How to Use ClickFunnels with ClickBank

If you have any familiarity with ClickFunnels, you know what a powerful tool it can be for converting sales for your product. But, did you know you could use ClickFunnels to sell others products? The barriers to entry can seem challenging to overcome if you do it on your own, which is where ClickBanks comes in.

You can pair your ClickFunnels account with ClickBank through a ClickBank integration and then build on that to start generating leads and conversions. Pairing ClickFunnels with Clickbank joins two excellent tools for marketing a product into a powerhouse for converting visitors into customers.

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In this article, we will cover a few topics to help you get started with using ClickBank with ClickFunnels, from understanding ClickBank to identifying the right product for you to sell. So, whether you are interested in generating supplemental earnings, adding another income stream to your business, or making a full-time living, being a sales affiliate can be a profitable enterprise. Let’s learn how to do it.

How to Integrate Your ClickBank Products with ClickFunnels

We’re going to cover the steps to getting a ClickBank account set up to handle payment processing through your ClickFunnels site.

What You Need to Get Started

You will need three things to get set up with your integration:

An active account on ClickFunnels,
An active account with ClickBank,
A verified ClickBank profile.

Verifying your ClickBank profile is a reasonably easy process in which you provide either a valid social security number (SSN) or employee identification number (EIN) to Clickbank to prove your identity.

Set up ClickBank to Process Payments

Let’s start by setting up your ClickBank account to allow you to process payments for customers.

Log into your user account on ClickBank.
In the left sidebar, click on Accounts.
Select Create an Account if you don’t already have a ClickBank account, or Link Account if you do. If you are linking an account, skip to the end of this list.
If you are setting up a new account, you will need to select the type of account you want. There are only two account types through which you can process payments. Choose Vendor (Sell products) if you are only interested in selling your products, and Combination (Vendor and Affiliate) if you would like to both sell and promote.
Next, create a nickname for this account. This is just a label to make it easy to distinguish multiple accounts from each other.
Finally, click on the Sign-Up button.

Create a ClickBank User for Integration

Now, we will create a user account to be used when processing payments through ClickFunnels.

From your ClickBank dashboard (login to your ClickBank account if necessary) select Users from the left sidebar.
Select Create New User.
Select the checkbox labeled Is this an API-only user?.
In the Description field, enter a description for this user.
Select the Save button.
Select the appropriate permissions for the user (this step is optional).
Click on the Save button again.
Leave this tab open in your browser for now.

Set up ClickFunnels for Integration

Next, let’s set up the form we’ll use to integrate ClickBank with your ClickFunnels account.

Open a new tab in your browser (leaving the ClickBank tab open) and log into your ClickFunnels account.
Open the main menu by hovering and select Account Settings.
On the left menu, select the option for Payment Gateways.
Select the Add New Payment Gateway button.
Select the ClickBank option.
Again, leave this tab open.

Assign the Secret Token and API Keys for ClickBank

Finally, let’s get the two pieces of information we need to tie things together: the ClickBank API key and secret token. These are used to authenticate the calls made by ClickFunnels to ClickBank when processing payments.

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Return to the ClickBank tab you left open from before.
Look for the API Key value displayed in the Users view. Copy that value to the clipboard.
Return to the ClickFunnels tab and locate the Clerk API Key field. Paste this value into the text box.
Return to the ClickBank tab.
Select Accounts from the left sidebar. Copy the Nickname you assigned the user account you created earlier to the clipboard.
Return to the ClickFunnels tab. Paste the nickname into the text box labeled ClickBank Vendor.
Return to the ClickBank tab.
Click on the Nickname for the account. This will open a new tab.
From the top menu, select Account Settings.
Locate the Developer API Keys setting (you will need to scroll down to see it).
Select CREATE NEW DEVELOPER KEY.
Enter a Description and then click on SAVE.
A new value will appear in the Developer API Key column. Copy this value.
Return once more to the ClickFunnels tab. (Now you know why we said to keep these tabs open!) Paste the key into the API Key input.
Go back to the ClickBank tab. Select Vendor Settings from the top menu, and then My Site.
Select Advanced Tools (you will need to scroll down) and then Edit.
In the Secret Key field, enter any value. It helps to use a password generator to create a secure key value. You could use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password to generate one for you. It should have at least 15-18 characters to be considered secure. Copy this value to the clipboard.
Check the boxes for Encrypt Transaction URLs and Encrypt TEST Transaction URLs above the Secret Key field. This is optional but highly recommended for security.
Click on the SAVE CHANGES button.
Return to the ClickFunnels tab. Paste in the secret key you came up with into the Secret Token input.
Select Create a ClickBank Account.

At this point, you should see a success notification appear in the top right of your browser window. Now you should be ready to start processing payments for customers who purchase a product through your ClickFunnels site.

Why Should I Use ClickBank?

In broad terms, Clickbank is what’s known as an affiliate marketing platform. In simple terms, it provides a way for its members to sell digital and physical products using a set of powerful e-commerce tools. These tools help you promote and sell your product and manage payment processes.

ClickBank has two primary types of members: affiliates and vendors. Affiliates are the people who promote the products that the sellers are trying to sell. Vendors are the people who produce the product being sold.

This product might be a physical product like a book or device, or it might be a digital product, like an online course or e-book. It’s not uncommon for people to start out as affiliates and shift into being vendors. Many even act both as affiliates and vendors.

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A Matchmaker for Vendors and Sellers

Think about what it takes to be an affiliate seller of someone else’s product. First, you have to find the product to sell. Then you have to negotiate with the vendor about the terms of how much you will get paid to sell their product. Finally, you have to work out how to make a profit from selling those products.

