As the Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, Alana Levine lives in the trenches.
That’s the reason we invited her for a chat on The Free Toaster Podcast.
She’s often the first call when a lender or financial institution wants to “turn on” the affiliate marketing channel—and the first to spot when they’re about to step on a rake. In our 1-hour conversation, she pulled back the curtain on what FIs get wrong in the early days (and how to actually get it right).
In today’s Newsletter, we share Alana’s unfiltered pre-launch checklist.
The Strategic Foundation
Alana looks for five key indicators that signal strategic readiness, and understanding these upfront can save you months of frustration.
Geographic Reach: If your product serves a limited geographic area, affiliate marketing might not be your best first move. "We find anything that's too narrow—if they serve five counties in their area, affiliate just isn't for you at that point," Alana notes. This isn't a permanent limitation, but it's worth addressing before investing heavily in affiliate partnerships.
Product Differentiation: This is where many regional banks and newer fintechs struggle, and that's completely understandable. "Me Too products are a challenge," Alana explains. The question isn't whether your product is good—it's whether publishers have compelling reasons to promote it over established alternatives. If you're offering a standard 2% cashback card, think about what makes your particular version special.
Application Experience: Your conversion funnel becomes everyone's problem in affiliate marketing. "If you’re paying your partner at the bottom of the funnel and the conversion is way off, it doesn't matter how much you pay them, no one's winning," Alana notes. The encouraging news? Most conversion issues are fixable with some focused attention.
Budget Alignment: Let's talk numbers honestly. Alana suggests "$50,000 in spend is pretty healthy" as a starting point. This might sound daunting, but remember—this isn't money you're throwing away. It's an investment in data and relationships that will inform your strategy going forward.
Realistic Expectations: Particularly for fintechs, CPA expectations often need calibration. "Fintechs often cite CPA as a sticking point, whereas on the regional bank side, geographic coverage tends to be the issue," Alana observes. Understanding market rates helps set realistic goals.
The Operational Foundation
The operational requirements might seem basic, but they're the foundation everything else builds on. Think of this as your pre-game prep. You need to make sure your team understands the rules, brings the right equipment, and understands the playing field, so when the whistle blows they’re ready to play ball!
Digital Marketing Experience: "Affiliates work best when they're not operating in isolation," Alana explains. If you've successfully run other digital marketing channels, you already have much of what you need. If not, consider getting some paid search or display experience first—it'll make everything else easier.
Dedicated Landing Pages: Your existing application page probably won't work as-is for affiliate traffic. "The end customer and what experience you're wanting to take them through [should be] the focal point," Alana notes. This means creating pages specifically designed for affiliate traffic, with clear calls to action and minimal distractions.
Tracking and Attribution: This is often the most technically challenging piece, but it's absolutely critical. "Sending them a spreadsheet at the end of the month with how many conversions they've driven, is unfortunately not going to cut it," Alana explains. Publishers need real-time, granular reporting to optimize their efforts. If this feels overwhelming, know that there are partners and vendors who can help you set this up properly.
Written Publisher Guidelines: "It's almost meant to serve as a way for your legal and risk team to kind of buy into what this engagement looks like with the partners," Alana explains. This includes everything from content approval processes to competitive restrictions. Having these documented upfront prevents confusion later.
Performance Reporting: Beyond basic conversion tracking, the real value comes from understanding long-term customer quality. "What that allows you to do is optimize your spend towards the partners that are delivering you really high quality customers," Alana notes. This can help transform the affiliate channel from just another source of leads to a fine-tuned profit engine.
A Common Stumbling Block, Defining Success
Here's where many organizations stumble, and it's completely understandable why. "Defining your success metrics is the biggest one," Alana emphasizes. "I want to know really clearly what success looks like."
This isn't about setting unrealistic expectations—it's about alignment. When everyone understands what you're trying to achieve, decision-making becomes much clearer. Consider these dimensions:
Volume goals: What does meaningful scale look like for your business?
Quality standards: How do you define a valuable customer beyond just conversion?
Channel contribution: What percentage of your overall acquisition should this represent?
One of Alana's clients recently gave her something very clear and actionable: "affiliate we've experimented with and it really hasn't worked and it's been 2% of our acquisitions. I want it to be 15 to 20%."
Test your success criteria on an external party. If you handed them that one-line description of success, would it be obvious to them in a year whether or not they achieved it?
Making A 6 Month Commitment
Unlike other performance channels, affiliate partners require a significant “warm up” period.
"If you aren't willing to at least keep it running for 6 months, anything less than that, is a waste of everyone’s time," Alana warns. But this isn't meant to discourage you—it's meant to help you plan properly.
The typical journey looks like this: Month 1 involves program setup and initial partner outreach. Months 2 through four see campaigns launching and initial optimization. Around month 6, successful programs typically hit their stride. "One account turns into a thousand really quickly, but zero to one feels like an eternity," Alana explains.
For organizations that really commit to excellence, Alana notes that "18 to 24 months is how long this really takes if you really want to hit your potential." This assumes you're treating affiliate marketing as a priority rather than a side project.
The Scale Of The Affiliate Marketing Channel
Before you feel overwhelmed, remember that affiliate marketing represents a massive opportunity in financial services. Alana notes that for many successful fintech lenders, "affiliates [are] 45% or more of their acquisition funnel." The channel works because it creates value for everyone involved—consumers get better products, publishers get fair compensation, and lenders get quality customers.
[And according to The Free Toaster’s research, consumer lenders spend $4B - $6B per year advertising in affiliate channels, presenting an enormous opportunity for most lenders].
The preparation might seem extensive, but each element serves a purpose. As Alana puts it, "The more that we can dispel the myths of how this channel works, the more we can focus on doing the hard work that drives wins for the partner, the lender, and the consumer."
Your Next Steps
If this checklist feels manageable, you're probably closer to ready than you think. If it feels overwhelming, that's completely normal—and it's better to know now than discover major gaps in the middle of an important campaign.
Remember, you don't have to figure this out alone. There are experienced partners (like Fintel Connect and New Market Growth) who've seen these challenges before and can help you navigate them.
If you’re honest about where you are and are committed to doing the foundational work that sets you up for long-term success, you’re playing the game the right way.
Questions about how to get started? You can find Alana Levine on LinkedIn.
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About Us
Welcome to The Free Toaster! The newsletter for marketing pros at fintechs, banks, and lenders.
Inspired by the free toasters banks used to give to each new customer, we’re here to help you acquire more customers at scale. We deliver fresh news, data, and insights to help you acquire more customers, minus the breadcrumbs.
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Carlos Caro is the founder of NMG, an agency that helps lenders build affiliate programs.
Nick Madrid the co-founder of Ghostmode, a media company that builds Newsletters, Podcasts, and communities in high-value B2B niches.