When an affiliate asks you whether to promote your course with a link or their own code, don't automatically respond with, "It doesn't matter." An affiliate link or a discount code is a decision that impacts sales measurement, commission amount, margin, and whether the affiliate will want to promote you again.
For years, I've seen creators hand out codes without any checks, then manually check spreadsheets and argue over who should get the commission. When selling e-books, courses, or templates, this mess is time-consuming and undermines trust. You can avoid this by aligning your attribution mechanism with how your customers actually buy.
Affiliate link or discount code: the difference in practice
An affiliate link takes the recipient directly to the product page or sales offer. The system records the referral source, and when the customer pays, the commission is assigned to the appropriate person. The affiliate can promote the course in a newsletter, under a video, in an article, or in a private message. You can see how many clicks and purchases they've generated, without guessing.
A discount code works differently. Customers enter it at checkout and receive a discount, for example, 10% or 30 PLN. Such a code is visible, easy to remember, and works well in live communication: during a webinar, podcast, online meeting, or story series. The recipient hears "use code ANIA10" and has a clear incentive to buy now.
The difference isn't just about technology. The link tracks the customer journey, and the code provides the customer with a tangible cost benefit. Sometimes you need one solution, sometimes both.
When an affiliate link gives you more control
Choose an affiliate link when you want pure analytics and don't want to lower the product price with every recommendation. This is a good model for the author of a PLN 79 e-book who pays the affiliate a 30% commission but wants to maintain the price for the recipient. The affiliate earns based on the results, the customer buys at the standard price, and your margin remains predictable.
A link also wins when a purchasing decision takes more than a few minutes. Someone might click the link today, watch a segment of a lesson, return to the offer two days later, and only then pay. A properly set cookie will still attribute the sale to the affiliate. The code in such a scenario is easy to lose – the customer will remember the creator's name, but not necessarily the string of characters heard in the material.
It's also more convenient for the partner. They don't have to ask recipients to copy the code or explain where to enter it. They send recipients directly to the offer and can monitor the effectiveness of their efforts. If 20 purchases out of 400 clicks result, they know the content is converting. If clicks are occurring but sales are lacking, they can improve the message, the audience, or the landing page itself.
There's a caveat, though: the link must lead to a simple checkout. If a customer has to navigate through multiple screens, log in, or search for a payment button after clicking, you'll lose some sales before commission even becomes an issue.
When a discount code sells harder
A discount code is great when you want to trigger a quick response. Imagine a creator running a 60-minute training session and presenting a package at the end: an e-book plus a set of exercises. The message "use code START20 to lower the price by 20 PLN until midnight" provides a clear framework for decision-making. It's not just the discount that counts. It's the moment when the customer has the card in hand and is ready to buy.
This model works especially well when a partner builds a relationship within the community. An influencer, educator, or newsletter author can use a code consistent with their pseudonym. Recipients see that the offer comes from a trusted source, and the partner has a simple promotional pitch instead of a dry "buy this course."
The discount price must be calculated. If a product costs 99 PLN, you offer a 15% discount and additionally pay a 30% commission on the discounted amount, you'll end up with less than with just the link. This doesn't mean the code is a mistake. It can be profitable if it increases conversions or helps you acquire a customer who will later purchase another product.
However, don't give out a permanent code to every affiliate without any rules. Codes quickly circulate outside the affiliate channel, ending up in descriptions under old content, and discounting the price for customers you would have acquired yourself. Set an expiration date, a campaign time limit, or assign the code to a specific launch.
The best arrangement: link for settlement, code for impulse
In many campaigns, you don't have to choose just one option. The partner receives their own link, and you add a discount code to the campaign, assigned to their activities. The link is the basis for attribution, while the code becomes a sales argument for the recipient.
Example: You're selling a Notion template for 49 PLN. A partner posts a video showing how they plan their week using your product and includes a personalized link in the description. In the video, they say, "Use the code PLAN10 for 10% off until Sunday." The recipient who clicks will be automatically assigned. Anyone who visits the website later and enters the code can still be billed according to the campaign rules.
This arrangement reduces disputes. You don't base your payments on screenshots or partner declarations. You have data on clicks, orders, and commissions due. After payment, the client immediately receives access to the file or course, and the partner sees that their work is producing results.
How to set up a campaign that doesn't eat into your margins
Start with one product and one simple rate. For e-books priced between 59 and 99 PLN, test a commission that will be attractive to the affiliate but won't force them to constantly reprice their offer. If you're just building a program, it's more profitable to offer a higher commission for the first product than to give deep discounts to all recipients.
Next, prepare specific starting materials for your partner: a three-sentence product description, one tangible impact for the recipient, a graphic, and a ready-made link. Don't send a "promote if you want" message. Send a message to five people in your niche with a clear proposition: "Get a 35% commission on my template package, and your recipients get a 10% discount code valid for seven days. Here's the material and the link."
Measure link sales and code usage separately. If a code is entered frequently but the affiliate generates few clicks, some customers may have discovered it outside the original channel. If the link receives a high number of visits without purchasing, first verify the offer and checkout before immediately lowering the price. A single additional field, an unclear access description, or a lack of clear information about what the customer will receive after paying can cost more than the entire discount.
If you also sell outside of Poland, test pricing in EUR and USD without changing your affiliate policy for each market. Your affiliate can promote your course in their own currency, your customer can pay conveniently, and sales, commission, and immediate content release all continue to operate in a single process. This is a more efficient way to scale than manually uploading files and calculating fees after the campaign ends.
Don't make your partner wait for manual settlement
The worst affiliate model looks like this: an affiliate brings in a client, you get the sale, and then you postpone the settlement for a few weeks. Even a great commission won't retain good affiliates if they have to ask if their results have been counted.
With NetBiznes FlowHub, the entire process can be automated: clicking the link, purchasing the digital product , calculating the commission, providing the sales document, and providing the customer with immediate access to the material. The creator doesn't have to manually process each sale, and the partner doesn't lose visibility over their results. This is especially important when the campaign starts generating dozens of orders per day.
It's your turn to move
Don't treat a link and a code as two checkboxes. Think of them as two different profit mechanisms: the former provides you with measurement and fair commission allocation, while the latter can accelerate customer decision-making. Launch a single campaign with a personalized link, a time-limited code, and a clearly defined rate. After seven days, compare clicks, purchases, and your actual margin.
If you don't want to manually manage payments, access, invoices, and commissions, sign up for NetBiznes FlowHub during the promotional period with a reduced commission. Build your sales so that every referral leads to a purchase, not just another task in your spreadsheet.