Frequently Asked Questions

1. Your affiliate account. This guide here provides detailed information on how to find your links in Impact.
2. The affiliate link cheatsheet which you can find here.

HubSpot has several products which means you have different links for different products. We encourage you to use the affiliate link that is most relevant to the content to optimize your conversions. For example, if you want to promote HubSpot in a listicle titled “Top 5 Email Marketing Tools”, we recommend using the email marketing link rather than the CRM link. 

• Use our Resource Center (which you’re on right now!) for promotional assets, tips, and other helpful resources.
• Use the right links for your promotions.
  If your audience is mainly non-English speaking, it’s best to use localized links. Localized links direct visitors to non-English landing pages. For example, if your audience mainly speaks French, we recommend using one of our French links to optimize your conversions.
  
  You can find these links in two different ways:
  1. From our link cheatsheet which you can access here. All you have to do is make a copy of the sheet, input your Impact Account ID number, and use the dropdown menu to select which language you want. Your link will then automatically populate in the “Affiliate Link” column.
  2. From your Impact dashboard which you can log in to here. Click Content > Assets > Text Link. Then you can filter by the following languages: English, Français (French), Deutsch (German), Português (Portuguese), and Español (Spanish). For more information on how you can find your links in Impact, check out this guide here.
  
  
  It’s also important to use the affiliate link that aligns most with the topic of your content, especially considering the fact that HubSpot has several products. For example, if your content promotes HubSpot’s landing page builder, you should use the landing page builder affiliate link instead of the customer service software link.
• Include an FTC disclosure in all your promotions.
  Check out our FTC Guidelines here to learn more about what an FTC disclosure is, why it’s required, and some inspiration on how to write your own affiliate disclosure.
• Remember to focus on educating rather than selling when it comes to creating your content.
  That way you will truly add value to your audience's lives, build trust, and ultimately make them more inclined to purchase through your link.

Yes, you must be FTC compliant and disclose that you will receive commission if someone clicks through your link and makes a purchase. Your affiliate disclosure should be clearly and conspicuously displayed before or near any affiliate links.

Here are some examples of affiliate disclosures you can use:

• We receive commission on purchases made through links on this page/in this email.
• If you upgrade and make a purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.
• Heads up, we make money if you purchase with this link.
• We are a HubSpot affiliate and receive a commission when you purchase.

To learn more, check out our FTC guidelines.

Backlinks and mentions on our blog are typically at the discretion of our writers on a separate team. Keep in mind that the primary goal of the affiliate program is for you to earn commissions, not necessarily to get cross-promotion.

That being said, the best way for us to make a case and promote you in return would be if we could point to the number of signups your website brings to HubSpot.

So, the best way to go about this would be for you to amp up your promotion by adding HubSpot on your best-performing pages and we can then look at how many signups those placements get. If the number is high enough, then we can look into giving some promotion back your way as well.

• Free CRM
• 14-Day Free Trial
• CRM Suite Starter

You can refer any business or individual that is not an existing HubSpot customer.

Some limitations include:

• The customer cannot be a direct client referral.
• The customer cannot already be assigned to a HubSpot rep. In order for you to receive commission, the customer cannot be in an active sales process at the time of the affiliate click.

For more details on what is considered a valid referral, we recommend reviewing the program policies and agreement.

• Sale: When a contact has purchased a HubSpot product through an affiliate link within the first 180 days of the initial sign up
• Signup: When a contact creates a new (free) account on the HubSpot platform
• QL: When a contact has filled out a specific “high intent” form (e.g. request a demo) or took a high intent action (e.g. clicked “Talk to sales")

What is a sale?

A sale refers to someone that purchases one of the core HubSpot products. Commission does not include add-ons (e.g. we give a commission for anything ending in Starter, Professional, or Enterprise).

How is a sale triggered?

When your audience clicks on your affiliate link, they will be redirected to a HubSpot page. Your audience can then sign up or purchase from that HubSpot page. If they purchase HubSpot (and meet the eligibility requirements for a valid referral), then you will receive a percentage of that sale. If they sign up for HubSpot for free (and meet the eligibility requirements for a valid referral), then they must make a purchase within 180 days of that signup date for you to earn commission from their first purchase.

How do sale payouts work?

The standard commission for the program is a 30% CPA recurring commission rate (up to 1 year). This means that you will receive 30% each month for up to 12 months (as long as the customer is still a customer). For example, if someone purchases a Starter product at $50, you will receive $15 each month, for up to 1 year as long as the customer remains a customer for that time period, equating to $180 total.

What is a signup?

A signup refers to someone creating a new account on the HubSpot platform. This typically involves providing some basic information such as name, email address, and company details. Once a signup is completed, the user gains access to free features and tools offered by HubSpot for marketing, sales, customer service, and more.

