Affiliate Commissions Explained: What No One Tells You Before You Start

Ever feel confused by commission structures? Or frustrated when the payout doesn't match what you expected?

You're not alone. And honestly, it's not your fault. Most affiliate programs don't make this stuff easy to understand.

In today's episode, Brandy and I are pulling back the curtain on how affiliate commissions actually work, the fine print most people never read, and what to look for before you commit to promoting any offer.

We're covering:

✔️ Why "high commissions" can be misleading
✔️ The back-end upgrade trap that costs affiliates thousands
✔️ Payout schedules that can wreck your cash flow
✔️ What to ask before you ever say yes to a program

If you've been promoting offers and the maths just isn't adding up, or if you're just getting started and want to do it right from day one, this one's for you.

Drop PLAYBOOK below if you want to learn more about how we do things inside the Feminine Wealth community 👇

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Feminine Wealth Podcast. Pumped to be here with you all today. My name is Carrie Haim, and today I'm joined by the lovely Brandy Shaver. And we're the founders of Feminine Wealth and the Feminine Wealth Podcast. And on today's episode, we're diving into a topic that can often feel confusing and maybe a little overwhelming for many affiliate marketers first starting out, and that is commissions and payout terms. Like if you've ever felt lost in the jargon of affiliate marketing commissions, or maybe you're frustrated by the payout process of whatever offers you're promoting right now, you're not alone. Okay. And so today we're going to demystify commissions, we're going to discuss common pitfalls, and we're going to arm you with knowledge to ensure that you're making the best choices when it comes to promoting offers. So as you're jumping on, say hello. Let us know if you're watching live, depending. I mean, we're streaming to multiple platforms right now. If you're watching live, give us a hashtag live. And if you're watching the replay, give us a hashtag replay and we'll come back in and say hello later. So want to start things off, Brandon?

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Absolutely. So I want to talk about a quick story. So a while back, I was promoting a high high-ticket coaching program that promised fantastic commissions. I was excited about those potential earnings. But as I dug deeper, I found out that the commission structure was less than ideal. The program paid out on high percentage on the initial sales, which is the front end stuff, right? But there was a catch. If someone upgraded, I didn't see a dime, which kind of felt misled, right? I was like, wait a second. And that experience taught me an important lesson. Always read the fine print and ask questions. First things first, let's talk about what we mean by commissions. Okay. So in the affiliate marketing world, commissions are the payments you earn for promoting someone else's offers or services or products. Okay. It's usually percentage of sale, like the sell price, but it can vary widely depending on each program. Now, here's where things get a little janky. Many commission structures are not completely transparent. And this can lead to a lot of confusion. For instance, some programs might have um offer a high commission percentage on their base product, but do not pay out on the high ticket upgrades. So if you're promoting a product that sells like for $100 with a 50% commission, that sounds great, right? But what happens when the customer later decides to upgrade to a thousand dollar package and you don't get a cut of that sell, right? You brought the person there and you got the front end piece, but then they continue to pay the company money and you don't get a piece of that. This is where you must do your homework before you start promoting anything. If you're not making a percentage off the high ticket upgrade on the back end, which we call at feminine wealth the premium, um, pre passive premium partnerships, there's no leverage. Okay. You're just like always looking for the next sell. Does that make sense? And you're definitely not being paid what you're worth. So at feminine wealth, we actually pay 25% on our back end upgrades, resulting in commissions over $1,000 per upgrade. That adds up quickly and is the ultimate leverage as an affiliate. It doesn't take very many upgrades to make a nice income each month.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Yeah. Well, I mean, we were talking about this with our students at on our last coaching call when, you know, a lot of our students we asked, you know, like, what is it that you need to make? Like, what's like in the next year, if you could be making a certain amount, how like how much is it? And it's so fascinating because it always seems to be 10,000 per month. That's like the main amount. And when people realize if you're making a thousand dollars per sale, you only need 10, 10 in an entire month, 10 of those upgrades, right? So it doesn't take very many to hit that number. And what was fascinating was as we like started breaking down the numbers of what people needed to do, all of a sudden they're like, heck, a year from now I want to be making 20, right? Because they're like, or or or 30. They're like, if I can make a thousand dollars a day in upgrades, like that's a carrot worth chasing. So, next, let's talk about like the payout terms, because these terms dictate when and how you receive commissions. And a common scenario that many affiliates encounter is waiting for their first payout anywhere. Like, I've seen it up to 90 days, 60 days is a gut punch, right? Like, like, and you heard like think about that. You bring someone in and you're not gonna get paid for them for an entire quarter of a year. Like, imagine pouring your time and effort into promoting a product and then having to wait two months. It kind of feels like to see a dynamic.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Um, quarterly taxes.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

