When you think of affiliate marketing, what comes to mind? Chances are, you think of online advertising and earning commissions by promoting other people’s products.
And you would be right – that is exactly what affiliate marketing is.
But what many people don’t know is that affiliate marketing can also be a great way to make money while you sleep.
The data in the table shows the affiliate marketing expenditures in the United States from 2010 to 2022. According to the report, total affiliate marketing expenditure in the United States is expected to reach $8.2 billion by 2022, up from $5.4 billion in 2017.
One of the most famous types of affiliate marketing is the “two-tier affiliate program”.
So whether you’re just curious about this growing industry or you’re looking for ways to make more money from home, keep reading!
What is a two-tier affiliate program?
Two-tier affiliate programs are marketing models that pay commissions for sales of a product, good or service sold either directly by the marketer who sponsors the affiliate program or via a third party.
To understand how this type of business model works,
Let’s look at an example:
Roger is an affiliate marketer. His friend, who works for a publishing company specializing in cookbooks, offers her a place on their website to advertise one of their latest publications.
If the cookbook sells via Roger’s link, he will receive a 25% commission from the sale. In this case, Roger is the one who made the sale.
Since Roger is a successful advertiser, he decides to approach other publishing companies and offer his services as an affiliate marketer.
In this case, as he recommends one of their products, they will give him a commission for the sale that was made through her link.
In this second scenario, even though Roger isn’t directly involved in the sale, he will receive a commission on the product.
How does it work?
The two-tier affiliate marketing model works by allowing an affiliate to sign up for their own unique affiliate link that they can use to advertise or recommend products they like.
As soon as they make a sale using their special link, the affiliate starts earning money on that sale.
However, the benefit of this approach is that not only will they receive commissions for their sales, but also for anyone who signs up under them and makes a sale using their affiliate link too!
The following example explains how the two-tier affiliate system works:
If Roger has 100 affiliates working under her, and any one of them makes a sale through Roger’s affiliate link, she will earn commission on that sale.
If Roger has another 100 affiliates working under her, and any one of them makes an additional sale using their affiliate link, she will get a commission for that too!
Why are these programs so popular?
In one word: leverage.
By signing up for a two-tier affiliate program, you’re gaining the ability to earn commissions on sales that aren’t even yours. This means you can spend time promoting other products and earning money while someone else does the heavy lifting of actually making the sale.
Two-tier affiliate programs are all about leverage. Where other affiliate marketing models (like single-tier programs ) require you to spend time promoting a product, two-tier affiliate programs let you sign up for an affiliate program and then sit back while your sales team does all the heavy lifting of making sales.
Factor we consider when making this list
We are using 8 main factors to measure the best 2 tier affiliate programs:
- Stability of the company you are promoting
- Commission rates
- Easy to use dashboard for affiliates
- Reliable payment options
- Fast approval process
- The number of merchant tools available for affiliates
- Geographic restrictions on the program itself, and/or on your link
- Cookie Duration
Sales Funnel
1. Click Funnels Affiliate Program
Click Funnels is an extremely popular tool among digital marketers and online entrepreneurs.
ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder that helps create marketing and sales funnels for small businesses, bloggers, entrepreneurs, and more.
It’s got lots of templates to choose from as well as the ability to design your funnel. It also functions as a landing page builder where you can build high-converting squeeze pages.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 40% commission for new customers only
- Two-tier Commission: 5% commission
- Payout Threshold: $50 (Paid weekly after 30 days of refund policy over)
- Cookie Duration: Sticky Cookies
2. Builderall Affiliate Program
Builderall is a platform for creating landing pages, web stores, membership sites, marketing tools, Facebook fan pages, and more.
You can compare Builderall with other software such as Leadpages, Instapage, or ClickFunnels.
Builderall is a complete set of tools that includes everything such as marketing, sales, and web design.
But wait, there’s more.
You may also do the design, video editing, and other things! Builderall gives you another slice of the pie in terms of marketing funnels.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 100% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 30% per sale
- Payout Threshold: $100 (Paypal, Check)
- Cookie Duration: Session Only ( A session-only cookie means that if a referred person closes their browser and then reopens it in a separate visit, you won’t get paid )
3. Groove Funnels Affiliate Program
Groove Funnels is a powerful sales funnel-building platform. The best part is that you don’t need to be an expert in website development to create amazing funnels.
