Affiliate Marketing for FLGS
How Friendly Local Game Stores Can Earn More Without Stocking More Inventory
by Jackson Dean Chase
Founder and Lead Designer, MageGate Games
Last Updated: August 2026
Why trust MageGate?
MageGate Games is an independent tabletop RPG publisher with dozens of published 5e-compatible products sold through direct and marketplace channels. Since 2021, MageGate Games has maintained a 4.9/5 average rating across 100+ verified customer reviews.
We also operate our own affiliate program, giving us firsthand experience with digital affiliate partnerships, customer acquisition, direct sales, and the economics behind selling tabletop RPG products online.
This guide explains how friendly local game stores can use affiliate marketing to create an additional revenue stream without purchasing inventory, using shelf space, handling fulfillment, or assuming the risk of unsold products.
Already understand affiliate marketing? Skip to our Earn 35% Commission program details comparison page.
Are you a TTRPG creator, blogger, reviewer, or influencer? Go to our affiliate marketing page for TTRPG creators.
Want to go deeper into MageGate Games' design philosophy? Skip to our Built for Serious Game Masters page.
What Is Affiliate Marketing for an FLGS?
Affiliate marketing allows a friendly local game store (FLGS) to earn commissions by recommending products to its customers without purchasing or stocking those products.
The process is simple:
- Your store joins a publisher or retailer's affiliate program.
- You receive a unique tracking link.
- You share that link with customers through your newsletter, website, social media, Discord, Facebook group, QR codes, or other channels.
- A customer follows the link and makes a qualifying purchase.
- Your store earns a commission.
- The publisher or retailer handles payment, fulfillment, delivery, and customer service.
For digital products, there is no physical inventory for your store to purchase, stock, ship, or return.
That makes affiliate marketing fundamentally different from traditional retail distribution.
Why Affiliate Marketing Makes Sense for Local Game Stores
Traditional retail depends on inventory.
A store buys products wholesale, dedicates shelf space to them, and hopes customers purchase them at a sufficient margin.
That model works—but every physical product carries costs and risks:
Capital tied up in inventory
- Limited shelf space
- Products that may sell slowly
- Reordering and inventory management
- Shipping costs
- Damaged merchandise
- Unsold stock
- Returns and related policies
Affiliate marketing removes most of those problems:
- Your store recommends a product.
- The customer purchases it directly from the publisher or retailer.
- Your store earns a commission without ever owning the inventory.
Affiliate marketing shouldn't replace physical retail. It can supplement it by allowing an FLGS to earn revenue from products it couldn't practically stock anyway.
Can Game Stores Make Money Selling Digital RPG Products?
Yes. A game store can earn money from digital tabletop RPG products through affiliate programs that pay commissions on referred sales.
This creates an unusual opportunity for brick-and-mortar stores.
Your shelves have finite space.
The number of digital products you can recommend does not.
An FLGS could recommend:
- GM reference books
- Adventures
- Encounter resources
- Magic item collections
- Monster books
- Maps and terrain resources
- Campaign tools
- Digital supplements
- Free RPG resources that lead customers into larger product ecosystems
Instead of asking:
“Should we stock this?”
The question becomes:
“Would this help our customers?”
If the answer is yes, an affiliate relationship may allow the store to recommend it and participate financially when customers purchase it.
The Hidden Asset Many FLGS Already Have
A game store's most valuable asset isn't necessarily its shelves.
It's the community around the store.
Many FLGS already have some combination of:
- Customer email lists
- Discord servers
- Facebook groups
- Facebook or Instagram followers
- Websites
- Blogs
- Event calendars
- Organized-play communities
- Regular Game Masters
- Loyal customers who ask employees what they recommend
Those relationships already exist.
Affiliate marketing provides another way to create value from them.
A store doesn't necessarily need thousands of followers.
A relatively small community of active tabletop gamers can be commercially valuable because those people already buy RPG products.
Trust and relevance can matter more than raw audience size.
Why Game Masters Are Especially Valuable Customers
Game Masters are unusually active buyers within tabletop RPG communities.
They frequently purchase resources to help them:
- Prepare sessions faster
- Build encounters
- Create memorable villains
- Reward players
- Design adventures
- Run traps and hazards
- Develop worlds
- Solve problems at the table
That creates recurring demand.
