If you are running an affiliate program on top of everything else, you already know the problem.
Writing publisher emails, answering the same questions, briefing partners on a new campaign. All of it takes time you sometimes do not have. So you either do it badly, do it slowly, or it just does not get done.
AI should fix this. For most people it does not, because they use it wrong.
They open a blank chat, type a request, get something generic, and spend more time editing than it would have taken to write it themselves.
The fix is simple. I call it the context dump.
What it is
One Google Drive folder with everything Claude needs to understand your program.
Mine contains:
Brand doc: What you sell, who buys it, what makes it different. Facts only, no marketing copy.
Program basics: Commission rate, cookie window, average order value, performance tiers.
Terms and conditions: What publishers can and cannot do.
Product catalog: A Google Sheet with every product, price point, use cases, usp’s ,product details, and so on.
Email templates: Every recurring message you send. Onboarding, follow-ups, campaign briefs, decline responses.
Q&A doc: Every question a publisher has ever asked, with your answers. This one matters more than people expect. Claude stops guessing when the answers are already there.
Setup takes 15 minutes (unless you never documented anything before).
One more thing: connect Claude Desktop with Google Sheets and Google Drive through MCP. This way you don’t need to copy-paste anything.
What changes
→ Publisher outreach that fits your brand and your commission structure, first draft.
→ Campaign briefs for specific products at specific price points.
→ Faster responses to publisher questions that sound like you wrote them.
You stop being the bottleneck for every piece of communication your program produces.
A task that used to take 20 minutes takes 4. Over a week, I recover 3 to 4 hours per client. For a founder managing this themselves, that is magic.
Where to start
Create the folder for your program today. If you want help setting up the MCP connection so Claude reads your sheets directly, reply and I will walk you through it.
How are you currently using AI to manage your affiliate program?
That's it for this issue.
Want to see what I've covered previously? You can find all my past posts in the archives.
Running a program and not sure if you are leaving money on the table? Or thinking about starting one and not sure where to begin?
Reply to this email or grab some time directly:
Talk soon,
Jani Gysels