Are you running a coaching business?
You’re likely focused on creating courses, engaging with clients, and perfecting your teaching methods. But, have you considered starting an affiliate program? An affiliate program isn’t just another task; it’s a chance to expand your business reach. It invites loyal clients and fans to spread the word about your coaching services.
This guide will introduce you to setting up a WordPress affiliate program for your coaching business.
Let’s dive in!
Why Start an Affiliate Program for Your Coaching Business
After setting up your website, one of the pivotal steps to consider is integrating an effective affiliate program.
You might wonder, why it is essential for a coaching business. Here’s why.
An affiliate program is a collaboration where individuals or companies (called affiliates) promote your services, and in return, they earn a commission for every sale made through their referral.
It’s a shared benefit where they get a cut, and you gain a broader clientele without direct advertising costs.
Imagine you’re a life coach, and you’ve created a new online course. On your own, you might reach hundreds through your website or social media.
But by enrolling the help of affiliates, each with their audience, that reach multiplies exponentially. One of your affiliates might be a well-followed blogger who writes a glowing review about your course.
Another might be a fellow coach who promotes your course to their clients. With each affiliate’s unique reach, your course suddenly has visibility to thousands, if not tens of thousands. This is the only reason giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft bank on affiliate programs.
You’ll get both reach and efficiency at the same time if you have an affiliate program by your side to grow your coaching business.
But, how can you set up a coaching affiliate program on WordPress? It’s as simple as a few steps. Let’s dive into setting up your very own WordPress affiliate program.
Steps to Set Up a WordPress Affiliate Program for Coaching Business
Setting up an affiliate program for your coaching business is very easy.
You can start an affiliate program and begin scaling your business in just a few simple steps, but we’ve included some essential tips to ensure you’re perfectly set up for success.
Follow the steps below, and as you navigate through them, be sure to refer to the documentation tailored to your chosen integration, MemberPress, MemberMouse, LearnDash, or TutorLMS.
Start growing your coaching business:
Step 1: Install AffiliateWP
Let’s start at the beginning. First, you need a tool to manage your affiliate program.
AffiliateWP is a top choice. It’s a WordPress plugin that makes setting up and running an affiliate program easy.
It seamlessly integrates with a host of Membership and LMS plugins to help you set up a WordPress affiliate program for your coaching business if you use any of these plugins in under 10 minutes.
- MemberPress
- Restrict Content Pro
- MemberMouse
- LearnDash
- OptimizeMember
- Paid Memberships Pro
- And more…
To get going, simply purchase your desired plan by visiting our pricing page and follow a simple installation guide.
AffiliateWP makes setting up straightforward, ensuring that even if you’re not tech-savvy, you can still get started without a hitch.
Step 2: Using the Setup Wizard
Once AffiliateWP is installed, a setup wizard will guide you.
The Setup Wizard will ask for your license key, which you can find in your AffiliateWP Account. Once done, click Continue.
Now it’s time for the important part, following the wizard, you can integrate your membership or course plugin with one click.
Click on your preferred Integrations plugin, check the checkbox next to it, and then click Continue.
It’s a smooth process, and in a matter of minutes, you’ll have connected your courses or membership with AffiliateWP.
Next, the setup wizard will ask you to choose your payout choices. AffiliateWP’s payout service, PayPal, or managing manual payments are all ways to pay your affiliates.
You should choose the option that meets your needs.
Finally, you will be asked to choose your referral rate and type. You can pick a flat rate or a referral amount based on a percentage.
Don’t forget that you can always change these choices later, so feel free to do so if you need to.
When you’re done giving all the requested information, click Finish and Exit Wizard.
A confirmation page will show up on the setup screen to let you know that the process is done.
Step 3: Tracking Specific Memberships
Now, depending on your chosen integration, ensure that affiliate tracking is enabled on specific subscriptions.
This deeper integration can allow for membership-specific commissions. So, if you have varying levels of courses or memberships, you can customize commissions accordingly.
This is done within your membership plugin settings, so it’s worth checking the documentation specific to your plugin for more detailed steps.
Step 4: Boost Your Coaching Business with Recurring Referrals
If your coaching business offers online courses monthly, consider implementing Recurring Referrals to maximize your affiliate program’s effectiveness.
Note: Recurring Referrals is a pro addon, requiring a Professional license for access.
Recurring Referrals is a game-changer for affiliates, allowing them to earn consistent, recurring revenue. With this feature, affiliates receive commissions each time a customer pays a subscription.
To enable Recurring Referrals, navigate to the Addons page and activate it by toggling the button. This simple action installs and activates the plugin, making it ready for use.
After activation, visit the AffiliateWP Settings, where you’ll find a new Recurring Referrals tab.
Here, you can configure the recurring commission rate and choose the duration for which recurring commissions will be paid.
Step 5: Personalize Your Affiliate Signup Page
When you’re all set up, your next focus should be the affiliate registration area.
Installing AffiliateWP automatically creates an Affiliate Area page for potential affiliates to join your program.
This page blends with your WordPress theme, but you can add some personal touches.
Customize the affiliate registration form to attract top affiliates. AffiliateWP offers four customization options:
- WordPress blocks
- WPForms
- Gravity Forms (Plus and Professional plans)
- Ninja Forms (Plus and Professional plans)
These options empower you to use your form builder effectively in your referral marketing program, boosting signups and automation.
Step 6: Reviewing Affiliate Sign-ups
Once someone completes your affiliate registration form, you’ll automatically receive an email notification.
For customized notification settings, head over to the Emails tab in your AffiliateWP settings.
