Affiliate Program FAQs

Please be aware that these FAQs are just a quick summary of how the program works and aren't intended to be comprehensive.  For all the details and legal mumbo jumbo about the program, be sure to read our Affiliate Program Licensing Agreement.
 

Program Overview

How does the Affiliate Program work?

Here's a simple overview of how the program works (click here to return to the Affiliate Login page):

Do I have to handle any of the books or doing any shipping myself?

No, you don't have to handle any books, build an inventory or worry about shipping.  Just send the customer to us and we will take care of the rest!

How much money can I earn from the program?

Your earnings potential is HUGE!  The basic referral fee you earn per book sold increases as you refer more book sales.  Below is a chart outlining the different sales thresholds and the accelerated referral fee you earn per book at each threshold:

It doesn't matter if customers purchase 1, 5, 50, or 100 books per order, each book sold using your referral code is cumulatively applied to the total volume you've sold and therefore increases your chance of attaining a higher threshold for earning a higher referral fee.

Below are three different examples illustrating how the referral fees are calculated as your sales volume increases. So with example #2 below, suppose you've sold 175 books so far in the year; the 1st of 175 books sold earned you $0, the next 4 of the 175 books sold earned you $40 (at $10/book), the next 20 of the 175 books earned you $300 (at $15/book), the next 75 of the 175 books sold earned you $1500 (at $20/book), and so on. 

How do I share my referral code or link with others?

You will be given a special referral code and a link that has the referral code embedded in it. Just start sending the code or link to anyone through email or in social media sources like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, etc.  Or if you have your own website, you can advertise the link on it.  Or if you write an article or blog, you can include the link too.  There is no limit to how you share your code or link, as long as it's not used in an abusive way nor in any way that promotes inappopriate content (e.g., content that is illegal, offensive, pornographic, etc.).  The bottom line is if the place where you advertise the link has has nothing to do with Lean Six Sigma, then it's probably best to avoid it.

What if someone does not use my referral code or link I gave them?

The referral code is our only form of tracking and validation that sale was because of your referral.  So without the referral code, then you would not earn anything for it.  However, in order to encourage customers to use you referral code, you can offer them a discount (see the next section below about discounts). 

How can I increase my referral sales and ensure people use my code?

Give your customers a discount!  If you give your customer a discount, they're more inclined to use your referral code.  And as more customers do that, it will more quickly increase your sales volume to a higher earnings threshold.  For more information, check out the next section below about discounts.

How long can I keep building my order quantity to reach higher thresholds for earning more money per book?

We guarantee you can build your sales quantity for at least one year from your approval of joining the Affiliate Program. After each year, the quantities may reset to zero.

Can my referral code be used when a customer makes their purchase through other websites like Amazon?

No, the referral code is only setup by StatStuff.com for exclusive purchases made through the purchasing links on StatStuff.com (which includes CreateSpace.com for international orders outside the United States).  No other reseller (like Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.) will accept this referral code.

How often are referral fees paid out?

Referral fees are paid out each month for the referred sales in the prior month. The fees may be delayed to account for returns, cancellations or chargebacks. There are other restrictions on when these referral fees are paid out such as only when there is a minimum of $50 in fees earned.  For more information, please read our Affiliate Program Licensing Agreement.

How are referral fees paid?

When you register as an Affiliate, you are given three options for how to receive payment: 1) PayPal, 2) Bank Transfer, or 3) Check.  Additional processing fees may apply for certain payment types. Any discounts applied to your customer's purchases will be deducted from your referral fees earned.  For more information, please read our Affiliate Program Licensing Agreement.

How does this Affiliate Program work with bulk orders?

This Affiliate Program replaces the bulk ordering process. The reason is because it's more efficient to have only one discount program and this Affiliate Program is far better than any bulk discount process anyway. If a company wanted to order books in bulk to get a discount, then they're better off becoming an Affiliate because they can use their own referral code to earn back a portion of the money from the sale.  By doing so, they can continue to build upon their own prior orders and attain higher earnings thresholds without having to wait for large bulk orders.

