What Is A Recurring Affiliate Program? How They Work and Program Examples

Businesses must identify different ways to attract customers and reach potential leads.

However, finding them alone can quickly become complicated if you don’t know where to look.

To gain more customers, you should look into a recurring affiliate program.

I decided to write this article because I understand the importance of a recurring affiliate program.

I noticed it helps businesses to grow while providing some money and assistance to their affiliates.

You can incorporate and work alongside affiliates as you understand what recurring affiliate programs offer.

What Is a Recurring Commission?

A recurring commission refers to a company’s payment to someone else for their efforts.

For example, a business may offer an artist to make art for them, paying that person each time they make a piece.

What Is a Recurring Affiliate Program?

A recurring affiliate program refers to a setup where a business offers a recurring commission to affiliates when they bring in new customers.

If you look into affiliate programs for beginners, you’ll notice that some use a systematic approach.

Recurring Affiliate Program vs. One-Time Commission

Recurring affiliate programs and one-time commissions are not the same.

How They Work

Routine programs work by paying you every time you get customers, while one-time commissions only do it once.

Recurring affiliate programs get you more customers with time, but you must put more money into them since you’ll give the affiliate a portion.

On the other hand, one-time commissions get you fewer customers, but you don’t have to dedicate as much money to it.

How to Choose the One for You

Recurring works better if you want lasting relationships with affiliates.

One-time works best for quick boosts in your profits.

First-Year Recurring Affiliate Program vs. Lifetime Recurring Affiliate Program

You’ll notice some affiliate programs offer first-year recurring programs while others provide lifetime recurring.

You’ll want to know how they vary and how they can benefit your business.

Some special networks for affiliate programs offer first-year options, while others have lifetime options, so each has its appeal.

However, to choose the right one for your business, you must understand how they work and their benefits.

How They Work

The first year of a recurring affiliate program allows your affiliates to make money for a customer’s first year of purchases.

However, once that year ends, they no longer receive payments for that customer.

Lifetime recurring affiliate programs let affiliates always send new customers your way.

Once those new customers make a purchase, you give some money to the affiliate as compensation.

They receive a portion as long as the customer sticks with the business.

How To Choose Which Is Right for You

First-year and lifetime recurring affiliate programs offer substantial benefits, making them great for your business.

For example, you’ll enjoy these points with a first-year program.

• You don’t spend as much
• You get more money than one-time
• Not requiring long-lasting customers

A first-year option works well for businesses seeking consistent customers from different sources.

While you’ll need to commit some money to it, you won’t have to spend as much as a lifetime option.

The lifetime option offers some great benefits, making it a solid choice for businesses.

• Always have options from affiliates
• Increase your potential gains
• Give affiliates flexibility

You should use the lifetime option to boost your profits.

Doing so lets your affiliates work when they feel like it without feeling pressured to force people into becoming customers.

Such flexibility gives you better affiliates and customers.

It comes down to what works better for your business.

Do you want to offer people first-year options and pay during that period, or do you want to give them more money and boost your profits?

The choice may come down to your budget and resources.

Why Should You Consider a Recurring Affiliate Program?

If you look into the best niches for affiliate marketing, you’ll notice some excellent benefits they offer.

Potential for Higher Cumulative Earnings

People worry about the money they spend when they give it to affiliates.

However, you pay affiliates a set amount based on the customers they bring you.

That means you gain a customer you wouldn’t have otherwise, so you’ll earn more money as they keep it up.

More Reliable Income

Since they can bring you more customers, you can rely on them to increase your income.

It will build up and become consistent, especially as you get multiple affiliates to work with you.

If you keep expanding it, you’ll naturally make more money and give yourself a steady income source.

Low Start-Up Costs

You can even choose low-cost options if you want to get your foot in the door.

For example, you can start with a one-year option and upgrade it to the lifetime variation once you have the budget.

Easy for Beginners

The program also works well for beginners.

That involves both the business establishing it and the affiliates getting involved.

For example, ClickBank allows for easy money-making since the affiliates can understand the program and get started.

Since recurring affiliate programs work for multiple industries, you can utilize them and boost your income.

On top of that, customers become more likely to stick with your business if someone refers them, so you can improve your customer retention through an affiliate program.

Best Recurring Affiliate Programs

You should check these options if you need some inspiration for recurring affiliate programs or want to see what affiliate programs you can utilize.

They remain the best recurring affiliate programs in the industry, so they set an example and can help you.

We plan to explain what they offer and do effectively to make them excellent recurring affiliate programs.

