Awin Self Service FAQs | Awin
1. Getting Started
What is Awin’s Self-Service offering?
Awin’s platform is a flexible, cost-effective solution that allows businesses of any size to launch and manage their own affiliate marketing programme. It includes 3 platform plans:
Each plan offers different levels of features and support availability. Awin platform is designed to be intuitive and scalable, giving advertisers access to over 1 million vetted partners, real-time reporting, and tools to grow their online presence.
Is affiliate marketing right for my business?
Yes, if you're a small to medium-sized business, start-up, or entrepreneur looking to grow online sales, harnessing Awin’s self-service platform plans is a fantastic option to test how effective affiliate marketing can be for you. Reach new audiences with diverse demographics paying referring partners only on results.
What are the requirements to join?
To join, you need an operational/transactional website with a compelling product or service. While ecommerce sites are the most common, Awin also supports lead generation models (e.g. brochure requests or callback forms). There’s no need for prior affiliate marketing experience - Awin provides online tools to virtually hand hold and to help you get started.
Note: Awin have the right to refuse applications from any business.
How long does it take to set up a self-service programme?
Setup is quick and straightforward. Once your application is approved, you’ll receive access to the platform and integration instructions. For ease, Awin has plugins available for the most common eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop and more.
Can I get a demo before signing up?
We do not offer demos, however, the onboarding team can share demo videos of the platform upon request. You can also explore YouTube tutorials, webinars, and the Advertiser Success Centre to understand the platform’s capabilities before committing.
2. Onboarding
What are the next steps after submitting the application?
Once your application is submitted, the onboarding team will review the information provided. If no additional information is required, you will then receive a confirmation email and a Direct Debit mandate (if applicable). Next, you will receive an invitation to create a login to your programme. Once logged in, you can begin setting up your advertiser profile, defining programme terms, and uploading creatives. You should not invite publishers until your integration is complete and received confirmation your programme is live.
Can I make changes to my application after submission?
If there is anything that you wish to change, once you have submitted your application, please contact the onboarding team on onboarding@awin.com or your ‘Awin Application Approved’ email within 48 hours.
Do I get a copy of the agreement?
Yes, a PDF copy of the information you submitted via the application form, a link to the Terms and Condition and pricing is emailed to you once your application is approved. You can also request a copy by contacting support at any time once live.
Can one affiliate programme track more than one online store?
If you run multiple online stores and want to launch an affiliate programme for each, you’ll need to submit a separate application form for each store. Each programme requires its own unique advertiser ID.
3. Pricing
What does the Monthly Platform Plan Fee cover?
The Monthly Platform Plan Fee gives you access to Awin and the tools you need to run your programme effectively. This includes tracking, reporting, and programme management, the Publisher Directory, smart Publisher Recommendations, automated payment processing, and customer support resources. Depending on your chosen plan (Access, Accelerate, or Advanced), you’ll also unlock additional features such as API access and advanced reporting.
When does the Monthly Platform Plan Fee start?
The Monthly Platform Plan Fee begins as soon as your programme goes live on Awin, unless you’ve agreed on a different start date with our commercial team.
What type of Tracking Fee will apply to me?
There are two types of Tracking Fee depending on the nature of your website. If you have a traditional eCommerce online store, the Sales Revenue Tracking Fee will be applied to all approved transactions. If your online store does not capture a transaction (for example, credit card application) the Commission Tracking Fee will apply.
How is the Sales Revenue Tracking Fee calculated?
The Sales Revenue Tracking Fee is calculated as a percentage of the transaction’s sales revenue value. For example, if the Tracking Fee is 3.5%, and a sale worth £100 is tracked, Awin would charge £3.50 as the Sales Revenue Tracking Fee.
How is the Commission Tracking Fee calculated?
The Commission Tracking Fee is calculated as a percentage of the publisher’s commission value. For example, if the Tracking Fee is 30% and the tracked publisher commission is £10, Awin would charge £3.00 as the Commission Tracking Fee.
Is there a minimum term?
Yes, the minimum term for the Awin Access plan is 3 months. After this period, you can cancel with 14 days’ notice. This short-term commitment allows you to test Awin with minimal risk.
For Accelerate and Advanced platform plans, this will be agreed with our commercial team and stated on your contract.
4. Payments & Invoicing
How does the payment process work?
