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What's a fair ClickBank % commission?

by Kwerk
22 replies
What's a fair percentage for a vendor to set for affiliates to earn commissions on an ebook on ClickBank? Specifically one in the internet marketing niche. I see a wide range on there, and I'm looking for some input. I don't want to charge too much for my ebook (would drive away potential customers) and I want an attractive payout for my affiliates, but I can't give away the farm each sale that is affiliate-generated and hope to succeed. Would there be different considerations for this % in less popular niches than IM?
#clickbank #commission #fair
  • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
    Originally Posted by Kwerk View Post

    What's a fair percentage for a vendor to set for affiliates to earn commissions on an ebook on ClickBank? Specifically one in the internet marketing niche. I see a wide range on there, and I'm looking for some input. I don't want to charge too much for my ebook (would drive away potential customers) and I want an attractive payout for my affiliates, but I can't give away the farm each sale that is affiliate-generated and hope to succeed. Would there be different considerations for this % in less popular niches than IM?
    If you want to compete with the big boys, you're looking at offering 75%
    commission. With so many choices, most affiliates won't promote for less,
    which is sad because I'd rather have 50% of a $97 product than 75% of
    a $47 product, assuming they both convert at the same percentage.

    But many affiliates just look at that percentage and that's all they care
    about.

    If you can create a product that you can confidently sell for $97 and
    offer a 75% commission, with a little promotion (no, they won't just come
    flocking) you can get a nice affiliate army working for you.

    Hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Originally Posted by Kwerk View Post

    What's a fair percentage for a vendor to set for affiliates to earn commissions on an ebook on ClickBank? Specifically one in the internet marketing niche. I see a wide range on there, and I'm looking for some input. I don't want to charge too much for my ebook (would drive away potential customers) and I want an attractive payout for my affiliates, but I can't give away the farm each sale that is affiliate-generated and hope to succeed. Would there be different considerations for this % in less popular niches than IM?
    The best percentage to offer is 75% (the maximum allowed). If you have things setup properly and a backend in place then you shouldn't really be too concerned about having to make money on this product - you should be making all your money on the upsells and one time offers.

    If you don't have these things in place then it might be something you want to look at before you go too hard promoting your product.
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    • Profile picture of the author webpromotions
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      The best percentage to offer is 75% (the maximum allowed). If you have things setup properly and a backend in place then you shouldn't really be too concerned about having to make money on this product - you should be making all your money on the upsells and one time offers.
      Maybe I just don't get this, but after payment fees, its a bit tough to make a decent profit with 75% commissions.

      So you mean that the affiliate that brought you this new customer gets 75% of the first sale only, and nothing on the upsells or backend?
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      • Profile picture of the author Jerryl
        I look at how much I make per sale, but mostly if I think the product will sale in the first place. Lots of smaller commissions can add up quickly.
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Doug English View Post

        Maybe I just don't get this, but after payment fees, its a bit tough to make a decent profit with 75% commissions.

        So you mean that the affiliate that brought you this new customer gets 75% of the first sale only, and nothing on the upsells or backend?
        You need to remember than any sale an affiliate makes for you is a sale you would not have otherwise made yourself. So would you rather 25% of something or 100% of nothing? I know which I would rather.

        And you need to forget about looking at the one sale and instead look at the bigger picture. You have now been given a new buying lead for your business that you can follow up with and sell more stuff to.

        Hell, there are a lot of businesses who happily pay 100% commissions to affiliates because they know the lifetime value those new customers will bring to their business.

        Most businesses are happy to pay for leads. Some businesses will pay a lot of money for good leads. In this instance you are being paid money to receive a buyer lead rather than having to pay good money out of your own pocket to advertise and get that same lead.