ClickBank helps to streamline this process by matching affiliates with vendors. Vendors list their products on its marketplace, and affiliates then select the ones they want to list. Clickbank then provides that affiliate with a unique link that connects the affiliate’s customers with the vendor’s product sales site. Any sale occurring through that link is credited to the affiliate and the commission is paid to their account.

Is All of this Legit?

You might be asking yourself at this point if this isn’t just another form of multi-level marketing or other scams. It’s important to note that this is a legitimate business model and that ClickBank is just one of several affiliate networks.

Considering that Amazon has its own affiliate network you can see it’s not an uncommon model for earning commissions. Like any other business model, it involves hard work and effort to make a profitable living from using it.

Here are some things that make ClickBank more appealing than some other affiliate networks:

Their commissions are 70% or higher, meaning that when you sell a $100 product, you get paid $70. This is on the higher end of the commission rate you usually find with most affiliate networks
They serve the international community, so you can be just about anywhere in the world (with some notable exceptions) and still work with them
Their pay once a week or every two weeks, instead of the industry standard of holding your earnings for 30 days
They are more accessible to new affiliates. Many networks are unwilling to work with unknown affiliates because they fear fraudulent or shady behavior that can ruin their business relationships.

Selecting a Product to Sell

Now that you’re all set up to use your ClickFunnels account to promote the sales of a ClickBank product, it’s time to start looking for a product you want to sell. This can be a bit tricky, however. There are a number of things to consider when selecting a ClickBank product that you should be looking out for.

Even if they have a great product to sell, a vendor might have a weak product sales site. If the vendor doesn’t have a strong sales funnel to help close the deal, it won’t matter that much how effective your funnel is in getting their potential customers there. It pays to look for product pages that have features that lead to higher conversion rates.

Here are some things to look for:

Testimonials from current or previous customers who purchased this product.
Customers have reviewed the product favorably (look for any signs these reviews are manipulated or falsified such as using poor grammar or spelling or often repeat phrases).
The site makes use of video sales pages, which are far better at generating conversions.
Well-written copy and attention to grammar and spelling across the site.
The site has strong calls to action (buttons that encourage buying now wherever appropriate).
The top-selling products have prepared templates and content for their affiliates to make it easier for them to set up to sell for them. These vendors are effectively going the extra mile to help you succeed because they understand that your success is their success.

Let Gravity Be Your Guide

One important metric for ClickBank products is Gravity. This is a number value that represents how often affiliates have earned a commission on that product during the previous 3 months. As the number goes up, Gravity increases. It’s a good idea to look for products that have a higher Gravity, but not too high.

A good rule of thumb is looking for a Gravity of between 20 and 50 or so. When the Gravity is very high, it means that is likely to be too competitive for you to sell effectively unless you already have a sizable audience. Not to worry, you will eventually be able to sell these products, but it’s best to start at a more reasonable level and work your way up to where you can compete.

Establishing “The Funnel”

A sale is what happens at the end of a path your visitors took in which they decided, at each point, to keep going. This path is what is known as the “funnel”. You didn’t think the name ClickFunnels was just clever branding, did you? There are multiple versions of this pathway, but one stands out for being the most effective.

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The Opt-In Approach

The opt-in approach uses three pages:

An opt-in page, where your visitors start their journey. This page has two main parts: a request for the visitor’s email address or contact information, and what you’re offering for that information.
A thank you page, where you thank the visitor for signing up for your email list, and then presents them with a link to the affiliate page where the product is sold.
The product page itself, which is what you linked to in the thank you page.

You must offer something in exchange for the visitor’s sharing their email with you. You are asking them for personal information you hope to use to build your email list and market to them in the future. So, make it worth their while. These offers are often things like.

An ebook on how to do something,
An instructional video,
A service you offer, such as examining their website and offering feedback on how to improve it.

A good idea to increase visitor engagement and conversions is to include a short video of yourself on the thank you page where you thank the visitor, explain a little about yourself, and tell them why they should proceed to the product page for the sale.

If you selected your ClickBank product well, you will either already have a copy provided to you by the vendor, or you can draw from the copy the vendor has on their product page. If you feel it’s lacking or you prefer to write your own sales copy, Composely has a nice guide on how to go about this.

While this is certainly not the only version of a sales funnel you could use, it is one with a proven track record and well worth considering if you’re new to online marketing.

Set Your Expectations for Potential Earnings

By now you’re probably wondering if you’re going to be able to turn a profit as a ClickBank affiliate. It’s important to note that if you’re new to ClickBank or affiliate marketing in general, you should expect to have to hustle a while before you get to your first sale.

Most ClickBank affiliates have found that it typically takes about two to three months to land their first sale. If that seems disappointing, consider that many freelancers spend about as much time trying to get their first client, or land their first paying gig. It takes practice and determination to learn how to be effective in getting visitors to your landing page, and convincing them to follow through to a purchase.

Once you experience the high of that first sale and realize you can do this, you will find it easier to navigate the territory. It’s common for many ClickBank affiliates to make $100 or more per day. ClickBank has a training program that you can tap into (it does cost a fee, however) and there are a myriad of blog posts and videos on how to sell effectively.

At this point, you should be armed with what you need to integrate your ClickFunnels sales funnel with ClickBank and launch your start as an affiliate. In time you should start to enjoy those first small victories on the way to becoming successful at selling through your landing page, and building a sizable audience.

You may still have some questions about how to sell effectively or how to use the features of ClickFunnels to build your email list and sales funnel. Here are some resources to help you with that.

If you’re ready to get started, click here for a two-week trial for ClickFunnels, a FREE ClickFunnels course, and over 10 done-for-you funnels!

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