A player might need one character option.
A Game Master may need useful resources throughout an entire campaign.
FLGS already serve these customers.
Affiliate partnerships simply give stores another category of products they can recommend to them.
Affiliate Revenue Without Inventory Risk
Consider the difference between traditional inventory and a digital affiliate product.
Traditional Physical Inventory
Your store may need to:
- Purchase the product upfront
- Pay shipping
- Receive and inventory it
- Allocate shelf space
- Sell it
- Restock it
- Deal with damaged or unsold copies
- Handle returns when applicable
Digital Affiliate Product
Your store can:
- Recommend the product
- Share its affiliate link
- Let the publisher handle the transaction
- Let the publisher handle delivery
- Earn commission on qualifying sales
All with:
- No inventory purchase.
- No shelf space.
- No shipping.
- No fulfillment.
- No unsold stock.
That makes digital affiliate products potentially useful as supplemental inventory without inventory.
Does Selling Digital RPG Products Compete With Physical Books?
Not necessarily. Digital and physical tabletop RPG products often serve different buying situations.
A customer may prefer a physical core rulebook but use digital supplements during session preparation.
A Game Master may buy miniatures, dice, terrain, paints, maps, and physical books from an FLGS while also using digital resources that the store could never reasonably stock.
The better question is therefore not:
“Digital or physical?”
It is:
“What combination of products best serves this customer?”
An FLGS can remain a physical retail destination while earning additional revenue from useful digital products outside its normal inventory.
How Can an FLGS Promote Affiliate Products?
You don't need to become a content creator.
The most natural opportunities may already exist inside your business.
Email Newsletters
Include a useful RPG resource in an existing customer newsletter:
“Running a 5e campaign? Here's a GM resource we've been checking out.”
Add your affiliate link.
That's it.
Discord Communities
If your store operates a Discord server, create a channel for:
- GM resources
- Recommended books
- Campaign tools
- New releases
- Staff picks
Affiliate products can be included alongside the recommendations you're already making.
Social Media
Highlight resources relevant to your customers:
- New GM tools
- Seasonal recommendations
- Gift ideas
- Campaign resources
- Staff recommendations
- Free downloads
Your Website
Create permanent resource pages such as:
- Recommended Resources for Game Masters
- Our Favorite 5e Supplements
- Tools for New Dungeon Masters
- RPG Resources We Recommend
Evergreen pages can continue generating referrals long after they're published.
In-Store Recommendations
When a customer asks:
“Do you have anything for better boss fights?”
You might not have the perfect book on the shelf.
An affiliate partnership gives you another answer.
You can direct the customer to an appropriate digital resource through a QR code or other trackable affiliate link.
Instead of simply saying:
“Sorry, we don't carry anything like that.”
Your store may still be able to solve the customer's problem—and potentially earn from the recommendation.
Why Email May Be Especially Valuable for FLGS
Social platforms control who sees your posts.
Your customer email list gives you a much more direct relationship.
A store newsletter can simultaneously promote:
- Upcoming events
- New physical inventory
- Organized play
- Store promotions
- Community news
- Recommended digital resources
That makes affiliate recommendations additive rather than disruptive.
You're not replacing your existing retail business.
You're adding another monetization layer to communication you're already doing.
Can Small Game Stores Benefit From Affiliate Marketing?
Potentially, yes.
Affiliate marketing does not require a massive customer base.
What matters is whether the people receiving your recommendations:
- Trust your store.
- Play tabletop RPGs.
- Have relevant problems or interests.
- Purchase products when they find something useful.
A store with several hundred highly engaged RPG customers could potentially generate more affiliate sales than an online account with thousands of disengaged followers.
Commercial influence isn't the same thing as audience size.
What Should an FLGS Look for in an Affiliate Program?
Commission percentage matters, but it isn't the only factor.
Before recommending a program, consider:
- Commission rate: How much does the store earn?
- Attribution window: How long after clicking can the customer purchase while still generating commission?
- Average product value: A large percentage of a tiny purchase may still generate little revenue.
- Product quality: Would you recommend these products without the commission?
- Customer reviews: Is there evidence buyers value the products?
- Fulfillment: Who handles delivery and customer service?
- Tracking: Can the store see its referrals and commissions?
- Product range: Are there enough relevant products to make continued promotion worthwhile?
