TABLE OF CONTENTS



Getting Started with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate

An affiliate is an individual or business that promotes a product or service and earns a commission for any sales or leads they generate. Affiliates use unique links and tools to track their promotions and are sometimes called "publishers/promoter" or "affiliate marketers."


Affiliate Campaign Source

The source is where the products or services are listed for affiliate promotion. These could be funnels, websites, ecommerce stores, calendars, surveys, or forms. The source helps track sales accurately and assigns them to the correct affiliate.


An affiliate link is a unique URL that tracks any clicks and conversions that result from an affiliate’s promotion. When someone clicks on this link and makes a purchase or submits a lead, the affiliate is credited with the sale.


Affiliate ID

Each affiliate is assigned an Affiliate ID, a unique code used by the system to track their performance, such as how many sales or leads they generate.

Understanding Affiliate Campaigns

Campaign

A campaign is a specific marketing effort to promote products or services to a targeted audience. Affiliates join these campaigns to promote the products or services to their own audience.


Default Commissions

Every campaign has default commissions, which are a percentage of the sale price or a flat fee given to the affiliate for each sale or lead they generate. These apply across all products in the campaign unless overridden by product-specific commissions.


Product-Based Commissions

You can also set product-based commissions for specific items in a campaign. For example, if the default commission is 20%, but you want to offer 30% on a particular product, the affiliate will earn 30% for that product and 20% for the others.


Setup Fees

If you charge a setup fee for your product or service, you can decide whether to include this fee in the commission calculation for your affiliates. 

Affiliate Performance and Rewards

Attribution

Attribution is the process of crediting an affiliate for a sale or lead. This means tracking and ensuring that the affiliate who promoted the product gets the reward for their efforts.


Commission

A commission is the amount paid to an affiliate for each sale or lead they generate. This can be a flat fee or a percentage of the sale and are sometimes called "rewards".


Recurring Commission

Some products or services offer recurring commissions, meaning affiliates continue to earn commissions for ongoing subscriptions or repeat sales from a single referral.


Payout

A payout is the total amount of money earned by an affiliate. This is paid based on the sales or leads generated from their affiliate link.

Affiliate Program Structures

Two-Tier Affiliate Program

In a two-tier affiliate program, affiliates can not only earn commissions for their own sales but also for sales made by affiliates they recruit.


Multi-Tier Affiliate Program

A multi-tier affiliate program takes it a step further by allowing commissions to be earned across multiple levels of affiliates. For instance, GHL supports up to 7 tiers, meaning affiliates can earn a percentage of sales made by sub-affiliates at various levels.


Sub-Affiliate

A sub-affiliate works under a primary affiliate and promotes the product or service through their own network. The primary affiliate earns a commission from the sales made by their sub-affiliates.

Tracking and Reporting

A cookie is a small file stored on a user’s device to track their actions, such as visiting a website through an affiliate link. This ensures accurate tracking for attribution and commissions.


Cookie length refers to how long the cookie remains active. For example, if the cookie length is 30 days, the affiliate can earn a commission if the customer makes a purchase within 30 days of clicking the affiliate’s link.


Clicks

You can track the number of clicks an affiliate link receives to see how effective a campaign is at generating interest.

Managing Affiliates

Affiliate Portal

The Affiliate Portal is a personalized dashboard where affiliates can track their performance, including sales, commissions, and leads. Each affiliate has a unique login to access their data.


A Magic Link is a quick login option for affiliates to access their portal without needing to remember a password. This link can be shared with affiliates when they first join a campaign.

Leads and Customers

Leads

A lead is someone who shows interest in a product or service, such as filling out a form or booking a calendar appointment. Leads can be generated through various actions or even added manually.


Customers

Once a lead makes a purchase, they are considered a customer. Affiliates typically earn a commission when a lead converts into a paying customer.

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