For example, if a company orders 50 books now, they will earn back part of what they paid and in effect get a net discounted price per book.  But if they want to only order 5 books next month, under a typical bulk order process they would probably not get a discount for that order.  But this Affiliate program is flexible enough that the 5 extra books are added to their prior quantity of 50 books and therefore they continue to get the same referral earnings they previously realized.  In that way, they don't have to order their books in batches to get a lower price per book, but they can follow the Lean Six Sigma "just-in-time" model of ordering when they need it.

Does it cost me anything to join, or do I have to make any purchases myself?

No, there is no cost to join the Affiliate Program and you're not required to purchase the book or anything else if you don't want to.  But we're not sure why you wouldn't want the book for yourself if you're encouraging others to buy it.  :)

Is this program open to individuals and companies?

Yes, either an individual or an organization/company can become an Affiliate.  However, it's important to be aware of certain logistical and ethical impacts. Logistically, if a company becomes an Affiliate, then the person setting up the account must be an authorized representative of that company and must appropriately define the registriation information (e.g., how earnings are paid, etc.).

However, if an individual becomes an Affiliate on behalf of his/her company, then it could present an ethical conflict in certain situations. For example, if an individual who is an Affiliate has authorization to purchase the books on behalf of his/her company, then it's important that the company is aware of potential earnings that individual may personally receive by that company's purchase.  When in doubt, we recommend you either acquire appropriate authorization from your company, extend a discount equal to your referral fee, disclose the potential conflict with your company, or avoid the conflict altogether by setting up the company as its own Affiliate.  These are not requirements for participating in the program; that's something you will need to manage for yourself.

Are people outside the United States eligible to join?

Yes, anyone from any geographic location can either become an Affiliate or can have sales referred to them.  However, it is your responsibility to ensure you are legally permitted to operate as an Affiliate.  Any legal violations could result in cancelling your referral code, expulsion from the Affiliate Program, and forfeiture of any accrued referral earnings. 

Discounts Offered to Customers

What makes this Affiliate program so unique is that you not only get money for each book sale you refer, but you can extend a discount to your referrals to help encourage more sales and more money for you!

How much of a discount can I offer?

You can set whatever discount amount you want up to the full amount of the referral fee you're earning per book.  Any discount you offer is applied per book and not just per order. For example, if you're referral fee is $10 for every book sold, then you can offer a $5 discount (or even your entire $10 referral fee) per book so that your customers are more likely to use your referral code.  As your sales increase and you reach higher earnings thresholds, you can also increase the discount amount you offer to your customers to encourage even greater sales.

It's important to understand that any discounts you extend to your customers are deducted from your referral fees you earn.  For example, if you are at a threshold earning $10 referral fee per book sold and offer a $10 discount to your customers using your referral code, then you are essentially forfeiting your entire referral fee earned. Despite that, this may prove to be an effective strategy to generate more sales and more quickly boost you to a higher threshold for earning higher referral fees.

How do I apply the discount to my referral code?

Any discounts you offer to your customers must be requested via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Be sure to include 1) your referral code, 2) your affiliate login email, 3) and the dollar amount of your discount you want to offer.  It may take a few days to process; you will be notified when your discount is setup.

Can I offer this discount only to certain customers?

No, this discount amount will be applied to every sale using your code until you change it again.  If you want to offer more than one type of discount (such as for different customers or in different advertisement methods you use), then the only way that's possible is to setup a separate Affiliate account and set different discounts for each one.  The limitation of this is that the sales quantities are not combined across multiple Affiliate accounts so each Affiliate account would need to start from zero and grow independently.

How often can I change this discount amount?

There is no formally defined limit at this time, but a general rule may be either an average of once a month at the most or possibly whenever you reach a new earnings threshold.  Excessive requests to change this discount may be denied or delayed.  Remember, if you're advertising certain discounts and yet frequently change the discounted amounts, your customers may become quickly frustrusted with your or distrusting of your advertisements.