How Affiliate Payouts Work

The headline numbers

• $50 per cleared converted customer
• Monthly batch payout on the 1st of each month
• $25 minimum to be included in a batch — smaller balances roll forward
• Paid via Stripe Connect Express — direct deposit to your bank
• One referral code works for both Hands Free Sites and SiteGlowUp
• No earnings cap. Send 100 customers a month, you earn $5,000.

What counts as a "cleared converted customer"

Three gates have to all be met before we mark a referral cleared and add $50 to your balance:

| Gate | What it means | Why it exists |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion | Customer signed up + completed first payment (the setup fee) | This is the moment money first changes hands |
| 60 days from conversion | Two months have passed since their first payment | Filters out customers who refund or charge back |
| Site live 30 days | Their actual website has been live on the internet for 30+ days | Filters out "I signed up but never finished setup" |
| First monthly hosting invoice paid | They paid month 1's $10 hosting invoice on time | Filters out customers whose card fails after the setup fee |

In practice, most legitimate customers clear all four gates within 60-65 days of signing up. You'll see the referral status in your affiliate dashboard tick through: Pending → Site live → First invoice paid → Cleared.

Why these gates exist

We're upfront about this because it matters for your trust in the program: without these gates, the program would attract churn-and-burn fraud — affiliates who push people to sign up and refund a week later just to collect $50. That kind of fraud is what kills affiliate programs (it's why Wirecutter doesn't have one).

By waiting until a customer is truly settled in — site live, second payment cleared, refund window expired — we make sure you're being paid for real customers and we can keep the per-customer rate high. Programs that pay on day 1 usually pay $10-20 per referral because they have to assume a chunk are fraud. Ours is $50 because we don't.

When you get paid

Monthly batches, processed on the 1st of each month.

Here's a concrete example:

• March 12 — Sarah signs up via your link, pays the setup fee. Status: Pending. Your balance: unchanged.
• March 14 — Sarah's website goes live. Status: Site live. Balance: still unchanged.
• April 14 — Site has been live 30 days. Status: First invoice paid. Balance: still unchanged (60-day refund window still open).
• May 11 — 60 days from conversion. All four gates met. Status: Cleared. Your balance: +$50.
• June 1 — Monthly payout runs. If your total cleared balance is ≥ $25, you get paid by direct deposit within 2-3 business days.

If your cleared balance on the 1st is less than $25, it rolls into the next month's batch. We do this because Stripe charges a fee per payout and tiny payouts mostly just feed the fee machine — letting balances roll forward keeps more of the money with you.

Clawbacks (when we take it back)

A referral can flip from Cleared back to Reversed if:

• The customer refunds within their 60-day refund window — this is rare because most refunds happen in week 1
• The customer chargebacks their card (this can happen up to 120 days later under MasterCard/Visa rules)
• The referral is found to be fraudulent (incentivized signup, self-referral, fake account)

If the reversal happens before payout, your balance just adjusts down — you never see the $50, so there's nothing to claw back. If it happens after you've been paid, we deduct it from your next monthly batch. We'll never claw back more than your current balance — if the deduction would make your balance negative, we eat the difference.

In practice, clawback rate runs about 2-3% of cleared referrals, almost all from chargebacks. If your clawback rate is way above the average, your application gets re-reviewed — that's the only ratio we watch closely.

Two brands, one code

Your affiliate code (like Glow-MEGAN) works for both Hands Free Sites and SiteGlowUp. You can:

• Append ?ref=Glow-MEGAN to any handsfreesites.com or siteglowup.ai link
• Promote one brand or both — same code, same $50, same dashboard
• Mix and match in a single piece of content (e.g., "If you're starting from scratch, try Hands Free Sites [link]. If you have an existing site, try SiteGlowUp [link].")

Behind the scenes both brands share one backend, one billing system, and one affiliate ledger, so your earnings show up the same way regardless of which brand the customer signed up with.

What you'll see in your dashboard

• Current balance — total cleared, ready for the next monthly batch
• Pending referrals — sign-ups that haven't cleared yet, with the gate they're stuck on
• Cleared referrals — paid customers, with the date they cleared
• Payout history — every batch we've sent you, with Stripe payout IDs
• Tax info link — handled by Stripe (see Updating Your Tax Info and Payout Method)

Common questions

"What if my referral signs up, then upgrades to a more expensive tier?"
You still get $50 — the rate is per cleared customer, not a percentage of revenue. Simpler for everyone.

"What if someone clicks my link in March but doesn't sign up until July?"
Our click-attribution cookie lasts 90 days. If they sign up within that window, the referral is credited to you. After 90 days, the cookie expires and a fresh attribution wins.

"What if two affiliates both refer the same customer?"
Last click wins within the 90-day window. This is the most common standard across affiliate networks.

"Does the customer get a discount when they use my code?"
Not by default — your code is purely for attribution. If you want a discount/promo code to share with your audience, ask at affiliates@siteglowup.ai and we'll see if there's a fit.

"What happens to my balance if I leave the program?"
Whatever's already cleared still pays out at the next monthly batch. Pending referrals continue clearing through their gates normally and pay out as they clear. Your account doesn't expire just because you stop sending traffic.