Refer & earn

Refer a brand,
earn 15% of every fee.

If you know a brand that should be on SpiderCPS — DTC operator, head of growth, founder — refer them and earn 15% of our network fee for 24 months, capped at $30K per brand. If you know a publisher with audience — KOL, newsletter, community admin — refer them and earn 5% for 12 months, capped at $5K. Stack both if you do both. Paid monthly in USD.

Apply now How it works

Already a SpiderCPS publisher?

Skip the application — toggle Referrer mode on at /dashboard/publisher/profile/ and you'll get an instant personal ?ref= link. We've already vetted you — no second application needed.

Phase 1 — for new applicants

New referrers (non-publishers) onboard via a one-page agreement (handshake terms confirmed via email, paid quarterly via Wise / Stripe Connect). Fully automated settlement engine ships in Phase 2 after we hit 5 active brands. The economics — 15% / 5% / cap structure — are locked in either way.

Where the money comes from

For every $100 of brand commission, you get $3.

Important context for the "15%" number: it's 15% of our 20% network fee — not 15% of the full commission paid by the brand. The publisher takes 80% before we ever see the money. Your cut comes out of our 20% slice — never out of the publisher's 80%, never out of the brand's gross spend.

Worked example: brand pays $100 commission on a sale

Publisher payout

$8080%

SpiderCPS network fee

this is the pool we operate from

$2020%

↳ Brand referrer (15% of network fee)

paid to whoever brought the brand to us

$33%

↳ SpiderCPS net (the other 85%)

covers ops, infra, payouts, support

$1717%

Publisher referral works the same way at 5% of network fee = 1% of total commission ($1 of every $100). Both paths stack independently if you refer both sides of a deal.

Refer a brand

15%of network fee · 3% of every $100 commission

Duration

24 months

Cap

$30K per brand

Who

DTC operator, head of growth, founder, ad agency, marketing freelancer with brand contacts

Worked example

Brand at $5K/mo GMV with 10% commission rate generates $500/mo commission → $100 network fee → your $15/mo cut (Year 1 = $180). As brand grows to $50K/mo GMV, your cut scales to $150/mo ($1.8K/yr). $30K cap means a brand has to do ~$10M cumulative GMV before you hit the ceiling.

Refer a publisher

5%of network fee · 1% of every $100 commission

Duration

12 months

Cap

$5K per publisher

Who

Publisher you've worked with (KOL agency, MCN, community manager, content creator network)

Worked example

Publisher you refer drives $400/mo of commissions across 3 brand programs → $80 network fee → your $4/mo cut (Year 1 = $48). Smaller per-publisher than brand referrals, but stacks across many people you onboard.

Mirror of Impact.com's 20%/$30K refer-a-brand industry standard, with a 5pp buffer and per-publisher cap added so the network can sustainably absorb the fee at scale.

How it works

Four steps from email to monthly payout.

Submit the application form

Fill the Phase 1 application form below — name, email, who you'd refer, brief background. Two minutes. Or email [email protected] if you prefer free-form. Either path lands in the same inbox; we reply within one business day. Not gatekeeping aggressively — just want to know who's in.

Sign a one-page agreement

Confirm the rate / duration / cap terms in writing (email acknowledgment is enough for Phase 1). For US-resident referrers we collect a W-9 for 1099-NEC reporting at year-end. For non-US, W-8BEN. No long-term lock-in — you can exit any time, terms keep paying out for previously-referred brand/publisher up to the cap.

Share your link or make warm intros

Two paths to attribute a referral:

Self-serve link (Phase 2): spidercps.com/signup/brand/?ref=your-code. Anyone who signs up via your link is auto-attributed.
Warm intro email (Phase 1): cc us on the intro thread; we manually attribute the brand to you on signup. Works for high-touch deals where a link isn't the right vehicle.

Get paid monthly

Once your referred brand activates and conversions start, we calculate your share at month-close and pay on the 15th. Phase 1: quarterly via Wise / Stripe Connect (lower payment fees). Phase 2: monthly via the standard publisher payout pipeline (USD wire / ACH / Wise / PayPal / USDT / WeChat Pay / Zelle). Real-time dashboard shows accruals + history.

Who's a great fit

Anyone with a Rolodex and a relationship.

We've sketched the typical profiles below — but if your network covers cross-border DTC or NA Chinese-immigrant publishers in any capacity, you're in scope.

Ad agency operators / staff

You manage paid + affiliate spend for cross-border DTC. You see brand-side budget firsthand and know which programs would benefit from emerging-channel publishers.

KOL agencies / MCNs

You represent multiple Chinese-immigrant KOLs. You can refer them as publishers en bloc — earn 5% off each one's earnings for 12 months, stacking nicely.

Marketing freelancers / consultants

You serve 3+ DTC clients on retainer. Refer the brands; SpiderCPS becomes another arrow in your performance-marketing quiver, you earn passive.

Existing publishers

Already a SpiderCPS publisher? Toggle on the referrer flag in your dashboard. Refer brands you wish were on the platform; refer fellow KOLs from your community.

Community / private-traffic operators

You run a 50K+ WeChat group, a private newsletter, or a Discord. Brand referral path works even if you can't directly publish for the brand yourself.

DTC founders (cross-pollinate)

Refer peer brands in your batch / accelerator / mastermind. Their tracking infra running through SpiderCPS doesn't compete with your own — it earns you sidecar income.

FAQ

Six questions before your first email.

What happens if my referred brand stops with SpiderCPS?

Your earnings stop when the brand churns. The cap clock doesn't reset — if you're 8 months into a 24-month window and they leave, that's the end. Brand re-onboards later? You get credit again from where you left off, capped at the original 24 months total.

Can two people refer the same brand?

No. Last-touch wins — whoever's referral link / warm intro the brand signs up through gets the credit for the whole window. Tie-breaker: timestamp of the signup form. This avoids the double-attribution mess Impact and CJ have with their referrer programs.

Can I be a publisher AND a referrer at the same time?

Yes. Same SpiderCPS account; we just toggle the referrer capacity on. Your dashboard shows two tabs: publisher earnings (your own conversions) and referrer earnings (brand + publisher referrals). Two separate 1099 totals at year-end, but one account.

Are the rates negotiable for very large referrers?

Phase 1 is locked at the published rates (15% / 5%). Once you've referred $X+ of attributable network revenue we can renegotiate — but the structure stays flat percentage of network fee, never a side-deal on commission paid to publishers (which would dilute their 80% share).

What about FTC compliance?

Standard 16 CFR §255 disclosure applies — when you refer a brand publicly (not via private intro), disclose the relationship in any post / video / social / podcast where you mention SpiderCPS. We provide a one-line template. We cap referral attribution at 2 tiers (you refer brand, brand refers more brands → only the first tier credits you) so the program never starts looking like an MLM.

When do payouts actually start?

When the brand you referred completes their first month with paid invoice. Usually 30–60 days after they activate. If the brand activates fast and conversions flow, you could see your first payout 45 days after referring. We don't hold "qualifying period" minimums.

More questions? Email [email protected].

Apply

Three to five Phase 1 spots.

We're actively negotiating handshake terms with the first cohort. Fill the form below — we reply within one business day.

Refer a brand,earn 15% of every fee.