How To Start Affiliate Marketing With Clickbank 2022

Most people who want to start affiliate marketing with Clickbank never get past the signup page. They open the marketplace, see thousands of products, and freeze. Which one do you pick? How do you get anyone to actually click your link? And how do you know if the product is worth promoting in the first place? In this post, Alston Godbolt breaks down the exact step-by-step process he walks through when getting started with Clickbank, using a real product from the marketplace as the working example throughout.

This is not a theory post. Every step here reflects what Alston actually does on screen in the video above. You will see how to pick a product using the gravity sort, how to read both the sales page and the affiliate page, how to use an inverted pyramid to map out your content strategy, how to find low-competition keywords using competitor research, and how to generate a hop link with tracking IDs so you know exactly where your sales are coming from. If you have been spinning your wheels on affiliate marketing, this is the blueprint.

What You’ll Walk Out With

A clear method for picking Clickbank products that are actually converting for other affiliates right now
How to read a sales page the way a buyer reads it so you know what you are sending people into
The inverted pyramid model for creating content that meets your audience at every stage of their search
A keyword research workflow for finding low-competition angles using competitor websites
How to generate hop links with tracking IDs so you separate what works from what does not
Why raw hop links kill conversions and what to do instead
How to apply this exact method to blogs, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest all at once
Not sure what to promote yet? Find out at finder.platformproof.com

What Clickbank Is and Why It Works for Beginners

Clickbank is a marketplace where product creators list their offers and affiliates like you earn a commission for every sale you send their way. The platform has been around since 1998 and currently hosts hundreds of affiliate programs across dozens of niches: health and fitness, digital marketing, self-help, finance, home and garden, and more. You do not need to create a product, handle customer service, manage inventory, or deal with refunds. Your job is to find people who already have a problem, create content that helps them understand their options, and point them toward the product through your affiliate link.

For beginners, Clickbank has a few things going for it that other networks do not. First, approval is fast. Unlike some networks that require an existing audience or website before they let you in, Clickbank generally approves new affiliates quickly. Second, commissions are high. Because most Clickbank products are digital, creators can afford to pay affiliates 50 to 75 percent of the sale price. Third, the marketplace is transparent: you can see exactly how much a product pays per sale before you commit to promoting it. That transparency makes it much easier to decide where to spend your time.

How to Find a Product Worth Promoting: The Gravity Sort

Once you have a Clickbank account, the first place you land is the marketplace. On the left side you will see categories. You can browse by niche, or you can hit the search icon and pull up every product on the platform at once. By default, results are sorted by rank. The first thing Alston does is change that sort to gravity.

Gravity is Clickbank’s proprietary score that tells you how many different affiliates have made at least one sale with a product in the last 12 weeks. A high gravity score means real people, in the real world, are actively promoting this product and earning commissions. It is the single most reliable signal that the product converts. When you sort by gravity, the products at the top of the list are the ones with the most proven track record.

In the video, Alston uses the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic as the working example. Sorted to the top by gravity, this product shows an average sale value of $151.21. That is the average amount an affiliate earns per conversion after factoring in upsells, downsells, and the initial sale. The initial commission on the front-end sale is approximately $150. Every sale you send through your link puts roughly that amount in your pocket. That is the number you keep in mind when you are deciding how much effort to put into promoting a product.

Reading the Sales Page the Way a Buyer Reads It

Before you promote anything, open the product’s sales page. This is the page your audience will land on after they click your affiliate link. You need to know what you are sending people into. The Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic sales page opens with a video. That is a good sign. Video sales letters tend to convert better than static text pages because they control the pace of the pitch and build more emotional connection before revealing the price.

Notice what is not on the page: no overwhelming block of text, no distracting navigation, no price visible until the video finishes and the buy button appears. This is intentional. The sales page is engineered to reduce friction and move visitors toward a single action: clicking buy. Your job as an affiliate is to warm up that visitor before they arrive so they show up ready to say yes. That warming happens through the content you create.

The Affiliate Page: Your Promotion Roadmap

Every Clickbank product has two pages: the sales page (for buyers) and the affiliate page (for you). The affiliate page is where product creators share the tools and data that help affiliates succeed. Quality varies a lot from product to product. Some affiliate pages are sparse. Others are loaded with resources.

The Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic affiliate page is on the more complete side. It provides email swipes you can use if you build an email list, PPC keywords you could use if you wanted to run paid ads, tracking pixels for retargeting campaigns, and CPA information. That is a lot of material. Alston notes that in this walkthrough he is not going to use any of it, because the strategy he is teaching works without any of those advanced tools. But it is worth knowing what is there, because as your skills grow you can layer those resources on top of the organic content strategy he outlines next.