How is a signup triggered?

When your audience clicks on your affiliate link they will be redirected to a HubSpot page. Your audience can then sign up from that HubSpot page. If they complete the HubSpot signup form (and meet the eligibility requirements for a valid referral), then you will receive a payment for that signup based on the terms of your CPL agreement.

How do signup payouts work?

We have the ability to customize payouts beyond our program's standard 30% recurring commission for our Elite affiliate partner tier, this includes working with Elite partners on a CPL (cost-per-lead) offer for signups. 

When creating a custom CPL offer, we break it down by product, device, and region. In some cases, we may also offer tiering to allow you to earn more for increased performance. 

What is a qualified lead (QL)?

QL or qualified lead is the act of a contact or company completing a trigger event that is considered a QL. A QL is a contact who has filled out a specific “high intent” form (ex. request a demo) or took a high intent action (ex. clicked talk to sales). 

How is a qualified lead triggered?

Below are actions that are considered as a QL trigger: 

• Hand raise: A free user or customer clicking "Talk to Sales" from within the product or a HSFS application. Also fires when a user/customer sends a message or clicks on a quick reply in the chatbots on the pricing page or paywalls.
• In-app trial: A trial that is initiated from within the product.
• ISC: A contact who talks to an Inbound Success Coach who deems them ready to speak with sales from in-app or the HubSpot website.
• Book a meeting: A contact who is driven by marketing to book a meeting with a sales rep.
• Demo: A contact who fills out a demo form on hubspot.com, a contact who fills out the "Book Meeting Form" but does not book a meeting, or a contact who clicks a link in email to "Get a Demo".
• Contact sales: A contact who fills out the contact us form on hubspot.com.
• AP Contact sales: A contact who fills out the contact us form on hubspot.com specifically about the Solutions Partner and Solutions Provider program. 
• SQL: A customer identified by the Services team that is ready to buy more products.
• Solutions Provider signup: A contact who signs up to be a Solutions Provider via forms or a Partner Development Manager who submits an SPQL Type on Contact to buy more HubSpot for themselves, upgrade to Solutions Partner or has a prospect who wants to buy HubSpot.
• Website trial: A contact or user who starts a trial from hubspot.com.

The HubSpot team relies on you to generate high quality demand. You rely on us to work this high quality demand. To keep our demand engine healthy, we focus on generating demand in the form of sales and QLs to ensure high quality users and to maximize commissions for you.

How do QL payouts work?

We have the ability to customize payouts beyond our program's standard 30% recurring commission for our Elite affiliate partner tier, this includes working with Elite partners on a CPQL (cost-per-qualified-lead) offer for QLs.

When creating a custom CPQL offer, we may break it down by QL action, product, device, and region. In some cases, we may also offer tiering to allow you to earn more for increased performance. 

We follow last touch attribution which means that our system credits the touchpoint the customer last clicked on before signing up for HubSpot. There’s an API call that sends all HubSpot click data to Impact and we do not give credit if the last click went to a different channel.

Cookie window: You will receive credit for a signup made within 30 days of clicking your affiliate link. You will receive credit for the purchase if the purchase is made within 180 days from the signup.

Locking window: The customer must remain a customer for the duration of the set "locking window” which is 1 month (this is to prevent fraud). For annual purchases, the locking window is 2 months. When we increase commission rates, we increase the locking window as well.

Your payment timeline depends on which package a customer purchases, whether that be a monthly or annual plan. You can learn more about how your payments are processed here.

Monthly subscription: For you to receive a commission, your referral must remain a customer for 30 days + the number of days at the end of that month. If your referral meets these conditions, you get paid within 2 months. For example, if someone purchases HubSpot on May 15, then they must remain a customer until July 3 (the rest of the month of May + one month). If that's the case, then you would get paid on August 3.

Here are the specific contract terms which you can access at any time in your affiliate portal:

• Action Locking: Actions are locked 1 month(s) and 2 day(s) after end of the month they are tracked
• Invoicing: Actions are invoiced on the 2 of the month after they lock
• Payout Scheduling: Approved transactions are paid 30 day(s) after the end of the day they are invoiced

Annual subscription: For you to receive a commission, your referral must remain a customer for 60 days + the number of days at the end of that month. If your referral meets these conditions, they should get paid within 3 months. For example, if someone purchases HubSpot on May 15, then they must remain a customer until August 3 (the rest of the month of May + two months). If that's the case, then you would get paid on September 3.

Here are the specific contract terms which you can access at any time in your affiliate portal:

• Action Locking: Actions are locked 2 month(s) and 2 day(s) after end of the month they are tracked
• Invoicing: Actions are invoiced on the 2 of the month after they lock
• Payout Scheduling: Approved transactions are paid 30 day(s) after the end of the day they are invoiced