The 101 Best Two-Tier Affiliate Programs
Two-tier affiliate programs can be an excellent way of increasing the amount of passive income earned through your websites. When someone joins a two-tier affiliate program through you and makes a sale, you earn a small commission without reducing the amount of money your second-tier affiliate receives. In addition, if you have had success as an affiliate marketer, you can put your experience to good use by helping your second-tier affiliates toward success — something I’ve tried to do with this website.
However, two-tier affiliate programs have a problem: they can sometimes be difficult to find. You can often find an affiliate program that claims to have a second tier of earnings, but when you examine its description, information on the second-tier commission is nowhere to be found. So, I’ve devoted days of research to finding the 101+ best two-tier affiliate programs and organizing the most important metrics into the chart that you see below. If you find this chart useful, please consider clicking one of the buttons on the left side of the page to recommend it to your friends.
I’ve sorted the table below in descending order by each merchant’s average affiliate earnings per 100 clicks. However, you can sort the table by any metric by clicking its name on the header row. In the table, you’ll find each company’s first-tier and second-tier affiliate commissions along with whether the company offers performance bonuses.
It’s important not to use any one metric — particularly EPC — as the sole deciding factor when deciding which merchant to partner with, because EPC is not an indicator of how your website will perform with a merchant. Some merchants are new and have few affiliates, so the sample size is too small to be meaningful. In addition, if you pick a merchant whose products fit perfectly with your website’s theme and content, you may outperform other affiliates. The most important things to consider when selecting a two-tier affiliate program to join are whether your website is a good fit for the company’s products, whether the company’s website looks like it will convert visitors into customers. More importantly, if you intend to take an active roll in helping your second-tier affiliates be successful, the company should be one for which you can think of a good number of promotional ideas. In addition, be sure to remind your second-tier affiliates that any commissions resulting from their sales do not decrease their commissions. Your commission comes out of the merchant’s cut, not the affiliate’s.
All links open in a new window/tab. Last updated on March 19, 2012.
| Merchant | Category | EPC (100) | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Bonuses? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CuraDebt | Financial | $349.08 | $33.00 | 10% | Yes |
| Logo Inn | Business | $160.61 | 15% | 5% | Yes |
| Label Your Stuff | Misc | $94.43 | 20% | 10% | No |
| HMS Crown | Health | $92.62 | 40% | 15% | No |
| Magnetic One | Computers | $88.40 | 30% | 10% | No |
| Traverse Bay Farms | Health | $85.97 | 10% | 1% | No |
| Macecraft Software | Computers | $71.85 | 40% | 10% | No |
| LogoNerds | Business | $65.35 | 25% | 5% | No |
| ReBinder | Misc | $56.71 | 10% | 20% | No |
| Rush Industries | Clothing | $51.95 | 22% | 10% | No |
| Hartford York | Clothing | $51.67 | 10% | 10% | No |
| PermaHealth | Health | $48.32 | 15% | 5% | No |
| BnB Tobacco | Tobacco | $47.50 | 8% | 2% | No |
| Kids Wellness | Health | $31.88 | 25% | 5% | No |
| Undercover Condoms | Health | $30.58 | 15% | 10% | No |
| Die Cast Models Wholesale | Toys | $29.88 | 10% | 2% | No |
| The Candleberry Company | Home | $29.03 | 10% | 5% | No |
| Bid My Cleaning | Business | $25.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 | No |
| The Wedding Lens | Photo Sharing | $23.08 | 25% | 5% | No |
| Home of Decor | Home | $22.64 | 10% | 5% | No |
| StudioPress | Online | $20.97 | 35% | 5% | No |
| Native Remedies | Health | $20.42 | 25% | 5% | No |
| Combat Optical | Firearms | $20.17 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Memory Cross | Religious | $18.81 | 15% | 10% | No |
| Resumes Planet | Business | $18.61 | 30% | 10% | No |
| Spotmau | Computers | $18.07 | 30% | 5% | No |
