Table of Contents
- 1. What Is a Skool Affiliate Program?
- Core Benefits of a Skool Affiliate Program
- 2. Setting Your Commission Rates
- Step-by-Step: Configuring Commissions
- 3. How Members Share Referral Links
- Locating the Referral Link
- Referral Mechanics
- 4. Tracking and Managing Your Affiliate Results
- Real-Time Analytics
- Payout Process
- Handling Auto-Affiliate Situations
- 5. Common Pitfalls & Best Practices
- Potential Pitfalls
- Best Practices
- 6. FAQs About Skool Affiliate Programs
- 1. Do I need a paid community to have an affiliate program?
- 2. How long does it take for commissions to become available?
- 3. What if I want to change my commission percentage later?
- 4. Does Skool track affiliates via cookies?
- 5. Can multiple admins earn affiliate commissions?
- 6. What happens if a referred member transfers group ownership?
- 7. Conclusion & Next Steps
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The fastest way to describe Skool’s affiliate program is this: you can empower your own community members to become ambassadors who share your group with their networks—and earn commissions for every successful referral. By activating Skool’s built-in affiliate features, you simplify the process of setting commission rates, providing referral links, and tracking results in one central hub.
In this post, we’ll walk you through exactly how to launch an affiliate program within your Skool community. You’ll learn what a Skool affiliate program is, how to set your commission rates, how members share referral links, and how to track and manage everything seamlessly. By the end, you’ll be ready to harness the power of a referral-driven community.
Ready to see a thriving Skool affiliate program in action?Join Ryan’s FREE community and discover firsthand how a well-structured affiliate setup can accelerate your growth.
1. What Is a Skool Affiliate Program?
A Skool affiliate program enables you, as the community owner, to reward members who successfully refer new participants. In other words, people who love your group can earn a commission whenever someone they refer joins and pays for your community (if it’s a paid group). For free communities, referrals may simply help you grow your user base, but even that can indirectly boost revenue if you sell additional products or upgrades within Skool.
Core Benefits of a Skool Affiliate Program
- Built-In Simplicity: Skool integrates affiliate settings directly into the admin dashboard, eliminating the need for multiple third-party tools.
- Automatic Tracking: When members share their referral links, Skool tracks who clicked, who joined, and who’s eligible for commissions—no messy spreadsheets needed.
- Growth & Engagement: By rewarding your most loyal members, you incentivize them to spread the word. This can lead to exponential growth, especially if your community is already active and valuable.
- Community Ownership: Unlike hosting affiliates on a separate platform, Skool keeps your community and its referral program in one place, ensuring a cohesive experience for new and existing members alike.
Tip: If you run a paid community, affiliates can make a percentage of each sale. If your community is free, you can still set up an affiliate system—members just won’t earn commissions unless you later convert them into paying users or introduce paid upgrades.
2. Setting Your Commission Rates
Once you decide to enable an affiliate program, the most crucial step is determining how much commission affiliates earn per successful referral. Skool allows you to configure these rates from your Admin Settings area.
Step-by-Step: Configuring Commissions
- Access Admin Settings
- In Skool, click on your profile picture in the upper right corner, then select “Settings.”
- Locate the ADMIN ⚙️ panel for the specific community you want to manage.
- Open the ‘Affiliates’ Tab
- On the left navigation menu, you’ll see an “Affiliates” section. Click this to view your affiliate program settings.
- Set Your Commission Rate
- You can pick a percentage (e.g., 20%, 30%, 50%) to share with your affiliates.
- If you want to change your commission in the future, keep in mind:
- Increasing it is generally seen as a win by affiliates (they earn more).
- Decreasing or turning it off might cause frustration among your most loyal promoters.
- Save & Communicate
- After saving your commission rate, make sure to communicate this change to your current affiliates or any active members. You’ll also want to highlight the rate to encourage more people to share your group.
Example: You charge $100/month for your community. If you set your commission rate to 30%, each successful referral earns the affiliate $30/month as long as the referred member stays subscribed.
Pro Tip: Experiment with different commission rates to find what motivates members most. Higher rates can attract super-affiliates, but your profit margin must also remain healthy.
3. How Members Share Referral Links
Once your commission is set, your members (and even admins, if you choose) can access a unique referral link directly from their Skool dashboard. Sharing these links is straightforward and can be done in just a few clicks.
Locating the Referral Link
- Member Settings
- Each member clicks on their profile picture in the top right corner and selects “Settings.”
- Affiliates Tab
- Under “Affiliates,” members see a unique link that tracks referrals.
- Copy & Share
- Members copy their link and share it however they’d like—email, social media, YouTube descriptions, or direct messages.
