When you begin making affiliate commissions, you will quickly notice that your income will fluctuate greatly. That’s what makes recurring commission affiliate programs so popular.
Promoting affiliate products with one-off commissions can mean some months are great and in other months, you barely make any sales.
When you are trying to have steady commissions, it is frustrating to deal with.
I had to learn quickly that fluctuating affiliate commissions is not the way to grow an online business.
That is why recurring commissions are worth earning. You can create a steady monthly income that fluctuates a lot less than the one-off affiliate sale.
Discover how I quit a full-time retail job to transition into working on my website full-time. Click here to learn how.
Differences in Fluctuations Between Standard Affiliate Sales & Recurring Sales
Since I’ve been an affiliate marketer, focusing on recurring commissions has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Standard affiliate commissions fluctuate greatly depending on the product and how much targeted traffic you can generate.
Standard Affiliate Commission Product (One-Off Commissions)
Let me explain what I mean.
Let’s say you promote an affiliate product that offers a $50 commission per sale. You’re getting a decent amount of targeted traffic and you manage to make 100 sales this month:
Month 1: $50 per sale x 100 sales = $5,000
However, the following month your traffic drops a little, or maybe the product isn’t trending as highly and you only manage to make 25 new sales:
Month 2: $50 per sale x 25 sales = $1,250
That is a significant drop in sales! When you promote a product that offers a single commission per sale, you’re going to experience fluctuation.
Recurring Commission Product
Now let’s look at the difference in monthly income that is likely possible with a recurring commission affiliate product.
Month 1: $50 recurring per sale x 100 sales = $5,000
The next month, let’s say 5 people quit using the product or service. However, you still have 95 other referrals that decided to continue using the product or service.
The affiliate program pays $50 recurring commissions for each of your referrals that remain a customer of the merchant.
Therefore month two may look like this:
Month 2: $50 recurring per sale x 95 sales = $4,750
Notice that there wasn’t a significant drop in income! That’s because you can continue to make commissions from the same referrals from the previous month (as long as they remain a customer of the merchant.)
That is the power of recurring affiliate commissions.
Recurring Commission Affiliate Products
What are some of the best recurring commission affiliate programs? In my opinion, my favorites fall under software.
When people are starting or running their businesses, they need software to make their lives easier.
People that use the software often use it for several months if not several years.
Take a look at some of the subscription services that you pay for? I’ve been using some software for six or more years!
Below are some excellent products that offer great recurring commissions.
ConvertKit
This is one of the most popular email marketing platforms for creators. However, anyone that needs an email marketing service can use ConvertKit.
Not only can you send standard email messages to your subscribers, you can also sell your own products.
Best of all, the affiliate program is awesome. They offer a 30% recurring commission.
Almost everyone running a business will need email marketing software to stay in touch with current and potential new customers.
ConvertKit is one of the best email marketing services out there and will make for easy conversions when recommending it.
Website: https://convertkit.com/affiliate
SamCart
This is one of my favorite digital eCommerce platforms. It is great for anyone that has a digital product, physical product, online course, or even a service to sell.
SamCart stands out from other eCommerce platforms in that it focuses on a one-page funnel.
The one-page funnel highlights your product and with the checkout form on the same page, it helps to increase conversions.
There are a number of awesome features such as order bumps, upsells, pay-what-you-want pricing, and more.
The SamCart affiliate program offers a 40% recurring commission and depending on the plan a customer chooses, you could earn up to $995 upfront.
Website: https://try.samcart.com/affiliate-sign-up/
ClickFunnels
Out of all the software I’ve come across, ClickFunnels has to be one of the most used and recommended by affiliate marketers and online entrepreneurs.
If you are not aware of what ClickFunnels is, it is sales funnel software that you can use to build landing pages and sell products.
The company has its marketing on point. If you are doing anything online, at some point, you’ll come across ClickFunnels.
The ClickFunnels affiliate program offers up to 40% recurring commissions.
New affiliates start at 30% recurring and after referring 40 active members for at least 30-days, you qualify to have your commission increased to 40%.
Website: https://whatsyourdreamcar.com/signup-now
BuilderAll
I think BuilderAll comes in a close second to one of the most recommended landing page software services by affiliates.
It does a whole lot more than let you create landing pages. You can build websites, sales funnels, send emails, sell your products, and more.
The BuilderAll affiliate program is a two-tier program that offers 30% recurring commissions on your sales 30% from affiliates that you’ve referred.
One thing to take note of is that if you want to sign up as an affiliate, you have two options.
You can either become a customer yourself and get instant approval. Or, you can apply without being a customer and go through an approval process that can take up to 30-days.
Website: https://affiliates.builderall.com
Teachable
Selling online courses has become a popular way to generate passive income.
Teachable is a popular platform for selling courses online. They make it easy for anyone to launch their course.
What’s even better is their affiliate program. It offers up to 50% recurring commissions.
Target the right audience and it should make for easy conversions.
Website: https://teachable.com/partners
How to Make Money From These Affiliate Programs
Becoming an affiliate of any of the programs listed on this page provides you with an excellent opportunity to earn a steady income online.
What is the best way to make recurring commissions?
While you have a variety of options to promote products as an affiliate, my number one recommendation is to create a niche website.
Creating a niche website was a game-changer for me. Up until I did, I struggled to make regular commissions.
I’d make one sale and three to four weeks would pass before I made another. It is no way to run an online business.
Why Build a Niche Website?
There are a number of benefits to building a niche website. I’ll share some of my favorites.
- Low-cost – Compared to other ways to make money online, you can get started with your own niche website for well under $100.
- Low-risk – Unlike spending money on ads and sending traffic to affiliate offers, you don’t risk spending a ton of money. The only thing that is required is your time and effort.
- Free Targeted Traffic – You never have to pay for traffic if you don’t want to. The content you create for your website is what gets indexed and ranked in the search results delivering free traffic to your website.
- Long-term Online Business – A niche website can generate income for years to come. Put in the work now and create a semi-passive income stream.
Niche blogs are one of the best ways to promote affiliate products. It also helps you to get approved for affiliate programs a lot faster.
Your website can serve as proof that you are a serious affiliate and will do a good job sending high-quality leads to the merchant’s website.
Boosting Your Affiliate Commissions
If you’re ready to stop chasing those random affiliate commissions and start making a steady income online, you have to change your strategy.
Recurring affiliate commissions can change your entire outlook on affiliate marketing. There is nothing wrong with promoting affiliate products with one-off commissions.
However, with recurring income, you can create income that you can come to rely on month after month with very little fluctuation.
Learn how I went from chasing commissions to making consistent income every month. Click here to learn how I did it and how you can too.