| Innovative Medical Equipment | Health | $17.00 | 5% | 10% | No |
| Lingerie Mart | Clothing | $16.94 | 7% | 3% | No |
| Ejools | Jewelry | $15.49 | 15% | 10% | No |
| Natural Wonder | Pets | $14.88 | 15% | 20% | No |
| Cool LCD | Cameras | $14.76 | 5% | 10% | No |
| Mouseflow | Online | $13.83 | 40% | 10% | No |
| Cash Unclaimed | Financial | $12.97 | $8.00 | 10% | No |
| Dog's Health | Pets | $11.99 | 15% | 5% | No |
| 123 Christian | Business | $11.11 | 20% | 5% | No |
| MostBuying | Electronics | $9.25 | 15% | 10% | Yes |
| Maggies Direct | Home | $8.50 | 10% | 10% | No |
| In the Mood Intimates | Clothing | $8.09 | 12% | 3% | No |
| Gearhead Parts Store | Auto | $7.63 | 8% | 2% | No |
| My App Builder | Mobile | $7.18 | 50% | 10% | No |
| Duty Free Depot | Shopping | $5.91 | 10% | 2% | No |
| Home Wet Bar | Home | $5.30 | 6% | 6% | Yes |
| Gamingator | Gaming | $3.80 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Diesel Secret Energy | Auto | $3.47 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Chinavision | Electronics | $3.41 | 6% | 1% | No |
| CentsofStyle | Fashion | $2.39 | 10% | 3% | No |
| Virtual Sheet Music | Books | $2.06 | 25% | 25% | No |
| Cool Gift Select | Gifts | $1.59 | 6% | 10% | No |
| Teachnology | Educational | $1.35 | $5.00 | 10% | No |
| 4Team | Computers | $1.20 | 15% | 30% | No |
| KK Discount | Shopping | $0.97 | 5% | 10% | No |
| Tilteed | Clothing | $0.85 | 20% | 5% | No |
| Group Price | Business | $0.63 | 10% | 2% | No |
| Panel Place | Freebies | $0.23 | $0.20 | 5% | No |
| Mega Calendars | Gifts | $0.20 | 15% | 5% | No |
| Logo Design 24/7 | Business | $0.15 | 25% | 10% | No |
| Fun Rooms for Kids | Toys | $0.00 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Shecy Pearls | Jewelry | $0.00 | 5% | 5% | No |
| PC MightyMax | Computers | $0.00 | 35% | 20% | No |
| Blow Ya Mind Clothing | Clothing | $0.00 | 15% | 10% | No |
| Tara Wilson Designs | Gifts | $0.00 | 20% | 20% | No |
| Diet Bubble | Health | $0.00 | 25% | 10% | No |
| Medieval Wall Tapestries | Art | $0.00 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Young Lovers | Clothing | $0.00 | $6.00 | 12% | No |
| Crack Smoking Shirts | Clothing | $0.00 | 20% | 5% | No |
| Snappy Photo Gifts | Gifts | $0.00 | 12% | 5% | No |
| Golly Gear | Pets | $0.00 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Nutrifect | Health | $0.00 | $25.00 | 10% | No |
| Independent Living | Books | $0.00 | 25% | 10% | Yes |
| Doko Media | Religious | $0.00 | 15% | $10.00 | No |
| Rizzo Tees | Clothing | $0.00 | 15% | 2% | No |
| Allegro Multimedia | Educational | $0.00 | 15% | 5% | Yes |
| Green Life Buys | Home | $0.00 | 15% | 5% | No |
| Sound of Stars | Media | $0.00 | 30% | 15% | No |
| Thorgrid Jewelry | Jewelry | $0.00 | 30% | 20% | No |
| A2 Hosting | Online | $0.00 | $75.00 | $5.00 | No |
| Fresh Start Detox | Health | $0.00 | $20.00 | 10% | No |
| Aurawave | Health | $0.00 | 15% | 2% | No |
| Dropship Design | Business | $0.00 | 40% | 5% | No |
| Natural Methods | Health | $0.00 | 5% | 10% | No |
| Indian Blend | Food | $0.00 | 5% | 2% | No |
| Creep Squash | Safety | $0.00 | 30% | 25% | No |
| TradeGreeks | Financial | $0.00 | $50.00 | 10% | No |
| Lace Wig Design | Fashion | $0.00 | 3% | 3% | No |
| LogoChefs | Business | $0.00 | 20% | 5% | Yes |
| Lake Erie Artists Gallery | Art | $0.00 | 8% | 10% | No |
| WonderBrains | Educational | $0.00 | 15% | 10% | No |
| BIOS Beauty | Health | $0.00 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Seduce Anyone | Books | $0.00 | 30% | 5% | No |
| My eSig | Business | $0.00 | 15% | 10% | No |
| Natura Health Portal | Health | $0.00 | 25% | 5% | No |
| Shop the Adirondacks | Food | $0.00 | 7% | 2% | No |
| ePowHost | Online | $0.00 | $50.00 | 10% | Yes |
| SnapMonkey | Online | $0.00 | $50.00 | 20% | No |
| DVD Bundles | Media | $0.00 | 10% | 5% | No |
| TrueRegen | Health | $0.00 | 35% | 10% | No |
| BeachWorks | Clothing | $0.00 | 8% | 10% | No |
| The Tote Buddy | Fashion | $0.00 | 15% | 15% | No |
| Dog-E-Glow | Pets | $0.00 | 20% | 10% | No |
| SEO Approve | Online | $0.00 | 35% | 5% | No |
| Safedox | Computers | $0.00 | 25% | 10% | No |
| Bounceweb | Online | $0.00 | 65% | 10% | Yes |
| Mourad | Beauty | $0.00 | 10% | 10% | No |
| Voila Cosmeceuticals | Beauty | $0.00 | 50% | 5% | Yes |