Affiliate sample tracking with automatic Shopify draft orders

The Samples feature lets you log product samples sent to affiliates, automatically creates the $0 Shopify draft order, and then tracks each affiliate's conversion rate over the 45 days following the send - so you know exactly which samples drove a measurable performance lift.

Why track affiliate samples

Product samples are one of the highest-ROI investments in affiliate program management, but most brands track them in a spreadsheet - disconnected from actual affiliate performance data. OptimizeAffiliate connects sample sends to AvantLink and Impact conversion data, so you can calculate the revenue generated per dollar of product sent and identify which partner types benefit most from samples.

The Actions Inbox can also generate a sample_opportunity recommendation when a high-potential affiliate has never received a sample - based on their content type, audience fit, and current conversion rate.

Logging a sample send

Click Log Sample and fill in the form. You'll select the affiliate from your partner list, choose which products to send, enter their shipping address, and optionally add a note. When you submit, OptimizeAffiliate does two things simultaneously: saves the sample record to your history and creates a $0 draft order in Shopify.

Automatic Shopify draft order creation

When you submit a sample log, OptimizeAffiliate creates a draft order in your Shopify admin via the GraphQL Admin API. The draft order is set to $0 with the selected products at 100% discount, the affiliate's shipping address pre-filled, and a note indicating it's an affiliate sample. You'll find it under Shopify → Orders → Drafts where you can review it, add a shipping method, and mark it as paid to trigger fulfillment.

This eliminates the manual step of creating a separate draft order and ensures the sample is recorded in both OptimizeAffiliate's tracking history and your Shopify fulfillment queue at the same time.

45-day conversion lift tracking

After a sample is logged, OptimizeAffiliate begins monitoring the affiliate's performance in AvantLink or Impact. At the 45-day mark, it calculates the sample lift - the percentage change in conversion rate during the 45 days post-sample compared to the 45 days pre-sample.

The lift figure appears on each sample record in your history. A positive percentage means the affiliate converted their audience at a higher rate after receiving the product. You can use this to build a data-backed case for expanding your sample program - and to identify which partner types produce the best return.

Interpreting lift results

A positive lift (e.g., +34%) indicates the sample likely influenced the affiliate's content and audience buying behavior. A neutral result (near 0%) doesn't necessarily mean the sample failed - the affiliate may have featured the product, improved brand awareness, or driven sales through non-trackable channels. A negative result is unusual but can occur if the affiliate was naturally trending down for unrelated reasons.

Sample history

Every sample send is saved to your history with the date, affiliate name, products sent, cost, and lift result (once calculated). You can use this history to build a report of sample program ROI - total product cost versus affiliate revenue generated in the post-sample window.