The four distinct growth phases of an affiliate program, each requiring different management focus: Foundation ($0-100K GMV, 6-9 months): tracking validation, first quality publishers, commission rate confirmation; Traction ($100K-300K, 6-12 months): identify best performers, establish publisher tiers, NCR analysis; Scale ($300K-700K, 6-12 months): systematize recruiting, build brief library, S2S tracking, commission optimization; Optimization ($700K-$1M+, 6-12 months): publisher concentration management, NCR defense, Tier 1 retention, channel attribution sophistication.
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