- Promotional resources: Does the publisher make recommendations easy to implement?
The strongest affiliate relationship is one where the store, publisher, and customer all benefit from the same transaction.
Why MageGate Games Built Its Affiliate Program for Partnerships
MageGate Games publishes reusable GM tools designed to solve recurring campaign problems—from boss fights and encounters to magic items, traps, terrain, monsters, rituals, and campaign preparation.
Our products are designed to complement the adventures, settings, miniatures, dice, maps, and other products Game Masters already purchase.
MageGate's current affiliate program includes:
- 35% cash commission
- 30-day attribution window
- First-click attribution
- Free enrollment
- Transparent affiliate tracking and reporting
- Affiliate Success Kit + Image Pack
- Multiple price points from free resources through premium collections
- Built-in upsells on many products
- Instant digital delivery worldwide
Our goal is simple:
If your store helps a Game Master discover a MageGate product they genuinely find useful, your store should share in the resulting sale.
What Could a 35% Commission Mean for an FLGS?
MageGate's premium products can make individual referrals meaningful.
For example:
250 Best Magic Items Complete Collection — $149.99
A qualifying affiliate sale generates approximately:
$52.50 commission before any qualifying checkout upsells.
Ten such sales would generate approximately: $525
One hundred would generate approximately: $5,250
No affiliate program can guarantee sales, and every store's customer base is different.
But higher-value products combined with a 35% Commission mean a store doesn't necessarily need hundreds of transactions for affiliate revenue to become meaningful.
Why Free Products Can Be Useful Affiliate Tools
Asking a customer to spend money immediately isn't always the best introduction.
Free resources create a lower-friction path.
An FLGS can recommend a useful free MageGate resource to its customers.
The customer can evaluate MageGate without making a purchase.
If that customer later purchases qualifying products during MageGate's 30-day affiliate attribution window (also called a "cookie"), the referring affiliate can still receive commission according to the program's attribution rules.
That allows the store to begin by doing something simple:
Give customers something useful.
Should FLGS Recommend Products They Haven't Used?
Ideally, stores should understand what they're recommending.
Trust is more valuable than any individual commission.
Before promoting MageGate Games, an FLGS can:
- Download and review our free GM resources.
- Browse our product catalog.
- Read verified customer reviews.
- Request an appropriate complimentary review copy when needed.
- Read our game design philosophy.
- Explore MageGate's free educational GM guides on our site.
If the products aren't appropriate for your customers, don't recommend them.
The strongest affiliate relationships are built on genuine confidence.
Can My Store Stock MageGate Games Print Books?
MageGate Games currently produces its print editions through print-on-demand distribution rather than a traditional FLGS wholesale program.
That means our current FLGS partnership program focuses primarily on digital products rather than wholesale physical inventory.
This eliminates the need for stores to purchase MageGate inventory, dedicate shelf space, manage fulfillment, or assume the risk of unsold stock.
If our physical retail distribution changes in the future, we can expand this page accordingly.
Why MageGate Games Supports Friendly Local Game Stores
Tabletop roleplaying games are social by nature.
FLGS provide something digital marketplaces cannot fully replace: physical community infrastructure.
Game stores give people places to:
- Discover games
- Meet other players
- Find Game Masters
- Join campaigns
- Participate in organized play
- Browse physical products
- Ask knowledgeable people for recommendations
- Become part of a local tabletop community
Digital publishing and local game stores do not have to be competitors.
We believe they can reinforce one another.
A healthy tabletop ecosystem needs creators, publishers, Game Masters, players, conventions, online communities—and local stores where those relationships become real.
Our affiliate program is one small way MageGate Games can make digital publishing economically useful to those stores rather than simply bypassing them.
How to Start an FLGS Affiliate Partnership With MageGate Games
Getting started is straightforward:
- Apply to the MageGate Games Affiliate Program.
- Activate your account through the confirmation email.
- Receive your unique affiliate links through your custom dashboard.
- Download your free Affiliate Success Kit + Image Pack.
- Explore MageGate's products and free resources.
- Recommend only the resources that make sense for your customers.
- Earn 35% commission on qualifying sales attributed to your store.
There is no minimum audience size.
There is no inventory purchase.
There is no requirement to stock MageGate products.
Your store keeps serving its community.
