Affiliate programs are the online equivalent of saying… if you scratch my back — I’ll scratch yours.
You promote a product and the company you promoted it for pays you a commission. They get a customer and you get paid. Everybody wins.
It’s this kind of back-scratching that’s been popular — really popular — for several years now.
81% of advertisers and 84% of publishers now use affiliate marketing to promote products and drive sales, with 35% of affiliate marketers now making at least $20k annually from their affiliate marketing efforts.
With that level of popularity, it’s no surprise how much money affiliate marketing is now worth. Statista estimated that in the US alone, affiliate marketing spending would reach $8.2 billion by 2022 — triple what it was a decade ago.
For the purpose of this guide, we’ll be focusing on affiliate marketing programs for the email marketing industry. So if you’re looking to partner with email marketing companies to promote their products and earn affiliate income, we’ll show you the best programs to sign up with.
Without further ado — here are the 10 best email marketing affiliate marketing programs to pick from!
Table Of Contents
1. GetResponse
GetResponse’s affiliate program is a perfect way for bloggers, ecommerce vendors, and small businesses to create a side revenue stream by recommending one of the email marketing industry’s fastest-growing solutions.
GetResponse’s program offers you:
- 33% recurring commission or $100 on paid accounts
- Unlimited affiliate commissions on all sign-ups
- 120-day cookie to track referred visitors. If they convert within four months — you get the commission
To start, you can choose between two affiliate programs.
The “bounty” program is a way to get paid quickly (you’ll get $100 for every customer who signs up for a paid account). In contrast, the “recurring” program pays you 33% of every sale you refer to them — perfect for a long-term revenue stream and the only affiliate program to do so!
Once you sign up, we’ll give you a personalized affiliate link to add to copy or images you use to promote GetResponse to ensure we can trace each referred visitor back to you.
If someone clicks on your referral link, GetResponse uses a cookie to track clicks so that every referral is linked back to your account ID, which makes it easier for you to keep an eye on which links are working best and how many referrals you have sent.
Once you join as an affiliate, you’ll get access to a range of free promotional materials like videos, banners, and sales copy to make it easier to convince visitors to check GetResponse out.
The best part about GetResponse’s affiliate program is that the platform itself offers an all-in-one solution that’s both robust and affordable. Because of that, promoting GetResponse to your audience is super easy and can provide you a nice passive income stream.
And you can track your statistics so you know how much you’ve earned and how many customers you’ve referred in the affiliate dashboard.
2. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign’s email affiliate marketing program works on monthly recurring revenue numbers and a tiered commission structure.
Active Campaign’s program offers you:
- Up to 30% recurring commission rate
- 90-day cookie tracking
- Automatic commission payouts every month via PayPal
If you sign up, your commission falls within a tiered structure:
- Silver-tier: Refer $100 of new business in 90 days and get a 20% commission
- Gold tier: Refer $100 of new business in 90 days or have $500 of active accounts and get a 25% commission
- Platinum tier: Refer $500 worth of new business in 90 days or have $2,000 of active accounts and earn 30% commission
Most of the other affiliate programs on this list have a 30% commission structure in place as their floor, whereas that’s the highest level you can get with ActiveCampaign. So you have to work a lot harder to reach 30% commission than the others on our list.
However, you’ll still receive payouts for any active accounts you refer. But be mindful that if your tier status drops (i.e. an active account you’ve referred cancels their plan), your commission could suffer if it drops below the threshold required.
Active Campaign also pays out commissions after 60 days, and you won’t get paid for any referrals who cancel their account or are given a refund.
3. ConvertKit
ConvertKit allows anyone to join its email affiliate marketing program — even if you’re not a customer.
To join, the company asks you to bring two things to the table: an understanding of ConvertKit’s power, and an audience that needs an email marketing tool to help with their online marketing.
ConvertKit’s program offers you:
- 30% recurring commission
- Webinars to help you convert visitors
- An analytics dashboard to track progress
Like other platforms, ConvertKit uses custom links in its affiliate program to track referrals and conversions. If a visitor clicks your referral link, the cookie will track them for up to 60 days (less than most programs) and reward you with the commission if they become a customer.
The commission is also recurring for as long as the customer keeps their ConvertKit account active. The site also has a Commission Calculator, so you can get an idea of the real numbers you could be earning!
4. Sendinblue
Sendinblue’s affiliate marketing program is generous because it rewards every referred customer you send them — even if they sign up for their free account.
Sendinblue’s program offers you:
- 5€ free trials ($6) / 100€ paid accounts ($120)
- 90-day cookie tracking
- Agency program for recurring commissions
Every time a visitor follows your affiliate marketing link to Sendinblue’s site and signs up to one of their tools, you will get 5€ for a free account, and 100€ for a paid account.
Like many other tools on our list, Sendinblue tracks every click from your links and images to ensure you get rewarded if the customer converts. Sendinblue uses Tapfiliate to track clicks for accuracy and lets you monitor any commissions in real-time.
You can also apply for Sendinblue’s agency program, where you can earn recurring commissions for new customers and their spend. So if a customer you have referred to Sendinblue upgrades their subscription, your commission gets a boost.
Also, commission payments are processed every month via PayPal or bank transfer.
5. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels’ affiliates program pays affiliates up to 40% in recurring monthly commission — but there’s a catch.
