How to create an affiliate system in Bubble.io: Step-by-Step Guide

Creating an Affiliate System in Bubble.io

 

Building an affiliate system in Bubble.io involves creating a structured process where you can track and manage affiliate referrals, signups, and related commissions effectively. This guide provides a detailed step-by-step approach to setting up an affiliate system on Bubble.io.

 

Prerequisites

 

• An active Bubble.io account with a project ready for integration.
• Basic understanding of Bubble.io's database, workflows, and UI design.
• Familiarity with Bubble.io's data privacy rules and settings.

 

Understanding Affiliate Systems

 

• An affiliate system allows third-party marketers (affiliates) to promote your services or products in exchange for commissions on sales or leads.
• Key components include affiliate links, tracking referrals, and calculating commissions.

 

Designing Database Structure

 

• Open your Bubble.io project and navigate to the Data tab.
• Create a new data type named "Affiliate" with fields such as:
  • User: Link this to the User data type.
  • Referral Code: A unique code generated for the affiliate.
  • Commission Rate: Percentage or fixed amount for commissions.
  • Total Commissions: Total amount of commissions earned by the affiliate.
  • Referred Users: A list of users referred by the affiliate.
• Add necessary fields to the User data type such as "Referred By" to store the affiliate who referred the user.

 

Generating Unique Affiliate Links

 

• Set up workflows to create unique referral codes when a user becomes an affiliate.
• Example workflow steps:
  1. Trigger: When a user chooses to become an affiliate (e.g., through a button click).
  2. Actions:
     • Create a new Affiliate record.
     • Generate a unique referral code using Bubble's math functions or random string generator.
     • Assign the generated code to the Affiliate record and link it to the User.
• Provide a link to the affiliate that incorporates their unique referral code, such as `yoursite.com/signup?referral=unique_code`.

 

Tracking Referrals

 

• Create workflows to capture and store referral information when a new user signs up using the referral link.
• Example workflow steps for user signup:
  1. Extract the referral code from the URL parameters when the user visits the signup page.
  2. Match the code to an existing Affiliate record and store this affiliate in the new user's "Referred By" field.
  3. Update the Affiliate's "Referred Users" list to include the new user.

 

Calculating and Disbursing Commissions

 

• Decide on the event that triggers a commission (e.g., purchase, subscription) and create corresponding workflows.
• For every event tied to a commission, execute a workflow to calculate and update the "Total Commissions" field for the referrer.
• Example workflow steps:
  1. Trigger: A sale is completed.
  2. Actions:
     • Check if the purchaser user has a "Referred By" affiliate.
     • Calculate the commission using the referrer's "Commission Rate."
     • Update the Affiliate's "Total Commissions."
• Set up manual or automated payment processes to disburse earned commissions to affiliates.

 

Monitoring and Administrative Controls

 

• Create dashboards using repeating groups and conditional formatting to monitor affiliate performance.
• Include controls to manage affiliate approval, adjustment of commission rates, or manual override of transactions.
• Implement privacy rules to ensure that each affiliate can only access their own data, not others.

 

Testing Your Affiliate System

 

• Perform end-to-end testing of the affiliate process, from sign-up to commission payment.
• Utilize Bubble.io's preview feature to simulate different affiliate scenarios and verify correct data tracking.
• Ensure all user-facing elements, like referral links and account data, are displayed and function correctly.

 

By following these systematic steps, you can create a functional and scalable affiliate system using Bubble.io, helping to elevate your app's reach through partner marketing channels efficiently.