MageGate handles the digital transaction and fulfillment.
Affiliate Marketing for FLGS:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does FLGS mean?
FLGS commonly stands for friendly local game store: an independent or local retailer serving tabletop gamers through products, events, organized play, community spaces, or some combination of these.
Can a brick-and-mortar game store earn affiliate commissions?
Yes. A physical store can participate in affiliate programs if the program permits it. The store can refer customers through trackable links distributed through its website, email newsletter, social channels, online communities, or other permitted methods.
Does my FLGS need an ecommerce website?
Not necessarily. A store can distribute affiliate links through channels such as newsletters, Discord, Facebook, social media, or other permitted digital communications.
A website can create additional evergreen opportunities, but it isn't inherently required for MageGate's program.
Can we use affiliate links in our email newsletter?
Yes. An FLGS can use its MageGate affiliate links when recommending relevant MageGate resources to newsletter subscribers.
Recommendations should be useful, relevant, and clearly disclosed as affiliate relationships where required.
Can we promote MageGate through Discord or social media?
Yes. Stores can share affiliate links through appropriate online communities and social channels, subject to the rules of those platforms and applicable disclosure requirements.
Can we use a QR code inside our physical store?
A QR code can provide a convenient bridge between an in-store recommendation and a digital product.
The QR code would need to direct customers through the store's appropriate affiliate tracking link so referrals can be attributed correctly.
Do we have to stock MageGate books?
No. MageGate's current FLGS affiliate partnership is designed primarily around digital products.
Your store does not need to purchase or stock MageGate inventory to participate.
Does MageGate currently offer wholesale print distribution to FLGS?
Not through a traditional FLGS wholesale program. MageGate's print editions are currently produced through print-on-demand distribution.
The affiliate program therefore provides a way for stores to participate economically without requiring wholesale physical inventory.
How much does MageGate Games pay affiliates?
MageGate currently pays 35% commission on qualifying affiliate sales.
For example, a qualifying $149.99 purchase generates approximately $52.50 in commission before any additional qualifying checkout upsells.
How long does MageGate affiliate tracking last?
MageGate currently uses a 30-day attribution window with first-click attribution. If your affiliate referral is the qualifying first affiliate click, eligible purchases during that attribution period can generate commission for your store.
Does my store need a large customer list?
No minimum audience size is required.
A smaller store with a highly engaged tabletop RPG community may be a stronger affiliate fit than a much larger audience with little interest in Game Master resources.
What MageGate products can an FLGS recommend?
Affiliates can promote MageGate's premium 5e-compatible GM resources, bundles, free resources, educational authority pages, seasonal promotions, and new releases.
MageGate also publishes Game Master's Guide to Rites & Rituals, a mostly system-neutral title suitable for broader tabletop RPG audiences and for 5e GMs.
Who handles the customer's order?
MageGate handles purchases made through the MageGate store, including digital delivery. The FLGS refers the customer rather than purchasing and reselling the digital inventory.
Should we disclose that links are affiliate links?
Yes. Affiliate relationships should be disclosed clearly and appropriately. Stores should follow applicable laws, regulations, and platform policies governing affiliate disclosures.
What if we're not sure MageGate is right for our customers?
Explore the products first.
Download a free GM resource, product catalog, read customer reviews, or request a complimentary review copy.
There is no reason to recommend a product you don't believe serves your customers.
Turn Your Community Into an Additional Revenue Stream—Without Adding Inventory
Your store already does the difficult part:
- You bring tabletop gamers together.
- You help customers discover products.
- You answer questions.
- You recommend resources.
- You build trust.
Affiliate marketing can add an additional revenue stream to those existing relationships without requiring another shelf, another inventory order, or another box in the stockroom.
If MageGate Games creates resources that genuinely help your Game Masters, we'd like your store to share in the value created when those recommendations generate sales.
Earn 35% commissions promoting premium MageGate Games GM resources.
- Learn More About the MageGate Games Affiliate Program
- Apply to Become a MageGate Games Affiliate
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About MageGate Games
MageGate Games creates practical 5e tools for Game Masters who want faster prep and more memorable campaigns. Our books focus on reusable systems for boss fights, encounters, traps, terrain, magic items, and long-term campaign support—helping busy GMs spend less time preparing and more time playing.
Learn more about the MageGate Games design philosophy.
