Getting started
New to SquaredanceGuidesFAQsBrands
Brand Quick StartCampaignsPartnershipsBrand ReportingManaging CreativesBillingPartners
Partner Quick StartTracking & IntegrationsPartner ReportingSubmitting CreativesPayoutsReferralsTechnical Docs
Tracking ChangelogBrand Quick Start
Below is everything you need to know to get started.
Thank you for joining our team, and we can’t wait to work with you and help you grow your business.
TL;DR - Quick Start Guide ⏰
- Sign Up for Squaredance
- Connect your store. Running on Shopify? Download our app!
- Set your payouts. Need help? Try our Payout Calculator
- Join our Slack Community and easily find people with the /whois command
- Watch this Step-By-Step Video Series to help you launch your first campaign
- Promote your campaign with an Offer Sheet. How To Video | Get the Template
- Interested in working with an Agency for accelerated growth? View our Agency Directory
- Join our Referral Program
- Read our FAQs
- Need help? Book Time with our Onboarding Specialist | Submit a Ticket
Quick Overview ⚡
Why Squaredance?
Squaredance is a platform and marketplace that connects e-commerce brands with affiliates (media buyers, publishers & creators) to acquire sales in every online channel. The best part is that brands only pay when partners generate sales, not clicks or impressions.
How is Squaredance different from traditional affiliate platforms?
- Quality of Affiliate Partners: largely top-of-funnel channels such as Performance partners (media buyers), blogs, reviews, newsletters, commerce content sites & creators.
- The largest portfolio of paid media buyers that work under a pay-for-sale model
- Flexible CPA-focused marketplace
- Access to a vibrant Slack community of learnings, resources & direct relationships with affiliate partners
- The fastest & simplest onboarding experience – get your program launched in 20 minutes or less.
- A marketplace of features and learnings where you can learn and launch highly performative offers & funnels that drive large sales volume
- Comprehensive affiliate bios and messenger tools to find the most impactful partnerships
Why Brands Love Squaredance
- Leverage affiliates to experiment in new channels, quickly and inexpensively, to inform where to maximize budgets
- Stay ahead of the curve by crowdsourcing expertise and ideas from affiliates who have time to keep up with the dynamic nature of the industry
- Brands only pay for sales on a cost-per-acquisition model, not clicks or impressions
- Reduce customer acquisition costs by uncovering more affordable channels
- Develop a consistent base of sales volume in diversified channels, not compromised by seasonality or market volatility
- Learn how to build direct-response campaigns that maximize media spend
- Search for and be intelligently matched with affiliates that align with your goals and objectives
- Track and report on sales across all channels and partnerships
- Message and collaborate with affiliate partners directly to grow your campaigns
- Receive recommendations to improve campaign performance and profitability
- Seamlessly upload, organize, and share marketing content
- Approve, reject, and edit any promotional content your Partners want to run
- Never process an affiliate payment again
- Get access to learning tools and playbooks that will teach your team how to build and scale affiliate programs
How does Squaredance charge brands?
Squaredance does not charge brands a setup or recurring SaaS fee. We only charge up to a 15% fee for the weekly number of sales X affiliate payout. This is why so many brands are joining Squaredance. There’s no risk. They can start and stop whenever they wish with no long-term commitment.
Brand Onboarding Steps ✅
Getting your brand setup and first campaign live on Squaredance is easier than any other platform & marketplace. Follow our 8-step onboarding process, and you can have your first campaign launched in 20 minutes or less.
- Create Your Account Sign Up Here Create your Brand account and provide a few key details to get started.
- Connect Your Store Simply connect your store, upload creative assets, and set your campaign criteria (desired channels, geos, cap, brand guidelines, etc...) Have a Shopify store? Download our app for instant integration
- Set Your Payout You set a fixed commission per sale (CPA) that your affiliate partners will earn for any sales they help you acquire. You can change this CPA anytime or set custom CPAs for specific affiliates based on their customers' quality metrics. You can also offer slightly higher payouts to partners willing to test in channels you’re interested in growing in without the overhead.Tip: Try using our Payout Calculator to help.
- Define your Campaign Goals What are your campaign goals? What channels are you interested in? Do you want to tap into new markets? Knowing your goals will help you identify the most successful affiliate partnerships. You can change these goals anytime you wish.
- Publish Your Campaign Once you complete the onboarding steps, publish your campaign to the marketplace and begin approving affiliate applications. Your campaign will now be accessible to our entire marketplace of publishers, performance partners (paid media buyers) & creators.
- Connect With Affiliates Affiliates are intelligently recommended to your campaign via our matching algorithm, or you can prospect them directly within the ‘find prospects’ tools within your account. Every affiliate has a bio so you can learn more about their backgrounds and capabilities and even pitch them directly via Squaredance Messenger!
- Track Your Success Once you’ve approved which affiliates to partner with for your campaign, navigate to your reporting dashboards to track their success.
- Evaluate Performance Use the early stages to explore the platform and get a handle on your payouts, Partners, and channels. Get familiar with the reporting to learn where your best opportunities lie.
- BONUS: Join our Slack community and invite your team, too!
Onboarding your first campaign checklist ✅
You can also follow this step-by-step video series to get set up.
