Notion, Canva and the Template Economy: How SaaS Tools Turn Creators Into Affiliates

Two separate layers — and why they get confused

Notion and Canva are both examples of a pattern that shows up across several large SaaS tools with an active creator community: there are two distinct layers of commission-paid recommendation, and they run on very different rules. The first layer is the platform's own classic affiliate program — you refer the tool itself (Notion or Canva) to new paying users and earn a commission on that. The second layer is the template economy: a creator designs and sells their own Notion or Canva templates as a standalone product, either directly on the platform's own marketplace or through a third-party tool like Gumroad. The two layers get confused often, because both pay a "creator" for actively using the platform — but the rules, the fees and who can even become an affiliate are completely different between the two.

Layer 1: the platform's own affiliate program

This is the classic SaaS affiliate program: you get a unique link, and if someone starts a paid subscription through it, you earn a commission.

Source and caveat: the Notion figures were read directly from Notion's own page (notion.com/affiliates) on 27 August 2026 — check the page again before relying on it, since the program can reopen or change terms without notice and is closed to new sign-ups right now. The Canva figures could not be pulled directly from canva.com/help, which blocks automated fetching in this pass — the numbers above are the consistent version repeated across several independent affiliate-network sites that themselves cover Canva's program via Impact.com, not read directly from Canva's own page. Treat them as well-supported, not primary-source-confirmed.

Layer 2: the template economy — selling your own templates

The second layer has nothing to do with referring the tool itself. Here, a creator designs their own Notion or Canva templates (planning systems, resume templates, content calendars, designs) and sells them as a standalone product. This is where the decisive, often-surprising difference sits:

This is the article's central operational point: Notion's own marketplace has no built-in affiliate layer at all. Sell your templates there, and every bit of traffic has to come from you (your own audience, your own visibility) or from organic discovery inside Notion's marketplace — there's no built-in mechanism letting anyone else promote your templates for a cut. A template seller who wants an affiliate layer around their own product has to go out to a third-party platform like Gumroad to get one.

How this differs from Kajabi, Teachable and Podia

The Academy has already covered the structurally related situation for course creators in Kajabi, Teachable and Podia: how course creators run their own affiliate programs. The difference is worth noting: all three course platforms have their own built-in affiliate feature that the course creator can switch on for their own course without ever leaving the platform. Notion's marketplace has no such feature at all — a real, documented difference between "build and sell your own digital product on a platform with a built-in affiliate tool" (Kajabi, Teachable, Podia) and "build and sell your own digital product on a platform without one" (Notion Marketplace).

Worked example (hypothetical)

The figures below are hypothetical and for illustration only — not a real Make Influence customer case, and deliberately isolating only the affiliate layer's cost, since Gumroad's own platform-fee rate could not be confirmed directly in this pass.

A creator sells a Notion template for $20 and gets 50 sales in a month.

• Via Notion Marketplace: 50 × $20 = $1,000 in revenue. Notion's fee: 8% × $1,000 = $80, plus 50 × $0.40 = $20. Total fee to Notion = $100. The creator keeps $900 — but has to generate all 50 purchases themselves, since the marketplace has no affiliate layer to help with traffic.
• Via Gumroad with its own affiliate layer: the creator sets their own affiliate rate at 20% ($4 per sale) for affiliates they recruit directly. Affiliates drive all 50 sales: 50 × $20 = $1,000 in revenue, of which 50 × $4 = $200 is paid out to affiliates. The creator has $800 left before Gumroad's own platform fee, which isn't included here.

The example deliberately isolates only the affiliate layer's price: Notion Marketplace is cheaper on fees but provides no help getting the 50 purchases in the first place. Gumroad's affiliate layer costs more in commission, but it's the actual mechanism that can generate the sales to begin with. That's the real trade-off — not simply a question of which fee is lowest in isolation.

Decision framework

• IF you want to refer the tool itself (Notion or Canva) to others → apply to the platform's own affiliate program, but check status first — Notion's own program is closed to new sign-ups right now, and Canva requires prior acceptance as a Canvassador.
• IF you already have an audience and want to sell your own templates without sharing revenue with affiliates → Notion Marketplace (or Canva's equivalent) is the simpler, lower-fee choice — but only if you can generate the traffic yourself.
• IF you don't have a large audience of your own and need others to help sell your templates → a third-party tool like Gumroad with a built-in affiliate feature is the only one of the two paths that actually lets you outsource the sales work.
• IF you want both → several template sellers (per several of the template-selling guides seen in this pass, though without one shared, verifiable source) sell primarily through their own store/Gumroad and additionally list on Notion's Marketplace for extra discovery — treat that as a common practice, not a confirmed norm.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a Notion or Canva "affiliate program" automatically covers template sales. It doesn't — these are two separate layers with their own separate rules.
• Selling exclusively through Notion Marketplace without your own traffic — the marketplace has no built-in affiliate tool to generate buyers for you.
• Setting a Gumroad affiliate rate without pricing it in up front — same principle as tiered commission structures: a high affiliate rate changes real net earnings significantly.
• Assuming Notion's affiliate program is always open. It isn't right now — check status before building a strategy around it.

Make Influence's operational perspective

Make Influence doesn't operate in productivity or template SaaS, and we have no first-hand experience with Notion's, Canva's or Gumroad's own programs. But the underlying pattern is one we recognize from our own field: an affiliate layer is never automatically present just because a product can be sold digitally — it either has to be built into the platform itself (as with Kajabi, Teachable and Podia), or the seller has to actively add it themselves through a third-party tool (as with Gumroad for Notion templates). The same exercise we recommend brands run before choosing an affiliate tracking network applies just as much to a creator considering selling their own templates: check whether the affiliate mechanism already exists before planning a sales strategy that assumes it does.

FAQ

Can I become a Notion affiliate right now?

No, not as of 27 August 2026 — Notion's own page states directly that the program is currently not accepting new applicants. Check notion.com/affiliates for current status, since this can change without notice.

Do I earn a commission if I sell my own templates on Notion Marketplace?

No — there's no built-in affiliate or referral feature for template sellers on Notion's own marketplace, per Notion's own help page. Notion takes 8% plus $0.40 per transaction (plus 1% FX outside the US), but none of that goes to an affiliate, because the mechanism doesn't exist.

Is Canva's affiliate program open to everyone?

No — you first need to be accepted into the Canvassador program itself before getting affiliate access, according to the sources covering Canva's own program via Impact.com (canva.com/help could not be fetched directly in this pass).

Can I add my own affiliates if I sell templates through Gumroad?

Yes — that's precisely the difference from Notion Marketplace. Gumroad's own general affiliate program pays a default 10%, and a creator can raise the rate for affiliates they recruit directly for their own products.

Is there a Danish version of these programs?

No Danish-specific program or terms were found for Notion, Canva or Gumroad in this pass — all three run global, USD-based programs.

Is this the same as Kajabi, Teachable and Podia's affiliate features?

Related, but not identical — see Kajabi, Teachable and Podia for the full comparison. The decisive difference is that all three course platforms have their own built-in affiliate feature, while Notion's marketplace has none at all.