        Are you ok with 25% now?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kwerk
    I'm clearly opening a whole new can of worms with my business plan, heh. Great information, guys. I hadn't even thought of the fact that I'll also have to have some sort of promotion method to get CB affiliates on board, not just hope they will find my product through Affiliates Alert or by searches for my niche. Any tips on how to promote a product to affiliates? Is there a good website that explains how, or an inexpensive WSO or ebook? Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by Kwerk View Post

      I'm clearly opening a whole new can of worms with my business plan, heh. Great information, guys. I hadn't even thought of the fact that I'll also have to have some sort of promotion method to get CB affiliates on board, not just hope they will find my product through Affiliates Alert or by searches for my niche. Any tips on how to promote a product to affiliates? Is there a good website that explains how, or an inexpensive WSO or ebook? Thanks.
      One easy way is to put your affiliate program specs inside the book itself so
      that people who buy it can promote it.

      There are tons of methods for getting affiliates but I'll let others fill you in
      on them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Kwerk View Post

    What's a fair percentage for a vendor to set for affiliates to earn commissions on an ebook on ClickBank?
    Serious affiliates don't think/search in terms of commission percentages, but in terms of earnings per sale. There are affiliates who'll be attracted to something just because it offers 75% commission, but they may not be the ones you want to attract. Affiliates who prefer 50% of $97 to 75% of $37 are perhaps a better bet, overall.
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    • Profile picture of the author webpromotions
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Serious affiliates don't think/search in terms of commission percentages, but in terms of earnings per sale.
      No, serious affiliates look at ROI, and NOTHING else.
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      • Profile picture of the author CatherineC
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Doug English View Post

        No, serious affiliates look at ROI, and NOTHING else.
        Both are tied together, they're not mutually exclusive.
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  • Profile picture of the author sim22
    I wouldnt go after 25% is fair but some are generous adn give out 50% ot 75% which doesnt leave much for the product maker but is good for the affiluate.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill_Z
    You should give 75% without a doubt, regardless of how amazing your conversion is or the earnings per sale. Fact of the matter is you want as many affiliates promoting your product as possible, because the more that make just one sale, the more your gravity will increase. While I do realize that gravity is in reality a stupid statistic, that is what most look at. Anyways long story short...give 75%.
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  • Profile picture of the author CatherineC
    Banned
    Personally I wish CB would allow 100% commission, so I wouldn't have to deal with installing this RAP nonsense.

    In other words, OP, get your funnel set and your back-end dialed in and you won't care what the front-end % is set at.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kwerk
    Okay, so what are the upsells exactly? I can think of: another more expensive product I offer, the affiliate links inside of the ebook itself, my opt-in list with autoresponder that will encourage the buyer of my ebook to buy other people's products and generate me affiliate income, and future products that I write or develop myself which my list will see later on. What other upsell opportunities am I missing? As for One Time Offers, this is a new concept to me so I'll have to research it.

    Thanks everyone for your responses. Getting some great info as usual!
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  • Profile picture of the author CatherineC
    Banned
    One of my favorite lists of upsells and value-builders, from Paul Myers. I feel this list sums it up about as well as it can be for starters looking to add value to their products:

    1. Relevant and (at least somewhat) exclusive software.
    2. Proprietary data.
    3. Bundled services that relate to the product.
    4. Expanded info on related techniques.
    5. Audio files to add depth to the process of learning.
    6. Video, for clarity in learning.
    7. Worksheets and checklists
    8. Phone or email consultation.
    9. Exclusive follow-up info or free subscriptions.
    10. Case studies. (Separate, for illustration purposes.)
    11. Sample text, scripts, ads, that will help the customer to better use the product.
    12. Free or discounted updates.
    13. Spreadsheets.
    14. Easily imported "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" collections.
    15. Access to membership areas.
    16. Contact lists for vendors, potential partners, or other relevant individuals.
    17. Separate package of reviews of related products.
    18. "Quick start" guide.
    19. Interactive tutorials or self-assessments.
    20. Hard copy material mailed separately.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      You could try a strategy of 50% commission for ClickBank affiliates, and reserve a 75% commission for big-time affiliates.

