Affiliate program for an online course: a practical guide
How to set up an affiliate program for your video course: commission rates, margin maths, who to invite, payout rules and the disclosure the FTC expects.
Word of mouth is the strongest way a course sells, and an affiliate program turns it into a system: people who recommend your course get a personal link and a commission on every sale they bring.
For creators, it's a way to reach new audiences without paying for ads up front. This guide covers how to set commissions, who to invite, how to handle payouts and which disclosure rules affiliates must follow.
How does an affiliate program work?
Each affiliate gets a link with a personal code. When someone clicks and buys within a set period (the cookie length, often 30 or 60 days), the sale is credited to the affiliate, who receives a percentage. Many course platforms include this feature; otherwise there are dedicated tools.
The upside is that you pay for results: no sales, no cost. The downside is that you give away part of the margin on every referred sale, so do the maths before you start. Platform features are compared in the best platforms to sell online courses.
What commission should you pay affiliates?
Enough to make promoting you attractive, not so much that it wipes out your margin. Start from margin per sale, meaning price minus payment fees and costs, and decide how much you can share.
Example using our course profit calculator: a $149 course with payment fees of 5% plus 30 cents leaves $141.25 per sale. With a 30% affiliate commission on the price ($44.70), a referred sale leaves about $96.55. At 40% ($59.60), it leaves about $81.65.
See the data as a table
| Affiliate commission | Margin per sale |
|---|---|
| Direct sale (0%) | 141.25 $ |
| 20% | 111.45 $ |
| 30% | 96.55 $ |
| 40% | 81.65 $ |
| 50% | 66.75 $ |
High commissions are common for digital products because each extra copy costs almost nothing: an extra sale from an affiliate is still profit once the course is made. The real question is different: are affiliate sales new, or would those buyers have purchased from your own list anyway?
An example with one affiliate
Suppose an affiliate with a newsletter of 3,000 readers promotes your $149 course in a single issue and 6 people buy. At a 30% commission the affiliate earns $268.20 (6 × $44.70) and you keep $579.30 (6 × $96.55) from sales you would not otherwise have made. However, if 3 of those 6 were already on your list and would have bought anyway, the affiliate's real contribution shrinks to the other 3 sales, or $289.65, while you paid commission on all 6. That's why it's worth checking whether your platform can tell new buyers from contacts you already have, and choosing a reasonable cookie length. In other words, before raising the rate, measure how many referred buyers are genuinely new. The numbers in this example are our own assumptions.
Who should you invite as an affiliate?
People who already talk about your course, and people with an audience like yours who don't compete with you.
- Happy students. They know the course and already recommend it: a link makes that word of mouth measurable.
- Creators in adjacent niches. A landscape photographer can recommend an editing course; you can recommend theirs. The logic is similar to long-term brand partnerships.
- Professionals who recommend resources. Trainers, consultants, industry associations.
Ten active affiliates beat a hundred sign-ups who never promote. Be selective, and give new affiliates ready-made material: copy, images, launch dates.
What should the program terms say?
Clear written terms prevent disputes. Include at least:
- Rate and basis. On the price paid, net of tax and discounts, or on margin?
- Cookie length. How many days after a click a sale is still credited.
- Payout timing. After the refund period, for example once a month.
- What's banned. Paid ads on your name, income promises, unauthorised discounts, spam.
- Disclosure duty. Always disclose the financial relationship.
- Exit. Either side can end the agreement with notice.
How affiliates are paid and taxed depends on where you and they are based; check with your accountant before the first payout.
What do affiliates have to disclose?
That they earn from the recommendation, clearly and close to the link. In its endorsement guides FAQ, the Federal Trade Commission asks affiliates to disclose the relationship clearly and conspicuously. It suggests wording like "I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post", notes that consumers might not understand that "affiliate link" means the person is paid, and says "paid link" right next to the link should be adequate. A single disclosure on a home page, in comments or behind a "disclosure" button isn't enough. For videos, the disclosure belongs in the video as well as the description.
If you or your affiliates work with European audiences, local rules on recognisable advertising also apply. In Italy, for example, the communications authority AGCOM approved new influencer guidelines and a code of conduct in July 2025, referring to the advertising self-regulation body's Digital Chart.
| Adequate per the FTC | |
|---|---|
| 'I get a commission if you buy through this link', next to the link | Yes |
| 'Paid link' right next to the link | Yes |
| 'Affiliate link' only | Maybe not |
| Disclosure only on the home page or in a bio | No |
| Disclosure only in the comments | No |
| Video: disclosure only in the description | No |
Our summary of the FTC's Endorsement Guides FAQ (June 2023). Other countries have their own rules.
How do you measure whether the program works?
Track how many sales each affiliate brings, how many come from genuinely new people and how many refunds they generate. An affiliate whose sales come with many refunds is probably overpromising. Every quarter, check overall margin too: commissions are a cost like any other.
Key terms. An affiliate promotes the course with a personal link in exchange for a commission. Cookie length is how long a sale stays credited to an affiliate after a click. A material connection is any benefit linking the person recommending to the seller, and it must be disclosed.
How we checked. We read the FTC's endorsement guides FAQ (June 2023) and Teleborsa's 25 July 2025 report on AGCOM's approval of its influencer rules; we did not read AGCOM's full guidelines. Margins are calculated with our tool's formulas. This is not legal or tax advice. Contact: hi@heytea.app. Editorial note: we check every figure against the sources listed below and correct mistakes openly.
Frequently asked questions
What is an affiliate program for a course?
An arrangement where other people (creators, past students, professionals) promote your course with a personal link and earn a commission on each sale they bring. You only pay for results: if the link brings no sales, you pay nothing.
What commission should I pay affiliates?
What your margin can bear and what makes promoting you worthwhile. Work out the margin per sale after payment fees and costs, then decide what share to give away. On a $149 course with 5% plus 30 cents in fees, a 30% commission on the price leaves about $96.55 per sale instead of $141.25.
Do affiliates have to disclose that they earn from the link?
Yes. The FTC asks affiliates to disclose the relationship clearly and close to the recommendation. It notes that 'affiliate link' alone may not be understood, while 'paid link' next to the link should be adequate, and that a disclosure only on the home page or in comments isn't enough. Other countries have their own rules on recognisable advertising.
When should affiliate commissions be paid?
After the course's refund period ends, so you don't pay commission on sales later reversed. A common rhythm is monthly payouts for confirmed sales. Put it all in written terms: rate, cookie length, payout timing, what's not allowed.
Who should I invite as an affiliate?
Happy students first: they know the course and already talk about it. Then creators with an audience close to yours who don't sell a competing course, and professionals who recommend resources to their clients. A few active affiliates are worth more than a hundred sign-ups who never promote.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, "FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking", June 2023. Accessed 18 October 2026. ftc.gov
- Teleborsa, "Influencer, AGCOM approva linee guida e codice di condotta", 25 July 2025. News source, in Italian. Accessed 18 October 2026. teleborsa.it
- Tea free tool, course profit calculator: formulas for margin per sale. heytea.app