Selling subscriptions through affiliates

[rpoolos]

Hello

I am starting an affiliate program for a business that sells subscriptions. We offer a revenue share for every renewal payment up to 2 years. I have seen lots of platforms and advice on how to start an affiliate program for a business selling a physical product. But I have had very little luck finding much about running an affiliate program that sells subscriptions. And many of the networks of affiliates require you to list a product before you can share your program.

I am looking for suggestions of networks to join or places to find affiliates who would have experience selling subscriptions. We already have a very robust tracking solution for custom branded links. But we are looking for a place to offer our program to a large number of affiliates.

 

[Graybeard]

Start by defining subscriptions to what?

Hello from Universe

Hello I am Ryan, CEO of a Universe. Universe is a website builder designed to be easy and work on every device including, and especially iPhones where so much of the traffic to your website comes from. Now you can design your website on the same device it will be viewed on. We recently...

www.affiliatefix.com

Adult and restricted subscriptions will be difficult to place—more legitimate SaaS or mainstream endeavors easier.

Website builders—You first need to spend a lot of time and money on branding your product before anyone might try to market something like this. What have you done so far for branding?

 

[rpoolos]

I can't yet share links but we have been branded well in the market for a number of years. We won an Apple Design Award in 2023, we've had over 2 million websites created since 2018, we finished first in YC in 2018. Last year we did a large amount of sponsorships with Youtube and Instagram influencers that worked well but required a high upfront cost. While many specific influencers were breakeven or profitable, not all were. Predicting who turned out to be ineffective. So we're hoping to use an affiliate program as a way to continue working with influencers but in a cash flow effective way that ensures we're only paying the influencers that successfully sell the product.

 

[Graybeard]

Commendable. However, seems simplistic directed toward mobile–established market gaining momentum. I am a bad candidate as I use LINUX and have a coding background of 20 years. No longer active developing static HTML really.

I cannot imagine trying to build a website using a smartphone but I can see why drag and drop would be very important if you did try.

Maybe try working with impact.com they have a pool of higher level affiliates that might be able to effectively market something like what you have.

 

[Ariel-ActiveRevenue]

Hey @rpoolos - you're thinking in exactly the right direction, subscriptions are a goldmine for affiliates when structured right — and your recurring rev-share model is exactly what performance marketers love, especially in SaaS and digital services.

most affiliate networks and directories lean heavily toward eCommerce, so it’s smart that you're bypassing those and looking for quality over quantity. what you need is access to affiliates who understand LTV, not just quick commissions. communities like PartnerStack, Impact, or even niche forums like AffiliateFix and STM can be great — especially if you're upfront about your rev-share model and brand pedigree (and by the way, that Apple Design Award and YC background? Huge social proof — lead with that).

also, if you’re looking to expand via performance buyers, consider platforms like ours (ActiveRevenue) — we work with affiliates and media buyers who care about ROI, not just volume. If you're open to exploring CPC/CPM traffic at scale with real-time optimization and clear KPIs (like trials and subscriptions), we might be a perfect fit to test your offer with performance buyers. Let me know if you’d like to chat — dm me in private