Create an Affiliate Program with Thinkific
Step-by-step guide to integrating affiliate tracking with your Thinkific online course platform
Thinkific is a leading online course platform that helps course creators build, market, and sell online courses. If you're using Thinkific to sell courses and want to grow your student base through affiliate marketing, AffiliateBase provides seamless integration.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about setting up an affiliate program with Thinkific, from webhook configuration to tracking course enrollments, subscription purchases, and student conversions.
Whether you're selling single courses, course bundles, or subscription-based access, an affiliate program can help you acquire new students while rewarding your partners for successful referrals.
Follow these steps to integrate AffiliateBase with Thinkific:
Set Up Thinkific Webhooks
https://api.affiliatebase.com/webhooks/thinkific
Select Webhook Events
Add Webhook Secret to AffiliateBase
Configure Commission Rules
Pass Affiliate IDs to Thinkific
Test the Integration
Thinkific Webhook Handler Example
Here's an example of how to handle Thinkific webhooks for affiliate tracking:
// Example: Next.js API route for Thinkific webhooks
import { headers } from 'next/headers';
import crypto from 'crypto';
import { AffiliateBase } from '@affiliatebase/sdk';
const affiliateBase = new AffiliateBase({
apiKey: process.env.AFFILIATEBASE_API_KEY!,
});
export async function POST(request: Request) {
const body = await request.text();
const signature = headers().get('x-thinkific-signature')!;
// Verify webhook signature
const expectedSignature = crypto
.createHmac('sha256', process.env.THINKIFIC_WEBHOOK_SECRET!)
.update(body)
.digest('hex');
if (signature !== expectedSignature) {
return new Response('Invalid signature', { status: 401 });
}
const event = JSON.parse(body);
// Handle different event types
switch (event.type) {
case 'enrollment.created':
await affiliateBase.trackConversion({
affiliateId: event.data.enrollment.metadata?.affiliateId,
type: 'course_enrollment',
amount: event.data.enrollment.price,
currency: event.data.enrollment.currency,
customerId: event.data.enrollment.user_id,
metadata: {
course_id: event.data.enrollment.course_id,
course_name: event.data.enrollment.course_name,
enrollment_id: event.data.enrollment.id,
},
});
break;
case 'order.created':
await affiliateBase.trackConversion({
affiliateId: event.data.order.metadata?.affiliateId,
type: 'course_purchase',
amount: event.data.order.total_price,
currency: event.data.order.currency,
customerId: event.data.order.customer_id,
metadata: {
order_id: event.data.order.id,
line_items: event.data.order.line_items,
},
});
break;
case 'subscription.created':
await affiliateBase.trackConversion({
affiliateId: event.data.subscription.metadata?.affiliateId,
type: 'subscription',
amount: event.data.subscription.price,
currency: event.data.subscription.currency,
customerId: event.data.subscription.customer_id,
subscriptionId: event.data.subscription.id,
});
break;
}
return new Response(JSON.stringify({ received: true }), { status: 200 });
}
Why Use AffiliateBase with Thinkific?
AffiliateBase is the perfect solution for Thinkific course creators who want powerful affiliate tracking without complexity.
Native Thinkific Integration
Built-in integration with Thinkific webhooks. Automatically tracks course enrollments, purchases, and subscriptions without custom code.
Real-Time Tracking
Track conversions in real-time as students enroll or purchase courses. No delays or batch processing.
Subscription Support
Tracks subscription-based course access, including monthly and annual subscriptions. Ensures affiliates receive commissions for recurring revenue.
Multiple Course Support
Support for different commission rates based on course type, price, or category. Perfect for schools with multiple courses.
Affiliate Dashboard
Give your affiliates a professional dashboard to track their performance, view commissions, and generate affiliate links for specific courses.
Webhook Security
Built-in webhook signature verification ensures only legitimate Thinkific events are processed, protecting your affiliate program from fraud.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does AffiliateBase work with Thinkific? ▼
Yes! AffiliateBase integrates seamlessly with Thinkific through webhooks. It automatically tracks course enrollments, purchases, and subscription sign-ups.
How are course enrollments tracked? ▼
AffiliateBase tracks Thinkific enrollments through webhooks. When a student enrolls in a course via an affiliate link, the enrollment.created webhook triggers affiliate tracking and commission calculation.
Can I track subscription-based courses? ▼
Yes! AffiliateBase tracks Thinkific subscriptions through the subscription.created webhook. Affiliates receive commissions for subscription sign-ups and can be configured to receive commissions on renewals as well.
Can I set different commission rates for different courses? ▼
Yes! You can configure different commission structures in AffiliateBase based on course, course category, or price. This gives you full control over your affiliate program.
How do I add affiliate tracking to my Thinkific course URLs? ▼
Add affiliate tracking parameters to your Thinkific course URLs (e.g., ?ref=AFFILIATE_ID). AffiliateBase will capture these parameters and attribute conversions correctly when students enroll or purchase.
Do affiliates get their own dashboard? ▼
Yes! Affiliates get access to a professional dashboard where they can view their conversions, commissions, performance metrics, and generate affiliate links for specific courses.
What happens if a student purchases multiple courses? ▼
Each course purchase is tracked separately. If a student purchases multiple courses through an affiliate link, the affiliate receives commissions for each purchase.
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Ready to Launch Your Thinkific Affiliate Program?
Get started with AffiliateBase today and start growing your Thinkific school through affiliate marketing.