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What is a Recurring Affiliate Program?

What is a recurring affiliate program?
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Every business needs to figure out unique approaches to reach out to potential customers and clients. However, if you don’t know where to search, it could be a little difficult. Looking into a recurring affiliate program is an excellent approach to increasing your customer base and generating repeating monthly commissions.

Additionally, receiving a consistent monthly recurring commission is the goal of any affiliate marketer. It simply indicates that you have profitable referrals from which you can generate monthly income. However, not everyone will be a good fit for this kind of commission. For example, an affiliate program with a recurring commission is appropriate for subscription-based software or services.

The purpose of this article is to help businesses to understand recurring affiliate programs and their variations better. Businesses can expand and generate more revenue by understanding recurring affiliate marketing. This is a game-changer since it implies that even if you’re not bringing in new commissions each month, your affiliate money will start to compound.

DEFINITION OF A RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAM.

When a business offers affiliates a recurring commission for bringing in new clients, the arrangement is referred to as a recurring affiliate program.

WHAT IS A RECURRING COMMISSION?

This is a fixed commission you receive when you recommend a user to any product (typically a membership program or items requiring regular monthly payments). You receive the commission when the referred user pays his next bill. Some businesses offer recurring commissions for a lifetime, while others offer them for a fixed period of time (such as one year) depending on their marketing guidelines.

As long as the customers you referred to stick with the business, you will continue to earn money. Naturally, the products’ quality plays a big role because no one would continue using or supporting a low-quality product or brand. Most likely, this is why businesses that are confident in their goods offer recurring commissions.

Pat Flynn, a top affiliate earned over $350,000 in recurring affiliate commissions. This demonstrates your ability to follow the same course.

Please note that not all recurring affiliate programs offer lifetime commissions. After the first 3-12 months, most of them cap out. But you’ll probably find that it’s a lot more profitable than whatever you’re promoting right now because many of these programs are high-ticket affiliate deals.

RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS VS. OTHER TYPES OF AFFILIATE PROGRAMS.

RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAM

A recurring affiliate program pays the commission over a period of time rather than all at once. In these kinds of programs, the affiliate is paid a predetermined percentage or sum each month that a customer they referred as an affiliate keeps using their services.

For example, once the user signs up for membership, the affiliate receives a monthly recurring fee for as long as the user is a paying member. Each time the auto-renewal is activated, the affiliate’s recurring monthly commission is renewed.

OTHER AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

Other affiliate program types offer the affiliate a one-time commission payment when the referred user completes a specific action. For instance, if lead creation is the affiliate marketing goal, the affiliate will receive a commission for each lead they generate.

For instance, if the purpose of affiliate marketing is lead generation, a commission is granted for every lead the affiliate generates. 

The affiliate earns a fee for any purchase made on the website when it comes to programs that offer site-wide commission.  Also, the affiliate is compensated each time a customer makes a purchase on an e-commerce site after coming from the affiliate’s website.

There are many acronyms used to describe the payment system in the affiliate marketing industry. These include CPA (cost per action, or cost per acquisition), and CPL (cost per lead). It is important to specify exactly what actions are considered actions and when a prospect turns into a lead.

Due to the number of touchpoints that prospects go through before becoming customers, the commission calculation might be complicated. Customers might have interacted with a variety of affiliates, thus it’s important to specify a precise attribution model to ascertain who is deserving of the commission.

Depending on what you’re looking for, both recurring affiliate programs and one-time commission affiliate programs can be beneficial. One-time works best for immediate increases in your revenues, whilst recurring is ideal if you desire long-term connections with affiliates.

FIRST-YEAR RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAM VS. LIFETIME RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAM.

You’ll observe that while some affiliate programs offer first-year recurring plans, others offer lifetime recurring plans.

You should be aware of their differences and how they might benefit your business.

Each special network for an affiliate program has its own appeal. Some offer first-year options while others offer lifetime options. However, to make the best choice for your business, you must understand how they operate and their advantages.

The first-year recurring affiliate program gives affiliates a chance to profit from a customer’s first year of purchases. But when that year is over, they stop receiving commissions for that customer. On the other hand, lifetime recurring affiliate programs enable affiliates to continuously refer new clients to you. You pay the affiliate some money as compensation once those new clients make a purchase. As long as the customer stays with the business, the affiliates get a commission.

