Recurring products (also known as subscription products) are a great way to maintain a customer and generate recurring revenue. In this article, we'll cover the basics of selling recurring products on ClickBank.
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Recurring products are products with an initial price and a recurring price. At the time of purchase, the customer pays the initial price and then pays the recurring price at a specified frequency. The sellers can specify a number of rebill payments, or the subscription can go on in perpetuity until canceled by the customer.

The seller sets both the initial and recurring price, as well as the commission rate for the initial and recurring charge, as well as the frequency at which the recurring charge occurs. Sellers are also able to create trial periods, which allow customers to try out a product for free or for a reduced price until the recurring charge begins. Rebilling frequency options allows sellers to select the frequency of payments for recurring products.

Sellers can set the payment frequency for recurring products to one of the followings options:

Sellers can set difference commission rates for the initial sale of a product and for the recurring element of that product.

For sales of recurring products facilitated by affiliates, the commission percentage for the recurring product is subtracted from the net sale price.

For most recurring products, ClickBank purchases the product from the seller at a wholesale price equal to 92.5% of retail, less a $1 stocking charge. However, for rebills associated with a recurring product where the rebill is less than $40, ClickBank purchases the rebill product from the seller at a wholesale price equal to 90.1% of retail.

Here is an example of how commissions would be calculated if you offered a 55% commission for a 12-month subscription with an initial payment of $29.95, and monthly rebill payments are $9.95:

Initial Purchase

Initial Payment: $29.95

55% Commission on Net Sale: [($29.95 x 92.5%) - $1.00)] x 55% = $14.69
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Recurring Payments

Rebill Payments: $9.95/month for 11 months

Net Sale Amount for each rebill payment: $9.95 x 90.1% = $8.96

55% Commission on Net Rebill Payments: $8.96 x 55% = $4.93
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Total

Total Earned by Affiliate for this Subscription: $14.69 + ($4.93 x 11) = $68.92

Before each rebill, ClickBank sends a pre-rebill email notification to the customer, reminding them of the upcoming payment. ClickBank also sends an email notification when the rebill is made.

The customer can request a refund on a recurring product. If they request a refund within 60 days of the initial purchase, ClickBank may refund one or more payments based on our discretion. If a customer requests a refund, all future payments are also canceled. After 60 days, all sales are final.

If a customer cancels their subscription to the recurring product, the seller will be notified via an email sent by ClickBank.

Related: Managing Subscriptions: How to Change, Extend, Cancel, or Refund an Active Subscription

Authorization Failures

In the event that the customer's credit card cannot support the payment request, we will attempt authorization again three days after the first failure date.

After a second failure, we will reattempt four days after the second failure date. After a third failure, we will try once more seven days after the third failure date. A fourth failure will lead to an automatic cancelation of the subscription purchase. We send notifications to the customer on the final two attempts. The following is an example of payment failure timing due to an authorization failure:

Authorization Failure Email Notification

When the third authorization failure occurs, we send an email notification to the customer. The email contains the order details and the following text:

Dear <Customer>,
Our records show that the credit card we have on file for the order detailed below is no longer processing correctly. This could be for a variety of reasons.
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In order to continue receiving your title subscription your credit card information needs to be updated. Please click the following URL to update your payment information: www.clickbank.com.
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We will attempt to rebill you in 7 days. If this billing fails, your order will be canceled.

Card Validation Failure

In the event that customer's credit card becomes invalid, we will deliver the customer up to four notifications requesting new credit card data. The notifications are delivered once a week. If there is no response after the fourth notice, the subscription purchase is automatically canceled. In order to keep the seller informed, we also send them each notification. If updated credit card data is received from the customer, the rebills from that point forward are executed from the date of the successful authorization.

The following is an example of payment failure timing due to a card validation failure.

The subscription terms are:

The Customer signs up on May 1, and is billed as follows:

Card Validation Failure Email Notification

When a card validation failure occurs, we send an email notification to the customer. The email contains the order details and the following text:

Dear <Customer>,
This email is to inform you that your credit card information needs to be updated to continue receiving your subscription. Please click the following URL to update your payment information: www.clickbank.com
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If you have purchased with PayPal please update your billing information within your PayPal account to ensure further service.

Keep in mind, when you create a recurring product, you should verify that all information about your product is correct before submitting it for approval. Recurring products cannot be changed once they are approved. If you make a mistake in the pricing or frequency for a recurring product, you must create a new product to correct the error.

Billing Failure Statuses Provided in Subscription Reporting

Data regarding billing failure is available via Subscription Reporting for sellers. The following statuses are provided:

ClickBank users can view subscription reporting data about their individual sales accounts via the Subscriptions tab which is located under the Reporting tab. The subscriptions reporting section gives you detailed information about subscription products hat you offer. Subscription reporting provides data for both the initial sale and the rebill.

This information allows users to see new customer acquisition (initial sales) separately from continuing subscriber data (rebills). Subscription analytics information is provided on a rolling basis, with 120 days of historical activity available.

Related: Subscription Reporting