[00:00:00] You've probably heard about affiliate income. Maybe Maybe you've signed up for programs or even tried to launch your own, but instead of generating effortless sales, it turned into another complicated system to manage all fluff and no freedom.
Let's be honest for a second. Has it cost you more time and money then it's made, and if so, has it left you wondering if it's even worth it? That's because you were approaching it the wrong way. I know because I've been there too. I've listened to what everyone was saying, but all I ended up doing was spending a lot of money on systems and even more time trying to make it work for me.
Authenticity, ease and effortless flow are what feel natural. So if that resonates with you, this episode is for you. I'm going to take you through the right way to build a high ticket affiliate program for your coaching or course sales. This isn't about adding another thing to your to-do list. It's about [00:01:00] strategically refining what you already have so you can make more money while living the life you've always dreamed of.
Are you ready to make that income jump? Alright, let's go.
Intro: I am Christina Koki, your post of the Effortless Closing Podcast. Born and raised in Silicon Valley. Now bringing the wisdom, wit, and well-oiled business strategies from my new hometown just outside of Nashville, where the pace is slower, but the revenue still runs high. With over two decades building businesses, some wildly successful others, gloriously messy.
Every step has been fueled by a love of real strategy and real results. This isn't about side gigs, and it's definitely not about hustle culture. This is about optimization and building revenue, generating machines designed to make your life and your business feel effortless. After $92 million in sales of the last eight years while raising four little ones and building it all.
Wholepreneur. I've [00:02:00] created systems that scale and a business that supports my life, not steals from it. From summers in Europe to road trips across the United States, being present with my family is the greatest win. And everything I've learned to make that possible is now inside the effortless closing method.
The framework behind this podcast, and here's the best part, you can build the same kind of business, the kind that funds your lifestyle, honors your values, and. Feels like you. This show is for the woman who's already doing well, but is ready to simplify the work, amplify her income, and finally build a business that flows with her life.
Every episode brings sharp strategy, honest insights, and real world tools to help you grow your business and enjoy your life in the process. We don't just grow your business, we optimize it to feel effortless. This is the Effortless Closing podcast.
Let's start by talking about the trap of scaling wrong. So let's start with the most important truth, my friend. [00:03:00] Scaling is not about hustling harder. I already walked you through that trap, and I don't want you wasting another ounce of energy there because I know what it feels like. You are making consistent sales. You've proven your offer works, but when you try to scale the way everyone tells you to add more, do more, create more, you end up with a business that.
Eats you alive. I call it the scaling black hole. You think you're building bigger, but you're just multiplying the work, more money out, more hours in, and somehow you're making a lot less. And let me tell you, affiliate income can either free you from that or it can drag you even deeper. I've been on both sides.
When I first brought in affiliates to promote my old product, I was thrilled. I thought, finally, someone else will sell this for me. But here's what really happened. Most of them didn't even know how to sell. They had no idea how to position it, how to close it, how to move people. So guess who ended up doing all [00:04:00] the work?
Me, I created the materials, the training, the support. I even hired a team to help me manage it all. Money was flying out, energy was draining, and almost nothing was coming in in terms of money. That's when I realized scaling the wrong way just gives you more buckets to carry, and it reminded me of a story I once read in Rich Dad, poor Dad, one that hits me so hard, I think about it today.
There was a small village that needed water from a river miles away. Two men were given the job. The first man immediately grabbed buckets every day. He carried water back and forth. It was exhausting, and he could never stop. If he didn't carry buckets, there was no water, which meant. No money. The second man saw it well differently.
Instead of hauling buckets, he started building a pipeline. At first, people thought he was foolish. He wasn't making money right away, but he kept digging, laying pipe, doing the work no one [00:05:00] else could see. And then the pipeline, well, it was finished. Water flowed day and night. Whether he worked or not, the village had a steady supply and he had created well.
Freedom. But here's the part that struck me the most, because he built the pipeline. He wasn't just delivering water. He owned the system. That meant he can charge for access, and people were happy to pay because it was reliable. Effortless and worth far more than hauling buckets, and he didn't stop there.
He expanded that system into neighboring villages as well. Suddenly, instead of one stream of income tied to his daily labor, he had multiple streams flowing in at once. His wealth multiplied while the first man was still bent over carrying buckets for pennies compared to what that pipeline creator was earning.