Just set up the content that you want, and then let Groove do the work of converting visitors into leads for you!
In your free account, when your lead signs up for the Lifetime Membership, GrooveFunnels pays out 20% of their subscription fee.
If you buy a lifetime membership of Groove Funnels then instead of 20% you can earn 40% of your affiliate commission.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 20% commission (Free account) , 40% commission(Premium account)
- Two-tier Commission: 5% commission (Free account) , 10% commission(Premium account)
- Payout : Weekly (Paypal, GroovePay)
- Cookie Duration: N/A
4. Karta Affiliate Program
Kartra is an all-in-one digital marketing platform that offers many features and tools. With Kartra, you can create landing pages and sales funnels, automate email marketing and helpdesk support, build membership websites, and more.
Kartra is more expensive than other digital marketing tools like Builderall but offers slightly different features that might be worth the additional cost for some entrepreneurs.
Kartra has a great affiliate program but it is a bit more difficult to become a Kartra affiliate.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 40% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 10% RECURRING commission
- Payout Threshold: $100 (Paypal, Wiretransfer)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
5.Systeme.io’s Affiliate Marketing Program
Systeme.io is a free tool for building a sales funnel, marketing automation, affiliate program management, and email list, with unlimited subscribers and campaigns, drip campaigns with automatic delay delivery, A/B split testing and workflows.
What marketing tools do you need? Systeme.io has got everything.
The Systeme.io Affiliate Marketing is a referral program that allows you to share the love and receive rewards in return.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 40% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 5% per new sales
- Payout Threshold: $30 (paid on the 10th of each month)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Lifetime affiliation: You can send as many contacts as you like at once, and each contact is assigned with your affiliate ID that will be recorded in the database so you may get commissions on their purchases even if they don’t buy anything for six months or a year.
Hosting Affiliate Program
1. A2 Hosting Affiliate Program
The A2 Hosting Affiliate Program allows you to earn more as an affiliate.
You make more money for each sale depending on how many sales you deliver each month.
A2 Hosting offers US & UK data centers, with the latest speed hardware and SSD’s for low latency and high speeds.
A2 Hosting Affiliate Program provides a strong balance between ease of use and customizable performance.
Their affiliate system is excellent and extremely easy to use. With very high commissions, an easy setup for users, and flexible tracking options, it’s no wonder so many affiliates choose A2 Hosting as their web hosting provider.
Commission Details:
- 1-10 sales: $55/sales
- 11-15 sales: $75/sales
- 16-20 sales: $100/sales
- 21+ sales: $125/sales
Payout Threshold: $100 (PayPal), $1000 (Wire Transfer)
Two-tier Commission: $5 per new sales
Cookie Duration: 90 days
2. Cloud Affiliate Program
CloudWays is a fantastic managed WordPress hosting provider. CloudWays managed VPS hosting platform offers clients the ability to deploy traditional WordPress websites, but also comes with high-performance caching technology out of the box.
On top of that, they host their infrastructure on the best cloud hosting services, such as AWS, Google Cloud, Digital Ocean, Vultr, and Linode.
Commission Details:
- 1st tier: $30 per sale
- Two-tier Commission: 7% lifetime commission
- Payout Threshold: $250 (10th of the following month via Paypal)
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
3. Hostarmada Affiliate Program
HostArmada is another popular hosting provider. It has been one of the most preferred hosting providers by webmasters.
HostArmada is popular because it has 24/7 customer support, low-cost hosting plans, and bigger affiliate commissions. Not only are these hosting plans affordable but they are also perfect for your online business website or blog.
HostArmada Affiliate commissions depend on purchasing different types of hosting by your leads. A higher affiliate commission is given for larger hosting plans.
In the HostArmada affiliate program, you will get a $10 starting bonus.
Commission Details:
- 1st tier: Up to $200 per qualified Sale
- Two-tier Commission: Depends
- Payout Threshold: $100 (1st & 5th of the following month via Paypal after 45 days of selling)
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
4. TMDHosting Affiliate Program
TMDHosting is a managed hosting provider that offers web hosting, Colocation, and dedicated servers.
The TMDHosting affiliate program is ideal for those who market-managed cloud hosting solutions. They, too, use PostAffiliatePro software to administer and track their affiliate’s programs, as CloudWays does.
