Affiliate email marketing opens doors to earning passive income when you already create content about business tools, letting you monetize recommendations you’d naturally make to your audience anyway.
Email marketing platforms can deliver long-term earning potential as satisfied customers stick with their chosen provider for years. Those single referrals can turn into steady monthly commission earnings that make up a healthy portion of your revenue.
Join us below to discover the best email marketing affiliate programs and learn what features to prioritize when selecting platforms that match your audience’s needs.
Maximize ROI on your affiliate email marketing with Omnisend — try our program today
Affiliate email marketing is a strategy where you promote another brand’s products or services in your emails in exchange for a commission on sales.
Affiliate marketing emails allow you to earn passive income while improving overall communication targeted to your audience’s niche interests.
The strategy differs from traditional email marketing in a few key ways. Whereas traditional email marketing is designed to nurture connection and communication with your existing customers, email affiliate marketing targets a broader audience through strategic partnerships with other businesses.
The potential benefits of affiliate email marketing include capturing engaged subscribers and improving your conversion rate and organic traffic.
You can also increase your sales without the need for expensive advertising while generating passive income from an engaged audience.
How to launch a successful affiliate email marketing campaign
Let’s consider the steps to launching a practical and profitable affiliate email marketing campaign:
Choose an email service provider
You can’t launch a successful affiliate email marketing campaign without a reliable email service provider (ESP).
A high-quality ESP is essential for building and maintaining a strong email list and ensuring maximum email deliverability.
With the right tools, you can nurture lasting relationships with your audience, engaging them at every stage and increasing your chances of higher conversions.
Omnisend simplifies this process with features tailored for ecommerce, like automated workflows, advanced segmentation, and easy list management, ensuring you consistently deliver valuable, trust-building content.
Choose which affiliate links to promote
Effective affiliate email marketing should be profitable, so it’s worth estimating the ROI of each promotion to ensure it’s a good investment with strong earning potential.
While high-commission affiliate programs can be tempting, consider programs with lower commissions but higher conversion rates, which often lead to more sales.
Since your email list consists of engaged subscribers who opted in, focus on promoting products and services that truly align with their interests. For instance, if your audience is ecommerce store owners, promote email tools for Shopify.
Build trust by pacing your content — avoid placing affiliate links in the first email of a sequence and keep your newsletters balanced.
This approach builds a relationship with your subscribers, keeping them receptive to your recommendations without feeling overwhelmed.
Prepare and send your email campaigns
A successful affiliate email marketing campaign should provide customers with relevant content. By promoting useful and appropriate affiliate products and services, you’ll be positioning yourself as an authority and building trust with subscribers. Higher trust is more likely to translate into higher conversion rates.
With this in mind, segmentation and personalization are essential for successful affiliate email marketing.
Email segmentation will ensure that your affiliate emails are targeting customers based on their specific interests, leading to increased engagement. There’s no point promoting an affiliate product or service to a customer who has no need for it.
Once you’ve segmented your audience, you can make use of email personalization. Sending personalized emails to subscribers leads to higher engagement, click-throughs, conversions, and ROI. This translates to higher affiliate commissions for your business.
Another critical factor is automations, with these messages accounting for 37% of sales from just 2% of email volume in 2024. Plus, one in three people who clicked on an automated message made a purchase (compared to one in 18 for scheduled messages).
CA Design, an Irish furniture retailer, used Omnisend’s segmentation features to create targeted email campaigns based on customer interests. Its efforts achieved 5%+ click-through rates and 2,000+ new leads.
What to look out for in an affiliate email marketing platform
An easy way to select the perfect email marketing affiliate program for you and your brand is by choosing one that makes it simple to promote and earn commission.
Doing so requires joining an affiliate email marketing scheme that aligns with both your own business goals and the needs of your wider audience.
Here are some pointers to keep in mind when choosing your affiliate program:
Does the program have a good or established reputation?
Does the product match your niche?
Does the program have an excellent conversion rate?
Can you get access to the program’s unique tools and techniques?
Can you track sales in the program?
Does the program boast a good cookie life?
In addition to these factors, look at the program’s payout frequency and the minimum threshold to receive a recurring commission to ensure that it aligns with your cash flow needs.
Remember that you can always launch a small-scale affiliate email marketing campaign to start. This allows you to evaluate the program’s effectiveness for your business based on metrics like affiliate revenue, interaction, and conversion.
Have a plan readily in place to successfully launch your email marketing for affiliates, and be prepared to adjust your approach accordingly.
10 best email marketing affiliate programs
Check out these affiliate programs to promote in your newsletters and blog content:
Agencies and industry associations with business clients
1. Omnisend — Best for content creators, bloggers, and marketing agencies
Omnisend’s affiliate program pays up to 20% monthly recurring commissions for referring new ecommerce businesses to its platform. As a partner, you receive dedicated support, promotional materials, and ongoing payouts.
