How to Join the Affiliate Program

The affiliate program is a way for people interested in partnering with Udemy to help us promote our courses and earn a commission for every sale they bring in. This article explains who can apply to participate in the Udemy Affiliate Program.

Who is eligible to apply?

In order to be eligible to become an affiliate, you must be a website owner, marketer or business owner.

• Review how you can apply to join the affiliate program.

Once an applicant is accepted into the program, they will have the ability to use unique tracking links to advertise and promote our courses as affiliates.

Can I join your Affiliate program if I have an active presence on social media, but don’t have a website?

Yes, you can. However, you need to have an active presence on social media (Facebook Fanpage, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and so on). In addition, your social media page must fulfill the requirements to become an affiliate. 

• Learn more about the requirements to join the affiliate program.

When submitting your application, you'll have to list all your social media accounts that you'll use to promote our courses. Currently, we don't accept any affiliates who solely talk about Udemy and/or who are paid advertising affiliates.

• Learn how to use social media effectively as a marketing tool.

Why do I need a blog, social media channel, or website?

We're currently looking to partner with affiliates who drive promotions via a blog, website, or social media. This is the type of affiliate we can support best right now.

Can I participate if I live outside the United States?

Yes, we welcome affiliates outside the U.S.. When you submit your application, you'll be asked to give your personal or business information based on U.S. business terminology but you can fill in your application using the equivalents of your business or personal ID number in your country.

For more information on tax requirements for both US and non-US affiliates, see how to get started with Impact. 

When applying to be part of our affiliate program, keep in mind that we consider every affiliate application that comes through. Every affiliate that is accepted into our program needs to have a website, blog or social media page that is up and running. For now, we don't accept affiliates without a live website or page to run their promotions or who are just getting started.

Each application is thoroughly reviewed before approval. When reviewing your application, we check to make sure the following criteria are met: 

• A list of followers: whether it is an email list, social media following or fanbase, we look to work with a partner that has already built an engaged audience with consistent traffic and followers. Your website traffic needs to be at least 500 unique monthly visitors in the last 3 months. Your social media pages must have at least 500 followers. 
• Consistent traffic: we look at your traffic using similarweb.com and other search engines to understand the traffic on your website. Having a website, or at least a social media page with engagement from the visitors and updated content for users is required. When applying, please make sure you list all websites or online channels you will use to promote our products in the 'Description' section of our application. 
• Site theme: with thousands of courses, chances are we have a Udemy course that can appeal to your audience. When reviewing your affiliate application, we look for a fit between your audience and our courses.
• Site content: sites that have no existing content or communication channels might need to work on this part of their site first before applying. Sites that are brand new or have no consistent traffic yet might be denied approval. 
• Alignment with our brand: as a company, we have a mission and a brand we have worked hard to build. We look at your own brand to make sure there is alignment between our brands, and that Udemy offers will look coherent with what you offer on your site.

During the application process, potential affiliates may be asked to share additional information about any of the listed criteria.

For now, we don't welcome any sites that solely talk about Udemy, as well as paid advertising affiliates. 

• Please keep in mind that your application will be declined if you use any, restricted promotional methods.  More information is also available in our Affiliate Terms & Conditions.

If you believe that you meet the requirements, review how you can apply to any of our affiliate networks.

Is there an exclusivity agreement when joining?

No, there is no contract to sign when joining our program and you are allowed to promote other content on your site.  We do, however, take into consideration the type of content on the applicants’ websites. You will be required to agree to the terms and conditions, of whichever of our third-party networks you decide to joi,  and to Udemy's Affiliate Operating Agreement.