- Get a Platform Demo and Learn How to Launch Your First Campaign -Book a Demo
- Write your Campaign Description - Support Article | Video Ex. Onnit. They provide a detailed overview of exactly what a Partner needs to know and have access to successfully drive traffic.Co-founded by Joe Rogan - ONNIT is THE Human Optimization brand. Their Alpha Brain® product has been used by celebs and athletes alike.
- Product Price: Starts at $34.95
- Promotional Offer: Up To 30% Off + FREE Gifts
- S/H: Free on bundles $150+
- Funnel Types: Presell > Main Funnel, Main Funnel
- Trackable Events: Engagement, Lead, InitiateCheckout, AddPaymentInfo, Purchase
- Redirectless Tracking: Yes
- Marketing Assets: Videos, Images, Testimonials
- Media buying Assets: Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, and InstagramUNAUTHORIZED USE OF THIRD-PARTY TRADEMARKS OR CONTENT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED
- Create Campaign Name Video Keep it simple. If your brand name resonates, just use your brand name. If your product name is short and aligned with the value it provides, just use your product name. Ex. MUD\WTR’s campaign name MUD\WTR
- Choose Campaign Image Video Ex. Solawave runs 3 campaigns and uses 3 clear product-focused images to showcase the differences between all 3 campaigns.
- Determine Affiliate Payouts - Blog | Calculator
- Setup Funnels & Landing Pages - Video
- Create Brand Guidelines - Support Article | Example: Slack
- Create your Onboarding Message for Newly Approved Partners - Set up a custom message to be emailed to newly approved partners. Use this to help active partners quickly with pertinent campaign details. Ex. Homer welcomes their affiliate partners, and provides them with access to an onboarding brief, access to their services so the affiliate feels a part of the program, and how to get in touch.
- Create Custom Affiliate Application Forms - Support Article Build a custom application form for prospects to fill out when applying for your campaign. Use your questions to collect information that’s most important to you when assessing affiliate fit. Ex. Woolx asks every unapproved affiliate partner to answer 4 critical questions before they can apply to join their campaign. Although this can hinder some partners, it also is a great way to ensure all applying Partners are invested in your campaign.
Preparation for Launch Promotional Checklist
- Introduce your brand in our Slack community 01-say-hello-introductions
- Create a campaign Prelaunch post in the Slack community #11-offer-launches-and-prelaunch
- Setup your payment details Login to update
- Build your Offer cheat sheet to share with affiliate partners Template | Fill out this form and we’ll help you build your first cheat sheet
You’re Live! Quick Checklist
- Create a LinkedIn post celebrating your campaign launch
- Create a Twitter Post celebrating your campaign launch
- Create a campaign launch post in the Slack community (#11-offer-launches-and-prelaunch)
Important Workflows
- Support tickets - submit here
- Disputed sales - submit here
- How our tracking and attribution works: Never waste a click. Our tracking infrastructure is consistently innovating as the digital landscape evolves. Our last-click model ensures you always get credit for the sales you initiate
Squaredance Resources 🌲
Need access to a quick link, template, or value prop?
It’s all available in our Brand Resources Folder.
- Case Studies
- Squaredance Playbooks
- Squaredance Website
- Squaredance Blog
- Squaredance X / Twitter
- Squaredance LinkedIn
Join Our Referral Program
How it works
For any referrals you make to Squaredance (Brand or Partner), you earn 1% of the payout for every sale your referee makes for 1 year.
For example, if you refer a Brand that has a payout of $50 to Partners, you earn $0.50 for every sale they generate for up to one year! Similarly, if you refer over a Partner, you earn 1% of every payout for any campaigns they promote. 💰
How to sign up
- For Brands or Partners that already have a Squaredance account:
- Log in to your Squaredance account
- Click the ‘Settings’ tab
- Click the ‘Referrals’ tab
- Enter your payment details.
- Grab your unique signup link to share with any of your referees.
- Start earning!
Watch this step-by-step video on how to access your Referrals.
Who can I refer?
Any person or entity not already signed up on Squaredance can be referred.
How do I earn commission through referrals?
Once your referral has successfully signed up with Squaredance you will be eligible to earn 1% from every sale they make for the next year.
What is my timeframe to receive the commission?
You may receive a commission for one year from the signup date of each referral. Find each referral commission period's start and end dates on your referral management table.
Where can I see the commission generated per referral?
Easily view the commission you have accrued per referral in the management table.
How do I refer another Brand to Squaredance?
Once you've launched your first campaign, you're eligible to participate in our referral program! If your referral creates an account with us and begins to make sales, you receive a 1% commission per sale for one year. Now that's an appealing offer!
On this page
- Brand Quick Start
- Quick Overview ⚡
- Why Squaredance?
- How is Squaredance different from traditional affiliate platforms?
- Why Brands Love Squaredance
- How does Squaredance charge brands?
- Brand Onboarding Steps ✅
- Onboarding your first campaign checklist ✅
- Preparation for Launch Promotional Checklist
- Important Workflows
- Squaredance Resources 🌲
- Join Our Referral Program
- How it works
- How to sign up
- Who can I refer?
- How do I earn commission through referrals?
- What is my timeframe to receive the commission?
- Where can I see the commission generated per referral?
- How do I refer another Brand to Squaredance?