Summary
CHALLENGE
- Sells a product that customers must understand before they buy.
- Needed affiliates who could teach and explain Mahjong, not just promote it.
- Wanted an effective way to manage partners, referrals, and payouts.
SOLUTION
- Built a “teacher” affiliate group screened by a Mahjong knowledge assessment.
- Created a private Facebook community to support teacher affiliates.
- Scheduled automatic PayPal payouts to keep affiliates loyal.
RESULTS
- The teacher group generates around 10% of company revenue.
- Teachers are the largest and most impactful affiliate group.
- Timely automated payouts support long-term affiliate loyalty.
LESSONS
- Screen affiliates for product knowledge when the product needs explaining.
- Build a private community so your top affiliates feel supported, not isolated.
- Keep exclusive discounts scarce so they stay valuable to customers.
- Automate payouts to remove friction and build affiliate trust.
Oh My Mahjong (OMM) is dedicated to celebrating the art and culture of Mahjong, with a focus on high-quality products and educational resources.
Their offerings include beautifully designed Mahjong sets, accessories, and teaching materials that appeal to seasoned players and new learners alike.
What sets OMM apart is their dedication to a global Mahjong community. The brand doesn’t just sell products, but empowers people to share their love of the game through teaching.
Why does Oh My Mahjong use affiliates to teach rather than just sell?
Mahjong isn’t something people buy on a whim. The product needs to be understood first.
That’s why OMM turned to affiliate marketing to find people who can teach, explain, and inspire others to love the game too.
In their search for an effective affiliate management solution, the brand found UpPromote. The app made it easier to manage partners, track referrals, and handle payouts.
With the operational side handled, OMM could focus on the relationships that keep affiliates loyal and the longer they stay engaged, the more they help spread the game.
How did Oh My Mahjong build their most impactful affiliate group?
OMM works with three affiliate groups — teachers, general influencers, and standalone influencers — and treats the teachers as the heart of the program.
Teachers as the largest and most impactful group
Teachers are the most important affiliate group for Oh My Mahjong. This largest group generates around 10% of the company’s revenue, making it a vital part of the program’s growth.
Mahjong has many rules and nuances, so OMM applies a unique requirement: teacher affiliates must pass a Mahjong knowledge assessment before joining.
Once they pass, they’re offered a 30% discount to purchase a teacher kit. These requirements are stricter than many affiliate programs, but they reflect the brand’s focus on authenticity and quality.
The logic is simple. If affiliates don’t understand the game, they can’t promote it the right way.
Exclusive discount codes that stay valuable
To help teachers drive sales, OMM gives them exclusive 10% discount codes to share with their customers.
UpPromote automatically generates and assigns unique coupons to each teacher, which keeps every referral tracked accurately.
As OMM rarely runs sales, that 10% teacher discount feels more exclusive and valuable to customers — a small detail that protects how the brand is perceived.
How does Oh My Mahjong keep their teacher affiliates engaged?
Beyond the program structure, OMM invests in community and dependable payments to keep their affiliates committed.
A private Facebook community for teachers
Oh My Mahjong runs a private Facebook community specifically for their teacher affiliates. The team actively takes part, offering support, sharing tips, and building a sense of belonging among the teachers.
The brand also runs Facebook groups for other affiliates, but those focus on general updates and product information. OMM avoids sharing discount codes there to maintain their brand image.
That separation keeps the teacher community feeling exclusive while still informing the wider affiliate base.
Timely payouts through automated PayPal scheduling
Getting paid on time matters to every affiliate, and on-time payments make them more likely to stay loyal.
With UpPromote, Oh My Mahjong can schedule automatic affiliate payouts through PayPal. The brand selects a date and payment cycle, and commissions go out to affiliates’ PayPal accounts automatically.
UpPromote is easy to use. It’s user-friendly for our affiliates. We like the PayPal integration, so our teachers can get paid out quickly… Everybody gets paid through PayPal. It’s nice that the process is automated.
Samantha Crawford, Marketing Manager at Oh My Mahjong
By removing the hassle of manual payments, OMM saves time while making sure affiliates are paid promptly.
What has the teacher-led approach achieved for Oh My Mahjong?
For Oh My Mahjong, the teacher affiliate group has become a meaningful driver, generating around 10% of company revenue as the largest and most impactful group.
The combination of knowledge-screened affiliates, a private support community, and automated payouts keeps that group engaged over time.
As affiliates stay loyal and active, they help expand the love for Mahjong turning a niche product into a growing global community.
Screened teacher affiliates with a knowledge assessment. Oh My Mahjong requires teacher affiliates to pass a Mahjong test, then offers a 30% discount on a teacher kit.
Built a private Facebook community for top affiliates. OMM’s team shares tips and support there, while keeping discount codes out of general affiliate groups.
Kept the teacher discount exclusive. Because OMM rarely runs sales, the 10% teacher code feels valuable to customers.
Automated PayPal payouts to retain affiliates. Scheduled auto-payouts via UpPromote keep teachers — who drive ~10% of revenue — paid on time.