That's the difference between hustling harder and scaling smarter. Buckets keep you busy. Pipelines create freedom and wealth, and that's exactly what affiliate [00:06:00] income can be when you do it right, your wealth pipeline, not another cycle of hustle, not another black hole. A system that flows, grows and pays you over and over again.
Now, this doesn't happen overnight. I gotta put my claws here, right? I'm not here to sell you a fantasy. Wake up tomorrow and you have six figures. It doesn't work like that. Okay. This takes intention, refinement, and strategy, but once it's set up correctly.
It multiplies, it flows, it frees you, but you have to give it time and you have to create it, right? This is the same formula I customized inside of the House of Cortes a for my one-to-one coaching clients. It's not a theory. It works. And when it's built right, the money doesn't just trickle in it. Pours in.
So let me walk you through exactly how to start building your own pipeline style affiliate system, the strategy, the people you need, the pieces you can ignore, and how to make it effortless instead of exhausting. Alright, let's talk [00:07:00] about the three pillars of effortless affiliate income. So let's take this pipeline story and bring it right into your business because here's a mistake I see over and over again women who already have sales women like you try to build an affiliate program as if it's just a handful of people carrying more buckets.
They hand out a few links, maybe toss over some Canva graphics and hope sales roll in. But remember. That's not a pipeline, that's just more buckets. If you want effortless affiliate income, you've got to think differently, and for me it comes down to these three pillars. And yes, this is everything I am building and creating on my side as well.
Here's pillar one. The right people. If you've been in my world long enough, you know I talk about the right people all the time. We do not need everybody. We need the right ones. So remember, not everyone should be your affiliate. This is the biggest trap. If you hand your program to anyone and everyone, you'll spend [00:08:00] more time babysitting them than you will make money.
Yes, exposure grows a business, but if that exposure costs you endless time. Effort and money. When does it stop being growth and start becoming a liability? The pipeline is only as strong as the people building it with you. So choose affiliates who already know how to sell, who have aligned audiences with you and who actually believe in your offer.
When the right people share it, you don't have to force any results. Pillar two. The simplicity system. This is where most people get affiliate programs wrong. They make it complicated. Okay. I have to say, I feel like everybody makes everything complicated. It is almost like an art to simplify things, so I get it.
It's sometimes easier to be over complicated, but we need to really make this effortless and just streamline it. Okay, so maybe you're building massive toolkits with PDFs, scripts, graphics, webinars, and [00:09:00] if you don't have a big team. This will all drown you. And honestly, most affiliates don't even use half of it.
I know I'm affiliate some for some really big products and they have a slew of information. I don't use any of it. I create my own stuff because it's more authentic, which we're gonna talk about, right? So here's what I believe. The system should be so simple that it makes you stop and ask, wait. Is that really all it takes?
And yes, it is really that simple. It comes down to just two things. One, the link, start with the platform that makes affiliate links effortless. Your affiliate should be able to log in, create their own account, grab their personalized link, and be done. And let me be clear, I hate programs that use codes because here's what happens.
People forget to enter the code, the sales goes through and the affiliate gets nothing. That doesn't feel good for anyone. A link guarantees that if someone clicks, the affiliate gets paid. No missed credit, no frustration. I know for [00:10:00] one of the products that I love to be an affiliate for. They have to use my code to get a discount.
But they don't have to use a link or anything. So if they don't use my code to get that discount, I don't get any payout on it and I don't love that. Right. It kind of bothers me a little bit 'cause I'm like, it's something, it's a supplement. So they, you might have heard, and you're probably gonna hear it on this podcast about bio optimizers and it's like.
You have a code, right? You have a little like, code to put in, but if people aren't using that, I don't get tracked. And so if you're rebuying stuff and you forget or that's already in the system or whatever and they don't track it, I don't get paid. So I rather have a link that actually drives them to a place which tracks everything and all the products they buy, right?
if you don't really have a system right now and you're like, I don't know where to start. And you wanna find something that makes this easy, I'll tell you what I use. I love Kajabi. I've been on Kajabi for how many years? I don't even know, maybe four or five years. Because I've used it before. I really came into the online space and had my courses.
So I really do love [00:11:00] Kajabi. My affiliates just log in. Grab their link. And that's it. If you want to check out how Kajabi works and what the link is like, I will drop my affiliate link to Kajabi in the show notes below. It'll give you some free time to try out Kajabi, check out their affiliate program.
