Overview
This article contains frequently asked questions about ClickBank.
- Signup & Login Questions
- Affiliate Questions
- Seller Questions
- General Questions
- Payment and Accounting Questions
- Risk and Security Questions
Signup & Login Questions
Q: How do I signup for ClickBank?
A: To sign up for ClickBank, follow the steps in this article. If you have any issues during the signup process, you can file a support ticket for help. Once you sign up for ClickBank, make sure to create a sales account to get started.
Q: How do I create an account?
A: To create a ClickBank nickname account, log in to ClickBank and click the Accounts tab then click Create Account. NOTE: Once your account is created, you do not have to link it. This option is only for people who have legacy accounts that are not linked to their primary ClickBank account.
Q: How do I log in to ClickBank?
A: To log in to ClickBank, go to the ClickBank Login Page, and enter your account email and password. NOTE: Accounts created before October 29th, 2019, can be logged into using their account nickname.
Related: Attention New ClickBank Users
Q: What do I do if I've forgotten my ClickBank password?
A: If you have forgotten your password, click the Forgot Password link on the button of the ClickBank login page.
Q: What do I do if I'm having trouble logging in?
A: If you are having trouble logging in to ClickBank, try again using the following steps:
- Try clearing your cookies and cache on your browser.
- Check for any third-party security add-ons that can block access to your ClickBank account.
- Try logging in with a different browser or computer.
- Make sure you have Java Script enabled on your browser.
If these steps don't work and you're still having trouble logging in, you can file a support ticket.
Q: When I completed my profile, I received an error message stating that my account was disabled. Why is that?
A: Unfortunately, based on a flag from our security system, we cannot offer you an account at this time. We are unable to release specifics regarding why the system has declined your request.
If you believe this message was made in an error, please send an inquiry to payments@clickbank.com including the name of the country you are trying to sign up from and a copy of your government issued photo identification, such as a passport or driver’s license.
NOTE: Please be aware if you do not include the country you are trying to sign up from and your photo identification with the request, your inquiry will not receive a response.
Q: What happens if my account is suspended?
A: We suspend accounts with low quality or other issues. If your account is suspended, you will not be able to sell or promote products. You can contact ClickBank by emailing payments@clickbank.com if you have any questions about your account's status.
Q: How do I accept the ClickBank Terms and Conditions?
A: Follow these instructions to accept the ClickBank Terms & Conditions:
Step 1: Click the Continue to Terms and Conditions button.
Step 2: Read the entire document and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Return to the initial page and check the box indicating that you have read the ClickBank Terms and Conditions.
Step 4: Click the Join ClickBank! button.
Q: How do I confirm my email address when I sign up for a ClickBank account.
A: To confirm your email address to enable your ClickBank account, access the inbox of the email address you provided to sign up. Click the latest link that has been sent. Any other earlier links have expired. Additionally, you must open the link in the confirmation email in the same browser as your inbox. You cannot confirm your email to enable your account via mobile.
Affiliate Questions
Getting Started
Q: How do I get started as an affiliate?
A: Once you've created an account, you can use the ClickBank Affiliate Marketplace to find sellers to promote. Then, you can create HopLinks, and begin promoting products wherever you choose.
Q: How do I find the ClickBank Affiliate Marketplace?
A: Affiliates can access the affiliate marketplace by navigating to the sales account management page for their specific sales account. The link to the affiliate marketplace is located above the main horizontal navigation bar.
Related: What is the ClickBank Marketplace?
Q: How do I understand the information in the Marketplace?
A: Marketplace listings contain various information about a seller's offer. Check out each listing to see if it's something you'd want to promote as an affiliate.
Related: How do I use the ClickBank Marketplace stats?
Q: What is a master account?
A: A master account (aka primary account) is the main ClickBank account interface. Any client who has signed up after October 2019 has a primary account that houses all of their linked account nicknames. Tasks and product information can be found within each account nickname found under the accounts tab. You can link legacy accounts or create new account nicknames. NOTE: New nickname accounts DO NOT need to be linked if they are created through your ClickBank primary account.
Using HopLinks
Q: How do I create a HopLink?
A: Take a look at the HopLinks Guide for a full walkthrough on how to create and test HopLinks.
Q: How do I use Tracking IDs to track sales?
A: You can add tracking IDs (TIDs) to your HopLinks to gain information about the source for individual sales. The Using HopLinks article explains how to add Tracking IDs. Tracking IDs are not required.
Tracking and Analytics
Q: How do I track sales?
A: You can use Transactions Reporting to see detailed data about your transactions, and use Analytics Reporting to see charts and trend data about your sales. You can also use third-party tracking pixels to gain information about your sales process.
Terms
Q: What's a ClickBank ID or CBID?
A: This is an account nickname. An account nickname can be created from a ClickBank primary account (aka Master Account).
Q: What's an Affiliate ID?
A: This is an account nickname.
Q: What's a Vendor ID?
