For most ecommerce brands, running an affiliate program sounds easier than it is. Tools are complex, attribution is messy, and leaked codes reduce margins. Instead of driving growth, affiliate programs often end up creating more manual work.
That’s exactly where Bones Coffee found themselves. Despite having one of the most engaged and loyal customer bases in the coffee industry, the brand’s affiliate program was fragmented and underperforming. Referrals weren’t being tracked, influencer partnerships were inconsistent, and discount codes kept leaking onto coupon sites.
When Bones Coffee switched to Social Snowball, they were able to turn that chaos into a revenue-driving channel. In just a few months, they:
- Generated $150K in affiliate-attributed revenue.
- Cut customer acquisition costs vs. paid ads.
- Saved hours every week by automating payouts and influencer seeding.
"Social Snowball turned our customers into our most powerful marketing channel overnight. Since launching, our affiliate program has driven a surge in revenue and brand reach that we couldn’t have achieved through traditional advertising alone."
Zac Wenzel, Brand Ambassador Coordinator at Bones Coffee Company
About the brand
Bones Coffee is a specialty coffee company known for bold, unconventional flavors and playful packaging. Beyond coffee, the brand has built a tight-knit community of superfans who share their experiences online and fuel organic growth.
Challenge: Missed referrals, weak tools, and code leaks
Despite its community-driven growth, Bones Coffee’s early affiliate efforts were falling short.
1. Missed referrals
Word-of-mouth was strong, but there was no way to leverage it for higher acquisition. Loyal fans were already recommending the brand, but without structure or incentives, their advocacy wasn’t turning into measurable revenue.
The team estimated that $150K+ was being missed by not activating this channel.
2. Past tools lacking crucial functionalities
Bones Coffee first tried Refersion and later Shopify Collabs. Both had limited functionality. Tracking was basic, commissions were rigid, and influencer management required staffing the team didn’t have.
“Very little attention was being paid to influencer partnerships because we simply didn’t have the staffing to manage them. And with the tools we were using, it felt like there wasn’t much we could do beyond the basics.”
3. Coupon leaks
Discount codes intended for affiliates routinely leaked onto deal sites, eroding margins and skewing attribution. Policing these manually meant wasted time and inconsistent reporting.
“It was hard to find quality creators, and even when we did, the programs we used didn’t make it easy to build relationships or track results. Everything felt piecemeal.”
Solution: Rebuilding the affiliate program with Social Snowball
Bones Coffee replaced its fragmented affiliate setup with Social Snowball, giving them a single, automated system to capture referrals, manage affiliates, and protect program quality. Here’s how they did it:
1. Customer-to-affiliate onboarding
Bones Coffee’s fans were already sharing the brand. Social Snowball turned that advocacy into a measurable channel by automatically onboarding customers as affiliates after checkout. Each new affiliate received a unique referral link, making it frictionless to start promoting immediately.
“Social Snowball was chosen for its ability to gift products, customize emails to creators, and give us clean, reliable tracking. It gave us everything we were missing in other platforms.”
2. Commission-based incentives for micro-influencers
Instead of relying on flat-fee partnerships, Bones Coffee built a performance-based structure. Affiliates earned commission directly tied to sales. This gave micro-influencers flexibility to create content at their own pace while making sure that the brand only paid for results.
3. Stopping coupon abuse with Safelinks
To solve code leakages, Bones Coffee deployed Safelinks. Every time a shopper clicked an affiliate link, a single-use code was generated in real time.
Eliminating coupon abuse gave the brand the confidence it needed in its attribution.
4. Automating payouts with Tremendous
Payouts, once manual and inconsistent, were automated through Tremendous. Affiliates could now choose how they wanted to get paid (gift card, bank transfer, etc) without adding workload for the team.
Results: $150K+ in affiliate revenue at a lower CAC
Bones Coffee’s affiliate program has gone from an afterthought to a core revenue channel.
- $150K in affiliate-attributed revenue generated, largely from fans and micro-influencers who were already talking about the brand.
- Lower CAC than paid ads, creating a cost-efficient acquisition stream and reducing reliance on rising ad costs.
- Hours saved every week: Automated affiliate payouts, seeding, and fraud protection.
“Social Snowball turned our customers into our most powerful marketing channel overnight. It gave us a scalable way to grow without pouring more into ads.”
Read to build an affiliate channel that runs itself?
Bones Coffee proves that if you already have a passionate community, you don’t need to reinvent growth; you just need the right system to capture it.
With Social Snowball, you can turn every customer into an affiliate at checkout, automate commissions, payouts, and fraud protection, and build authentic partnerships with creators already talking about your brand.
Ready to capture revenue you’re currently missing?