They have affiliate program for Kajabi as well, which is what I'm using. But you can create an affiliate program for your products on Kajabi, and it's so simple that I love it. Alright, so we just talked about the link. Now we're gonna talk about the story. This one's huge. Once your affiliate has their link, the only system that they need is their authentic story.
No script, no bullet points. Their real lived experience. Think about it like this. If someone says, let's say we're at dinner, right? And you have a friend come over and she's like, Hey guys. My friend's selling Tupperware. It's on. Here's all the features that it has, and she rattles off all these features that falls flat.
You guys are like, okay, great, Susan, right? Like we don't feel like connected to [00:12:00] that, but if that same friend came over and said, she says at dinner, and she's like, I had this huge party last night, guys. Food was everywhere. I dreaded the cleanup. I didn't wanna throw the food away. It was such good food and I didn't know what to do.
I grabbed these Tupperware containers my friend gave me, and everything fit even in the fridge. I stacked it all. It was amazing. Nothing spilled, nothing leaked. It was so cool. The stress was gone, the fridge was full. I never thought I'd care about Tupperware, but it literally saved me. It's the best stuff I've ever used.
Do you see the difference? One is forgettable, the other is alive, relatable, unreal. That's the simplicity system, A clean link and a real story if someone doesn't know you, doesn't believe in your product or can't talk about it in a real way. They are not your people. So let's talk about pillar three. Okay. The effortless incentives. Here's the thing about incentives. Most people overdo it.
They create complicated leaderboards contests or tiered systems that end up [00:13:00] being just as much work to manage as the sales themselves. That's not effortless, that's a buckets. Incentives should be simple, clear, and exciting. For me, it comes down to this, pay people well, and then structure it in a way that keeps them motivated long term.
That's it. We don't have to overcomplicate it. Even if you grow big, you don't have to overcomplicate it. Okay?
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Now, incentives don't look all the same. The best structure for you depends on what you're selling. There are two main ways to approach this. So I'm gonna go over this really quickly just so you have an idea.
Option one is a flat payout. This is kinda like the traditional way that people use. I'm not a huge fan of this, but I'll explain you what it is. If you sell a course or a one-time program, most affiliate setups are a one and done. As an example. Your course is $5,000. Your affiliate gets $1,000 per sale.
It's quick cash, straightforward, done. That works. But affiliates often lose steam because once they launch it's over. There's nothing to sustain them. They have to start from scratch [00:17:00] every time.
Remember, what you pay them is your choice, so make sure that you pay enough to incentivize them, but also allow yourself to make enough profit from every sale. Now, option two is a little bit harder when you have a one time program that you sell, but I think if you really sit down and build it. You can build something really cool.
And option two is reoccurring ecosystem payouts, which is my whole jam and I'm all about, that's your effortless scaling. And this is where you get powerful. If you create a curated ecosystem, which is the House of Cortes that I am building, and I teach my clients how to build something that fits them. It could be a membership, a continuity pro product, or layered offers or some cool stuff that you can build into it.
You can give affiliates a reoccurring payout instead of just a thousand dollars up front. Maybe they earn $50 or a hundred dollars every month. The referral stays active in your world. That reoccurring structure does two things. [00:18:00] It builds compounding income for the affiliates so they stay engaged and keep promoting you.
It mirrors the very thing we're all after A pipeline that flows, not a bucket you have to refill. Over time, a handful referrals can turn into a steady, effortless affiliate income for both you and them. And this is where my work as a strategic advisor comes in because the right incentive structure depends on your growth plan and vision.
Do you want fast hits a cash with flat payouts, or do you want to design an ecosystem that pays you and your affiliates over and over again? Like I said, that's my jam. I love that. That's what we're, we all should be after, and that is what I do in my one-to-one coaching. Heck, this is the whole reason behind building the house of Cortes A. We look at your offers, your business model, and then we curate the affiliate incentive structure that matches your goal. That's just one part of everything we do, but it's a big part because when it's aligned, incentives don't just motivate affiliates, they [00:19:00] accelerate your entire growth strategy.
Okay, now let's put this all into action. Okay, so we've heard the pipeline story, which I love that story by the way. And you know, the three pillars of building an effortless affiliate program, the right people, the simplicity system, and the right incentives. But I don't want you just to hear this. I want you to be able to do something with it. So here's your action plan. Are you ready? Step one, choose your people intentionally. Ask yourself, who already believes in my work? Who has an audience that aligns with mine who can sell without me babysitting them?
