The Power of Clickbank: A Step by Step Guide to the Clickbank Affiliate Program
Clickbank can be a great source for people who are starting their affiliate journey. However for a newcomer the affiliate journey could be unnerving. Looking back on my own journey, when I first began in affiliate marketing, there were so many questions which came to mind:
How can I make money via Clickbank Affiliate Program?
How do I identify which products to promote on Clickbank Marketplace?
Do I need a funnel for Affiliate Marketing?
How do I market Clickbank Affiliate products?
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where a person (affiliate) earns a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products (Vendors).
Vendors reward affiliates with a commission for each sale they generate.
Use this simple example to understand how affiliate marketing works:
You visit a local store. The store owner asks you to recommend their business to as many people you can. For this, he agrees to pay you a small commission. If the person you recommend buys something, you earn the commission. It is like a referral program but instead of a discount or coupon, you get commissions and instead of brick and mortar stores - it is online. So, you're dealing with links. Add the promotional link in your blog post or on your Facebook post and then drive traffic to it. If a visitor decides to buy, cha-ching.
Most people venture into affiliate marketing since it’s a great source of Passive Income. Affiliate marketing also lures people who want to be independent and reduce their dependency on a regular 9 to 5 job. The process is simple to understand and implement.
Affiliate Marketing using a Website
A website or blog is one of the most common ways to promote affiliate products. The high-level overview of promoting affiliate products through a blog is as below:
- Start a Website (It could be a blog or a marketing website)
- Start posting relevant content
- Drive Traffic to your website (Organic traffic / Inorganic Traffic)
- Advertise affiliate products
- Make sales and earn commission.
Affiliate Marketing using Social Media or YouTube
You can also promote affiliate products through your social media feeds and Youtube (which is very popular). However it is important to remember that if you are going this route then you need to use a "Bridge page" to divert traffic as direct links to affiliate websites can lead to a ban of your profile on social media. If you are promoting affiliate products through Social media or Youtube, below are the steps you need to follow:
- Create a Bridge page that you can send customers from your Social Media feed or Youtube Channel. A bridge page is 1 to 2 page website which acts as an intermediary between the affiliate product website and your social media feed. Direct promotion of affiliate products are not allowed on Social Media hence a Bridge page acts as a catalyst.
- Promote the Affiliate products on your Bridge Page
- Drive Traffic to your Bridge Page (Organic traffic / Inorganic Traffic)
- People click on the affiliate links and go to the affiliate product website
- Make sales and earn commission.
There are various ways to drive sales - the most effective being Email marketing and Retargeting - Click here to know more about them.
What is Clickbank Marketplace ?
Clickbank is among the top affiliate marketing networks in the world. It boasts over 200 million dollars in annual sales. It provides a common platform for both the Vendor and Affiliate marketers to connect and earn money through mutual business. The setup is simple, easy to use and business friendly. What makes Clickbank unique is its marketing network which is not only available domestically in the US but also multiple countries where users can conduct business. List of countries is here
It is home to thousands of e-books, videos, and software products. You can make your pick based on your chosen niche and you will still have variety of products to choose from. The Clickbank Affiliate Program supports its customers both as a Vendor and Affiliate.
As a Vendor you get money from the sales made by affiliates (less their commission and Clickbank’s charges)
As an affiliate you get money from commissions.
How does Clickbank know which Affiliate drove in the sale?
Clickbank uses unique tracking links and cookies for each affiliate which track who to compensate for each sale. These links are called Hoplinks
Is Clickbank Legit ?
Is Clickbank a scam? Can you make money through Clickbank?
No, and Yes.
Low-quality junk products are dime a dozen. But there are good quality products too. Clickbank is like a supermarket. If you don't like what's on an aisle, move on to the next one. Somewhere down the lane, you will find the product that speaks to you.
Thousands of affiliates and vendors trust the Clickbank Affiliate Platform to trade products. It only takes some time and research to find the right product.
How to make money through Clickbank Affiliate Program?
Till now we discussed,
What is Affiliate Marketing, How you can make money from affiliate marketing and What is Clickbank affiliate program.
Now, let's walkthrough more on the details of the Clickbank Marketplace.
- How do you sign-up for Clickbank
- How do you pay taxes on the profits made through Clickbank
- How to Choose an affiliate product to promote
- How much can you earn through Clickbank affiliate programs
- What are the various stats in the Marketplace
This includes walking through its operations in detail as an affiliate and as a merchant.
Clickbank as an Affliate
Clickbank affiliate program is very straightforward. You promote the link of Clickbank products on your blog or social media platform. When someone makes a purchase following your link, you get a percentage of the sale. Clickbank vendors offer commission rates of anything between 10% to 90%.
Here's how to get started with Clickbank as an affiliate:
Step 1: Sign Up (and Tax info)
The first step is to create a Clickbank account. The account is free and simple to create. However the things to keep in mind are as below:
Since your intent is to earn money - you have to provide your tax status. It is mandatory for affiliates that earn over $600 to have a taxpayer identification number. which could be any of the below:
- SSN (Social Security Number) - For Individuals trading as Individuals
- EIN (Employer Identification Number) - For registered business or individuals trading under the alias of a business. The EIN can be easily created at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website.