The Inverted Pyramid: How Affiliate Marketing Funnels Actually Work

Alston opens an online whiteboard to draw out the core model behind the entire strategy. Picture an inverted pyramid: wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. At the top of the pyramid is a massive number of people. These are the people who are upset, frustrated, and aware they have a problem but not yet sure what the solution is. They are searching general questions. In the weight loss niche, they are typing things like “how to lose belly fat” into Google or YouTube. They do not know about the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic. They do not even know supplements might help. They just know they are uncomfortable and they want answers.

At the bottom of the pyramid, there are far fewer people. But these people are close to buying. They already understand their options. They are searching specific product names, doing comparisons, reading reviews. They are one piece of information away from pulling out their credit card. Your affiliate link lives at the very bottom of that pyramid. The job of your content is to reach people at every layer of the pyramid and gently guide them downward toward the offer.

This model explains why most beginners fail at affiliate marketing. They create one piece of content optimized for buyers and wonder why no one clicks. Buyers are a small fraction of the audience. The bigger opportunity is in creating content for people who are just starting to realize they have a problem, giving them real value, and earning their trust so that when you eventually point them toward a product, they click because they believe in your recommendation.

Not sure what product niche fits your skills and situation?

Answer a few questions and get a personalized recommendation at finder.platformproof.com.

Keyword Research: Finding the Questions Your Audience Is Already Asking

Once you understand the inverted pyramid, keyword research becomes less about chasing search volume and more about mapping the questions people ask at each level of awareness. Alston walks through this process live using the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic as the example niche.

He starts at the top of the pyramid. In Google, he searches “how to lose belly fat.” The autocomplete fills in: “how to lose belly fat in a week,” “how to lose belly fat overnight,” “how to lose belly fat in a month,” “how to lose belly fat in two weeks.” These are the broadest, most competitive keywords in the niche. Clicking through to the search results, the top positions are dominated by WebMD and other enormous health websites. These sites have millions of backlinks and decades of domain authority. Competing for these keywords as a new affiliate is not realistic.

So Alston goes deeper. He scrolls to page four or five of Google to look for smaller websites that are ranking. He also checks YouTube, where even a channel with a few thousand subscribers can rank a video for a term that a new blog would struggle to reach on Google. The search “how to lose belly fat in two weeks” on YouTube returns plenty of results from creators with manageable channel sizes. This is the first signal that YouTube might be a better starting platform than a brand-new blog for this particular niche.

Using Competitor Websites to Unlock Low-Competition Keywords

Next, Alston shifts to a competitor research approach. He searches “best ways to lose belly fat fast for men” and looks for small or mid-sized websites showing up on pages four and five. He spots two candidates: the Fit Father Project and a site called mygemproducts.com. He copies their domain names and plugs them into a keyword research tool’s Site Explorer feature.

Site Explorer shows you every keyword a competitor is currently ranking for, along with the estimated monthly search volume and keyword difficulty for each one. This is how you skip the guesswork. Instead of brainstorming keywords from scratch, you borrow the keyword map from a website that is already successful in your niche. You filter the results by keyword difficulty, 5 or lower, to find the opportunities a small, new website can actually compete for.

Running this filter on the competitor sites, Alston surfaces terms like “fat vs muscle,” “150 pounds of fat versus muscle,” “pound of fat versus a pound of muscle,” “10 second morning ritual,” “squat jumps,” “dumbbell skull crusher,” and “father and son workout.” Most of these have thousands of monthly searches. The connecting thread: anyone searching these terms is probably trying to understand their body, get fit, or lose weight. That intent puts them in the same funnel that leads to the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic. The “fat vs muscle” keyword cluster alone has 1,377 related keywords with 21,000 combined monthly searches.

He also runs the search “okinawa fat belly tonic versus” to find comparison opportunities and discovers people are looking up “drink to shrink,” “cut energy weight loss drink reviews,” and “keto tonic review.” These are bottom-of-funnel keywords. Someone searching “okinawa fat belly tonic review” or “keto tonic review” is close to a buying decision. Creating content for these terms is essentially meeting buyers at the checkout line.

Three Types of Content That Drive Affiliate Sales

Working through the inverted pyramid, Alston identifies three content types that map to different awareness levels.

The first type is educational content. This is top-of-funnel material that answers the broad questions your audience is already asking. “How to lose belly fat in two weeks.” “What is the difference between fat and muscle.” “Best exercises for men over 40.” This content serves the largest possible audience because these people are just starting to realize they have a problem. You are not selling here. You are building trust. At the end of the content, you mention the product as a resource worth looking into.