That's how I feel about quarterly. Yeah, Rocky. And here's the thing if you're someone like Brandy and I, we like to run ads. I mean, I if if you're seeing us, I'm sure you've seen our faces all over, you know, social media because we do run sponsored ads. And if you aren't making an ROI for two whole months, like you're hemorrhaging, you're bleeding out, right? Like it hurts.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

And so this delay can be frustrating, especially if you're counting on that income to fund your next steps, to fund your life. So it's crucial to check the payout schedule of any affiliate program you're considering. So you can find programs that pay out weekly, but if there are refunds, and this is what I hate about weekly payout, is because if there happens to be a refund and you got paid out, all of a sudden you're negative in your account that next month, right? And so I've I I mean that can also be frustrating to see that all of a sudden red. So we've found that the best affiliate payouts happen either bi-monthly or monthly, right? Because at that point, if you're even if you're running ads, you're paying meta once a month anyway. So it's not like you're hemorrhaging on the back end. And so uh look for something a minimum of monthly so that you don't have to worry about those refund periods. And not only do you want to know how long you'll be waiting, but you also want to check the minimum payout threshold. Like most programs won't send you money until you've hit a certain amount. So if you're not careful, you could end up waiting even longer because you haven't hit the minimum payout threshold.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Yeah, those are great points. So, what should you look for when evaluating commission structures and payout terms? First, transparency is key. Does the program clearly outline the commission structure? Okay, does it tell you the time frame that Carrie's talking about, right? Does it list the percentages? If you can't find this information up front, it could be a red flag. Second, understand the full scope of what you're promoting. Are there upsells or high-ticket items that you may not earn commissions on? Always ask these questions before jumping in because listen, I don't know if you've seen that assume, right? Where they they draw it out A-S-S-U-M-E. If you take assume and you do the thing, it says you make an ass out of you and me. Okay. So don't assume. Always ask. Be clear on what it's doing before you jump in. Third, pay close attention to the payout schedule. How often do they pay? Is there a minimum threshold? Knowing this can help you plan your cash flow better. And if you're gonna run ads, right, you need to know that information. You don't want to be stuck with a huge meta bill and then you know you don't get paid until two weeks later, kind of thing, right? You wanna figure out how to line those up because that's that's hard. And finally, check the program's reputation, look for reviews online from other affiliates. Um, are they getting paid on time? Are there complaints about hidden fees or commission structures, those kind of things? And honestly, if you can find an affiliate that's doing really well in that company, I would ask maybe even to like meet with them and like go over all the details. Not because, like, you know, you're looking for anything like red flag ish, which you should be, but if you can meet with somebody that's doing it, they can also shortcut your pitfalls. So, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yes. So, in summary, when you're considering promoting affiliate products, like take the time to understand those commission structures and payout terms. Look for transparency, know the payout schedule, and always be aware of fine print because there are companies out there that they try to paint that it's the most amazing thing ever. But then when you actually go and read the fine print, it's not all that amazing. Okay. And so by doing this, you'll not only save yourself time and frustration, but you'll also position yourself for success as an affiliate marketer. So if you got value, let us know. Give us a hashtag value depending on where you're watching this from. And if you're interested in becoming in checking out, you know, the affiliate program here inside the feminine wealth community, maybe drop affiliate in the um, I guess wherever you're watching from and let us know uh because we'd love to have you a part of our world. Thank you for tuning in today uh for the feminine wealth podcast. If you found this information helpful, make sure you share it with any fellow marketers that you know. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our episodes where we explore more tips and strategies to build your affiliate marketing business. So until next time, stay informed, stay empowered, and we'll see you on the next episode. See you then.