FIRST-YEAR OR RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAM?

Both affiliate programs offer significant benefits that are advantageous to your business in various ways.

BENEFITS OF FIRST-YEAR AFFILIATE PROGRAM.
  • Long-term customers are not necessary to increase commission.
  • In comparison to recurring affiliate programs, you spend less money.
  • Overall, you receive more money.
  • The first-year affiliate program is most effective for businesses looking for dependable clients from various sources.
BENEFITS FOR RECURRING/ LIFETIME AFFILIATE PROGRAM.

Recurring affiliate programs have benefits that make them a wise choice for businesses.

  • You  always receive options from affiliates
  •  This program increases your chances of success.
  • Provide freedom to your affiliates so that you may attract better affiliates and customers.

Ultimately, what’s most important is what you consider best for your business. Your decision may be influenced by your budget and available resources.

WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER A RECURRING AFFILIATE PROGRAM?

The best niches for affiliate marketing have some great benefits, as you’ll notice if you look into them.

1. Simple for Beginners

For instance, ClickBank enables easy money-making as affiliates can understand the program and sign up.

2. Minimal Start-Up Costs

For example, after you have the money, you can upgrade from the one-year option to the lifetime affiliate program.

3. Possibility of Higher Cumulative Earnings

Depending on the clients you receive from affiliates, you pay them a certain amount as a commission for those clients. As a result, you get clients that you wouldn’t have if not for the affiliates. This means that as long as the clients stick with your business, you’ll make more money.

4. More Reliable Income.

You may depend on affiliates to boost your income since they can bring you, new customers. As you continue to partner with numerous affiliates, your income will develop and become reliable. The more you grow, the more money you generate and the more stable your income source becomes.

TYPES OF BUSINESSES OFFERING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS WITH RECURRING COMMISSIONS.

The type of product and the lifetime value of the customer mostly influence the form of a commission payment.

A recurring commission makes sense in the following businesses:

  • SaaS companies 

SaaS users register for service packages and make payments for a usage term. It could be a month, a year, or even two years period. Throughout the package’s validation period of the package, the affiliate is paid a monthly fee.

  • Subscription sites, such as online courses and news sites

A monthly fee is paid to the content provider by the user in a subscription model. As long as the user is a subscriber, the affiliate fee is paid in accordance with the monthly subscription rate.

  • Cloud storage, VPN providers, and Web hosting services.

These platforms can be used repeatedly. Users frequently sign up for lifetime plans or at least many years’ worth of service. These businesses offer some popular recurring affiliate programs. Recurring affiliate commission is most profitable to all parties involved.

12 BEST AFFILIATE PROGRAMS WITH THE RECURRING COMMISSION.

This list is based on knowledge, experience, and research. I hope this will be beneficial to you too.

1. Ezoic affiliate program

Ezoic is one of the best recurring affiliate marketing programs on the market. They offer a percentage of the income generated by the websites that you referred to join them. This really goes a long way in growing your income. Because they don’t only pay you for the web traffic to your sites but a revenue earned from the traffic of your referrals.

2. ConvertKit Affiliate.

The most popular email marketing tool among bloggers and content creators is Convertkit. Its automation and segmentation features make it a great tool.

  • 30% recurring commission (2 years)
  • Managed by Linkmink
  • Payment via PayPal
  • 90 day cookie duration
  • Markets: global
3. AWeber

It’s one of the most established and popular email marketing affiliate programs for bloggers & affiliate marketers. The  AWeber affiliate program.  Strongly emphasizes rewarding you well for each AWeber referral you bring.

  • 30% to 50% recurring commission
  • 365 days cookie lifetime
  • 30-day free trial

Sending links to your referrals makes the procedure simple, and you get paid if someone makes a purchase after clicking the link.

Although the larger percentage is more expensive, it can help businesses in finding affiliates of a higher caliber.

Their affiliate payment method is the sole drawback. They still provide an outdated check system and are still yet to integrate the modern payment mechanism.