Once your programme is live, Awin will issue invoices twice a month. These invoices include your confirmed commission payouts, Tracking Fees, and any applicable Monthly Platform Plan Fees. Payments are collected automatically via your selected method - either Direct Debit or Commercial Credit/Debit Card. This ensures timely and seamless processing without manual intervention.
All your issued invoices must be settled within 14 days of the invoice date. Unpaid invoices after 14 days may result in the termination of your programme.
What is included in the invoice?
A standard Awin invoice typically includes the following sections:
- Validated Commissions
- Tracking Fee
- Monthly Platform Fee
- Net Amount
- VAT
- Total Payable
For your records, invoices are provided, and the total payable amount is automatically debited from your chosen payment method.
To learn more about each section on your invoice, please visit the article: What are the charges on my Awin invoice?
Where can I locate invoices?
You can access all your invoices by navigating to Account > Billing > Invoice History in the Awin platform. From this page, you can view and download all billing documents, including invoices, as PDF files.
What is Awin´s Conversion Protection Initiative (CPI) ?
Tracking is the foundation of affiliate marketing. Awin’s Conversion Protection Initiative (CPI) addresses common challenges in affiliate tracking, such as privacy regulations, the end of third-party cookies, and issues with ad blockers and browser restrictions. Without accurate tracking, your sales may be underreported, budgets misallocated, and affiliate commissions miscalculated, leading to potential revenue loss and damaged affiliate relationships. CPI ensures your affiliate programme tracks conversions accurately and fairly.
To be compliant, advertisers need to have:
- Server-to-server (S2S) tracking
- Tracking on a transactional mobile app (if applicable)
To avoid potential surcharges, ensure S2S and in-app tracking are implemented where applicable under CPI.
5. Programme Management
How much time do I need to dedicate to my affiliate programme?
Awin platform is setup to support busy business owners who may have less time or resource. However, it’s important to dedicate time each week to ensure you’re communicating to new partners, maintaining existing relationships and processing important tasks, such as validations and publisher approvals. The more time you invest into your affiliate programme the more successful it will be, and because you pay for results when a partner drives you a sale, this time spent can drive real ROI for your marketing budget.
To help our customers, we’ve put together a helpful checklist that outlines housekeeping tasks to optimise and effectively manage the day to day running of your programme. You will automatically receive our help and advice emails once your programme is set live to assist with growing your programme..
What commission should I offer?
The commission you offer depends on your industry, product margins, and competitive landscape. Awin recommends starting with a base rate that’s attractive to publishers but leaves room for negotiation. You can also use tools like Commission by Basket Value or Bonus Manager to incentivise specific behaviour or reward high-performing partners.
To learn more about the best practices regarding your commission rates, please refer to our Commission Rates Guide.
Can I offer different commissions?
Yes, our platform allows you to set up custom commission rules. You can reward publishers differently based on factors like product category, order value, or publisher type. This flexibility helps you align commission with your business goals and drive better performance.
If you would like to learn more about the tools allowing you to pay different commission types, refer to our guide on How can I pay out different commission types to publishers?
How are publishers paid through Awin?
Publisher payments are fully automated through Awin. As an advertiser, you’ll first need to validate your pending transactions. This process allows you to review each transaction and confirm whether it is genuine and commissionable. Within your programme’s set validation period, sales can either be approved—so commission is paid—or declined if invalid. This ensures affiliates are rewarded fairly, while advertisers only pay for genuine transactions.
For more details, see our guide on how the validation process works on Awin.
Will transactions auto-validate?
Yes. Every programme has a defined Validation Period - the timeframe in which you can amend, approve or decline pending transactions generated by publishers. If no action is taken before the period ends, the transactions will automatically be approved and included in your next invoice.
What is a Product Feed and is it essential for my programme?
A product feed is a list of your products with prices, descriptions, and links and is essential if you want to work with content or price comparison partners, or if you want to collaborate with Google Shopping CSS partners. For these types of publishers, having a product feed on your programme is mandatory.
In addition to expanding your programme’s reach, a well-maintained and optimised product feed can boost your sales by up to 15%.
Can I invite new partners not on the Awin platform to join my programme?
Yes, you can invite external partners to join via the Express sign-up. This feature allows you to copy your Publisher Invite Link from your dashboard and send it to any external partner. Within minutes, they’re signed up and ready to promote your products, while Awin runs necessary compliance checks in the background. You gain a valuable partner instantly, without any delays.
Can I suspend a partner from my programme?
Yes, you have full control over your publisher relationships. If a partner violates your programme terms, you can suspend or remove them, respecting 7 day’s notice period. Awin also reserves the right to suspend publishers who breach network policies or advertiser terms.
