acrid-auto/skills/affiliate-engine

Affiliate Engine Skill

Purpose

Identify and embed contextual affiliate links in all Acrid content (blog posts, /learn articles, DITL posts, tweets) to generate passive revenue. Every piece of content should be scanned for natural affiliate placement opportunities.

This is a revenue skill. It doesn't produce content — it monetizes content that other skills produce.

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Active Affiliate Links

| Program | Link | Commission | Where to Use | |---------|------|------------|--------------| | ElevenLabs | https://try.elevenlabs.io/wgfs3wt5tut2 | 22% recurring / 12mo | DITL, /learn articles, AI voice content | | Polsia | https://polsia.com/?ref=B8WKGULV | TBD (referral active) | DITL, AI agent content, automation articles | | n8n Cloud | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://n8n.io/affiliates/ | 30% recurring / 12mo | DITL, automation guides, tech stack posts | | Notion | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://www.notion.com/affiliates | 50% first year | DITL, productivity articles, workspace guides | | DigitalOcean | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://www.digitalocean.com/affiliates | 10% recurring / 12mo | Infrastructure articles, hosting guides | | Buffer | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://buffer.com/partners | 25% recurring / 12mo | Social media strategy articles | | HubSpot | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://www.hubspot.com/partners/affiliates | 30% recurring / 12mo | Marketing automation, CRM articles | | Google Workspace | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://workspace.google.com/affiliate-program/ | $9-27/user (one-time) | Tech stack posts, email/productivity content | | Vercel (v0) | NEEDS SIGNUP → https://partners.dub.co/v0 | $5/lead + 30% / 6mo | AI coding articles, web dev content |

Full research and status for all programs: skills/affiliate-engine/ACTIVE-AFFILIATES.md

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How It Works

1. After any content is written (DITL, /learn article, tweet), scan for natural mentions of tools/services
2. Match mentions to affiliate map (see Content-Affiliate Mapping below)
3. Replace generic mentions with affiliate links where contextual and natural
4. Never force an affiliate mention — it must fit the content organically
5. Track placement — log which affiliates appear in which content

Post-Content Checklist

Run this after every DITL post, /learn article, or blog post:

• [ ] Does the content mention any tool in the affiliate map?
• [ ] Are generic tool mentions replaced with affiliate links?
• [ ] Is the tech stack footer included (for DITL posts)?
• [ ] Are there 1-2 contextual mentions max (not stuffed)?
• [ ] Does every affiliate mention feel like a genuine recommendation?

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Placement Rules

Blog Posts (DITL, acridautomation.com/blog)

• Affiliate links in body text where the tool is genuinely discussed
• Tech stack footer at the bottom with all relevant affiliate links
• Max 3-4 affiliate links per post (quality over quantity)
• Always include: "Some links are affiliate links — you pay the same, Acrid gets a cut."

/learn Articles (Website)

• Contextual links where the tool is genuinely recommended as part of the tutorial/guide
• This is the HIGHEST-VALUE placement — readers are actively looking for tool recommendations
• Include affiliate links in "Tools Used" or "What You Need" sections
• Natural in-text mentions when walking through a process

Tweets / X Posts

• NO affiliate links in tweets. Period.
• Feels spammy, hurts engagement, kills reach
• Exception: reply to someone explicitly asking "what do you use for X?" — even then, use sparingly

DITL Posts

• Tech stack footer (already happening) with affiliate links
• 1-2 contextual mentions max in the body
• Format: "I use Tool for this — it's [honest opinion]"

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Content-Affiliate Mapping

Map which articles/topics naturally align with which affiliates:

| Content Topic | Primary Affiliates | Secondary | |---------------|-------------------|-----------| | Claude Code setup / AI coding | Polsia, Vercel (v0) | — | | AI automation for business | n8n, Polsia, HubSpot | Notion | | Building an AI agent | n8n, ElevenLabs, Polsia | DigitalOcean | | Tech stack / infrastructure | n8n, Notion, Google Workspace | DigitalOcean, Netlify | | Social media strategy | Buffer | HubSpot | | Voice / audio AI | ElevenLabs | — | | Productivity / workspace | Notion, Google Workspace | — | | Web deployment / hosting | DigitalOcean, Vercel | Netlify | | Email / marketing | HubSpot, Google Workspace | Buffer | | Daily operations (DITL) | n8n, Notion, ElevenLabs, Polsia | Google Workspace | | AI tools roundup / comparison | ALL relevant | — | | No-code / low-code | n8n, Notion | Vercel (v0) |

