Affiliation

The Affiliation Pro addon for DigiCommerce allows you to create a comprehensive affiliate marketing system for your online store. This powerful tool helps you expand your reach, boost sales, and reward your loyal customers or partners who refer new business to you.

Setting Up Your Affiliate Program

1. Enable the Affiliate System

Navigate to DigiCommerce → Settings → Affiliation and check the “Enable affiliation system” option. This activates the affiliate features across your store.

2. Configure Basic Settings

• Affiliate Account Page: Select a page to host the affiliate account interface. The page should contain the [digicommerce_affiliate_account] shortcode. This page will serve as the hub where affiliates can register, log in, and access their dashboard.
• Auto-Approval: If checked, new affiliate applications will be automatically approved without requiring manual review. This is useful for quickly growing your affiliate network, but may require additional monitoring for quality control. If unchecked, you’ll need to manually approve each application, which gives you more control but requires more administrative time.
• Referral Type:
  • Percentage: Commission calculated as a percentage of the order total (e.g., 10% of a $100 order = $10 commission).
  • Flat Amount: Fixed commission regardless of order value (e.g., $5 per sale regardless of order amount).
• Referral Rate: The actual amount or percentage affiliates earn per successful referral. Higher rates may attract more affiliates but will impact your profit margins. Finding the right balance is key to a sustainable program.
• Cookie Expiration: Determines how long the tracking lasts after someone clicks an affiliate link. For example, with a 30-day cookie, if a customer clicks an affiliate’s link but purchases 25 days later, the affiliate still gets credit. Longer durations benefit affiliates but may result in more commissions paid.

3. Configure Payment Settings

• Commission Holding Period: The number of days before commissions become available for payout. This waiting period protects your business against potential refunds or chargebacks. For example, with a 14-day holding period, commissions are only released 14 days after the initial sale.
• Minimum Payout Amount: The minimum earnings an affiliate must accumulate before requesting payment. This helps reduce transaction costs by processing fewer, larger payments. For example, setting this to $50 means affiliates must earn at least $50 before they can request a payout.
• PayPal Integration: Enable PayPal for streamlined affiliate payments. This allows you to pay multiple affiliates at once directly through PayPal’s mass payment system, saving you significant administrative time.

4. Customize Email Notifications

• Affiliate Status Notifications: When enabled, the system will automatically send emails to affiliates when their status changes (approved or rejected). This improves communication and keeps affiliates informed.
• Admin Notifications: When enabled, you’ll receive an email notification when a new affiliate registers. This helps you stay on top of your program’s growth.
• Acceptance Email: Customize the email title and content sent to affiliates when their application is approved. You can use variables like {first_name}, {site_name}, and {affiliate_login_url} to personalize these emails.
• Rejection Email: Customize the email sent when an affiliate application is rejected. A well-crafted rejection email can maintain goodwill even when declining an application.

5. Set Terms & Conditions

Add your affiliate program terms and conditions to ensure clarity and compliance. This should cover commission structures, payment terms, prohibited marketing methods, and any other relevant policies. Clear terms help prevent misunderstandings and protect your business. When filled out, affiliates will be required to agree to these terms during registration.

Managing Affiliates

The Affiliates menu provides access to comprehensive management tools:

• Manage Affiliates: View a list of all affiliates with filtering options by status (active, pending, rejected). You can approve, reject, or deactivate affiliates, edit their commission rates, and view their performance statistics. This central hub gives you complete control over who participates in your program.
• Statistics: Access detailed analytics including total visits, conversion rates, top-performing affiliates, and earnings over time. These insights help you evaluate your program’s effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement. You can filter data by date ranges to track performance over specific periods.
• Export Data: Generate CSV files for payouts, which can be used for accounting purposes or uploaded directly to payment platforms. This streamlines the payment process, especially when dealing with multiple affiliates.

For Affiliates

Affiliates get access to a feature-rich dashboard that includes:

• Personal Statistics: Real-time data showing visits, conversions, earnings, and conversion rate over customizable time periods. This transparency helps affiliates track their performance and optimize their promotion strategies.
• Referral Links: Unique, trackable links that affiliates can share on their websites, social media, or email campaigns. The system automatically attributes sales to the correct affiliate when these links are used.
• Earnings Breakdown: Detailed view of commission history, including pending, paid, and available commissions. This clarity builds trust and keeps affiliates motivated.
• Payment Information: Section to add or update payment details, ensuring smooth commission transfers when payouts are processed.

Cookie Tracking Explained

The affiliate system uses cookies to track referrals. Here’s how it works:

1. A visitor clicks on an affiliate’s unique link.
2. A tracking cookie is placed on the visitor’s browser.
3. If the visitor makes a purchase within the cookie expiration period (even if they leave and return later), the affiliate receives credit.
4. Once a purchase is completed, the cookie is cleared to prevent duplicate commissions.

This system ensures accurate attribution while respecting customer privacy.

PayPal Payout Process

To configure PayPal API to use this feature, check this article.

When PayPal integration is enabled, you can process affiliate payments with these steps:

1. Navigate to the Affiliates section in your admin dashboard.
2. Select the affiliates you wish to pay or click “Pay All Eligible Affiliates.”
3. Review the payout details, including total amount and recipient information.
4. Confirm the transaction to send payments directly to affiliates’ PayPal emails.
5. The system automatically marks the relevant commissions as “paid” and records the transaction details.

This integration significantly reduces the administrative burden of manual payments.

Best Practices

1. Clear Communication: Ensure your affiliate terms and commission structures are clearly communicated. Transparency builds trust and attracts quality affiliates. Consider creating an FAQ section for common questions.
2. Regular Payouts: Maintain a consistent payment schedule (e.g., monthly) to keep affiliates motivated and engaged. Prompt payments demonstrate reliability and professionalism.
3. Marketing Materials: Provide affiliates with high-quality banners, product images, and pre-written content to increase their promotional effectiveness. Better tools lead to better results.
4. Performance Incentives: Consider creating tiered commission structures (e.g., higher rates for affiliates who generate more sales) to reward top performers and drive competitive engagement.
5. Regular Reviews: Periodically evaluate your affiliate program’s performance metrics, commission structures, and affiliate feedback. Be willing to adjust your program based on data and affiliate suggestions.
6. Compliance Monitoring: Regularly review affiliate marketing methods to ensure they align with your brand values and comply with regulations. Address any concerning practices promptly to protect your reputation.

By effectively setting up and managing your affiliate program with DigiCommerce’s Affiliation Pro addon, you can create a powerful marketing channel that drives growth for your business through the power of word-of-mouth and trusted recommendations.