The second type is comparison content. This is mid-funnel. The viewer or reader already understands their options and is weighing them against each other. “Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic versus competitor supplement.” “Keto diet versus intermittent fasting for belly fat.” These visitors have already decided they want to do something. They are just deciding what. Comparison content meets them at that decision point and helps them land on the right answer, which happens to be the product you are promoting.

The third type is review content. This is bottom-of-funnel. The person has already heard about the product and wants to know if it is legit before they buy. “Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic review.” “Does the flat belly tonic work.” “Flat belly tonic testimonials.” These searchers are ready to buy. A thorough, honest review that answers their real questions and builds confidence in the product is all they need to convert. Review content is the highest-converting content type in affiliate marketing, even though it reaches the smallest audience.

Honest Drawbacks: What This Strategy Does Not Tell You

This walkthrough covers the mechanics clearly, but there are a few things worth being honest about if you are new to affiliate marketing.

First, keyword research tools cost money. Ahrefs, SEMrush, and similar platforms run anywhere from $99 to $199 a month. Alston uses these tools in the video but does not explain how to replicate the research for free. There are free alternatives, Google Search Console, Ubersuggest’s free tier, AnswerThePublic, but they give you far less data. If you are starting with zero budget, plan on doing more manual research and accepting less precision.

Second, organic traffic takes time. Creating blog posts or YouTube videos that rank for keywords does not produce results overnight. Depending on the niche and the platform, you might wait three to six months before seeing meaningful search traffic. If you are expecting to make money in week one, this strategy will disappoint you. It is a long game, and the early months involve putting in work without seeing returns.

Third, the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is a health supplement, which means there are FTC guidelines around what you can claim in your content. You cannot fabricate testimonials, make specific medical claims, or imply the product cures disease. Whatever niche you choose on Clickbank, read the FTC’s affiliate marketing guidelines before you publish anything. Violations can get your content taken down and your Clickbank account flagged.

Fourth, gravity is a useful signal but not a guarantee. A high-gravity product means other affiliates are succeeding with it, but it also means the niche is more competitive. Sometimes a lower-gravity product in an underserved niche is the better opportunity for a new affiliate. Use gravity as a starting filter, not a final answer.

How to Generate Your Clickbank Hop Link with Tracking IDs

Once you have chosen your product and mapped out your content strategy, you need your affiliate link. In Clickbank, this is called a hop link. Go to the product in the marketplace and click the “Promote” button. A box will appear asking for your account nickname. Below that is a field for a tracking ID.

Tracking IDs are optional but they are critically important. If you are creating content on multiple platforms simultaneously, say a blog, a YouTube channel, and a TikTok account, you want to know which platform is actually sending you buyers. Alston recommends adding a different tracking ID for each source. Type “blog” for your blog link, “youtube” for YouTube, “instagram” for Instagram, and so on. When you generate the hop link with each tracking ID, you get a unique link for each platform. Inside your Clickbank dashboard, you can then see exactly how many clicks and sales came from each source. You stop guessing and start doubling down on what works.

Why Raw Hop Links Kill Conversions and What to Do Instead

A raw Clickbank hop link looks something like this: hop.clickbank.net/?affiliate=yourid&vendor=oknwtonic&tid=blog. That URL is long, filled with unfamiliar parameters, and looks exactly like the kind of link people have been warned to avoid clicking online. Alston is direct about this: the link looks spammy or scammy to most people, and that kills conversions before the prospect even sees the sales page.

There are three practical solutions. First, if you have a website, you can create a redirect. Set up a page at yourwebsite.com/recommends/flat-belly-tonic that automatically forwards visitors to the hop link. The URL looks clean, it is easy to say out loud in a video, and it gives you the ability to update the destination link later without going back and editing every piece of content. Second, you can use a link shortener like Bitly to create a cleaner-looking URL. Third, you can use Linktree or a similar tool to organize multiple affiliate links behind a single profile URL. Any of these options is better than dropping a raw hop link in your content.

Step-by-Step: The Complete Clickbank Launch Sequence

Create a free account at clickbank.com and verify your email address.
Go to the Clickbank Marketplace and sort products by gravity to see what is actively converting.
Open the sales page for your top candidate products and read them the way a buyer would. Ask yourself: does this page make a compelling case? Would I buy this?
Open the affiliate page for each candidate and note what promotional materials are available: email swipes, banners, keywords, tracking pixels.
Pick the platform you will start with: blog, YouTube channel, TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest. Choose the platform where you already spend time or feel most comfortable creating content.
Use Google autocomplete and YouTube search to identify the top-of-funnel questions your audience is already asking.
Find two or three small to mid-sized competitor websites or channels ranking for those questions. Plug their domain names into a keyword research tool and filter by keyword difficulty 5 or lower.
Build a content calendar that covers all three content types: educational (top of funnel), comparison (middle of funnel), and review (bottom of funnel).
Generate hop links from Clickbank with distinct tracking IDs for each platform you plan to use.
Set up a link redirect or use a shortener so your affiliate link looks clean and professional in your content.
Publish your first piece of content. Check your Clickbank dashboard after 30 days. Double down on whatever tracking ID is producing clicks.