6. Technical Setup & Support
How do I integrate tracking?
Tracking is integrated by placing Awin’s tracking code on your website. If you host your online shop on an eCommerce platform, the easiest way to install tracking on your site is to use one of our tracking plugins. Awin provides comprehensive documentation to guide you through this process. You can find detailed instructions in the Tracking Installation Guide within the Awin platform, and our team is available to support you during the setup.
If you would like additional assistance beyond the Tracking Installation Guide, we also offer two paid-for optional Integration Add-ons:
- Assisted Integration – for hands-on support during setup.
- Consulted Integration – for expert advice and guidance.
To avoid potential additional charges, ensure S2S and in-app tracking are implemented where applicable under CPI.
Will Awin test my tracking?
You are responsible for implementing and testing the Awin tracking on your online store. Before your programme goes live, you will be required to run a test transaction within the Awin platform to confirm that everything is working correctly.
Our Tracking Installation Guide provides clear, step-by-step instructions to help you complete this process.
Can I track individual products sold via my affiliate programme?
Yes, this is achieved through Product Level Tracking (PLT). We highly recommended implementing PLT if you want to track and analyse performance of individual products.
To enable PLT, you will need to add additional parameters to your tracking setup. View our Product Level Tracking developer guide for more information.
What is a third-party analytics parameter?
This refers to additional data passed through the tracking link, such as campaign IDs or user segments, which can be used for deeper analytics or integration with tools like Google Analytics. Setting up third- party analytics is not mandatory, and you can only set it up if you see fit and wish to enable analytics based on your inhouse marketing reporting needs. These can also be removed or changed at a later stage.
What technical support is available?
Awin offers technical support through help center articles in our Developer Centre, and YouTube tutorials.
Awin will provide a response within 48 working hours for all questions related to your programmes tracking, the activation of technical partner plugins, and all questions related in the settings such as click appends, deeplinks, product feeds, etc.
With our self-managed plan, the duty of maintaining and upkeeping a programme falls on the advertiser. If an advertiser is unable to complete any issues independently and requires additional support, we can provide a Technical Consultation call (fees apply).
How can I upgrade my tracking in order to comply with the CPI?
For S2S tracking:
- Direct integration (for full control) – Use our technical guide.
- Awin’s Conversion API (for bulk tracking) - See our technical documentation for a full guide on integrating with Awin’s API.
- E-commerce store activation (for plug-and-play setup) – For e-commerce shop users, follow our Tracking Installation Guide wizard to test and validate your setup.
For App tracking:
- Choose a Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP), integrate their SDK with Awin tracking links, and define in-app events.
Note: due to the complexities of integrating with an app, customers will be required to purchase a Consulted Integration add-on.
For detailed instructions on tracking installation and troubleshooting, visit our Developer Center.
7. Additional Services & Expansion
What support resources are available?
Whilst you’ll be self-managed, you won’t be left on your own. You'll receive expert hints and tips to get you setup and optimise your programme through our:
Are there optional service add-ons?
To help you get the most out of your affiliate programme, Awin offers a range of optional service add-ons tailored to different stages of your journey. Whether you're just getting started, looking to expand your reach, or aiming to refine a mature strategy, these services are designed to provide expert guidance and actionable insights. Each add-on is delivered by experienced consultants and can be a valuable resource in driving performance and achieving your marketing goals.
You can choose from 4 optional support add-ons:
- Publisher Gap Analysis: Helping you identify top-performing publishers relevant to your sector missing from your programme.
- Launch Consultancy call : A 1-hour consultancy call to guide you through onboarding, explore your marketing goals, and help get your programme live.
- Reach Consultancy call : 1-hour consultancy call to help you push your affiliate programme further within the first six months.
- Elevate Consultancy call : A 1-hour consultancy call guiding you on how to supercharge your affiliate strategy, for more mature affiliate programmes (typically after 6 months).
If you’d like to discuss our support add-ons or explore our service packages, simply contact onboarding@awin.com.
Can I launch programmes in other countries and what are the benefits?
Yes, Awin operates globally and supports localised programmes in multiple regions. You can expand your reach by launching in new markets through the same platform.
Localised programmes allow you to tailor your messaging, offers, and partnerships to specific markets. This improves engagement, conversion rates, and overall programme performance.
For more information on why it is beneficial for you to localise your programme, please visit our guide How can I take my brand international through affiliate partnerships?