To review and take action on affiliate applications, visit the Affiliates page and select the Pending tab.
Here, you’ll find a list of all pending applications. To delve into an affiliate’s application details, simply click on their name. From there, you can accept or reject the application using the provided buttons.
Once your decision is made, the affiliate will receive an email notification informing them of the outcome.
If they are accepted, they’ll gain access to their affiliate dashboard directly from the same Affiliate Area page where they initially signed up. This seamless process ensures efficient affiliate registration management.
Step 7: Let Your Affiliates Start Promoting
Once approved, your affiliates get access to their unique dashboard.
Here, they can generate their referral links, view statistics, and gather promotional materials. They’ll use the tools like Custom Link Generator and more to promote your coaching services through their blogs, social media, or other channels.
With the Affiliate Area Tabs addon, you can include additional sections like a guide for affiliates or product overviews. This way, you provide your affiliates with everything they require to market your membership subscriptions effectively, making it easier for them to promote your digital products.
Additionally, AffiliateWP provides powerful tools to enhance your WordPress affiliate program.
Explore these addons:
- Vanity Coupon Codes: Affiliates can make their own unique coupon codes.
- Personalized Affiliate Landing Pages: Boost conversion rates with custom landing pages.
- Affiliate Portal: Elevate the affiliate user experience with a stylish dashboard.
Activate these and more by visiting the AffiliateWP addons page in your WordPress admin sidebar.
Step 8: Rewarding Your Affiliates
Finally, a crucial step – paying your affiliates.
AffiliateWP offers you significant flexibility in managing affiliate payments, but we want to guide you through the most efficient approach to set up these payments.
While we do provide alternatives like PayPal and Stripe, the optimal method involves paying affiliates directly into their bank accounts or through their debit or credit cards. This seamless process is achieved by leveraging our integrated payout service.
To get started with affiliate payouts, we recommend checking out our comprehensive tutorial for a detailed walkthrough.
Alternatively, you can access your AffiliateWP settings and navigate to the Payouts Service tab.
Here, click on the Connect to the Payouts Service link and complete the provided form with your relevant information.
Don’t forget to return to the Payouts Service tab and select the Enable Payouts Service option.
Once you’ve registered for the payouts service, your new affiliates can easily sign up for direct payments to their bank accounts through the Settings tab within their affiliate area.
With your affiliates onboard and their payment details in place, you’re well-prepared to drive your affiliate sales program growth.
Tips for Creating a Successful Affiliate Program for Your Coaching Business
Now, that you have integrated an affiliate program into your WordPress website, here are some additional tips to help you grow your coaching business.
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1. Choose the Right Tools
Before you even get started, it’s essential to have the right tools in place.
As mentioned before, tools like AffiliateWP, OptinMonster, AIOSEO, and WPForms can help you create a coaching affiliate program and an optimized overall WordPress website.
By selecting user-friendly tools offering extensive support and integration options, you can ensure a seamless experience for you and your affiliates.
2. Clear Commission Structures
While offering high commissions to attract more affiliates is tempting, you must strike a balance.
Start with a fair rate, say 20%, and as your program gains traction, you can reconsider this percentage.
Also, think about offering different rates for different courses or membership levels.
For example, your premium coaching package could carry a higher commission than your basic package. Be transparent about these rates with your affiliates so there’s no confusion.
Or, with AffiliateWP, you can also reward your affiliates with tiered affiliate rates. Using this feature, you can motivate your affiliates by rewarding with higher and higher commission rates as they refer more customers.
3. Affiliate Training is Key
Remember, your affiliates are like your brand ambassadors.
Offering them training ensures they represent your coaching business the right way.
Create simple training materials or short videos explaining what your coaching business is about, the courses you offer, and how they can effectively promote them.
This doesn’t need to be complex; even a short introduction and some FAQs can make a big difference.
4. Personalize Your Affiliate Area
When your affiliates log in, they should feel like they’re part of your brand.
Customize the affiliate area to reflect your coaching brand’s colors, logo, and feel.
This creates a sense of belonging and can motivate affiliates to push harder.
Also, please provide them with marketing materials, like banners and sample social media posts, making it easier for them to promote your courses.
5. Prompt and Transparent Payouts
Nothing demotivates an affiliate faster than delayed or unclear payouts.
Use tools like AffiliateWP’s integrated payout service to make payments smooth and timely.
Whether you’re paying through bank transfers or PayPal, ensure the process is clear, quick, and transparent.
Let your affiliates know the payout schedule in advance, whether it’s monthly, bi-monthly, or any other timeframe.
6. Regularly Review and Update
The world of online coaching and affiliate marketing is dynamic. Make it a point to review your affiliate program every few months.
Seek feedback from your affiliates, understand what’s working and what’s not, and make necessary adjustments.
This could mean updating your training materials, tweaking the commission structure, or introducing new promotional strategies.
Get Started With Setting Up Your Affiliate Program
Starting an affiliate program for your coaching business might seem challenging, but it’s a great way to reach more customers and grow your business.
You can turn your affiliates into your brand supporters who share your coaching services with their friends and followers.
If you want to learn more about affiliate programs, here are some helpful resources:
- How to Get Influencers to Promote Your Products for Affiliate Marketing
- How to Start a WordPress Affiliate Program (Easy Steps)
- How to Block Referrer Spam in Affiliate Program on WordPress
- 13+ Ways to Get More Affiliates for Your Affiliate Program in 2023
With this knowledge, you’ll be ready for the next exciting chapter in your coaching business.
Start your affiliate program today with AffiliateWP, and see your brand do even better!