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Tech Stack Footer Template

Use this at the bottom of every DITL post and relevant blog posts. Only include tools actually mentioned or used in that post:

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**Acrid's Stack** (affiliate links — you pay the same, I get a cut):
- Automation: [n8n Cloud](AFFILIATE_LINK) — workflow automation that actually works
- Voice: [ElevenLabs](https://try.elevenlabs.io/wgfs3wt5tut2) — best AI voice generation
- AI Agents: [Polsia](https://polsia.com/?ref=B8WKGULV) — AI that runs your company
- Workspace: [Notion](AFFILIATE_LINK) — where the chaos becomes organized
- Hosting: [DigitalOcean](AFFILIATE_LINK) — simple cloud infrastructure
- Email: [Google Workspace](AFFILIATE_LINK) — business email that works

Customize per post. Only include what's relevant. Never list all of them just to list them.

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Revenue Tracking

Monthly Check

• Which links got clicks? (Check each affiliate dashboard)
• Which links got conversions?
• Which content types drive the most affiliate revenue?
• Update ACTIVE-AFFILIATES.md with performance data

Quarterly Review

• Drop underperformers (< 5 clicks/month after 3 months)
• Research and add new programs
• Adjust placement strategy based on conversion data
• Promote high-performers to more prominent placement

Revenue Goals

• 30-day: Sign up for top 3 priority programs (n8n, Notion, HubSpot)
• 60-day: Affiliate links embedded in all new content, backfill top 10 existing articles
• 90-day: $50/month passive affiliate revenue
• 6-month: $100-300/month passive affiliate revenue
• 12-month: Affiliate revenue covers at least one tool subscription

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Integration with Other Skills

DITL Writer (skills/ditl-writer/SKILL.md)

• Auto-includes tech stack footer with active affiliate links
• Scans body for tool mentions → suggest affiliate link insertion
• Add to DITL post-writing checklist: "Run affiliate scan"

Thread Writer (skills/thread-writer/SKILL.md)

• No affiliate links in tweets — this is a hard rule
• Exception: organic reply to tool recommendation questions

Content Researcher (skills/content-researcher/SKILL.md)

• When researching topics, flag high-affiliate-potential angles
• "AI automation tools" content has more monetization potential than "AI philosophy" content

Visuals Architect (skills/visuals-architect/SKILL.md)

• No direct integration needed

X Promo Engine (skills/x-promo-engine/SKILL.md)

• No affiliate links in promo replies

Self-Improvement (skills/self-improvement/SKILL.md)

• Affiliate revenue tracked as revenue experiment
• Monthly affiliate check added to revenue experiments cadence

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Signup Priority Queue

Execute in this order (highest ROI first):

1. n8n Cloud — 30% recurring, Acrid literally runs on it, every DITL mentions it
2. Notion — 50% first year, used daily, mentioned constantly (check if accepting new affiliates)
3. HubSpot — 30% recurring, 180-day cookie, high-value referrals
4. DigitalOcean — 10% recurring, infrastructure content, $200 new user credit helps conversion
5. Buffer — 25% recurring, social media content alignment
6. Google Workspace — per-user commission, tech stack mentions
7. Vercel (v0) — $5/lead + 30%, AI coding content

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Rules

• Never fake enthusiasm for a tool just because it has an affiliate program
• Never recommend a tool Acrid doesn't actually use or believe in
• Always disclose affiliate links (rotate disclosure format to keep it natural)
• Never let affiliate potential drive content strategy — content drives affiliate strategy
• If a tool stops being good, drop the affiliate link even if it's making money
• Track everything. What doesn't get measured doesn't get optimized.

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LEARNINGS.md

Created: 2026-03-29. No learnings yet — skill is new. Update after first full month of affiliate tracking.