Get Started As An Affiliate

Get Started as an Affiliate

Becoming a ClickBank affiliate is a quick and easy process. By following the three simple steps below, you’ll be on your way to becoming a successful affiliate in no time! If you’re looking to get started creating and selling your own products as a vendor, click here.

1. Create an Account Here

To get started as a ClickBank affiliate, first you’ll need to create a free account. Fill out the ClickBank signup form, which takes just a couple of minutes. Be sure to enter all of your contact information accurately, in case we need to contact you regarding your account and so we can send you your earnings. You’ll receive an email with an 8-digit confirmation code you’ll need to enter to complete the signup process. This email will contain your account nickname (which you chose) and password (which is the same as the confirmation code you received).

Now that your account is created, click the Log In link on the confirmation page or at the top of the ClickBank website. Once you log in, you’ll be taken to the Account Home page. This is the page where you’ll eventually be able to see your earnings, as well as important ClickBank news, updates, and more.

If you click the next tab, called Account Settings, you will see all of the information you entered on the signup form.  If you have listed a U.S. address, you will see a field called Tax ID flashing in red in the Account Information section.  If you have a U.S. address and earn over $600 by the end of the calendar year, you’ll need to enter an Employer Identification Number (for businesses) or a Social Security Number (for individuals) in the Tax ID field.  For more information, see our Accounting Policy.

Next, you’ll see the Contact Information section. Since you’re an affiliate, you do not need to fill out any of the email addresses or phone numbers in the Contact Information box except for your basic Account Email address and phone.

By clicking Edit on the Payment Information box, you can change your payment threshold, which is the minimum amount you need to earn before we send you a check. Please note that there is a $2.50 processing charge per payment we issue, regardless of the amount of the check or direct deposit. When you first start out, you can only choose to be paid by check. However, once you’ve received two (2) checks, and if you’re in our list of supported countries, you can choose to be paid by direct deposit to your bank account.

Important: Affiliates should not fill out the My Site, My Products, or My Images pages. These are for ClickBank vendors only. Affiliates should not submit product approval requests and do not need to pay an activation charge for their account!

2. Find a Product to Promote

Now that your account is created and you have a ClickBank nickname, you’re ready to find a product to promote. Unless you already have a product in mind that you want to promote, the best place to start is the ClickBank Marketplace. You can find products you’re interested in promoting by searching on particular keywords or browsing by categories and sub-categories. Once you hit Go, you’ll be presented with a list of products matching your criteria.

For more information about deciding which product(s) to promote, see our article Finding Products to Promote.

Once you’ve selected a product, click the Promote button to the right of the product listing. This will pop open a new window, where you’ll enter your ClickBank nickname, an optional Tracking ID, and click Create. This will create a HopLink that’s specifically tied to your nickname and the particular product you choose. It is automatically encrypted for your protection.

You’ll see two versions of the same HopLink. The top version, in black text, is in plain text. You’d use this option if you want to share your HopLink via email, Twitter, Facebook, or any other method where you don’t need to create HTML code yourself. The second version, in blue, is formatted in HTML code in case you want to insert the link directly into your own website or another source that requires HTML formatting. On the second option, you can change the part that says “Click Here!” to say anything you want, such as “Check out this great product I found!”

We recommend that you copy and paste your new HopLink into a text document or save it in some other way on your computer, as ClickBank does not store HopLinks for you. If you don’t save it yourself, you’ll need to return to the Marketplace each time you want to generate the HopLink, which can be time-consuming.

To learn more about HopLinks, see “All About HopLinks,” but for now you’re ready to start promoting your HopLink!

3. Start Promoting Your HopLink
OK, you’ve signed up for your free ClickBank account and have created your first HopLink. But where should you actually start promoting your HopLink? Trying to decide where to spend your time and effort can be a bit overwhelming at first, but we’ll give you some ideas to get started. Once you’ve mastered the basics, your imagination is the only limit to the ways you can promote ClickBank products.

If you have your own website, that is one great place to promote hoplinks. However – it is not necessary to have a website to be a ClickBank affiliate! We’ve created a guide called Common Ways to Promote Products that’s a great place to learn about other methods affiliates use to promote ClickBank products effectively.

An important rule of thumb to remember is that if you want to get a good return on your time, money, and efforts, you should promote products to audiences that might be interested in them. For example, if you post your HopLink to a course on Internet Marketing in a forum dedicated to politics or gardening, people won’t click on your HopLink and you may find yourself quickly banned from the forum.

However, if you link to the same Internet Marketing course in a forum or discussion group dedicated to making money online, along with reasons why you think this is a great product and how it can benefit other members, you’re likely to get many more clicks and purchases from your HopLink. Posting a useful and relevant HopLink and description will also make it more likely that members will trust your recommendations in the future.

The same principle goes for other common promotional techniques like article writing or tapping into your social network— the more relevant and useful the product is to your audience, the better your sales will be.

For more tips on best practices and what techniques to avoid, see our guide Affiliate Dos and Don’ts.
FAQ

Q: To promote different products as an affiliate, do I need multiple accounts?

A: No, you can promote any number of different products as an affiliate through a single account. There is no need to sign up for separate accounts.

Q: Do I need my own website to get started as an affiliate?

A: No, it is not necessary to have a website to be a ClickBank affiliate, though you may use one if you wish.  Some other examples of how you might advertise affiliate HopLinks are through the use of online banner ads, e-mail newsletters, online magazines, ads in online classifieds, or advertising on search engines. For more ideas on common ways to promote products, please see our guide called “Common Ways to Promote Products.”

Q: Does ClickBank provide image banners to use in product promotions?

A: No, although many ClickBank vendors will provide banners directly to affiliates via an Affiliates page on their product website. Check Marketplace descriptions or look for an Affiliates link on a vendor’s Pitch Page to see if they offer banners for their product.