Online Course Platform Starter

What This Recipe Does

This recipe creates a complete course marketplace monetization system with three components:

1. Course Affiliate Program - 30% commission to affiliates who refer students, tracked via referral link visits
2. Instructor Royalty Program - 50% royalty to instructors when their courses sell, tracked via product ownership bindings
3. Instructor Revenue Share - Monthly distributor that splits subscription revenue among instructors based on student engagement with their courses

The two programs are deliberately not grouped. When a student buys a course, the affiliate who referred them earns 30% and the instructor who created the course earns 50%. Both fire on the same transaction because they reward different people for different roles.

The distributor adds a recurring revenue layer. Each month, it pools a percentage of subscription income and distributes it to instructors proportionally based on how much student engagement their courses generated. Instructors whose courses see more completions earn a larger share.

This is the recipe that turns a WordPress site with LifterLMS into a full course marketplace.

Who It’s For

• LifterLMS site owners building a multi-instructor marketplace where affiliates acquire students and instructors create content
• Education entrepreneurs launching a Udemy-style or Teachable-style platform on WordPress
• Platform operators who want automated compensation for both content creators and promoters without manual payouts

How It Works

The recipe has three pieces that operate simultaneously, each handling a different part of the marketplace economy.

The Course Affiliate Program handles student acquisition. Affiliates share referral links to drive traffic to the platform. When a referred visitor purchases a course, the affiliate earns 30% of the transaction. Attribution uses newestBindingWins, so the most recent referral determines who gets credit. This is the growth engine of the marketplace.

The Instructor Royalty Program handles creator compensation on direct sales. When an instructor is bound to a course in Siren and that course sells, the instructor earns 50% of the line item total. This happens automatically based on product ownership, with no referral link needed. The instructor simply needs to be associated with their courses in Siren. On a single sale, both the affiliate and the instructor earn because the programs are independent.

The Instructor Revenue Share handles subscription income. Many course platforms sell access through monthly or annual memberships rather than individual course purchases. The distributor pools a percentage of that subscription revenue each month and distributes it to instructors based on student engagement. The performanceSharedPool resolver means each instructor’s share is proportional to their engagement score relative to all other instructors.

After applying the recipe, configure the distributor with two metric tracking events: courseCompleted at 10 points and lessonCompleted at 1 point. This scoring model weights full course completions heavily, rewarding instructors who create courses that students finish. Set the revenue percentage for the monthly pool, then configure the commission pool filters to include only subscription revenue. Once configured, the system runs on autopilot. Siren tracks completions throughout the month, builds each instructor’s score, and distributes the accumulated pool on the first of the following month.

The combined economics are straightforward. Direct course sales pay the affiliate (30%) and the instructor (50%), leaving 20% as platform revenue. Subscription revenue pays instructors monthly through the performance pool. You control the pool percentage, so your margin on subscription income is whatever you choose.

{
  "version": 1,
  "name": "Online Course Platform Starter",
  "description": "Affiliate-driven student acquisition, instructor royalties on course sales, and performance-weighted monthly revenue sharing for subscription income.",
  "programs": {
    "courseAffiliate": {
      "name": "Course Affiliate Program",
      "description": "Earn a 30% commission for every student you refer who purchases a course on the platform.",
      "incentiveType": "saleTransactionPercentage",
      "incentiveResolverType": "newestBindingWins",
      "units": "USD",
      "status": "active",
      "incentiveAmount": 30,
      "engagementTypes": [
        { "type": "referredSiteVisit", "value": 100.0 }
      ],
      "transactionCompilers": ["includeLineItems"]
    },
    "instructorRoyalty": {
      "name": "Instructor Royalty Program",
      "description": "Earn a 50% royalty every time a course you created is purchased. Compensation is automatic and tied to your course ownership.",
      "incentiveType": "saleTransactionPercentage",
      "incentiveResolverType": "newestBindingWins",
      "units": "USD",
      "status": "active",
      "incentiveAmount": 50,
      "engagementTypes": [
        { "type": "collaboratorProductSold", "value": 100.0 }
      ],
      "transactionCompilers": ["includeLineItems"]
    }
  },
  "distributors": {
    "instructorRevShare": {
      "name": "Instructor Revenue Share",
      "description": "Splits a percentage of monthly subscription revenue among instructors based on course and lesson completion metrics. Instructors with higher student engagement earn a larger share.",
      "distributionResolver": "performanceSharedPool",
      "distributionPoolResolver": "revenueSinceLastDistribution",
      "status": "active",
      "units": "USD",
      "schedule": ["first day of next month"]
    }
  }
}