Omnisend is an ecommerce marketing automation platform that combines email, SMS, and push notifications to help you increase sales and customer engagement.
The affiliate email marketing program offers the following:
A dedicated account manager who will provide materials and priority support
Ready-made packs of banners, ads, and other types of content that you can share in your campaigns as soon as you start
Above-average ratings from users on popular review sites testify to Omnisend’s credibility, cultivating confidence in the company and prospects’ willingness to do business with them
You could also join Omnisend’s partner program for additional earning opportunities beyond commissions, gaining access to lead generation tools and exclusive beta features.
2. GetResponse — Best for affiliates with a large B2B and creator audience
GetResponse’s affiliate program pays up to 60% recurring commissions for 12 months on referred customers, with tiered benefits based on sales volume. It’s worth considering if you promote content to businesses that need email marketing tools.
Image via GetResponse
Your commission: 40–60% recurring for 12 months
Time to get payout: Monthly
Dedicated account manager: No
The GetResponse Affiliate Program offers recurring commissions ranging from 40% to 60% for the first 12 months after a referral makes a purchase. Affiliates also benefit from a 30-day free trial period for their referrals, increasing conversion potential.
The program operates on PartnerStack, providing affiliates with advanced reporting, analytics, and seamless tracking. In addition to commissions, GetResponse offers exclusive rewards such as access to leadership, conference tickets, and opportunities for custom landing pages.
3. Sender — Best for affiliates targeting SMBs and ecommerce brands
Sender is a powerful email marketing platform that helps SMBs and ecommerce brands create, automate, and optimize their email campaigns to boost engagement and sales.
Image via Kit
Your commission: 30–40% lifetime recurring
Time to get payout: 30 days
Dedicated account manager: Yes
Sender’s Affiliate Program offers generous lifetime recurring commissions starting at 30% and scaling up to 40% based on performance. Payouts are released within 30 days, giving affiliates quick access to their earnings.
Sender provides a real-time affiliate dashboard where you can track clicks, sign-ups, and earnings transparently. You also get access to free promotional materials, email templates, and personalized support, including a dedicated account manager in higher tiers.
Signing up is free and easy, making the platform a compelling choice for affiliates ready to scale their passive income while promoting a high-converting email marketing solution.
4. HubSpot — Best for affiliates looking for a low payout threshold
HubSpot’s affiliate program offers a 30% recurring commission for up to one year on CRM and marketing software referrals, with tiered benefits based on monthly signup volumes.
Image via HubSpot
Your commission: 30% recurring commission
Time to get payout: 60 days
Dedicated account manager: Yes
HubSpot allows you to earn a good passive income. Affiliate marketers can stand to make substantial earnings since HubSpot’s plans reach up to about $4,000.
Like Omnisend (and unlike Kit), HubSpot offers free resources to affiliates that they can use in their affiliate email marketing campaigns.
However, there’s something important to consider. Namely, HubSpot’s 30% monthly payouts only extend for up to one year, assuming the referral remains a paying customer for that period.
5. Moosend — Best for affiliates looking to earn lifetime commissions
Moosend’s affiliate program provides tiered commissions from 30–40% based on referral volume, with lifetime recurring payments for each customer who maintains an active subscription, plus marketing resources and dedicated support.
Image via Moosend
Your commission: 30–40% recurring commissions
Time to get payout: 20 days
Dedicated account manager: Yes
Moosend’s affiliate program stands out for its attractive commission rate, which ranges from 30% to 40% and is paid as a lifetime recurring commission. Moosend also offers a 90-day cookie duration, which means that affiliates will continue to earn commissions for 90 days after a referred customer signs up.
The payout method for Moosend’s affiliate program is through PayPal and Stripe.
One of the best features of Moosend’s affiliate program is the opportunity to earn up to 40% lifetime commissions. Signing up for the program is free and can be done by visiting the Moosend Affiliates website.
In addition to the commission rate and cookie duration, Moosend’s affiliate program offers bonus benefits such as a dedicated account manager, promotional and educational materials, and real-time reporting and analytics.
6. ActiveCampaign — Best for influencers and course creators with business-focused audiences
ActiveCampaign’s affiliate program offers tiered commissions from 20% to 30% for lifetime referrals, rewarding partners who consistently bring new customers to its marketing automation platform.
Image via ActiveCampaign
Your commission: 20–30% lifetime recurring
Time to get payout: Monthly via PayPal
Dedicated account manager: No
Partners earn based on monthly recurring revenue from active referred accounts, starting at 20% for the Silver tier and advancing to 30% at the Platinum level.
All affiliate tiers require maintaining at least two active referrals and $100 in commissions to qualify for payouts. Additionally, you must keep referring accounts within six months to maintain commission eligibility on existing accounts.
ActiveCampaign provides marketing assets, guides, and a tracking dashboard to monitor referral performance. It’s worth considering if you want to promote a reputable marketing tool that’s widely known in the digital marketing space.
