When an affiliate promotes a product, Hotmart follows a set of prioritization rules to determine who receives the commission for the sale. These rules are designed to ensure transparency and efficiency in commission assignment, based on user actions and the settings defined by the creator.
Before diving into how commissions are actually assigned to affiliates, it's important to understand that creators define a commission attribution model in advance. This model guides the platform on which affiliate should receive the commission in different scenarios. To learn more about these initial rules, check out the article How affiliate commissions are determined at Hotmart.
What is the commission attribution system?
The Commission Attribution System is an intelligent and automated way Hotmart uses to determine which affiliate earns the commission for a sale. It’s triggered every time a buyer completes a purchase through any promotional method used by an affiliate, such as a Hotlink.
What is the priority order for assigning commissions?
Commission assignment follows a priority system. The affiliate whose promotional strategy meets the highest-priority criteria will receive the commission:
❯ Priority 1: Affiliate Discount Coupon
If a buyer uses an affiliate’s discount coupon when making a purchase, that affiliate always receives the commission. This is the highest priority and overrides all others.
❯ Priority 2: Cookie
When a buyer clicks on an affiliate's Hotlink (a.k.a, a Promotional Link), a cookie is stored in their browser. If the purchase happens while the cookie is still valid, the affiliate gets the commission. The validity can be 60, 90, 180 days, or unlimited, depending on the product’s settings.
❯ Priority 3: HotLeads
If the buyer signed up through a lead capture page promoted by an affiliate—with the HotLeads script installed—the commission goes to that same affiliate, as long as the lead is still within the validity period (same as the cookie).
❯ Priority 4: Purchase History
If the buyer has previously purchased a product from the same creator through an affiliate, this history can be used to assign the new commission to that same affiliate.
Important: Affiliates always take priority over creators in commission assignments, even when the rule might otherwise benefit the creator.
❯ Priority 5: Global Affiliation
Even if the affiliate is not directly affiliated with the product being sold, they may receive the commission if there's any valid past record (cookie, lead, or purchase) of their promotion to this buyer for another product from the same creator.