Write down three to five people who come to mind. That's it. No need to launch an army. Start small with the right ones. Step two, set up the simplest system. Get your affiliate software in place if you don't already have one, I use Kajabi. Like I said, I'll put the link down below for you to check out, create your affiliate program.
Make sure they can log in and grab their [00:20:00] link, and then you're done. Don't overcomplicate it. We always overcomplicate it. So don't, and remember, their job is to share their story, not your script. Encourage them to talk about the real experience with your program. If you're stuck on this one and you're listening and you're just like, I don't know, what if they don't know?
DM me in Instagram. Or leave me a comment and let me know that and say, Hey, I have a question about this. We can chat through it because there are some little strategies that we can put into place to help the person who's working with you as your affiliate to ensure that they actually are able to promote your product the right way.
Maybe they don't quite understand all the back end workings to it or something you want them to be clear. We can have a quick chat about that if you want. Okay. Step three. Decide your incentive model. Are you paying one time flat commission, or do you want to build reoccurring revenue through memberships or an ecosystem?
Either way works, but choose the one that matches your growth vision. Step four, start small and [00:21:00] scale intentionally. You don't need 50 affiliates tomorrow. Start with one or two. Refine the process. Let it grow. Remember. It's the pipeline story. So remember he was building the pipeline. It took him time before he even made the sales.
People thought he was crazy, right? 'cause he was taking all this time to build it. Take the time. Build it right? Okay. One or two, refine it. Make sure you're building it properly, then expand out and it will grow naturally. It really does. You don't need buckets of water today. You're laying the pipe for something that flows long term.
And here's my challenge for you. Before the end of this week, reach out to one person you know who would be a perfect affiliate for you. Just one. Share why you thought of them. Tell them what you're building and invite them in. That's it. That's your first step to building your wealth pipeline. And if you wanna go deeper with me on this, if you want to actually strategize and build the affiliate system that matches your vision, here's what you need to know.
The only way to [00:22:00] access my coaching with me is through the House of Cortes. A. The membership is your ticket in. Once you're inside, that's where you get access to me as your strategic advisor and all my coaching packages. So if you're curious, here are the next two steps.
Join the wait list for the House of Cortes so you get an invitation to the open house and see what it's all about. And if it's meant for you, that's the only way to get an application. And if you're invited to a House of Cortes, a experience come because it's invite based only and we take people off the wait list and we curate a special event where it's live in Nashville and the people who are in that room are specifically picked to be there so that when we run the experience, you're actually adding 5% growth to your business that day.
It's curated to ensure that. Okay, so this is where you can actually taste what it feels like to be inside the house. It's curated high level and designed to give you an immediate jump in your business, so that's a cool thing to [00:23:00] get if you get invited to it. I will drop the link in the show notes to get onto the wait list so you can take the next step.
So as we wrap this up, remember, affiliate income is not about carrying more buckets. It's about building a pipeline, one that flows, grows, and pays you over and over again when you have the right people. The simplest systems. Incentives that align with your vision, you create freedom instead of burnout.
And if you want to explore this more deeply with me, like I said, the only way is through the House of Cortes. Feel free to join the wait list and come to the experience. If you get invited, I'll put the link again down to the show note. Tune in next week as we flip this all around and I will actually talk about how to build your affiliate income.
Pipeline by leveraging other people's products and services that you generally love from other creators rather than just owning your own. Remember in the pipeline story we talked about how he built the pipeline for the one village, but he didn't stop there. He said, I already know the system. I already understand how to do this.
I'm gonna go [00:24:00] to village after village after village and help them build their pipelines because what does that do? That gives me more income for multiple streams. So if one pipeline breaks, I still have other incomes going. This is what I want you to take away. You can build affiliate income for your own product to help your sales grow, but you should also start now with building your affiliate income on other products.
And this is a huge way to generate sales from yours, like I said, at the same time, while earning effortless income from selling others offerings. Even before your own pipeline is fully established, they're growing at the same time, and this is how you start to grow your effortless empire. So make sure you check out next week's episode.
You'll love it. Until next week, my friends, enjoy the week, stay productive and keep building your effortless empire. See you next episode.
