Most online marketplaces are built around a single role. You either create the product or you promote it. Everything else — splits, tracking, payouts, partner coordination — gets bolted on later.
OfferLab was designed differently.
It is a collaboration-first marketplace where offer owners and affiliates intentionally build funnels together, with automatic revenue splits handled at the platform level.
Owners contribute the product and fulfillment
Affiliates contribute traffic and angles
The platform enforces the math
This series explains how operators can use that structure to reach a first $500 net — not as a promise, but as a concrete, testable milestone.
Over the next eight issues, the same framework will be applied to four different paths inside OfferLab, so you can choose the role that fits your skills, assets, and time budget.
Before any tactics, the structure matters.
This intro follows the same problem-solving method that will be used throughout the series.
1) Understand the problem
OfferLab, in one sentence
A collaboration-first marketplace where owners and affiliates combine offers through placements — such as front-end, order bump, or upsell — and are paid automatically via pre-set revenue splits.
What “First $500 net” means
The amount you actually keep after platform and processing fees, commissions paid or received, and refund holds.
This series always uses net, not gross.
The four paths inside OfferLab
Affiliate
You promote an existing offer using approved assets and placements. You do not own the product or handle fulfillment.
Offer Owner
You supply the product, pricing, and fulfillment, and collaborate with affiliates who drive traffic.
Combo
You act as both owner and affiliate in a single flow — often pairing your own product with a partner’s placement or traffic source.
Broker / Connector
You match owners and affiliates, help structure the collaboration, and earn a defined split without running traffic or fulfilling.
Each path is legitimate. Each solves a different constraint.
The most common mistake new operators make is choosing a path based on perceived upside rather than operational fit.
2) Devise a plan
This is an eight-issue series, organized as two issues per path.
Every path follows the same structure, adapted to the role.
Issue A — Understand + Plan
Define the economics, choose placements, and design the minimal asset set required.
Issue B — Carry Out + Look Back
Execute the collaboration, verify tracking and payouts, and decide whether to iterate or stop.
Building blocks you’ll see in every path
Net-$500 calculator (path-specific example math)
Placement logic (front-end, order bump, upsell)
Minimal assets
Owner: Partner Brief + Swipe Kit
Affiliate: Angle Pack
Compliance norms
Approved claims
Proof permissions
Guarantees and refunds
Tracking basics
UTM scheme
EPC_net
CVR
AOV
Bump rate
Collaboration loop
How and when to propose changes to partners
Iteration rule
Change one lever at a time
Use clear thresholds
The goal is not scale.
The goal is a clean first win that proves the math, the process, and the collaboration model.
3) Carry out (what you can complete today)
Before any path-specific tactics, there is a short setup phase.
An operator can complete all of the following in 45 minutes or less:
Create a free OfferLab account to explore the marketplace and available collaborations
OfferLab signup linkJoin the OfferLab community (Skool) to observe how owners and affiliates structure placements and requests
Complete a one-page Starting Point sheet:
Likely path
Primary channel(s)
Weekly time budget
Existing assets
Obvious gaps
Save a blank Net-$500 Planner
(This will be filled in during the relevant path issue.)Create a simple folder structure and reserve calendar time:
/OfferLab/Intro/Affiliate/Owner/Combo/Broker/Shared
Block two short sessions for each upcoming path pair
No assets are built yet.
No traffic is run.
This step is about orientation and commitment to follow through.
4) Look back (exit criteria before proceeding)
Before moving on to the first path-specific issue, confirm the following:
Account created via the signup link
Community joined
Starting Point sheet completed
Blank Net-$500 Planner saved
Folder structure created
Calendar time blocked
It’s also useful to write down a few open questions to carry into the next issue:
Which path seems most realistic given current assets and time?
Which placement type feels most intuitive?
Which metric needs clearer definition — EPC_net, CVR, AOV, or bump rate?
If those boxes are checked, you’re ready to begin.
What comes next
The next issue starts with the Affiliate path, breaking down the economics and planning steps required before any promotion happens.
No shortcuts.
No guarantees.
Just the mechanics.
Primary action
Sign up for OfferLab (free) and explore the marketplace.
OfferLab signup link
Secondary action
Subscribe to The Lab Report to receive the remaining eight issues in this series.
https://www.thelabreport.co/subscribe