To qualify for the 40%, you need to prove that you’ve referred at least 40 active ClickFunnels’ members through your affiliate ID, that those you’ve referred are paying members, and that they’ve been customers for at least 30 days.
Without the proof, you won’t qualify for the 40% monthly recurring commission rate.
However, ClickFunnels’ program still offers you:
- 20% recurring commission until $1000 in sales, then increasing to 30% recurring
- Commission on subscriptions and other products like eBooks
- One-off payments for course commissions
Because the affiliate program is set up on a recurring commission structure, as long as your referrals continue to be a ClickFunnels customer — you’ll get money in the bank!
Beware that, like the 40% commission bracket, you’ll also have to apply to earn the 30% commission by proving your referrals.
6. Moosend
Moosend’s affiliate marketing program is similar to others on the list — it offers recurring revenue opportunities with an analytics dashboard that tracks every referral.
As long as your referrals continue to renew their Moosend subscriptions, the company will pay you a 30% commission fee. Or as they call it — a lifetime commission!
Moosend’s program offers you:
- Unique affiliate link
- 90-day tracking cookie
- First touch attribution model
Let’s talk a little more about that last point — the first touch attribution model.
This means that if your referral link is the one that directs subscribers to Moosend’s website for the first time, you get the commission if they eventually become a customer — even if they clicked on another referral link afterward.
Your commissions will also grow if a referred customer upgrades their plan, and there’s a handy calculator you can use to see how much revenue you could earn from referrals on Moosend’s website:
Constant Contact’s affiliate marketing program pays a commission for referrals even if they only sign up for a free product.
If a referral converts on a free trial, you’ll earn $5. And if they turn into a paying Constant Contact customer, you’ll get paid an additional commission of $105.
Constant Contact’s program offers you:
- No cap on commission payouts
- $5 for all free trials/$105 paid accounts
- 120-day tracking cookie
Like GetResponse, Constant Contact also makes it easier to market their product to possible customers by providing you with assets to use on your website.
These ads, banners, and copy allow you to channel Constant Contact’s message on your page and match them to your own designs.
You can also track how many visitors are converting and how much you’re earning in commission using a dedicated affiliate tracking dashboard.
8. Mailigen
Mailigen’s affiliate marketing program ticks most of the boxes of a good program: recurring commission, tracking cookies, and promotional assets.
The program calls its affiliates “partners” and offers increased one-off commissions for those that qualify as VIPs.
However, Mailigen’s commission payouts are a little restrictive. They won’t pay out until you’ve earned a minimum of $100 in commissions, but their website says you can arrange an alternative if you need to.
Mailigen’s program still offers you:
- 30% recurring commission
- 120-day cookie
- A mix of cookies and IP addresses to track referrals
If you refer a visitor to Mailigen and they sign up, you’ll be paid a commission on most services they choose, from monthly plans to email credits. But be mindful that if the customer adds on products like SMS or email templates, you won’t be paid any commission.
9. MailerLite
MailerLite’s affiliate program allows you to cash out commissions you have made once you hit $50.
Unlike other programs on the list with a set payout date, once you earn $50 commission with MailerLite, you just request payment, and it’ll land in your PayPal account.
MailerLite’s program offers you:
- 30% recurring commission
- Unique affiliate tracking link
- Affiliate dashboard to track conversions and commission
Like other tools on the list, you can add your unique MailerLite referral link to your website and social media pages to encourage your visitors to check out the product and sign up.
Every new visitor and conversion is tracked by MailerLite and added in real-time to your affiliate dashboard, making it super easy to track the success of your referral efforts.
However, MailerLite’s affiliate program does have some restrictions. The program doesn’t allow you to use online advertising services like Bing or Google AdWords to promote your affiliate link, and a commission is only given if a referral signs up for a paid product.
10. AWeber
Last but not least, AWeber’s affiliate marketing program helps increase your chances of earning commission using how-to videos and newsletters.
If you sign up, you’ll get access to useful explainer videos that show you how to make the most out of the program as well as regular newsletters giving you tips on how to succeed as an AWeber affiliate.
AWeber’s program offers you:
- Recurring 30% referral payments
- Email notifications each time a referral converts
- Monthly payments for commission earnings
Like the other affiliate programs on our list, AWeber will give you an affiliate ID, so each referral you make is tracked and billed to your account.
You will also have access to a library of articles and assets you can use to promote AWeber, not just through banner ads, but also content you can add straight to your website.
And every time a referral from your site buys an AWeber product — you’ll get an instant email alert with the good news!
Wrapping up
Email affiliate marketing is a great way to create a passive income stream while promoting products you love.
The trick to choosing the best email marketing affiliate program for you is knowing which program makes it easy for you to promote their products and which commission structures work for you.
As you saw in this post, GetResponse gives you the best of both worlds:
- You can pick one-off commissions ($100) or recurring revenue (33%) with unlimited commissions on all sign-ups
- You also get to promote an all-in-one solution that’s both robust and affordable, which will be highly appreciated by your audience
- And finally, you get access to professionally designed marketing assets & detailed reports, which will streamline your day-to-day activities and let you focus on your business’ growth.
Now, the choice is yours — which email marketing affiliate program is right for you?
If you’ve made up your mind and would like to join the GetResponse affiliate program, then go ahead and hit button below.