7. Flodesk — Best for designers and creatives seeking simple referral income
Consider Flodesk’s affiliate program if you want quick payouts and have an audience of creative entrepreneurs, since the flat $19 commission requires no sales volume to maintain.
Image via Flodesk
Flodesk’s affiliate program lets any user earn $19 per referral when new customers sign up, while those customers save 50% on their first year.
Your commission: $19 per referral (one-time)
Time to get payout: Two weeks via PayPal
Dedicated account manager: No
You can access your Flodesk affiliate link directly from your account dashboard without applications or minimum requirements. Referral links can be customized to match your brand name, replacing the default string of random characters.
The dashboard displays your total earnings and upcoming payouts, which are processed automatically every two weeks. Flodesk only offers PayPal for commission payments, requiring affiliates to maintain an active PayPal account for receiving funds.
8. AWeber — Best for digital marketers and coaches with high referral volume
AWeber’s Advocate program offers tiered commissions from 30–50% based on annual referral volume, paying lifetime recurring revenue for each active customer you bring to its service.
Image via AWeber
Your commission: 30–50% lifetime recurring
Time to get payout: Monthly
Dedicated account manager: No
AWeber provides marketing materials, including articles and ads ready for sharing, plus real-time visitor stats and email notifications for each sale. There’s also a customer newsletter to share with your audience.
Overall, the platform is an easy sell to your audience, as it combines email marketing with landing pages, ecommerce tools, and web push notifications, appealing to entrepreneurs who want an all-in-one solution.
9. MailerLite — Best for bloggers and content creators seeking lifetime passive income
You’ll earn a 30% lifetime recurring commission on every customer you refer to MailerLite, with weekly payouts once you reach two paying customers and $100 in earnings.
Image via MailerLite
Your commission: 30% lifetime recurring
Time to get payout: Weekly via PayPal
Dedicated account manager: No
Anyone can join without being a current customer or meeting traffic requirements. You’ll get marketing assets, including banners and comparison content, via the resource hub.
MailerLite tracks referrals for 45 days after someone clicks your link, giving prospects time to convert. Your custom dashboard shows real-time earnings and referral statistics to monitor performance.
Weekly payouts process automatically once you meet the two-customer and $100 minimum threshold. You’ll also receive monthly newsletters with insider updates and strategies from top affiliates to help maximize your earnings.
10. Zoho — Best for agencies and industry associations with business clients
Zoho’s affiliate program pays 15–20% commission on first-year revenue from customers who purchase any of its 55+ business software products via your referral links.
Image via Zoho
Your commission: 15–20% for the first 12 months
Time to get payout: 10 to 15 days
Dedicated account manager: Yes (for higher tiers)
Commission rates increase based on performance, starting at 15% for standard affiliates, rising to 18% for those generating $5,001–$15,000, and reaching 20% for elite affiliates exceeding $15,001. Extra 5% bonuses apply to deals worth $5,000 or more.
Your referrals receive $100 credits to test Zoho’s products, making conversions easier. The 90-day cookie window gives prospects time to purchase after clicking your links.
Top performers access faster support, joint marketing opportunities, and free Zoho One features. Zoho’s sales team handles converting the leads you send, making it among the best email marketing software for affiliate marketing.
Best practices for sending affiliate marketing emails
These are our five top tips on email marketing for affiliate marketers:
Take advantage of holidays and other seasonal events: Major holidays mean customers are more likely to be on the lookout for the top deals and discounts. It can be sensible to leverage these holidays to your advantage by optimizing affiliate marketing emails.
Make use of customer testimonials: If you can make use of customer testimonials and case studies, this can advantage your affiliate email marketing. By implementing social proof, you’re demonstrating the value of whatever you’re promoting, as well as building brand trust.
Minimize overwhelm: Don’t try to oversell your customers with affiliate products and services that don’t correspond to their interests. You’ll overwhelm them, potentially inciting email unsubscriptions.
Re-engage leads: Segment your audience with the lowest engagement rate. Then, send them emails again to entice them back and improve your conversion rates.
Avoid emails that read like spam: Customers are digitally savvy, and if you overstuff your emails with affiliate email marketing, this will read like oversell. Avoid repetition or spam that might put potential consumers off their purchase and even lead to email unsubscriptions.
Wrap up
Affiliate email marketing is a powerful way to generate passive income by promoting products or services that align with your niche or target audience.
From the benefits of affiliate email marketing to our top strategies and programs, we’ve comprehensively broken down how email affiliate marketing could help you maximize your earnings.
To launch a successful affiliate email marketing campaign, choose profitable and relevant products, leverage website triggers, and personalize your emails to build trust with your audience. By following best practices and partnering with the right affiliate program, you can drive sales and earn a steady income through affiliate email marketing.
This article was researched and written by our experts following a precise process.
Bernard is the Sr. Director of Communications & Creative at Omnisend, with a passion for good research, helping ecommerce businesses with their marketing automation needs, and beating absolutely everyone in Mario Kart 64.
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