4. GetResponse (email marketing program)

GetResponse is a marketing software solution that provides you with everything from email marketing to webinars to landing pages to marketing automation. It is one of Aweber’s biggest competitors and alternatives. They also have fantastic offers and outperform Aweber in terms of commission rates.

  • 33% recurring commission
  • Offers 30-day risk-free trial.
  • Payout: $50 -$100 per sale (one-time commission)
  • Payout method: Cheque & PayPal

The proportion makes it excellent for GetResponse clients who remain with the company, but the alternative works better if you anticipate that they’ll only make a single transaction.

5.  Kinsta

Kinsta is one of the few recurring commission programs available in the hosting niche. It is one of the best hosting niche affiliate programs worth checking out.

  • One-time commission of up to $500/referral 
  • 10% recurring commissions
  • 60 days tracking cookies
  • Payment via Paypal
  • Self-managed affiliate program

The Kinsta affiliate program can significantly increase your passive income if you’re advertising hosting. The program can significantly increase your passive income if you’re advertising hosting.

6. Shopify

The Shopify affiliate program and its functionality are very popular.

However, since Shopify is a platform for selling products, they have a distinctive strategy with their Shopify Collabs program.

You can share products with others through the system, and if they purchase the products, you will get a commission.

Additionally, the website offers easily accessible data tracking to let you know how you are performing.

You’ll be inspired to work hard and earn more money through purchases if you do this.

Additionally, you might want to give your customers access to applicable data through your programs.

  • Up to $150/referral – one-time commission
  • 20% recurring commissions
  • Payment via Paypal
  • 30 days cookie duration
  • Markets: Global
7. LiveChat

Live support is becoming more and more important as the number of business websites increases.  Live chat is the leader in live chat support and it offers a generous affiliate commission.

  • 20% recurring commissions
  • 120 days cookie duration
  • 2 tier affiliate program
  • PayPal payout

It will be easy to convert the traffic because the product is excellent.

8. LeadPages

Leadpages is the best tool for internet marketers that enables anyone to quickly create a  landing page and integrate it into their platform.  These platforms include WordPress, Drupal, and all other popular platforms. When referred users join up for their monthly billing, this works out fairly well for marketers. Their affiliate team is also highly attentive, and they will provide you with all the materials you need, including swipe copies and social media updates, to help you generate purchases. The only people who can use their affiliate program are Leadpages customers. This actually makes sense because it is difficult to write honestly about a product you haven’t used.

  • 30% recurring commissions
  • 14 days free trial
9. Jasper AI (Artificial writing affiliate)

Artificial writing assistants are all the rage this year, and Jasper.AI, formerly known as Jarvis, is arguably the best in the business. There is a very lucrative affiliate program for Jasper.ai. You have a great probability of conversions because it is a new program compared to the others listed above, and you can earn a good passive income from it.

  • 10000 Bonus word credits
  • 30% recurring commission for life
10. ElegantThemes Affiliate Program: (WordPress Themes & Plugins)

This affiliate program does not generally generate residual income. WordPress themes and plugins are available in ElegantThemes. They pay their affiliates a 50% commission, and you will also be rewarded when the referred users renew their licenses. I enjoy their affiliate program since it offers a high commission that is quite profitable.

  • 50% recurring commission
  • Payment method: Paypal
11. ThriveThemes Affiliate Program (WordPress themes)

For bloggers and online marketers using WordPress, Thrive Themes has an incredible selection of goods. Their plugins and themes are one of the fastest-selling products on the market and are designed for conversion optimization. It’ easy to promote someone who has a solid online reputation.

  • 35% commission/referral
  • 25% recurring lifetime commission.
  • Payment mode: Paypal
12. Payhip

Payhip provides a similar approach for producers and small service providers, allowing them sell digital goods or courses on the platform.

The website provides affiliates with access to creatives so they can advertise across numerous platforms, including social media.

19% of Payhip’s traffic comes from referrals whilst 30% is from social media.

  • 50% recurring lifetime commission.
  • 30 days cookie lifetime

Conclusion

Recurring affiliate marketing both increases your consumer base and your revenue. There are countless affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions online, but most of them are either terrible or out of date. Therefore, we only selected recurring affiliate programs that provide the best services and features at reasonable costs.

You can view some of the best recurring affiliate programs on sites like empire flippers or similar web

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