# Bonus: How DTC Brands Scale Affiliate Marketing Without Fraud or Bad Attribution

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/dtc-podcast-715179/bonus-how-dtc-brands-scale-affiliate-marketing-without-fraud-or-bad-attribution
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/dtc-podcast-715179/bonus-how-dtc-brands-scale-affiliate-marketing-without-fraud-or-bad-attribution.md
Podcast: [DTC Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/dtc-podcast-715179)
Published: 2026-04-22T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dtcpodcast/episodes/Bonus-How-DTC-Brands-Scale-Affiliate-Marketing-Without-Fraud-or-Bad-Attribution-e3i8h85
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/205a6c00/podcast/play/118817477/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-21%2F422552650-44100-2-a459edb425248.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/dtc-podcast-715179/episodes/bonus-how-dtc-brands-scale-affiliate-marketing-without-fraud-or-bad-attribution
Duration seconds: 2313

## Resource

Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Affiliate is getting a lot more attention in DTC right now, and for good reason. In this episode, Yash Chavan, Founder and CEO of SATHI & SARAL, breaks down why the channel looks so attractive on paper, where it falls apart in practice, and what brands can do to make it perform like a real growth engine. Claim your free trial and 20% across all pricing plans at mysathi.io . Don't forget to use the code DTC! Request your free trial: http://www.mysathi.io/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=dtc&utm_campaign=dtc-podcast We get into: Why affiliate is attractive to operators and finance teams How last-click attribution distorts performance data What affiliate fraud actually looks like inside a real program How to think about multi-touch attribution by product category Why gamification matters if you want creators to stay active How affiliate fits alongside Meta, TikTok, and retargeting What to steal: Run a fraud scan on your current affiliate program and check for leaked codes Build commission tiers and milestone bonuses to keep strong creators engaged Choose an attribution model based on how your product actually gets bought If you’re a DTC marketer, founder, or growth lead trying to lower CAC, improve measurement, and build a more durable acquisition program, this episode is essential listening. Timestamps 00:00 Affiliate marketing explained 02:00 Why affiliate is hard to scale 04:00 The problem with last-click attribution 06:00 Affiliate fraud examples and risks 09:00 Influencers shifting to affiliate models 11:00 Why reels + links change everything 13:00 How modern affiliate tracking works 16:00 Multi-touch attribution strategies 19:00 Retargeting affiliate traffic 21:00 Gamifying affiliate programs 24:00…

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