The Free Toaster

E030 - Launching Affiliate Marketing Programs With Alana Levine, CRO at Fintel Connect

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We sit down with Alana Levine, Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, to uncover what financial institutions get wrong when launching affiliate marketing programs—and more importantly, how to get it right from day one.

As someone who lives in the trenches and is often the first call when lenders want to activate the affiliate channel, Alana shares her unfiltered pre-launch checklist and the hard-won insights that can save months of frustration and wasted budget.

We discuss...

The Strategic Foundation

  • Why geographic reach can make or break your affiliate program
  • The "me too" product problem and how to overcome it
  • Application experience as everyone's shared challenge
  • Budget reality check: Why $50k is the healthy starting point
  • Setting realistic CPA expectations (especially for fintechs)

    • Operational Requirements

    • The critical role of existing digital marketing experience
    • Why your current application page won't work for affiliate traffic
    • Tracking and attribution: The technical foundation that publishers demand
    • Written publisher guidelines as legal and risk management tools
    • Performance reporting beyond basic conversion tracking

      • Common Pitfalls

      • The biggest stumbling block: Defining success metrics clearly
      • Why volume, quality, and channel contribution all matter
      • How to test your success criteria with external parties

        • Timeline and Commitment

        • The 6-month minimum commitment reality
        • Month-by-month breakdown of the typical program journey
        • Why 18-24 months is the real timeline for hitting potential
        • Understanding the "zero to one feels like an eternity" phase

          • Industry Context

          • The massive scale of affiliate marketing in financial services
          • How top fintech lenders achieve 45%+ acquisition through affiliates
          • The $4B-$6B annual spend opportunity in consumer lending

            • *****

            About Alana Levine

            Alana is the Chief Revenue Officer at Fintel Connect, an award-winning performance marketing technology company dedicated to driving growth in the fintech, banking and insurance space.


            They're on a mission to create greater transparency and become the place to be for innovative fintechs and banks to connect with targeted influencers and publishers in the space. As a leading banking and fintech affiliate network in North America, Fintel is proud to power the affiliate programs for partners like Scotiabank, Tangerine Bank, EQ Bank, Borrowell and others.

             

            *****

            A word from our sponsor, Fintel Connect

            Drive thousands of new accounts and billions in deposits with the only partner marketing solution built for fintech and banking – your all-in-one affiliate platform, partner network, agency, and marketing compliance engine.

            https://partner.fintelconnect.com/get-to-know-fintel-connect?utm_campaign=13897733-2025%20Partners&utm_source=The%20Free%20Toaster&utm_medium=podcast

             

            A word from our sponsor, Spinwheel:

             

            Reduce friction in your lending application with just two fields—phone number and birthdate. Spinwheel’s APIs boost application rates by 20-30% while also providing real-time credit data and seamless payment processing. Want to see it in action? Connect with their Head of Growth for a demo!

            https://spinwheel.io/partner/?utm_source=freetoaster&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=aug


            A word from our sponsor, New Market Growth:

             

            New Market Growth helps fintech consumer lenders generate explosive growth on affiliate marketing channels like Credit Karma, Experian Marketplace, LendingTree, and others.


            Affiliate marketing involves marketing & credit risk expertise, and NMG's founders bring this with 21+ years of lending experience and 8+ years experience as executive affiliate operators.

            If you'd like help planning or implementing your affiliate marketing strategy, email us at [email protected]

             

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