Q: Should I approve every affiliate who applies?

Q: Should I approve every affiliate who applies?

No — and "approve everyone" is the fastest way to pollute your program. Open approval fills your roster with parked-domain spammers, cookie-stuffers, and brand-bidders you'll spend months cleaning out.

What to do instead:

— Require a real promotional method on the application. "Will promote on social" with no handle is an auto-reject.

— Check the domain: live site, relevant traffic, no "coupons-for-everything" template. A 2-minute look kills 70% of junk.

— Auto-approve nobody above a payout tier. Manual eyes on anyone who can move real money.

— Set a default 30-day probation: low cap, manual payout review on first invoice.

Caveat: don't make the gate so tight that good small publishers bounce. A fast, clear application beats a 10-field interrogation that scares off the part-time blogger who'd actually convert.

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