Glossary

Every key term from this course, in plain English. No jargon left unexplained.

Referral

A customer recommending you to someone they know, usually for a modest two-sided reward. Driven by satisfaction and social motivation.

Affiliate

A partner — often a creator, consultant, or business — who promotes you for a commission. A business relationship, not just goodwill.

Commission

What you pay per referred sale, usually a percentage (10–30%) or flat fee. Recurring commissions (a cut of every payment) recruit serious affiliates.

Cookie window

How long after clicking an affiliate's link a purchase still credits them — typically 30–90 days. Longer windows recruit better affiliates.

Tracking code

A unique code or link per advocate so you know exactly who drove each sale. The foundation of every program — no code, no credit, no trust.

Payout threshold

The minimum earnings before you pay out (e.g. $50). Prevents administrative overhead on tiny amounts.

Advocate

Anyone who actively recommends you — customer, fan, or partner. Your program's job is to make advocating easy and rewarding.

Swipe copy

Pre-written emails, posts, and messages affiliates can copy-paste. Removes the 'what do I say?' friction that kills participation.

Attribution

Deciding which advocate gets credit when a customer touches multiple referral sources. First-touch and last-touch are the common rules — pick one and be consistent.

Lifetime value (LTV)

What a customer is worth over their whole relationship with you. Sets the ceiling on what you can afford to pay per referral.

Recruitment

Actively finding and inviting affiliates — not waiting for signups. The difference between programs that work and programs that sit empty.

Conversion

Here: the percentage of referred visitors who become customers. Referred traffic usually converts 2–4x better than cold traffic — that's the point.

Program terms

The written rules: commission rates, cookie window, payout schedule, what's prohibited. Short, clear, public.

Tier

Reward levels that increase with performance (e.g. 20% base, 30% over 10 sales/month). Tiers motivate your best affiliates to push harder.

Fraud

Self-referrals, fake accounts, coupon-site hijacking. Small programs rarely face it; know the signs before you scale.