- IRS W-9 form - If you are using a business payee name but reporting under your SSN, an IRS W-9 form is mandatory
- IRS W-8ben form - If you are using a US address but a resident of a foreign county, you must complete an IRS W-8ben form.
Step 2: Browse Products
This is the most important aspect for marketing - finding the right product. Clickbank has millions of product listings to choose from. Choose a product which speaks to you. Find your niche and then find the products related to that niche. For instance - if you are a passionate dog lover, find products in the dog loving niche and then build your assets around it. This would make the process fun and you will never run out of ideas. If you're lucky you'll find a good product catering to your niche without much effort.
For more on how to find your niche - click here
How to Find Products that Sell on Clickbank?
Say you find a product in your niche which has a high commission. But how do you know if your customers will buy that product? The commission rate won't matter if the product does not sell due to either the product page not being convincing enough or if the vendor looks sketchy. Even if you drive people to the product page, it won't sell since the customer confidence will drop looking at the product page or checking the Vendor details. It is always recommended to check if the product actually sells. Below is a quick rundown of how to find the best products to promote on Clickbank using product statistics offered:
Step 1 - Login to your account and go to Clickbank Marketplace
Step 2 - Choose a niche from the list offered.
Step 3 - Consider the below metrics when making a decision
Grav (Gravity):
Tells the number of affiliates who earned commission on the product in the past 3 months. The higher the better. Though for new products this may not be accurate sometimes due to lack of awareness between affiliates
Avg $ / Sale:
Is the average commission in dollars that an affiliate earns for all sales of a vendor’s products.
Avg $ / Sale:
Is the average commission in percentage that an affiliate earns for all sales of a vendor’s products.
Avg % / Sale:
Average amounts affiliate earns per sale.
Avg Rebill Total:
Refers to the average amount of money affiliates make on commission as the result of Rebills. Rebills are recurring products like memberships or subscriptions.
Avg%/ Rebill:
This is the average commission rate earned only on rebills
If the above statistics look convincing, you can consider promoting the product. Additionally , I would also recommend looking at the below list for some additional research:
- Look for a product page with videos, good content, strong call to actions.
- Merchants who offer affiliate tools make a good choice.
- Look for good reviews, testimonials, and social proof.
- Sell products that really solve customer problems in your niche.
- Don't always be guided by Gravity. Some products which have high appeal and solve your target customer’s problems can sell well even if they have low Grav.
Step 3. Warm Up Leads - Drive Traffic to your Affiliate Links
There are numerous ways to drive traffic to your clickbank products. Most people use their websites to drive traffic though the latest trend is to use funnels. Read here for the difference between websites and funnels and how you can use them.
If you have a high traffic converting website, placing a banner or ad would automatically attract sales. However if you are new - you can use paid advertising to drive traffic to ads etc. More about free and paid traffic here.
Below are some of the ways to drive traffic:
Reviews
Write genuine product reviews on your website expressing the benefits and features of the product to your visitors. Drive traffic to your reviews and lead them to your affiliate links.
Blogs
Drive traffic to your blogs where you can promote affiliate products. This goes without saying that the blog needs to be in the same niche as the product or at least creates a story where you can promote the product on your blog with ease. For example, you can promote garden sprinklers on a blog related to landscaping. Or you can promote garden sprinklers on your blog related to summer activities (where you can promote this as a summer activity).
Videos
You can promote Clickbank products through YouTube. You can either use paid YouTube advertisement or promote this organically.
Social media
Promoting Clickbank products through Social Media can be done via 2 ways:
- Organically - Create quality content which attracts likes and subscribers. Promote products to your subscribers
- Paid Ads - Create ad about the product, drive traffic to that ad through paid advertisement.
Remember - Social media marketing is a spider web. Navigate your way through with caution. The rewards can be huge though.
Emails
"How to promote Clickbank products using Email marketing"
The simple answer is - through Funnels. Create a funnel with an Opt-in and Thank You page. Lure your customers, through the Opt-in page to give you their email using a lead magnet (free book etc). Then send them follow-up emails about the product and generate sales.
Email marketing is the core of all internet marketing products. Once you have a strong responsive list - you can be sure to generate good sales overtime. Read more about Email Marketing here
Paid Ad Landing pages
You can create a 1 page website and advertise this through Google ads. This is an expensive method but if you know how to target your audience, the results are fruitful.
Clickbank as a Vendor
You can sell physical and digital products on Clickbank as a merchant. It's similar to selling products on Amazon as a seller. You will need to create a merchant account that allows you to sell your product through affiliates.
If you want to work as a vendor to sell your product on Clickbank, here's how you can do it.
Step 1: Sign Up
Unlike affiliate platform - the merchant platform is not free. Clickbank charges $49.95 activation fee to create a vendor account. This is a one-time charge.
In case you want a second account or add multiple accounts - The charges drop progressively.
Make sure you read and agree to the ClickBank Vendor and Products Requirements Policy. Your Vendor Contract or VC states your rights and duties as a vendor. The contract would also state the prominent rules you need to abide by. For example - the contract would mention commission payout dates, events etc for the category of product you are listing which you need to know.