We’ll also mention how you can learn from them to put your spin on a program.

1. AWeber

First, we’ll start with the AWeber affiliate program.

The program focuses on giving you excellent compensation for each AWeber referral you bring.

They pay up to 50 percent for each payment made to an account.

So that means if you can bring consistent customers, the business gives you consistent money for your efforts and whenever you get new people.

They keep the process simple by having you send a link to your referrals, so you receive a cut if the person purchases after clicking the link.

In addition, they offer lifetime options since you accept payments each time they pay for a monthly subscription.

The higher percentage costs more, but it can help businesses secure higher-quality affiliates.

2. ActiveCampaign

You also have the ActiveCampaign affiliate program.

ActiveCampaign offers a 20 to 30 percent commission to its affiliates.

However, since the business focuses on high-end customers, most affiliates average about 1,350 dollars per referral.

However, you don’t have to go with only high-range customers since they also go with smaller payments.

It comes down to what the person agrees to and wants from the company, so you always receive a cut.

You get a lifetime referral with them since they’ll give you a cut for the subscription if they keep refunding it.

Like other referral systems, they have to use your link when signing up.

The percentage system works well if you want to encourage recurring customers.

3. GetResponse

The GetResponse affiliate program utilizes some excellent ideas to make it a solid option.

In addition, GetResponse takes an exciting approach by offering you two options based on your preferences.

The recurring option gives you 33 percent of the commissions each month.

You can also go with a flat rate of 100 dollars per sale.

Your preferred option depends on what you think works best for the people you refer.

The percentage makes it great for customers who stick with GetResponse, while the other works better if you think they’ll make a one-time purchase.

In addition, giving affiliates multiple options works well since you can let them choose their preferred option while you gain new customers.

4. Shopify

Many people love the Shopify affiliate program and how it works.

However, since Shopify is a product platform designed to sell products, they have a unique approach with their Shopify Collabs program.

The system lets you share products with people, so if they buy the products, you get a cut.

It works well since people can share the products they care about and put more passion into the affiliate program.

The site also provides accessible data tracking to help you see how you perform.

Doing so will motivate you to work hard and make more money through purchases.

In addition, you may want to share applicable data with your customers in your programs.

5. ConvertKit

You can also look into the ConvertKit affiliate program if you want to see an excellent program.

ConvertKit offers a 30 percent commission for up to two years of purchases.

That doesn’t give you only two years with the program, but it means you’ll receive 30 percent for their first two years of purchases.

They also expect you to have a solid grasp of email marketing since doing so will help secure more customers.

They help you find people by offering multiple features, such as assets, webinars, and a dashboard.

Instead of expecting your affiliates to know everything, you can offer them more information to help them succeed, so you make money as they perform well.

6. Leadpages

If you want to see another option, look into the Leadpages affiliate program.

If you like the idea of a larger commission, Leadpages offers up to 50 percent on its commissions.

The commissions are recurring and apply to all sales.

For example, you’ll make the same percentage from one-time purchases, upgrades, and subscriptions.

That way, they don’t punish people who have short-term customers, but they still reward long-term customers with a consistent revenue source.

The commission rate increases as you make more money.

You start at 10 percent, but it increases to 40 percent once you secure over 50 dollars of sales and 50 percent for over 3,000 monthly sales.

You may want to incorporate a scaling system to encourage more of your affiliates.

7. Semrush

People also recognize the value of the Semrush affiliate program.

The business takes a different approach by working with a third-party called Impact for the affiliate program.

They offer 200 dollars for new subscription sales, 10 for new trials, and one cent for new sign-ups.

This approach works well since it offers affiliates some benefits beyond sales.

Since trials and sign-ups lead to sales, the system encourages affiliates to take those initial steps during the process.

They want affiliates who are content publishers, marketing agencies, paid search specialists, and in similar fields.

That way, they can maximize their profits while offering a system that works for their affiliates.

Frequently Asked Questions

As you look into affiliate marketing, you’ll find some frequently asked questions (FAQs).

They pop up while people look into this market, so we wanted to address them and help you.

That way, you won’t have to search for those answers if these questions come up.

Wrapping Up

Recurring affiliate marketing helps you gain more customers and make money while also benefiting your benefits.

You can make it a two-way street and assist each other as you understand what it entails and the type you plan to offer.

If you want to learn more about these programs and marketing options, you can ask any questions in the comments section.

Recurring affiliate marketing lets you pay people for each new customer they bring you, so take advantage of this technique.