Affiliate earnings are dependent on your leads purchasing various hosting services. By selling different hosting alternatives to your prospects, you may earn money through a variety of hosting programs.
In the TMD Hosting affiliate program, you will get a $10 starting bonus.
Commission Details:
- 1st tier: Up to $200 per qualified Sale
- Two-tier Commission: Depends
- Payout Threshold: $100 (Paypal)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. WP Engine Affiliate Program
WP Engine is a WordPress hosting company that specializes in speed optimization, security, and site backups. They are the leading WordPress platform worldwide.
However, it isn’t as cheap as with shared hosting plans. Every dollar spent on managed hosting is well worth it.
WP Engine Affiliate Program provides an easy way to promote WPEngine and earn commissions.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: $200 commission for new customers only
- Two-tier Commission: $50 per sub-sale
- Payout Threshold: $50 (ACH, Check, or Wire)
- Cookie Duration: 180 days
VPN Affiliate Program
1. Pure VPN Affiliate Program
Pure VPN is one of the top-rated VPN providers with access to over 500 servers in 140+ countries.
With PureVPN, you can get an OpenVPN connection on almost any device. They have apps for Windows, MacOSX, iOS, Android, Blackberry, Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint), and DD-WRT routers.
After you join the affiliate program, you receive a full dashboard that displays your real-time engagement. known and trusted VPN brand, offering advanced online security through leading-edge technology.
Purevpn affiliate program is one of the most popular categories on this section. The reason for this is that Pure VPN offers a 30-day refund policy and their plans start at just $1.99/mo (with an amazing deal when your lead pays for 2 years in advance).
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 40% to 100% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 35% recurring commission
- Payout Threshold: $100 (Paypal), $500(Bank wire transfer)
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
2. Private Internet Access VPN Affiliate Program
PIA is also another VPN that is popular among webmasters.
PIA VPN offers top-class privacy protection, faster speed, and complete anonymity with its amazing features.
PIA is trusted by Business Insider, Wired, & Forbes
You can easily track your affiliate program performance with the PIA affiliate dashboard. The commission varies according to the number of subscriptions generated by you or linked users.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: up to 33% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 33% recurring commission
- Payout Threshold: $500 (Paypal, Check, or Wire)
- Cookie Duration: Unknown
3. NordVPN Affiliate Program
NordVPN is another famous VPN on this list that helps you surf the web more securely than ever.NordVPN protects your data from surveillance and hackers with military-grade encryption.
A single NordVPN account may be used on up to six devices at the same time. Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and Mac OS are all supported.
You can easily earn $48 for every affiliate sale that you generate. Commission levels are the same as with PIA VPN.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: up to 100% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 30% renewal commission
- Payout Threshold: $10 (Paypal, Check, or Wire)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
4. Fastest VPN Affiliate Program
Fastest VPN is another VPN provider that offers the best protection to your data and unblocks websites with ease.
FastestVPN’s affiliate program is one of the most popular programs among marketers due to its high sale offer. Moreover, FastestVPN has a recurring commission plan for future sales and flexible payout options
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: up to 100% commission
- Two-tier Commission: 35% renewal commission
- Payout Threshold: $100 (15th of the following month via Paypal or Wire)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. AvastVPN Affiliate Program
Last but not least, AvastVPN is a VPN provider that offers the highest level of security and privacy for your devices.
Affiliate marketers can generate revenue by promoting Avast’s business solutions including Business Antivirus, Pro Antivirus, Endpoint Security, Email Scanner products as well as it’s Mobile Management Systems.
You can easily join the avast affiliate program through “Commission Junction”
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 35% commission
- Two-tier Commission: Top-tier affiliates earn special perks
- Payout Threshold: $50
- Cookie Duration: 60 days
Affiliate Network Affiliate Program
1. Maxbounty
The Max Bounty network was designed to help you make more money from referring people who buy their services or goods via links on other websites (these are known in some circles simply). It has been around since 2008 – so they’ve got quite an established online presence! They also have a decent amount of offers available too.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: $5 to $500 depending on the offer
- Two-tier Commission: 10% of referred affiliate’s earning for 12 months
- Payout Threshold: $100
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
2. Fiverr
This is a two-tier affiliate network.
