How I’m Building a Zero-Dollar Affiliate Engine from Scratch

Most early founders think affiliate marketing is out of reach until they have traction or a budget. I used to think that too.

But I’ve been building a lightweight affiliate engine without any paid tools, using just Payhip, MailerLite, Zapier (on the free tier), and Tally. It’s messy but surprisingly effective.

Here’s what I’ve set up:

• A recruiter application form with Tally

• Free affiliate program setup via Payhip

• A system that tracks which recruiter referred which affiliate using hidden fields and automation

• All onboarding flows run through MailerLite and trigger personalized emails based on referral data

Why bother? Because building trust takes time, and while I can’t pay recruiters upfront, I can equip them with a system and creative materials that make sharing easy and potentially rewarding.

I’m documenting the process for other no-budget builders. Would it be helpful if I shared a full walkthrough of the system and templates I used?

Let me know if that’s something you’d want to see, or if you’ve tried something similar.