Our Story

Why I Manage Every Affiliate Program Personally

I’m James Nardell. I’ve spent more than two decades running affiliate programs for SaaS, software, fintech, e-commerce, and digital product brands. I built Affiliate Manager Expert so growing brands could get senior-level management without hiring an in-house team or being handed off to a junior account manager.

I founded Affiliate Manager Expert in 2021, but I’ve managed affiliate programs since 2005. Working with SaaS, software, fintech, e-commerce, wellness, and digital product brands across every major network, including CJ, Awin, impact, Rakuten Advertising, LinkTrust, TUNE, and ClickBank. The work covers affiliate program management, audits, launches, cleanup, recruitment, tracking, and attribution review, compliance monitoring, and reporting. Every engagement is managed directly by me, with no junior-account-manager handoff.

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No hard sell. You’ll leave with practical recommendations whether we work together or not.

20+

Years managing affiliate programs (since 2005)

Major networks and platforms worked across directly

Verticals: SaaS, software, fintech, e-commerce, digital products

Point of contact: James, on every account, personally

Why I Exist

Why I Built Affiliate Manager Expert

I started managing affiliate programs in 2005. Over the next fifteen years I worked across networks, agencies, and in-house teams. I kept seeing the same thing from the inside: most affiliate programs aren’t failing because affiliate marketing doesn’t work. They’re failing because nobody is actually managing them.

A brand lists its program on a network, approves whoever applies, and waits. The dashboard shows some activity, so the program looks alive. But there’s no recruitment, no activation cadence, no commission strategy, no compliance discipline. And no one who understands that affiliate revenue is decided by what happens before and after the click, not on the network dashboard.

I also saw how agencies usually solve this. They win the account with a senior pitch, then hand the day-to-day to a junior account manager who’s learning the channel on your program. The expertise you were sold isn’t the expertise you get.

I built Affiliate Manager Expert [in 2021] to be the opposite of that. One senior operator, me, managing your program directly, the same way a great in-house affiliate manager would, but without the hiring cost, the ramp time, or the handoff. The person who reviews your program in week one is the person managing it in year five.

That’s the whole idea. Senior affiliate management, done personally, for brands that want the channel taken seriously.

The Difference

Why Founder-Led Management Matters

Most agencies pitch senior expertise and deliver junior execution. Here’s why doing the work myself produces different results.

No Junior-Account-Manager Handoff

Every client works directly with me. Not a rotating junior team, not an account coordinator relaying messages. The person who diagnoses your program is the person who runs it. So nothing gets lost in translation and nothing stalls waiting for escalation.

Commercial Judgment From Experience

Affiliate decisions are judgment calls: which partners are worth recruiting, where the commission economics actually work, which traffic sources carry risk, and what will move revenue versus what just looks active. That judgment only comes from doing it for two decades. And it’s the part you can’t outsource to someone three months into the channel.

Direct Industry Relationships

I’ve built affiliate, network, and platform relationships since 2005. Including publishers and partners who rarely respond to cold outreach. Those relationships take years to earn and can’t be replicated by an agency that’s new to the channel. When you work with me, you’re borrowing twenty years of them.

Full-Funnel Perspective

Affiliate revenue depends on the offer, the landing page, the checkout, the creative, and the follow-up. Not just the network dashboard. I work on the whole system that affects partner performance, because optimizing inside the network alone misses most of the levers.

See client results and testimonials.

Track Record

Two Decades In the Affiliate Channel

Affiliate marketing has been my focus since 2005. Across the network side, the agency side, and direct in-house management. That breadth is why I can tell quickly where a program is leaking value and what’s most likely to fix it.

Networks & platforms worked across directly

✓CJ, Awin, Rakuten Advertising
✓impact, PartnerStack, Partnerize
✓LinkTrust, Everflow, TUNE, AppsFlyer, Invoca, ClickBank

Experience at a glance

✓Affiliate programs managed and launched: 30+
✓Combined affiliate revenue generated: $100M+
✓Verticals: SaaS, software, fintech, e-commerce, wellness, digital products
✓Member, The Performance Marketing Association

These figures reflect affiliate programs James has directly managed, launched, or optimized since 2005. Revenue is cumulative affiliate-channel revenue across those programs. Client names and program-level figures are kept confidential under client agreements.

Proof

What Clients and Partners Say

Recommendations from clients, network-side professionals, and longtime affiliate partners. Plus a few anonymized examples of the kind of work I do.