Referral Mechanics
- Last-Touch Attribution: Skool typically uses a 14-day cookie and last-click attribution. If someone clicks the affiliate link and signs up within 14 days, the affiliate gets credit.
- Paid vs. Free:
- Paid Group: The referral is tracked as soon as the new member pays. Commissions become available after a 14-day hold to account for refunds.
- Free Group: Members can refer others to a free community for general growth (no commission payouts unless there’s a later paid upgrade).
Note: If your Skool group is free, you can still encourage referrals by emphasizing community value and potential future monetization (e.g., premium courses or events).
4. Tracking and Managing Your Affiliate Results
Admin Controls are where you see who’s driving traffic, how many people are converting, and how much commission is owed. Here’s how to keep a close eye on your affiliate program:
Real-Time Analytics
- Dashboard Overview: The “Affiliates” tab in your admin settings will give you at-a-glance metrics: total referrals, pending commissions, and total payouts.
- Pending vs. Available Earnings: If there’s a 14-day hold, new commissions will show as “pending” before they’re eligible for payout.
Payout Process
- Initiate Payout
- Once you have funds available (post-refund window), a “PAYOUT” button becomes clickable.
- Choose Bank Account
- If you’re receiving affiliate commissions from Skool itself (for referring others to create their own groups), or if you’re paying out to your own group affiliates, you’ll have to ensure your bank details are set up correctly.
- If you need to change bank accounts, click the three-dots menu next to your payout option and follow the instructions to add new account details.
- Confirm & Finalize
- After verifying your bank account, confirm the payout. Funds typically transfer within a few business days, depending on your financial institution.
Handling Auto-Affiliate Situations
Skool’s auto-affiliate feature ensures that if someone from your community creates their own paid Skool group, you receive a 40% referral cut from Skool’s subscription share. If you have multiple admins, you can also choose which admin or “owner” gets this referral credit. Manage this in the “Billing & affiliates” tab.
5. Common Pitfalls & Best Practices
Even a streamlined system can have hiccups. Here’s how to avoid the most common affiliate program pitfalls:
Potential Pitfalls
- Under-Communicating Changes
- Suddenly lowering commissions or switching off the affiliate program without warning can upset your biggest promoters.
- Late Payouts
- Delays in payouts undermine trust. Make sure you’re prompt when funds become available.
- Self-Referrals
- Skool disallows members from using their own links to purchase or create new groups. This ensures affiliates actually drive new people.
Best Practices
- Welcome Packet for Affiliates
- Provide your top affiliates with marketing materials, sample posts, or pre-written emails to help them promote effectively.
- Celebrate Affiliate Success
- Publicly acknowledge high-performing affiliates in your Skool feed or via email updates. This encourages healthy competition.
- Maintain a Transparent Dashboard
- Let affiliates view their stats easily—total clicks, sign-ups, pending commissions. This fosters trust.
- Gather Affiliate Feedback
- Periodically ask your affiliates for input on how to improve. Maybe they want different banner designs, deeper analytics, or higher commissions.
Pro Tip: A short “Affiliate Q&A Thread” in your Skool group can address questions, showcase success stories, and motivate new members to become affiliates as well.
6. FAQs About Skool Affiliate Programs
1. Do I need a paid community to have an affiliate program?
No. You can technically enable referrals in a free group to grow membership. However, affiliates typically only earn commissions for paid memberships—unless you add a paid upgrade or product down the line.
2. How long does it take for commissions to become available?
Skool holds commissions for 14 days to account for potential refunds. After that, they move into your “available” balance.
3. What if I want to change my commission percentage later?
You can adjust it in your Admin Settings > Affiliates tab. Increasing the rate is almost always well-received. Decreasing or turning it off might frustrate existing affiliates, so communicate any changes well in advance.
4. Does Skool track affiliates via cookies?
Yes. Skool uses a 14-day last-touch attribution. If a user clicks multiple referral links, the most recent link (within that 14-day period) typically gets credit.
5. Can multiple admins earn affiliate commissions?
You can designate a single admin or owner to receive the auto-affiliate credit if your members create their own Skool communities. For your direct affiliate program, each member has their own link, so multiple people can earn commissions simultaneously, just not for the same referral.
6. What happens if a referred member transfers group ownership?
Per Skool’s rules, affiliate payouts stop if the original referred group owner cancels or transfers ownership. This ensures the referral is tied to the initial buyer.
7. Conclusion & Next Steps
Creating an affiliate program on Skool is one of the most efficient ways to leverage the enthusiasm of your members and scale your community—without spending a fortune on ads. By setting clear commission rates, offering straightforward referral links, and closely monitoring your payouts, you’ll build trust and momentum from the inside out.
Ready to see all these steps in action?Join Ryan’s FREE community and learn how a well-executed affiliate strategy can ignite viral growth for your Skool group.
