Desktop Documentaries
Affiliate Program

Thank you for your interest in joining the Desktop Documentaries Affiliate Program.

We partner with a few select top tier film websites using a revenue sharing model for our documentary filmmaking courses.

About the Affiliate Program

Last updated: 3 February 2026. These Affiliate Program terms apply to all affiliates from this date. Existing affiliates were notified by email with a summary of changes.

Desktop Documentaries offers a series of courses, templates & tutorials that are sold individually or as a package which you can view in our Documentary Learning Center:

Example Courses and Bundles included in the Affiliate Program are:

7-Day Documentary Crash Course
Documentary Filmmaking 101 Bundle
Documentary Storytelling & Scriptwriting
Documentary Proposal and Pitch Deck Template Pack
Ultimate Distribution Guide For Documentary Filmmakers
The Ultimate Documentary Pitch Template Package
Selling To Netflix and The Streamers
Film Sales and Distribution Tool Kit
Documentary Budgeting Masterclass
Documentary Budget Template Pack
Documentary Budget ToolKit
Documentary Legal Forms & Contracts [Starter Pack]
Documentary Legal Forms & Contracts [Post Production]
Documentary Legal and Business Essentials
Documentary Legal and Business Tool Kit

These are highly rated filmmaking courses that are consistently well reviewed. This list is non-exhaustive. The current eligible product list is available to approved affiliates on request.*

Desktop Documentaries offers the following commissions structure:

Affiliates will receive a 30% commission per sale for selected individual courses and bundles effective from February 3rd, 2026.
Commission is calculated on the net sale value after discounts, taxes and any payment processing fees are deducted. N.B. Order bumps are not included in the net sale value.

*Please note: Live Classes, Memberships and Consulting Services are excluded from the affiliate program unless explicitly listed as eligible. Replays of live classes sold subsequently as on-demand classes may be included on a case-by-case basis.

How It Works

We use the Thinkific platform to manage our courses and products. It only takes a few minutes to set up an account.

SIGN-UP HERE

Once you have created your account, please contact us to join our affiliate program and receive the current list of courses and bundles that are in scope for commission.

Pre-approval is required of our affiliates to ensure high quality partners.

Once you are approved, all you need to do is log into your affiliate account and put some of the graphics, links and text on your site. The system will provide your specific link directly to Desktop Documentaries and track all sales.

The affiliate cookie is good for 30-days. In addition, if someone purchases with your affiliate link during those first 30-days, they are your customer forever. Meaning, if they purchase again after that initial 30-day period you'll get credit for the sale if it is in scope for affiliate commission.

Your affiliate cookie applies to ANY product sold (not just the course you promoted), as long as it is in scope for the affiliate scheme.

More details on how the Thinkific platform implements Affiliates can be found here.

Why 30 Days?

The 30-day cookie policy is in benefit to all our affiliates. Here's a quote from Thinkific:

"For example, what if we set the cookie for 365 days. If Affiliate A promotes to her list and sends Visitor B to your site, then Affiliate C has no incentive to promote for 365 days because Affiliate A gets all the credit. Even if Visitor B has forgotten about your site and then on the 364th day come back via Affiliate C's link, credit still goes to Affiliate A. So a shorter duration is fairer to affiliates in general, especially new ones.

The setup is a sort of best of both worlds. The initial cookie lasts 30 days, but if a customer makes a purchase within that window then the subsequent purchases go to the original affiliate (essentially making the cookie duration unlimited)."

Getting Started

We work with each affiliate individually to structure how the products will be promoted on your site, in your newsletter, or elsewhere. However, it's YOUR endorsement that makes the difference in sales conversion.

To join our affiliate program, please contact Desktop Documentaries with your website, contact information and suggestions for the placement on your site.

We tend to maintain a relatively small list of affiliates and a stable commission rate and associated product list. However, we reserve the right to change, suspend or discontinue the Affiliate program at any time and/or cancel the affiliate status for inactive affiliates (those who have not had paid referral purchases in the last 12 months).

We pay our affiliates the first week of each month for sales from two months prior (this is to provide at least a 30-day window for refunds). For example, all the sales in January will be sent out during the first 7-10 days of March.