How to get started as a Canva affiliate

Do you rave about Canva’s simple and intuitive design tools to anyone who will listen—to the point where people joke you should have shares in the company? Could you talk about visual branding all day long? Is ‘design’ basically your second language? You could be getting paid for your passion with the Canva Pro Affiliate Partner Program

Our affiliate partners earn revenue by helping us share the power of good design with the world. For every new Canva Pro subscriber that signs up with your unique referral link, you could earn up to $36. For yearly Pro memberships, you can earn a one-off commission. Or, if your referral signs up for a monthly subscription, you’ll earn a monthly commission for the first two months of their membership. We also offer regular and flexible payment options, so that you get your money sooner.

Ready to turn your love of all things design into your next side hustle? Keep reading for our quick-start guide, so you can get set up and earning!

Who can be a Canva affiliate partner?

The number one thing we look for in our partners is a genuine love for design—and, of course, Canva! Visual branding and marketing get you excited and you love sharing that knowledge with others. Our partners are a diverse mix of influencers, educators, businesses bloggers and content creators.

Generally, they fall into three categories:

Design influencers: You’re a blogger or social media influencer who is active in the design community. And your passion for Canva is contagious.

Design educators: We’re on a mission to empower the world to design – and so are you. If you teach design online, we want to hear from you.

Have a large audience: You’ve got more than 1 million monthly visits, and your site is related to design – spanning everything from stock photos to fonts.

Other criteria for the program includes:

• You are active on social media or digital marketing platforms
• You have a strong and engaged following who are interested in design
• You are willing to regularly promote Canva across your social media and marketing channels
• You create dynamic and inspirational content about design or entrepreneurship

How do you apply for Canva’s affiliate program?

The Canva Pro Affiliate Partner Program is managed by an external partnership company called Impact. If you have never used this program before as an affiliate, you will need to make an account upon application.

Otherwise, you can log into Impact with your existing account details and select Canva in the list of the brands on the top left corner of the dashboard.

You can access the application form here.

What information do you need to apply for Canva’s affiliate program?

The first thing you need to do when you open the form is select your country in the top right corner. This will ensure the information you are seeing is accurate and relevant to your region.

To fill out your application form, you will need to submit basic information such as your name, address and contact details. You will also need to select whether you are registered for indirect tax such as VAT, HST, GST, and provide the relevant number if so.

Under ‘’promotional information,’ you will be prompted to select your partner type(s). This tells us how you intend to promote Canva—whether it’s on your blog, social media channels, email list or through your software or app.

How to know what partner type to choose

If you are a blogger or write about design for publications, you should most likely choose ‘Content.’ Social Media/Influencer may also be relevant to you

If you have a large and engaged mailing list, select ‘Email’

If you have a significant social media following, ‘Social Media/Influencer’ is likely the right category for you

If you are a business or app who will be promoting Canva, select either ‘Service Provider/Tool’ or ‘Consumer Software/Technology’

You can select as many are relevant to you, so don’t worry if you fit into more than just one category!

How to add your property types

In ‘property types’, you will need to provide a link to the platforms you will be promoting on. You’ll see three different categories here:

Website: This could include your blog, podcast, homepage or a landing page for your email newsletter. If you intend to promote Canva through one of these avenues, toggle ‘websites’ on and add the relevant web addresses into the boxes.

Mobile: If you have an app where you intend to advertise Canva (such as through in-app advertising ) this is where you would include this. Select whether your app is for iOs or Android (or, select both if relevant) and add the link to your app store landing page.

Social networks: Currently, this includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Click on as many that are relevant to you and copy and paste in the appropriate links

This is an extremely important part of the application process, as it’s a big part of how we assess whether you are suitable for the partner. So, be sure to choose the platforms where you have the most active and engaged following, with an interest in learning about design.

How long does it take to be approved for Canva’s affiliate program?

Now that you’ve submitted your application—what next? The good news is, you won’t have to play the waiting game for long! A member of our affiliate team will contact you within 48-72 hours to let you know the outcome of your application. During this timeframe, we carefully study your application to make sure you’re the perfect fit for the program.

If you’re approved, a welcome email will arrive in your inbox. This includes all the guidelines, instructions, and tips you need to get started.

If on this occasion you haven’t been accepted into the program, we’ll still email you to let you know. While we do not provide individual reasoning for unsuccessful applications, common reasons are:

• Your platform is too new
• Your platform is currently not large or engaged enough
• Your platform does not show high enough relevance to design

While all decisions are final, we do encourage you to apply again in the future when you meet the requirements of the program!

How to start promoting

So, you’ve been approved into the Canva Pro Affiliate Partner Program. Congratulations! Your welcome email will contain everything you need to get started—including your individual affiliate link, guidelines, instructions and login for your Impact dashboard.

Inside your Impact account, you’ll see a section that says ‘my brands’ When you select Canva, this will show you the types of ads you’re eligible for. Here, you’ll get two types of links:

A HTML code: This creates a display ad/banner for Canva that will show up once you embed the code on a website page. It’s best to place these places that your audience will be most likely to see it, such as on your homepage, in a sidebar or in a pop-up

A tracking link: This is a more simplified link that is easy to include anywhere you communicate with your audience online. You may choose to include it as a text link inside blog posts or email newsletters when you’re talking about Canva Pro, in your podcast and YouTube shownotes, as a ‘swipe up’ link on your Instagram or inside your social media bios. You may even choose to personally send these links to people you believe may be interested in Canva Pro.

You can also find this link on your homepage, on the right-hand side, in a section that says ‘create a link.’

These links will take the person who clicks on it to a landing page for Canva Pro. If they take the next step and sign up, we use this link to track any referrals you bring in and pay out your commission!

We use Impact’s cookie-based affiliate tracking software to ensure you’re paid within 30 days of the first click. All you need to do is promote, then sit back and watch your earnings grow!

You can apply for the Canva Pro Affiliate Partner Program here.