Overview
ClickBank has upgraded the Commission Tiers feature to a new feature called Commission Groups. Commission Groups is similar to the previous feature, in that both features allow sellers to set custom commission rates for specific affiliates that differ from their standard commission settings.
All ClickBank clients currently using Commission Tiers will be required to migrate their settings to the new feature before November 30, 2021. If you do not migrate your settings before then, your affiliates will earn standard commission rates until your settings are migrated and enabled.
This article contains the following sections:
- Benefits of Commission Groups vs. Commission Tiers
- Differences Between Commission Tiers and Commission Groups
- How to Upgrade Your Account to Commission Groups
- Tips for Common Commission Groups Use
- Additional Resources & Related Articles
Benefits of Commission Groups vs. Commission Tiers
Commission Groups is an improvement on the former feature Commission Tiers. Here are are few of the benefits of the new feature that will improve the commission process:
- Simple and straightforward commission settings that are easy to understand and manage
- Managing and making changes to the affiliates in a group now only takes one click
- Searching for affiliates in a commission group is easier and more efficient
- An enterprise-like ability to import, delete, add, and move affiliates to and from groups
- When importing affiliates, files are no longer restricted to only .csv--they can now be .csv, .xls or .xlxs
- Easy, detailed handling of errors or conflicts when adding affiliates
Differences Between Commission Tiers and Commission Groups
There are several distinct differences between how commission rates work in the new Commission Groups feature compared to how they previously worked in the Commission Tiers feature.
In the Commission Tiers creature, the commission rates for initial sales and upsells operate separately and each default to the standard commission settings if a rate is not set in the commission tiers.
With Commission Groups, the commission settings for initial sales and upsells all work together. Sellers can set a single commission rate that applies to all sales for a commission group and further customize commission rates based on product types, specific products, and uspell flows.
For more information on how to use Commission Groups once you complete the migration check out the Commission Groups: Customizing Your Affiliate Program article.
How to Upgrade Your Account to Commission Groups
When you upgrade from Commission Tiers to Commission Groups, we use the data from your commission tiers to create commission groups. However, the new commission groups will not automatically be enabled.
The commission groups created from your existing tiers will have the same name, description, and affiliates as the corresponding commission tiers. The default commission rate for your new commission groups will be populated with the current default commission rate for your account. All other commission settings in your previous commission tier will be populated where they fit best. Here are some common examples:
- If a specific tier was set with global rates, those rates will become product type overrides.
- If a specific tier was set with product listing rates, those rates will become the product overrides.
- If you have any custom commission rates set for upsell flows in a specific tier, those rates will become the upsell flow overrides.
Note: After you migrate your data, you will still be able to access your Commission Tiers information. However, any changes that you make the Commission Tiers will not be saved or migrated to the new feature.
To upgrade your account to the Commission Groups feature, follow these steps:
Step 1: Log in to your ClickBank account.
Step 2: Click the Vendor Settings tab.
Step 3: Locate the Managing Your Affiliates box. NOTE: If you have not migrated your settings, you will notice an on-screen update prompting you to do so in the Managing Your Affiliates box.
Step 4: Click the Edit Commission Tiers button.
Step 5: Carefully read the information modals. Click Next to proceed through the screens.
Step 6: Click Get Started to migrate your settings to the new Commission Groups feature. NOTE: Migrating your settings may take a few moments.
Step 7: Once the migration has completed, click View Commission Groups.
Step 8: Manually review each commission group to ensure that it is accurate and to your preference. For more information on how to edit groups and add or remove affiliates, check out this article.
Step 9: Return to the Vendor Settings tab.
Step 10: Click the Enable Commission Groups button to finalize the transition between the features.
Tips for Common Commission Groups Use
After you complete the migration, it is likely that you will have several overrides set for the desired commission rate.
While having additional overrides that are set for the same commission rate as what it would inherit doesn’t impact the commission payouts, having simple settings will make it easier to maintain and make it easier for affiliates to understand (remember they can see the commission settings in groups too).
Below are simple ways to set your commission groups when migrating from commission tiers.
I want my affiliates to earn the same commission rate for all sales.
Change the default rate to desired commission rate and delete the existing overrides.
I want affiliates to earn one rate for all initial sales and a different rate for all subscription rebills.
Change the default rate for the rate that you want for all initial sales, and in the product type overrides enter the desired commission rate you want for all rebills in the Recurring Sale fields for Recurring Digital and Recurring physical products. Delete all other overrides.
I want affiliates to earn one rate for all front end sales and a different rate for all upsells.
When setting the default rate in this scenario it’s a good idea to think about what rate will be the easiest to maintain.
Set the default rate as the desired commission rate that would apply to the most products. If you have more upsell products, you can set the default rate as the desired commission rate for the upsells, and set product overrides for the front end products as the exception.
NOTE: If your upsell products have unique item IDs, you do not need to set upsell flow overrides. Simply set the desired commission rate for those products as product overrides and the upsells will take care of themselves.
Tiers vs. Groups Infographic
Additional Resources & Related Articles
- KNOWLEDGE BASE ARTICLE: Commission Groups: How to Set Custom Commission Rates for Affiliates
- KNOWLEDGE BASE ARTICLE: How do I get paid?