A: This is a seller's account nickname.
Q: What's a Tracking ID or TID?
A: A tracking ID (TID) is an optional parameter that you can add to HopLinks to gain information about the source for individual sales. The HopLinks Guide explains how to add tracking IDs. Tracking IDs are optional.
Seller Questions
Getting Started
Q: How do I get started as a seller?
A: Once you've created an account, you can create a product, work with affiliates, and begin selling your product.
Related: Creating Your First Product
Q: How do I get a product approved?
A: Once you have created your product, and verified that you understand the product and promotional guidelines, you can submit a product approval request.
Q: How do I create a payment link?
A: All sellers must have a payment link for customers to purchase their product. Sellers manually creat payment links following this format:
https://SELLER.pay.clickbank.net/?cbitems=ITEM
Here it is in HTML:
<a href="https://SELLER.pay.clickbank.net/?cbitems=ITEM" target="cb">
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE>
Related: How to Create a Payment Link
Q: How do I test my payment link?
A: Sellers should test their payment link to make sure it is working properly. To test your payment link, follow the directions in the How do I test a payment link? article.
Q: What is a master account?
A: A master account (aka primary account) is the main ClickBank account interface. Any client who has signed up after October 2019 has a primary account that houses all of their linked account nicknames. Tasks and product information can be found within each account nickname found under the accounts tab. You can link legacy accounts or create new account nicknames. NOTE: New nickname accounts DO NOT need to be linked if they are created through your ClickBank primary account.
Working With Affiliates
Q: How do I find affiliates?
A: Affiliates are always looking for sellers with profitable products and offers. To attract affiliates, you can provide competitive commission rates for your products, offer CPA, create a compelling marketplace listing, and make tools such as logos, ads, and copy available to them.
Q: How do I create a ClickBank Affiliate Marketplace listing?
A: You can manage your ClickBank Affiliate Marketplace listing through your nickname account. Each nickname account has their own marketplace listing.
Related: How do I add or update my ClickBank Affiliate Marketplace listing?
Q: How can I create a a list of approved affiliates?
A: Sellers can use the Commission Groups feature to create affiliate lists.
Related: Commission Groups: How to Set Custom Commission Rates for Affiliates
Q: What is CPA? And how it is different from traditional revenue share?
A: CPA (Cost Per Action) is a type of commission that pays affiliates "per action." In ClickBank's case, that action is a sale. When affiliates earn CPA, they receive a flat fee for each sale rather than a portion of the sale as is the case with revenue share.
Related: CPA FAQ for ClickBank Sellers
Product Types
Q: If I create a physical product, how can I make sure that it's delivered?
A: You can either manage order fulfillment yourself, or use a third party to handle fulfillment.
Related: Selling Physical Products
Selling Multiple Products
Q: How do I sell multiple products when I only have one Marketplace listing?
A: There are a few ways to do this. You can use your ClickBank Affiliate Marketplace listing as a way to show off your whole account, with multiple products that affiliates might be interested in promoting.
You can also create separate accounts, if you're planning on selling significantly different products. If you do so, you'll receive a discount on the one-time activation fee when you create the first product in the new account.
Q: How do I create an upsell flow?
A: You create a new upsell flow by adding one or more steps with additional products, then attaching the flow to an initial product.
Related: Upsell Flows
Tracking and Analytics
Q: How do I track sales?
A: You can use Transactions Reporting to see detailed data about your transactions, and use Analytics Reporting to see charts and trend data about your sales. You can also use third-party tracking pixels to gain information about your sales process.
Customer Support
Q: How do I provide customer support?
A: You can provide means for your customers to contact you by providing a customer service phone number, email, and/or website. You should be ready to contact them to help them manage issues. You should also be prepared to respond to customer support requests, such as cancellation, refund, and tech support requests.
Q: How do I manage customer cancellation or refund requests?
A: Customers can use the customer support ticket system to ask for refunds, cancellations, or technical support. As a seller, you can create support tickets on behalf of customers, or open and modify tickets filed by customers.
Related: Using the Customer Support Ticket System
General Questions
Account Management
Q: How do I update my account settings?
A: Most of your account settings can be edited at any time. Editing some settings, such as your payee name or account email, will impose a seven-day delay on your ability to edit your payment information.
Related: How do I updated my contact or account information?
Q: How do I update my payment information?
A: Your payment information can also be updated at any time, unless you have recently edited the fields discussed above. The new payment information may take up to two payment cycles to take effect.
Related: How do I get paid?
Q: I requested to make a change to my account. When I accepted the change via the confirmation email, it was not acknowledged or reflected in my account. What should I do?
A: To confirm ANY change made to your ClickBank account, access the inbox of the email address you provided to sign up. Click the latest link that has been sent. Any other earlier links have expired. Additionally, you must open the link in the confirmation email in the same browser as your inbox. You cannot confirm your email to enable your account via mobile.