The main focus of this network is to offer you a dramatic increase in your revenue potential on Fiverr, by allowing you to leverage our unequaled set of tools and performance-based tracking system, while at the same time providing valuable information to help you optimize your earnings on the platform.
By sharing 10% of all lifetime earnings on Fiverr, the affiliate program allows you to earn passive income by monetizing your website.
Commission Details:
- Fiverr Business: Once your account reaches $100 in spend, you’ll get a $100 CPA and 10% RevShare for the next 12 months
- Fiverr Affiliates: For the rest of your life, you’ll get 10% of every affiliate’s profits that you refer to.
- Fiverr Learn: 30% of the purchased course
- Fiverr Work Space: 50% for every unlimited plan
Payout Threshold: $100 (Payoneer/Paypal), $1000 (Bank Transfer)
Two tier Commission: 10% lifetime
Cookie Duration: 30 days
3. Share a sale
ShareASale is another great affiliate program that has been around for many years. It has thousands of online stores listed on it (and growing by the day). They provide affiliate deals in more than 40 different categories.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: $30 to $150 per qualified sale ($150 for referring merchants to ShareASale) & $1 referring Affiliates to ShareASale)
- Two-tier Commission: $30 per each qualified affiliate
- Payout Threshold: $50
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
4. CJ
Commission Junction is another established affiliate program that has been around since the beginning of the internet boom. Their commission rates are pretty average but they have one big advantage: traffic volume! They provide access to over 700 000 marketers and publishers – so if you want exposure then CJ is the place to be!
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: 50% of sale
- Two-tier Commission: 10% of sale
- Payout Threshold: $50 (Direct Deposit) or US$100 (Check)
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. ClickBank
The world’s major digital marketplace is undoubtedly Clickbank. Click bank is an affiliate marketing giant in the weight loss and fitness niche. Tons of affiliate programs are available. There may be second-tier commissions, which can reach up to 50 percent, depending on the program. The nicest thing about Clickbank is that it does not care whether you are a novice or an expert.
6. Guru Media
Guru media is mostly known for it’s Clickbank affiliate program. They also have an adware program alongside with many other different programs that you can choose from. It currently has over 12 000 affiliates and most of them are earning profits daily without even investing much time into it.
This network, however, is adaptable for any sort of affiliate. It specializes in CPA affiliate networks and provides you with an affiliate and a sub-affiliate program.
Commission Details:
- 1st sale: Depends
- Two-tier Commission: 1%
- Payout Threshold: No minimum for PayPal and Skrill, $500 for wire
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
FAQS
Two tier affiliate programs are generally considered to be the best type of program because you will certainly earn more than just on one sale. You can also expect that this system will bring more new affiliates into your business which means that your chance of increasing your profits is much greater.
In short, two tier affiliate programs are definitely much better than one – there is no doubt about that! In fact, the main reason why single tier affiliate programs have been around for so long is because not many people know how to make a two tier program work properly.
While there are many advantages of a two tier affiliate program – they aren’t fool proof. For example, you have to be very careful that your users do not use more than one account or else you will be penalized heavily by the payment processor for violating the terms and conditions! This is why it’s always best to use an independent and reliable payment processor if you want to make sure that these kinds of problems do not occur.
Also, you should note that there is such a thing as too many affiliate levels so it’s best to keep things simple and avoid this practice if at all possible.
The monthly income that you can earn from a two tier affiliate program is going to depend on how much effort you put into it and the niche market that your product focuses on. Generally speaking, two tier programs can generate more income than regular one tiered models but this is not entirely true for every case!
Thus, it’s best to make sure that you are always putting your efforts into the highest paying opportunities available if you want to ensure that you earn really good money. You can also find niche markets that pay better than others but these programs will usually come with lower traffic levels so it’s up to you whether or not this is worth it for your business.
Even though two tier affiliate programs can be really profitable they will not make you rich overnight or even in a few months. Instead, they are ideal for people that believe in long term online business and want to invest their efforts into systems that will generate consistent income over the years!
That being said, you can make a lot of money in a short time if you know what you are doing and work really hard to promote your products. The idea is that this kind of affiliate program should be able to generate profits after taking into account all relevant expenses (hosting fees, email marketing costs etc) so the only thing that could stop you from earning money is yourself!
Since this network is filled with affiliate managers, it’s your job to market your website or blog properly so people are able to find out about this opportunity easily! This means you have to create great content around everything related to your product.