      The thing to bear in mind, though, is that'll you'll likely need to recruit affiliates no matter what commission rate you set. Affiliates won't magically come out of the woodwork just because you offered a 75% commission.

      And, don't be afraid to test. I have two products currently on ClickBank. One is about $50 with a 75% commission and the other is around $15 with a 10% commission. I have more affiliates (and more affiliate sales) on the $15 product.
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      • Profile picture of the author InfoStudio
        Originally Posted by Dan C. Rinnert View Post

        You could try a strategy of 50% commission for ClickBank affiliates, and reserve a 75% commission for big-time affiliates.

        The thing to bear in mind, though, is that'll you'll likely need to recruit affiliates no matter what commission rate you set. Affiliates won't magically come out of the woodwork just because you offered a 75% commission.

        And, don't be afraid to test. I have two products currently on ClickBank. One is about $50 with a 75% commission and the other is around $15 with a 10% commission. I have more affiliates (and more affiliate sales) on the $15 product.
        nice tip. Is it possible to put 50% commission, and then recruit affiliates by myself, and in the future to put 75% commision for everyone??

        I thinking about this because there is no big competition in my product, but it is strong and big market.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by InfoStudio View Post

          nice tip. Is it possible to put 50% commission, and then recruit affiliates by myself, and in the future to put 75% commision for everyone??
          Yes - you can change the commission-rate when you want, as long as the product always has one ClickBank commission-rate for all its affiliates (though you can also choose to pay specific ones something extra through PayPal if that works for all concerned - that has nothing to do with ClickBank, though).

          But bear in mind that altering the commission-rate will cause some anomalies in your Marketplace statistics (such as earnings/sale, and so on) for a couple of months.

          There's also something new, which they're currently trialling, which would allow vendors to pay different affiliates different commission-rates. (How that will work with the Marketplace statistics, I have no idea.)
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          • Profile picture of the author InfoStudio
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            Yes - you can change the commission-rate when you want, as long as the product always has one ClickBank commission-rate for all its affiliates (though you can also choose to pay specific ones something extra through PayPal if that works for all concerned - that has nothing to do with ClickBank, though).

            But bear in mind that altering the commission-rate will cause some anomalies in your Marketplace statistics (such as earnings/sale, and so on) for a couple of months.

            There's also something new, which they're currently trialling, which would allow vendors to pay different affiliates different commission-rates. (How that will work with the Marketplace statistics, I have no idea.)
            Thx! It will be "sweet worries"
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  • Profile picture of the author Top Dog Marketer
    Offer your affiliates 75% and then make sure to have solid back end offers w/ upsells, downsells, etc. and keep 100% of back end profits.
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    • Profile picture of the author InfoStudio
      Originally Posted by Top Dog Marketer View Post

      Offer your affiliates 75% and then make sure to have solid back end offers w/ upsells, downsells, etc. and keep 100% of back end profits.
      hm, it is 300pages big ebook, maybe will implement your tip in future! Thx!
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      • Profile picture of the author Harvey Segal
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        There's also something new, which they're currently trialling, which would allow vendors to pay different affiliates different commission-rates.
        Until this feature (tiered commission) is available
        here is another way to pay different commission
        rates in one account. You could use it to give rates
        EXCEEDING the 75% limit.

        In the 'My Contracts' section of your account create
        an Affiliate Referral Contract for each affiliate
        that you want to give a special commission.

        Use his nickname in the Contract Partner field - so
        you are effectively giving him an override
        commission on his own sales.

        The Commission % field is a percentage of your
        profit as a vendor (not of the sale) so you need to
        calculate a figure which will give you the desired
        rate.

        For example:

        Suppose that after ClickBank fees the product sells
        for $40 with normal affiliate commission 60%. So the
        affiliate gets $24, the vendor gets $16.

        If you want a special affiliate to get 80% he would
        need to receive $32 which is an additional $8. So you
        would set the field to 50% (as 50% of the vendor
        profit of $16 is $8)


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