Summary
CHALLENGE
- Wanted to expand their customer base beyond the UK.
- A limited marketing budget made traditional advertising hard.
- Struggled to track affiliate sales through Amazon links.
SOLUTION
- Auto-generated referral links and track every referral.
- Added a post-purchase popup inviting customers to become affiliates.
- Used the UpPromote Marketplace to recruit affiliates beyond the UK.
RESULTS
- Ran the affiliate program with little extra work, per the director.
- Turned loyal customers into affiliates automatically after checkout.
LESSONS
- Recruit loyal customers automatically with a post-purchase popup.
- Tap a marketplace to find affiliates beyond your home market.
- Send free products so affiliates can promote from real experience.
Putnams is a family-run business that makes comfort solutions for a range of health issues, and it has been in the industry for over four decades.
The company started out supplying taxi seats and backrests, then expanded into products for back pain, posture, neck pain, sleep apnea, acid reflux, and more.
Why did Putnams turn to affiliate marketing?
Putnams wanted to grow their customer base beyond the UK, but a limited marketing budget made traditional advertising hard. Seeing the potential of affiliate marketing, the brand decided to tap their loyal customers and recruit new affiliates.
There was a snag: although affiliates were keen to promote Putnams products on Amazon, the brand struggled to track sales through affiliate links. That pushed it to look for a better way to manage the program.
Browsing the Shopify app store, Putnams came across UpPromote, an affordable and comprehensive option that fit their goals.
With a tool in place, Putnams could focus on building and managing their affiliate team.
How does Putnams manage their affiliate program with UpPromote?
Putnams leaned on UpPromote to handle the busywork — generating links, recruiting customers, and reaching new partners.
Generate referral links automatically
UpPromote generated referral links for Putnams, so the team had no extra setup work. When they spotted potential affiliates on product review sites, they simply sent over the links to bring them on board.
The app’s reporting tracked every referral, showing which program or source each one came from.
Bubbles Putnam, the director of Putnams, said running the program this way was easy and smooth.
Turn loyal customers into affiliates
After more than 40 years, Putnams had a large base of loyal customers who already loved their products, and the brand wanted them promoting their pillows and blankets.
UpPromote helped the brand set up a post-purchase popup that automatically invited customers to join the affiliate program after checkout. So the team didn’t have to email each customer an invitation.
That popup brought loyal UK customers into the program as affiliates, and their sales encouraged Putnams to look further afield.
Recruit beyond the UK on the UpPromote Marketplace
Putnams had signed a few affiliates through review sites, but it wanted a network that reached beyond the UK.
So they turned to the UpPromote Marketplace to reach a larger pool of affiliates and find suitable brand ambassadors to invite.
That move gave the program access to a much larger pool of potential partners outside the UK.
What has Putnams achieved with their affiliate program?
Putnams now runs their affiliate program with little manual work, generating links and recruiting customers largely on autopilot.
From that UK base, the brand has since worked to recruit partners in the US and EU through the Marketplace.
It’s a lean setup that lets a family-run team manage their affiliate program with minimal overhead.