“James has been the perfect person to help manage our affiliate programs. Not only does he have a wealth of knowledge, but he goes the extra mile to make sure that all parties are satisfied with the results.”

Jorge Caicedo
Client

“James is the best affiliate manager I’ve ever worked with. He helped us launch our program and recruited several high-volume affiliates, which resulted in our highest online sales number ever.”

Brian Meert
Client

“James constantly shows his outstanding professionalism — his targeted affiliate recruitment, weekly performance reports, monthly newsletters, and day-to-day communications have been critical to the company’s growth.”

Tracy Cui
Client

“I worked with James while at Rakuten Advertising, where he was an agency client of mine. He really knows his stuff — a unique blend of marketing savvy and diligent worker.”

Aaron Weigum
Formerly Rakuten Advertising

“I have worked with James for many years via both of my companies. James is a pleasure to work with, knows his stuff, and is always professional and fast to respond.”

Adam Viener
Imwave / Yazing

Examples of Recent Engagements

SaaS Affiliate Program Launch

A SaaS brand needed help choosing the right network, commission model, tracking setup, and recruitment strategy. Work: network selection, commission structure, tracking review, approval criteria, onboarding copy, launch communications. Outcome: launched with a structured recruitment plan, clear approval standards, and a 90-day growth roadmap.

E-commerce Program Cleanup

An e-commerce program had grown over-dependent on coupon and low-value partners. Work: partner review, commission segmentation, approval cleanup, communication cadence, content-partner recruitment, compliance review. Outcome: a better-structured, more defensible program focused on incremental revenue.

Affiliate Program Audit

A brand was unsure why its program wasn’t scaling. Work: reviewed network setup, tracking, partner mix, commissions, reversals, creative, landing pages, approval rules. Outcome: a prioritized action plan showing what to fix first and which levers would move revenue.

Anonymized to protect client confidentiality. Illustrative of the type of work, not specific revenue claims.

View more testimonials →

See verified client reviews on AME’s DesignRush profile →

Fit

Who I Work Best With

Founder-led affiliate management works best for a specific kind of brand. Being honest about fit saves everyone time, so here’s where I add the most value, and where I don’t.

Best Suited For

Relevant Verticals
SaaS, software, digital product, fintech, or e-commerce brands
Proven Market Demand
Companies with proven product-market fit
Scale-Ready Revenue
Brands generating roughly $1M-$50M+ in annual revenue
Serious Channel Ambition
Teams that want affiliate to become a serious acquisition channel
Senior Expertise Without Hiring
Companies that need senior expertise but aren’t ready to hire in-house
Commercially Ready Program
Brands willing to support competitive commissions and clean tracking

Usually Not the Right Fit For

Too Early Stage
Pre-revenue companies still validating the product
Overnight Expectations
Brands expecting affiliate revenue to switch on overnight
Weak Commission Economics
Companies unwilling to pay competitive commissions
Coupon-Only Mindset
Brands looking only for unmanaged coupon or cashback traffic
Funnel Not Ready
Businesses without a working funnel or checkout

Affiliate scales an offer that already works. If the funnel isn’t there yet, fix that first. I’ll tell you so on the call.

See If Your Program Is a Fit

The Founder

About James Nardell

James Nardell

Founder, Affiliate Manager Expert

I founded Affiliate Manager Expert and have spent more than two decades managing affiliate programs for SaaS, software, fintech, e-commerce, wellness, and digital product companies. My work spans program launches, network selection, partner recruitment, activation, compliance monitoring, tracking review, commission strategy, and ongoing optimization.

I work directly with every client. Senior-level execution from day one. The person who scopes your program is the person who runs it.

✓20+ years managing affiliate programs
✓Founder-led service model. Direct management, no handoffs
✓Direct affiliate and network-side relationships built over two decades
✓Experience across SaaS, software, fintech, e-commerce, wellness, and digital products
✓Hands-on: recruitment, activation, compliance, tracking, commission strategy, reporting
✓Member, The Performance Marketing Association

Direct email: [email protected]

Book a Free Program Review Contact James

Want to Know What Your Affiliate Program Is Missing?

The Free Program Review is a 30-minute working session. Not a pitch. We’ll look at your current program or launch plan, identify the two or three highest-impact opportunities, and decide together whether working with me makes sense.