Overview
On the Builder plan and above, you can allow users to promote your products as affiliates. Affiliates share unique links with their audience and earn a commission percentage on any sales made through those links. Affiliate marketing is a great way to extend your reach and grow revenue through your existing audience.
This article covers:
Adding and managing affiliates
Affiliate application forms
Affiliate links and resources
The affiliate dashboard experience
Note: For information on commission rates, earnings tracking, and affiliate payouts, see Manage affiliate and author earnings.
Add affiliates to your school
Add a new affiliate manually
Go to Users > Affiliates.
Click Add Affiliates in the top right corner.
Select Manually to add up to 5 affiliates at a time, or use Import CSV to add in bulk (Builder plan and above).
Fill in the affiliate's name, email, password, and commission rate.
Optionally, check Limit affiliate to a specific product and select a course, bundle, or coaching product from the dropdown.
Click Save.
New affiliates receive a You've been added as an affiliate email with a link to confirm their account and access their affiliate dashboard.
Note: If you set a password for your affiliate, make sure to share it with them — they'll need it to log in for the first time.
Tip: You can customize the affiliate welcome email from your school's email template editor.
Designate an existing student as an affiliate
Go to Users > Students and click into the student's profile.
Select the Affiliate tab.
Toggle on Affiliate Program.
You can also designate multiple students as affiliates at once using user bulk actions.
Limit an affiliate to specific products
When adding or editing an affiliate, check Limit affiliate to a specific product and select the relevant product. When limited, the affiliate's commission only applies to sales of that specific product — they won't earn commission on other products in your school.
Remove or delete an affiliate
Remove: Go to the affiliate's user profile, click the Affiliate tab, and toggle off Affiliate Program. This removes their affiliate status but keeps their account in your school.
Delete: Go to Users > Affiliates, click into the affiliate, and select Delete user. This permanently removes their account from the school.
Note: Deleting an affiliate does not reverse any commission already earned. Ensure all outstanding earnings are accounted for before deleting an affiliate account.
Affiliate application forms
Instead of adding affiliates manually, you can create an affiliate application form — a page in your school where prospective affiliates can apply. You can require approval before they're accepted, or automatically accept all applicants.
You can have one active affiliate application form at a time.
Create an application form
Go to Users > Affiliates and click the Prospective Affiliates tab.
Click Create Application. This opens the page editor with an Affiliate Form block pre-added.
Fill in the form details:
Form title — displayed at the top of the form
Introductory text — optional description or instructions for applicants
Commission rate — the default rate assigned to approved applicants
Require approval — toggle on to manually review applications before accepting
Publish the page when ready.
Share your application form
Once published, share the page URL directly with prospective affiliates or add it to your school's navigation. Both new users and existing students can apply via the form.
Review and approve applications
Go to Users > Affiliates > Prospective Affiliates.
Review pending applications.
Click Approve to accept an applicant as an affiliate, or Decline to reject their application.
Approved applicants are automatically added as affiliates and receive a welcome email. Declined applicants are notified that their application was not accepted.
Affiliate links
Affiliates promote your school using affiliate links — URLs with a unique affiliate code appended that credits the affiliate when a sale is made through that link.
Primary affiliate link
Every affiliate has a primary affiliate link that goes to your school's homepage. School admins can view this from the affiliate's user profile under the Affiliate tab. Affiliates can see it in their affiliate dashboard.
Custom affiliate links
Affiliates can generate links to any page in your school — such as a specific product's sales page — or to external pages like landing pages hosted off Teachable. Custom links are generated from within the affiliate dashboard.
Note: For external pages that link to your checkout, ensure the final destination is a Teachable checkout URL to maintain affiliate attribution. Attribution is only tracked through Teachable-hosted pages.
Link attribution settings
You can control how long affiliate links remain active from Users > Affiliates > Settings:
Cookie period — how long a referral is tracked after a student clicks an affiliate link (e.g. 30 days). If the student purchases within this window, the affiliate earns commission.
Attribution model — by default, the first affiliate link clicked is credited. If a student clicks multiple affiliate links, the first affiliate receives commission.
Affiliate resources
You can upload promotional materials — such as images, PDFs, or banners — for your affiliates to use when promoting your school. Upload resources from Users > Affiliates > Resources. Affiliates can access and download them from their affiliate dashboard.
The affiliate dashboard
Affiliates access their dashboard by logging in to your school and clicking their profile icon, then selecting View admin dashboard. The affiliate dashboard gives them everything they need to promote your school and track their performance.
What affiliates can see and do
Tab | What's available |
Dashboard | Commission rate, affiliate code, cookie period, and a summary of sales and earnings |
Sales | Transaction history for sales attributed to their affiliate links, with click-through to individual transaction details |
Links | Primary affiliate link, custom link generator, and any links they've previously created |
Resources | Promotional materials uploaded by the school owner |
Statements | Monthly earnings summary — statements are available 20 days after the end of each month |
Settings | Enrollment notifications toggle |
Note: Affiliate commission is restricted to the products they're assigned to, if a product limit has been set by the school owner. Affiliates can contact the school owner if they have questions about their commission scope.
FAQs
Can I have affiliates promote specific products only?
Yes — when adding or editing an affiliate, use the product limit setting to restrict their commission to one specific course, bundle, or coaching product.
Can a student also be an affiliate?
Yes — you can designate any existing student as an affiliate from their user profile. They'll be able to access both their student account and their affiliate dashboard using the same login.
How does a student know they've been made an affiliate?
They receive an automatic email notification when added as an affiliate, with a link to access their affiliate dashboard.
Can affiliates see how much they've earned?
Yes — affiliates can view their sales and earnings from the Sales and Statements tabs of their dashboard. For details on how earnings are calculated and paid out, see Manage affiliate and author earnings.
What happens to commission if a student requests a refund?
Affiliate commission on a refunded transaction is reversed. The affiliate does not earn commission on refunded sales.
Can I have multiple affiliate application forms?
No — only one active affiliate application form is supported at a time. You can edit or replace the form at any time from Users > Affiliates > Prospective Affiliates.