Navigating ClickBank: The Relevance of Gravity and other Sales Stats for your Affiliate Success

ClickBank is recognized as the leading source for downloadable products in the world. With an active 100,000+ affiliate base as well as 12,000 vendors, ClickBank has paid out over $1.2 billion dollars in affiliate commissions since its founding in 1998. No wonder more and more people from all walks of life are signing up on their website in search of products that can earn them a few hundred, a few thousand, and more dollars through their marketing efforts.

On its website, ClickBank claims to rank its digital Marketplace products based on a proprietary “productivity score”. While details of the formula used and the score itself are confidential, affiliate marketers have access to the productivity score’s main parameters for every item. Thus, it is in their interest to understand and interpret these terms in order to make solid product selections:

1. Dollars Earned Per Sale: The actual net amount earned per actual sale, with refunds, charge backs, and relevant taxes factored in. Note that unfunded sales resulting from returned checks and equivalents do not affect the statistics.

2. Future Dollars: A measure of recurring income generated by a sale. Relevant for software subscriptions, membership sites, etc.

3. Total Dollars: The sum of initial sales and rebills (i.e. future dollars) divided by the number of initial sales of that product. The absolute average income being generated by sellers (affiliates, vendors and others).

4. Percentage Earned Per Sale: The average percentage commission paid out to affiliates for each sale they make. Important to note if the vendor has changed the payout percentage at any time.

5. Percentage Referred: What percentage of the vendor’s total sales are referrals from affiliates? Be careful to interpret high percentages (strong superaffiliates?, strong product?) and low percentages (strong product creator and marketer with weak affiliate base?).

6. Gravity: A weighted factor that measures the number of distinct affiliates who earned a commission by referring a paying customer to the vendor's products in the last 8 weeks. The most recent referrals score higher to indicate better sales momentum for given product.

ClickBank acknowledges that its productivity rating favors recent sales activity (8-week rolling average?), so being aware of major product launches and their timelines should offer perspective on gravity and overall performance. Many of the better products are supported by a Help Desk and/or vendors personally, so contact them to alleviate any doubts you may have about these figures.

Understanding how ClickBank works is critical to earning affiliate income. Beginners (and experts) are naturally attracted by higher ranked products, but no system is foolproof. With experience, you will grasp ClickBank’s relevancy jargon and be able to transfer your knowledge to other digital marketplace sites.

One of the most powerful ways to promote products as an affiliate is to market to your own list.  Check out our list building articles for the top ways to drive traffic and build your own email marketing list.