Affiliate CRM inside GoHighLevel, pipeline, tasks, reminders

TLDR

You build a dedicated affiliate pipeline in GoHighLevel with clear stages, required fields, and SLA timers. You auto create tasks on key events, you remind owners before deadlines, and you log every referral as a deal. You track EPC, RPM, trial to paid, and time to first referral for each partner.

Goal

You turn scattered affiliate operations into a predictable workflow that recruits, activates, and scales partners without losing leads or missing follow ups.

What you set up

• You create one pipeline for affiliates with stages from New to Activated to Producing.
• You define one contact layout with required fields for attribution, status, and compliance.
• You add one task framework that assigns owners and due dates automatically.
• You create one reminder set that uses email, in app, and optional SMS for time bound steps.
• You build one reporting snapshot that shows EPC, RPM, referrals, and conversion per partner.

Pipeline stages, simple and complete

• New, application or inbound interest recorded.
• Screening, profile checked and basic signals scored.
• Approved, account created and onboarding booked.
• Activated, first asset published and tracking live.
• Producing, first referral recorded and 3 referral milestone in progress.
• Dormant, no activity in 30 days and reactivation path open.
• Closed, declined or disqualified with reason saved.

Contact fields, minimum required

• role, affiliate, creator, newsletter, partner.
• source, application form, outreach, partner feature, event.
• audience_size, numeric estimate with confidence note.
• primary_channel, youtube, email, reddit, blog, other.
• country, for compliance and payout rules.
• commitment_7d, yes or no on publishing in 7 days.
• tracking_ids, subid1 partner id, subid2 asset id, subid3 traffic variant.
• bank_or_payout_profile_on_file, yes or no.
• tax_status_verified, yes or no.
• notes_last_contact, short free text.

Attribution fields on every click

• utm_source, platform or partner name.
• utm_medium, referral, community, partner, email, cpc.
• utm_campaign, topic cluster, for example pricing or migration.
• utm_content, creative id or hook.
• gclid_or_click_id, if present.
• first_touch_date and last_touch_date, auto filled.

Task rules that prevent stalls

• You assign screening within 24 hours of application.
• You set onboarding booking due in 48 hours after approval.
• You set first asset due in 7 days after onboarding.
• You set first referral check at 14 days after first asset.
• You reopen a task automatically when a meeting is missed.

Reminder logic that owners respect

• You send an email reminder 24 hours before each due time.
• You send an in app reminder 2 hours before each due time.
• You send one optional SMS reminder 1 hour before meetings for opted in owners.
• You escalate to a channel or a manager when an SLA misses by 24 hours.

Workflows that move records for you

• Form Submitted, Affiliate Application, create contact, tag pending_review, create screening task, set pipeline to New.
• Status Approved, send onboarding booking link, move to Approved, set task for setup checklist delivery.
• Calendar Booked, grant resource vault access, move to Activated, start 14 day activation sequence.
• First Referral Logged, move to Producing, tag milestone_1, send congratulations and next steps.
• Three Referrals Logged, tag milestone_3, unlock extra templates or a call, set quarterly check in.
• No Activity 30 Days, move to Dormant, send reactivation nudge and create a follow up task.

SLA timers that keep momentum

• Screening SLA, 24 hours from application to decision.
• Activation SLA, 10 days from onboarding to first asset published.
• First referral SLA, 14 days from first asset to first referral recorded.
• Response SLA, same business day on partner messages.

Collaboration habits that scale

• You use @mentions in notes to pull a specialist for technical issues.
• You attach screenshots or short Loom links to notes for faster context.
• You log every external message with a one line outcome and a next step.
• You pin the current blocker at the top of the contact record.

Compliance and brand safety inside CRM

• You store a copy of the disclosure language and apply it to templates.
• You save trademark guidance in a pinned note so outreach stays brand safe.
• You track proof of consent for SMS or email reminders to partners.
• You mask payout and tax details in notes and store sensitive data in the secure fields.

Reporting you read weekly

• EPC by partner and by asset type with a 7 day and 30 day view.
• RPM by traffic source with win rate from trial to paid.
• Time to first referral by partner cohort.
• Save rate on reactivation outreach for Dormant stage.
• Refund and churn impact on partner earnings over 30 days.

Performance targets

• Screening within 24 hours for 90 percent of applications.
• Onboarding booked within 48 hours for 80 percent of approvals.
• First asset published inside 7 days for 70 percent of activated partners.
• First referral inside 14 days for 30 to 50 percent of active partners.
• Three referral milestone inside 30 days for 20 to 35 percent of partners.
• Data completeness above 95 percent on required fields.

Automation blueprint

• You create a pipeline stage change trigger that sets owner, due date, and the next task automatically.
• You log utm_* and subid_* on first hit and you write them to custom fields.
• You post to the affiliate dashboard via webhook for verification checks.
• You apply verified_buyer on payment and you trigger bonus delivery and setup emails.
• You suppress verified buyers from retargeting and from recruitment emails.

QA checklist

• You verify that every application creates a contact with required fields populated.
• You confirm that every stage change creates the correct task and reminder.
• You test the escalation path for SLA misses.
• You sample ten records weekly and you check notes, owner, and next step.
• You reconcile partner reported referrals with your logged referrals.

Tracking setup

• You standardize utm and subid fields on every link in partner assets.
• You force unique subid2 for each asset so EPC reads cleanly.
• You store click ids on first touch and you keep them on the contact.
• You report EPC and RPM by partner id and by asset id weekly.

Troubleshooting

• If screening lags, you add a daily queue view and a 09:00 review block on the calendar.
• If onboarding no shows grow, you add SMS reminders and an ICS file in the confirmation email.
• If activation stalls, you cut choices to one default asset and send a short example.
• If referrals slip, you add a one pager on hooks and headlines and review it on the call.
• If data is messy, you make key fields required and add validation rules.
• If owners ignore reminders, you move escalations to a manager channel and review weekly.

CTA blocks to paste

• Primary, Set up the affiliate pipeline in GoHighLevel today.
• Secondary, Add the task and reminder workflows to your snapshot.
• Note, Route verified buyers to bonus delivery automatically.

FAQ

Why should I use a pipeline for affiliates
You reduce stalls, you see bottlenecks, and you move partners to first referral faster than an inbox or a spreadsheet.

What fields are truly required
You must capture source, primary channel, commitment in 7 days, tracking ids, and payout readiness, otherwise reporting breaks.

How do I measure partner quality
You compare EPC and time to first referral by source and by asset type, then you keep the top quartile and pause the bottom quartile.

How do I prevent duplicate records
You match on email and on tracking ids, you merge weekly, and you add a duplicate alert on form submit.

Where do I store sensitive payout data
You use secure custom fields, you restrict access by role, and you avoid putting payout numbers in free text notes.