How to Maximize Your SaaS Affiliate Earnings on Reditus

Many affiliates treat SaaS like any other affiliate niche. It doesn't behave that way, especially in B2B, where software gets researched, trialed and signed off before anyone pays. Work with how software is bought, and your recurring income keeps growing instead of starting from zero every month.

1. Choose the right programs

Not all SaaS affiliate programs are equal. Judge each one on three things before you promote it:

1. What one customer earns you
2. The cookie window
3. Product quality and fit for your audience

What one customer earns you

The Reditus marketplace lets you filter on commission percentage and commission length, including lifetime programs. A percentage alone says little, though: what you earn depends on the price it applies to. Every program page shows the average monthly deal size next to the commission and its duration, with a calculator.

Work it out: average monthly deal size × commission % × number of months. Example: a $100/month product at 25% for 24 months pays you $25 a month while the customer pays.

• 1 customer over 24 months = $25 × 24 = $600
• 10 of those customers = $6,000 over 24 months

A quick filter: you want roughly $10 or more per customer payment (deal size × commission %). Commissions in B2B SaaS usually sit between 20 and 50%, and early-stage companies tend to pay more and for longer. More in understanding recurring commissions.

The cookie window

B2B buying cycles run longer than consumer purchases. Prospects visit a site several times, share links internally and need approval before they buy. The cookie window decides how long after your click a signup still counts for you. Each program sets its own and shows it on its page: many run 30 days, some 60, and new programs on Reditus start at 60 days.

Product quality

High commissions don't help if the product is poor. Customers churn, and your recurring income goes with them. Look for:

• A clear value proposition
• Strong reviews or testimonials
• A product that solves a real problem your audience has

Recommend tools you use yourself. It shows in your content, and customers who stay keep paying your commission.

2. Use sub IDs to see what works

If you promote one link everywhere, you can't tell which channel brought the customers. A sub ID fixes that: an extra tag on your affiliate link, one per channel or placement.

Your link is the SaaS company's address plus ?red= and your personal slug, for example example.com/?red=yourname. Find your links under Links in the left menu of your dashboard, and use a different sub ID for each place you share the link:

• Per channel: your blog, your newsletter, LinkedIn, YouTube
• Per piece of content: a comparison post versus a tutorial
• Per campaign: a launch email versus your regular newsletter

Your Links page shows the structure for adding a sub ID, and you can add as many as you want, by hand or programmatically. The by sub ID section of your Reports page then shows clicks, referrals and commissions per sub ID, so you see which channel or piece earns money and can put more time into what works. More in everything about sub IDs.

3. Create content that converts

B2B buyers compare tools and need to justify their choice, so honest comparisons, "best tool for X" articles and tutorials from your own use work well. Write from experience, check the facts against the company's resources and keep your best pieces up to date. Our guide to affiliate content strategies goes deeper.

4. Earn bonuses on top of your commissions

Campaigns pay a one-off bonus on top of your recurring commission. Content campaigns pay for a piece of content, such as a blog article, a LinkedIn post, a YouTube video or a G2 review; performance campaigns pay for a referral milestone. You find them under Campaigns in the sidebar. Once the SaaS company accepts your work, the bonus is added as a commission and goes into your payout on the 1st of the following month.

5. Get vetted so SaaS companies find you

Create an affiliate profile and connect Google Analytics, YouTube or LinkedIn. It proves you own the channel and shows where your traffic comes from. Once the Reditus team approves your profile, you're in the vetted affiliate database, where SaaS companies on our Scale Up and Enterprise plans can find and contact you. So far 650+ of 2,000+ applicants have been approved.

A connected Google Analytics or YouTube account also helps when you apply to a program: the company sees your verified data next to your application.

6. Focus on fewer programs that convert

Your one slug works for every program you join, so joining another program costs you nothing. Promoting it does. Each program pays out on its own once you pass its payout threshold, and earnings from different programs are not combined. Ten programs with one referral each can leave all ten below their threshold, while three programs your audience really buys get you paid. Drop programs that don't convert after a fair try, and put that time into the ones that do.

7. Get paid without delays

• Add a payout method in your payment settings: PayPal, Wise or IBAN bank transfer. IBAN is for European bank accounts only; outside Europe, use PayPal or Wise. Without a payout method, we can't pay you. We recommend Wise: with a Wise account, your payouts are free.
• Check each program's payout threshold on its page. New programs start at $100, and each SaaS company can change it.
• Commissions earned in a month go into a payout on the 1st of the following month, and you're paid before the end of that month, once the SaaS company has paid.
• Reditus takes nothing from your commissions.

Details: when and how affiliates get paid.

What to expect

With an existing audience, first revenue typically comes within 1 to 3 months, and top affiliates in the Reditus network earn $60+ per click. Before you start, read the common affiliate mistakes, so you don't lose commission on the avoidable ones.