The Tax requirements are the same as in affiliates.
Step 2: Create a Product Listing
Once you've signed up, you can list your product(s). The preferred way to list your product is to create a product sales page (called Pitch Page) with all product details. Clickbank also requires you to create another Thank You page with shipping and contact details.
A good product listing has 2 versions of listing. One for Customers (a page to which you can drive the traffic to) and one for Affiliates which offers tons of marketing content such as Product details, pictures, banners, emails swipes etc. This helps affiliates to get marketing and advertisement content which can be useful to market the product.
Step 3: Enter the Commission Rate
Next - provide the commission details in full clarity. In Clickbank you can find products that offer commissions anywhere between 10% to 90%. Choose your commission wisely.
If you are struggling with deciding how to structure your commissions - here are some tips. For products with no upsells - Markup your products a few notches up from your desired profit margin and then offer the notched up part as commissions. This will allow you to provide increased commission % and hence attract more affiliates
If you have upsells, the best way is to offer 75% to 90% commission on the initial sale to affiliates and then offer less commissions on upsell. This will work for products where the initial sale happens quick and easy.
Once you've listed the product, other Clickbank users / Affiliates can see it. The affiliates would start promoting the products which would results in sales.
Note: Creating a good native product page or landing page is the key to drive sales. Use a great copy, videos, images, and strong CTAs. Optimize the page to drive organic traffic driven through SEOs.
Pros and Cons of ClickBank
Now that you know how to create your Account and drive affiliate or vendor based sales - its time to discuss the pro’s and cons of Clickbank.
Simple Interface
Clickbank has an interface which is easy to use and navigate. The instructions and requirements are clearly laid out and there are informational videos embedded for assistance. There is no paper based requirement and the entire process is 100% online. If you have all the required information handy - it will take less than 10 mins to open an account and start promoting products.
Fit for Everyone
Clickbank affiliate program offers the same benefits to a beginner which it does to a seasoned affiliate or expert. All affiliates have equal chances of success provided they are able to aggressively promote the products. The sign-up process is free for affiliates and conservatively priced for Vendors which make it easy for people with limited budget to get started.
Maximizes Earnings
Clickbank can help you maximise your earning both as an affiliate and as a vendor. The commissions on the product are high for affiliates to make some money if they are able to generate sales. Similarly for vendors, this is a great platform to launch their products given the access to the large number of affiliates.
Wide selection of products
With millions of product listings, Clickbank offers a plethora of product options to choose from. There are hundreds of available niches / sub-niches from which you can choose hundreds of product options to promote. You can choose a product within a niche which speaks to you and which has hefty commission so you can drive sales to the product and make commissions..
High commission rates with fast payouts
Nobody likes delayed payouts. ClickBank understands this and hence offers payouts weekly and in some international countries Bi-weekly. You will not see more than 2 weeks without payment.
Now that we have discussed all the positives, its time to focus on some negatives as well. Below are some of the Cons of Clickbank
Slow customer service
With the massive customer base, you would expect Clickbank to have a solid support team working to help out customers. In reality it is not uncommon for some tickets to be responded after a couple of days lag (sometimes this takes a week). More-so-over, Clickbank does not a support number to call.
So is Clickbank’s customer support not good at all and should be a deterring factor for you to join - Absolutely not. Why ? Because it is rare you would encounter any issue and even if you do - chances are you would be able to resolve it through Youtube videos, Blogs etc.
Charges levied on Inactive Accounts (Vendor Only)
Having a bad month or for some reason you are not able to make a sale in 90 days? On the 90th day, Clickbank will start charging you $1 per day fee. And for accounts left dormant for more than 180 days? The charge increases to $5 per day!
What if you abandon the account for 360 days? Clickbank will charge you a hefty $50 every day until you start selling again.
This is a major drawback for Clickbank users.
Many Lousy products
It is no surprise that cheap products are a dime a dozen in any marketplace. Clickbank is no exception.To avoid such products make sure to :
- Check product reviews.
- Check the gravity score.
- Watch out for inferior products.
- Don't trust sketchy vendors.
Fierce competition
This is not a problem overall. I would classify this to be a boon in disguise. ClickBank has thousands of affiliates and chances are you would face competition in the niche you are trying to promote. But should that deter you - NO!. The more people promoting the product shows the product sells. You just have to find a unique market to approach.
Sometimes competition sucks, but sometimes it can be an asset.
Conclusion - What is Clickbank Affiliate Program?
The Clickbank affiliate program is one of the most successful affiliate programs on the planet.
For an affiliate - the platform offer thousands of products to promote in more than a 100 niches. The commission offered by the products range anywhere between 10% - 90%. For an affiliate these are winning numbers.
For a vendor Clickbank is one of the most conservatively priced platforms around. Launching a digital product is super easy and so is the access to resources such as payment gateway and security. These features make it an ideal platform for product promotion for vendors.
Like any other platform - Clickbank has its pros and cons but the pros way outweigh the cons hence we highly recommend Clickbank for beginners and experienced affiliates alike.
