Apply to a program

Applications are how you ask a brand to let you promote their offering. Once approved, you get a share link and start driving attribution.

Submitting

On any offering’s detail page you haven’t already applied to, the bottom of the page shows the Apply to promote form. Above it you’ll see the brand strip (logo + click-through to the brand’s profile) and the labelled terms card so you can vet the program before applying.

Fields:

The path under your share URL — <your-domain>/r/<slug>. Defaults to your handle. If the slug’s already taken on this brand (another creator has it), we append a unique suffix (<slug>-<random6>).

You can change the slug later from your My share links page, no need to get it perfect on application.

Message to the vendor (optional)

Free-text pitch. Brands skim these, so make it specific:

✅ “I write a weekly newsletter (12K subs, B2B SaaS PMs) and just wrote a piece on workflow automation tools. Would love to add Acme as a featured pick.”
❌ “Love your product! Would love to partner.”

Concrete > generic. Concrete > effusive. Mention your audience size, niche, why you fit.

Click Submit application. You’re redirected to My applications with the new request in Pending.

Tracking status

Network → My applications lists every application you’ve submitted, grouped by status:

Pending — waiting on the brand
Approved — they said yes; partnership is provisioned
Rejected — they said no, with the brand’s note explaining why
Cancelled — you withdrew the application

Click any row to see the original pitch, the brand’s decision note (if any), and the offering’s current detail page.

When you’re approved

The offering page swaps from “Apply to promote” to “You’re approved to promote this” with the share URL inline + copy button
The partnership shows up under Network → My partnerships with vendor name + status
You start accruing clicks + commissions as soon as you share the link
The brand emails you a welcome with the share URL

The share URL uses your custom domain if you have one configured (see custom domains) or the openpartner default (app.openpartner.dev/r/<vendor-slug>/<your-slug>) otherwise.

When you’re rejected

The brand sets a decision note explaining why; that’s in the rejection email + visible on the My applications row.

You can re-apply by visiting the offering page again. The form changes to “Re-apply” with a note that your previous one was declined. Pitch differently — same pitch will get the same result.

There’s no shadowban — you can apply as many times as you want. But repeated identical applications won’t change a brand’s mind.

When you’re cancelled

You explicitly withdrew (button on the application row). Same as never having applied — you can re-apply.

Why applications get rejected

A few common patterns:

Off-niche audience — you’re a gaming creator applying to a B2B SaaS; the brand says no.
No track record — empty profile, no past brands, no follower data. Fill out your profile before applying.
Generic pitch — your message could be sent to any brand; doesn’t mention them specifically.
Competitor program — some brands won’t approve creators promoting direct competitors. Not common but happens.

If you keep getting rejected across many programs, your profile probably needs work, not your pitches.