This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Vivien Mahé
Today I launched something I never thought I’d do as a solo developer: an affiliate program for my Kotlin Multiplatform boilerplate, KMPShip.
TL;DR: After 3 months of grinding solo marketing, I realized I needed help. So I launched a 50% commission affiliate program. No idea if it’ll work, but here’s my thinking.
The reality check 
Let me be transparent about where KMPShip stands:
- 21 customers since launch
- €900 revenue
- Tried 7+ marketing channels: Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, HackerNews, ProductHunt, Uneed, TinyLaunch
The problem? I’m burning out trying to do all the marketing myself. Building the product was the easy part – getting it in front of the right developers is exhausting.
Why affiliates, why now? 
Honestly? I saw other boilerplate creators doing it and thought “maybe I should try this too.” Not the most strategic reasoning, but sometimes you just need to experiment.
My logic:
- Solo marketing is hard and time-consuming
- Other developers might have audiences I can’t reach
- 50% commission means they’re incentivized to actually promote it
- If it doesn’t work, I’ll shut it down and try something else
The program details 
Here’s what I set up:
- 50% commission (yes, half the revenue – figured go big or go home)
- 60-day cookie duration (seems fair for a developer tool)
- No minimum payout (pay them even for one sale)
- Monthly payments on the 10th
- Manual approval (I review each application)
Using Refindie to manage it all.
What I don’t know (yet) 
Being honest, I’m making educated guesses:
- Should I create marketing materials for affiliates?
- What promotion methods should I restrict?
- What results can I realistically expect?
- Is 50% too generous or not enough?
I launched it literally today, so zero affiliates and zero conversions so far.
My developer’s hypothesis 
I’m betting that:
- Developers trust other developers more than my solo marketing efforts
- High commission will motivate quality promotion over quantity
- People already building with KMP will be natural advocates
- It’s better than doing nothing while I figure out other growth channels
The Kotlin Multiplatform community is pretty tight-knit, so word-of-mouth could actually work well here.
The technical setup 
Since we’re on DEV.to, here are the technical details:
Platform: Using Refindie for affiliate management
- Clean dashboard for affiliates
- Automatic tracking and attribution
- Built-in payment processing
Integration: Pretty straightforward setup
- Added tracking scripts to KMPShip website
- Created affiliate registration flow
- Set up automated email notifications
Tracking: 60-day cookie duration should capture the typical developer evaluation cycle (we all know how long it takes to decide on tooling!).
Questions for fellow developers 
For those who’ve built dev tools and run affiliate programs:
- What marketing materials are essential for affiliates?
- How do you prevent low-quality promotional tactics?
- What’s a realistic timeline to see results?
- Any red flags I should watch for?
For potential affiliates in the KMP space:
- What would make you want to promote a developer tool?
- Is the application process too formal?
The bigger picture 
This feels like another experiment in the long journey of building a developer tool business. Some channels work, others don’t. Twitter, Reddit, and ProductHunt all brought decent traffic, but I need more consistent reach.
Maybe affiliates will be the thing that unlocks growth, or maybe I’ll learn something valuable trying. Either way, I’m committed to sharing the results here.
Will update this post in 30 days with real numbers. 
For the curious 
KMPShip is a production-ready Kotlin Multiplatform + Compose Multiplatform boilerplate that helps developers ship Android & iOS apps faster. It includes:
- Firebase Auth integration
- RevenueCat for in-app purchases
- Push notifications setup
- CI/CD with GitHub Actions
- Clean architecture foundation
- And a lot more boring-but-necessary setup
Perfect for indie developers, freelancers, and small teams who want to focus on building features rather than configuring dependencies.
What do you think? Too generous with the commission? Missing something obvious?
And if you’re building mobile apps with Kotlin Multiplatform, feel free to check out KMPShip 
Follow me for more updates on this experiment and other indie dev adventures!
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Vivien Mahé