,867 to €408,302. Here’s how that steady, long-term approach turned BFCM into a major win. (Vetain’s full affiliate story is covered in its case study.)

What operational challenge did Vetain face managing bonuses at BFCM?

As Vetain’s affiliate program grew, managing performance bonuses became increasingly complex — especially during high-volume periods like BFCM.

Founder Philipp Riedl ran into a timing problem. Running campaigns across the whole month meant bonuses were calculated on the final day, and some affiliates hit their thresholds right at the deadline.

We had some problems with the bonuses that were calculated on the last day, but some reached the bonuses like on the last day also.

Philipp Riedl, founder of Vetain

The fix was simple. Vetain adjusted their payout schedule, moving bonus payouts to the first of the following month — which removed the bottleneck and let the team process bonuses accurately.

How did Vetain win BFCM without raising commissions?

Most brands overhaul their programs for BFCM. Vetain didn’t — they leaned on three principles they uses all year.

No commission hike

Vetain made a bold choice: no temporary commission increases and no extra affiliate discounts during BFCM. Commissions and customer discount codes stayed the same.

The reasoning is that the program already rewards high performance, regardless of the season.

The provision stays the same for our affiliates; actually, during Black Friday, more people are buying. So in the end, they will get a higher reward.

Philipp Riedl, founder of Vetain

In other words, affiliates earn more during BFCM through volume, not through a temporary bonus.

A year-round tiered commission system

Instead of temporary BFCM incentives, Vetain built a tiered commission structure with UpPromote that runs all year. The system rewards affiliates based on total revenue generated.

For example, an affiliate generating over €25,000 in monthly revenue earns a 20% commission — double the standard 10% rate.

We also have a commission tier system, but it’s available all year. We set it up so the creators have different kinds of commissions based on how much revenue they generate.

Philipp Riedl, founder of Vetain

During BFCM, the natural surge in sales pushed many affiliates into higher tiers automatically, so they earned more because the system rewarded their success, not because of a holiday bonus.

Content-focused affiliate relationships

Instead of relying on financial incentives alone, Vetain focuses on what their influencers did best: creating content.

We have a contract, so influencers will do a lot of content for us per month, and they get paid their share and sometimes also additional bonuses

Philipp Riedl, founder of Vetain

For influencers with larger followings who require guaranteed income, Vetain occasionally pays a flat fee.

One standout example is Danila behind @momocats_world, an influencer who creates content around her healthy eating lifestyle.

However, these arrangements remain consistent during BFCM. “It stays the same,” Philipp confirmed when asked about flat fees during the peak season.

The key is careful calculation upfront.

We have our Excel sheets where we input the numbers, such as sales estimates. From there, we deduct product costs, shipping costs, and other expenses to see, in the end, how much revenue remains. For example, if we pay them 10% plus 500 euros, we calculate the final revenue in advance to ensure we don’t overpay.

Philipp Riedl, founder of Vetain

For BFCM 2024, Vetain planned to launch new products in November, timed to coincide with the shopping season.

We’re launching a lot of new products because we want to get the most money with new products and launches

Philipp Riedl, founder of Vetain

The brand planned three separate product launches, each with its own “drop days” where affiliates would create concentrated Instagram content. “We have three drop days, and these affiliates will create a lot of Instagram content,” he noted.

These launches included special offers like “buy 3, get 1 free” deals, stacked on top of the regular 10% affiliate discount codes.

What results did Vetain achieve during BFCM 2024?

Vetain’s strategy delivered strong results without raising baseline commissions or creating BFCM-only incentives. BFCM 2024 GMV hit €408,302 — an 87% increase from the pre-BFCM period of €217,867.

Those results came from the year-round tiered system. As Philipp noted, the brand paid a little more in commissions simply because more affiliates leveled up to 15% or 20% instead of 10%.

By the time BFCM arrived, affiliates already understood the tiers, knew how to create content that converts, and had built audience relationships over months. They didn’t need training or new incentives — they simply scaled up their efforts.

Looking ahead, Philipp expects BFCM 2025 to resemble Vetain’s August birthday sale, its peak period though those figures remain projections rather than results.