# Slice

> Slice is the free affiliate marketplace. Advertisers only pay for real sales, publishers keep 100% of their commission.

Slice is a two-sided affiliate marketplace for tech products and the creators who recommend them.

- Publishers (creators, newsletters, YouTube and social accounts, sites) join for free, apply to products and keep 100% of the advertised commission.
- Advertisers (SaaS, apps and online stores) join for free, set their own rules (commission, cookie window, returns period) and pay only for validated sales.
- The Slice fee is 20% of the commission, charged to the advertiser on top. It is never deducted from the publisher's commission.
- A sale is pending during the validation period (returns period + 7 days, at most 67), then approved. Publishers are paid once the advertiser's payment has cleared.

## Pages

- [For publishers](https://takeslice.com/): Promote products you love and keep 100% of the advertised commission.
- [For advertisers](https://takeslice.com/advertisers): Launch an affiliate program for free and pay only for validated sales.
- [Pricing](https://takeslice.com/pricing): Free to join. Advertisers pay the commission plus a 20% Slice fee on top.
- [Docs](https://takeslice.com/docs): How tracking, the conversions API, test mode, fees and payouts work.
- [Blog](https://takeslice.com/blog): Practical affiliate marketing guides for founders and indie hackers.
- [Publisher Terms](https://takeslice.com/legal/publisher-terms): What publishers agree to when they promote products on Slice.
- [Privacy Policy](https://takeslice.com/legal/privacy): What personal data Slice collects, why, and your rights.

## Blog

- [What is affiliate marketing? A plain-English guide for founders](https://takeslice.com/blog/what-is-affiliate-marketing): Affiliate marketing pays someone else only when they bring you a sale. Here is how it works, who pays whom, and when it beats buying ads. (Affiliate 101)
- [How affiliate commissions work: tracked, pending, approved, available, paid](https://takeslice.com/blog/how-affiliate-commissions-work): A tracked sale is not an approved commission, and an approved commission is not money in a bank account. Here is every state a commission passes through, and why the order matters. (Affiliate 101)
- [Affiliate marketing for startups: when it works and when it doesn't](https://takeslice.com/blog/affiliate-marketing-for-startups): Affiliate marketing can give a startup a sales channel that costs nothing until it works. It can also attract the wrong partners and erode margin. Here is how to tell which one you will get. (For startups)
- [Free vs paid affiliate platforms: what you actually pay](https://takeslice.com/blog/free-vs-paid-affiliate-platforms): A subscription is only one line of the bill. Compare subscription, revenue share, payout fees and contracts, with worked costs at two commission levels. (Platforms & costs)
- [Affiliate marketing for indie hackers: distribution without an ad budget](https://takeslice.com/blog/affiliate-marketing-for-indie-hackers): You built the product. Now you need people to hear about it. Affiliate marketing can turn other people's audiences into distribution, without a monthly software bill. (For indie hackers)
- [How to find your first 100 affiliates (without a network)](https://takeslice.com/blog/how-to-find-affiliates): You do not need a personal network or a partner marketplace to start. A list, a specific pitch and a useful offer will get you further than volume. (For startups)

## Answers

- Is Slice free? Yes. Creating an account and launching a program costs nothing. Advertisers pay the commission plus the Slice fee only when a sale is validated.
- How does Slice make money? Through the Slice fee: 20% of the commission, charged to the advertiser on top of the publisher's commission.
- What is the Slice fee? 20% of the publisher's commission. It never reduces what the publisher earns.
- Does the publisher lose part of the commission? No. The publisher keeps 100% of the advertised commission; the advertiser pays the Slice fee separately.
- How do affiliate commissions work? A sale is tracked, pending during validation (returns period + 7 days, at most 67), then approved. Funding makes it available; a confirmed payout makes it paid.
- Are payouts live today? Not yet. Slice currently tracks and validates conversions and labels commissions as estimates; advertiser funding and publisher payouts are being built.
- Should a startup pay for affiliate software? A subscription makes sense at steady, predictable volume. A results-based platform costs nothing until a sale validates, which suits an unproven channel.
- How long is the cookie window? It is set per product by the advertiser.

## Key terms

- Commission: what the publisher earns for a conversion. Identical on every page, report and invoice.
- Slice fee: the advertiser-only fee on top of the commission.
- Product: something an advertiser sells. Publishers apply per product.
- Campaign: a product's commission rules. Launch campaigns offer a higher rate for a set window.
- Validation period: returns period + 7 days (max 67) during which an advertiser can decline a sale with a reason.

## Optional

- [Sign up](https://takeslice.com/signup): create a free publisher or advertiser account.