Find Your X

Clickbank has hundreds of categories, and picking the wrong one wastes months of effort. The right niche for you is not necessarily the one with the highest gravity score. It is the one that sits at the intersection of what people are actively searching for and what you can speak about with some credibility. If you are not sure where that intersection is for you, finder.platformproof.com walks you through a short set of questions and returns a personalized recommendation based on your background, skills, and goals. You do not have to figure this out by staring at the Clickbank marketplace hoping something jumps out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a website to start affiliate marketing with Clickbank?

No. Alston is explicit in the video that the same strategy applies to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social platforms. A website gives you more control over your content long-term, but it is not required to get started. Many affiliates make their first commissions through YouTube videos or social media posts before they ever build a website. Start with whatever platform you are already comfortable using.

What does gravity mean on Clickbank and how high should it be?

Gravity is a score that reflects how many unique affiliates earned at least one commission from a product in the last 12 weeks. A higher gravity means more affiliates are succeeding with the product, which confirms it converts. There is no universal right number. Products with gravity above 50 are proven converters but also more competitive. Products with gravity between 10 and 50 can offer more room for a newer affiliate. Avoid products with gravity below 5 unless you have a very specific reason to believe in them.

How long does it take to make your first Clickbank sale?

It depends heavily on the platform, the niche, and how consistently you publish content. On YouTube, some affiliates make their first sale within the first month if a video picks up early traction. On a new blog, it often takes three to six months before Google starts sending meaningful organic traffic. The fastest path to a first sale is usually through review or comparison content targeting bottom-of-funnel keywords, because those visitors are already close to buying when they find your content.

Can I promote multiple Clickbank products at the same time?

Yes, but Alston’s approach suggests starting with one product per niche until you are generating consistent traffic and sales. Trying to promote five products at once before you understand what works typically results in scattered, unfocused content that performs poorly across the board. Once you have a working system for one product and one platform, you can duplicate that system into additional products or niches.

What is a hop link and why does Clickbank call it that?

A hop link is simply Clickbank’s branded name for an affiliate link. The term comes from how the technology works: the link routes through Clickbank’s servers to track the click, attribute the sale to your account, and then redirect the visitor to the product sales page. That routing step is the “hop.” In practice, it works identically to any other affiliate link. You generate it from the Clickbank marketplace by clicking the Promote button next to a product.

Is keyword research software required to get started?

No, but it speeds things up significantly. Free tools like Google Search Console, Google Trends, and the autocomplete suggestions in Google and YouTube search can get you started at zero cost. The paid tools Alston uses in the video, which include Ahrefs, give you keyword difficulty scores and competitor organic traffic data that are much harder to gather manually. If budget is tight, start free and upgrade once you have some earnings to reinvest.

Do I need to disclose that I am an affiliate?

Yes, legally. The FTC requires that you clearly disclose any material connection to a product you recommend, including affiliate commissions. This applies to blog posts, YouTube videos, social media posts, and email newsletters. The disclosure needs to be clear and conspicuous, which means it should appear near the affiliate link or at the start of the content, not buried in the footer. A simple statement like “This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission if you buy at no extra cost to you” is sufficient in most cases.

What should I do if my content is getting traffic but no sales?

Check where in the funnel your traffic is coming from. If your content is all top-of-funnel (broad educational topics), your audience may not be ready to buy yet. Try creating some comparison or review content that targets visitors who are closer to a purchase decision. Also check whether your affiliate link is clearly visible and working. If the link looks like a raw hop URL, consider switching to a cleaner redirect. Finally, make sure the product you are promoting actually matches the intent behind the content, meaning the people who read or watch your content would realistically want what you are promoting.

Sources

Clickbank Marketplace: clickbank.com (gravity score methodology, average sale value data)
Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic affiliate page: promotional materials and CPA data referenced in the video
Ahrefs Site Explorer: keyword difficulty and organic traffic data methodology referenced in the walkthrough
FTC Endorsement Guides: ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking
Google autocomplete and YouTube search: used live in the video for keyword ideation