Tools
Q: How do I use the ClickBank APIs?
A: You must configure API keys, then set up a tool to access the APIs. See the ClickBank APIs article for more information.
Related: How to Generate API Keys
Q: How do I get analytics information?
A: See the Analytics Reporting article for information.
Q: Why do the sales numbers displayed in Transaction Quality Metrics not match those in Transactions Reporting?
A: There are a few possible reasons. $0 transactions are included in Transaction Quality Metrics but not in Transactions Reporting, and Transaction Quality Metrics are divided between sellers and affiliate activity while Transactions Reporting displays both by default. See the Transaction Quality Metrics and Transactions Reporting articles for more information.
Q: How can I use third-party tracking pixels with ClickBank?
A: You can add these pixels to your order form and confirmation page. See the Integrated Sales Reporting article for more information.
Q: Where can I access all of ClickBank's backend tools?
A: CLICK HERE to check out all of the backend tools that ClickBank offers.
Q: How do I create clerk keys?
A: This article explains how to create clerk keys. You must access the individual sales account you wish to create clerk keys for.
Resources
Q: What is Spark?
A: Spark is the only ClickBank-endorsed education platform. Spark has over 70 videos that showcase the power of ClickBank’s two decades of expertise.
Q: Where can I find videos about ClickBank?
A: ClickBank's Youtube channel has a variety of how-to videos explaining our features.
Payment and Accounting Questions
Q: How do I get paid?
Q: When do I get paid?
A: We generally issue payments every two weeks, but you can request to be paid more frequently.
Check out the "When do I get paid?" article for more information.
Q: Why haven't I been paid?
A: The most common reasons are that you haven't met the Customer Distribution Requirement, or that you haven't reached your payment threshold. Check out this article for more information about getting paid.
Q: Will ClickBank send me a 1099 form?
A: It depends on your business. We send 1099 forms to all US-based accounts (reporting under individual SSNs or TINs, including LLCs) that earned over $600 in affiliate commissions only (not including any product sales). We do not send 1099 forms to sellers, corporations, or foreign residents.
Your yearly payment totals can be found on the reporting tab of your account. For more information on tax-related issues, check out this article.
Q: Does ClickBank charge a reissue fee?
A: Yes. Regardless of the payment method, we charge a $20 cancellation charge for reissued payments. This charge is deducted from the amount of the newly reissued payment.
Q: Does ClickBank charge a fee for dormant accounts?
A: Yes. Accounts with a positive balance but no earnings for an extended period of time are considered dormant. Dormant accounts are subject to a charge of $1 per pay period after 90 days of no earnings, $5 per pay period after 180 days of no earnings, and $50 per pay period after 365 days of no earnings. Check out this article about dormant accounts for more information.
Q: How can I contact ClickBank's accounting department?
A: File a support ticket and select Accounting Inquiries as the type of question.
Q: Where can I find more information about payments and accounting?
A: The Getting Paid section of the ClickBank Knowledge Base is a good place to start.
Q: How do I read the analytics section?
A: The ClickBank Data EXPLAINED: Analytics Section Full Instructions video is a helpful resource.
Q: How do I use the ClickBank reporting function?
A: Check out the Reporting FAQ for more information.
Q: How do I understand paycheck data?
A: Check out the Paychecks video to learn more about paycheck data.
Related: How do I view my payments and payment information?
Risk and Security Questions
Q: Why do I see a suspended status in the Paychecks section of my account?
A: If you are seeing a suspended status in the Paycheck section, this means your account has been suspended for some reason and all funds are held until the suspension is removed. Accounts are typically suspended if there is a flag on the account or if the account has in some way broken the ClickBank Client Contract. If you feel your account should be reviewed for releasing the suspension, please reach out to payments@clickbank.com.
Q: When I test my HopLink, I get error message stating “This site is no longer in service or has been disabled due to terms of service violations.” What does this mean?
A: If you receive this message on ALL sellers that you are currently promoting, please send an inquiry to abuse@clickbank.com. If this only happens on one particular seller, then the seller may have blocked you from promoting their product. You will need to reach out to that sellers directly. Typically, HopLinks are only disabled for breaking the ClickBank Client Contract or the Seller's Terms of Service.
Q: Can I block an affiliate from promoting my product?
A: Yes. The Blocked Affiliates Feature is a tool that gives you options in managing the affiliates that promote your products.
This tool allow you to:
- Block affiliates from promoting your account.
- Update/Remove affiliates that you have blocked.
You will also have visibility to view all of the affiliates that have been blocked from promoting your product specifically, and that includes affiliates that are blocked by ClickBank directly.
Q: My account was suspended and then reactivated, but my payment still shows as suspended on the Paychecks page. When will I get paid?
A: The Paychecks page only shows the account status at the time of payment settlement. Since your account was reactivated after the most recent settlement date, it will show as paid once funds are released after the next pay period settlement date.
Related: How do I view my payments and payment information?