Sub-affiliate software that keeps recruits and customers apart
A sub-affiliate is an affiliate recruited by another affiliate. Sub-affiliate software records who recruited whom, tracks the sub-affiliate's sales, and pays the recruiter an override on them.
In ViralPayouts every partner gets two links per program: one for customers and one for recruits. Overrides are set per program, are paid only on approved sales, and are reversed with the sale when a customer is refunded.
- Links per partner
- 2
- Recruiter levels
- 1
- Paid for a sign-up
- $0
- Monthly fee
- $0
Recruit links are separate from customer links
A partner shares one link with buyers and another with people who might promote the brand. The two never mix.
| Link | Looks like | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Customer link | /r/<handle>/<program> | Records a click and sends the visitor to the brand’s site with a referral code and a click id. A sale is credited to this partner. |
| Recruit link | /join/<handle>/<program> | Opens that program’s application with the partner named as recruiter. No click is credited and no sale can come from it. |
Recruiting is per program
Fixed when they apply
Recruiters see earnings, not customers
Overrides are set per program
Each program chooses its own recruiter override. A person can recruit for one program and not for another.
| Setting | Choices | On a $100 sale at 20% |
|---|---|---|
| Override type | Off, a share of the commission, a share of the sale, or a fixed amount | 25% of commission or 5% of sale: $5 |
| Rate | 1% to 95%, or a fixed amount | Partner plus recruiter can never be more than the sale |
| How long it lasts | A number of days from when the partner was recruited, or for as long as the recruit is active | After the period ends, sales still pay the partner; the override stops |
| Recruiter must be approved | Always | A paused or removed recruiter is not paid, and the override is not passed to anyone else |
A change to the override needs 3 business days' notice to partners before it applies, like any change to what they earn. Overrides are paid on the same schedule as commissions: approved, past the program's 15 to 30-day hold, then in the next payout.
What happens on a refund
Every refund writes reversing entries for the partner, the recruiter and the ViralPayouts fee, in proportion to the amount refunded. Nothing is edited or deleted.
| Before | After a $50 refund | |
|---|---|---|
| Partner (20%) | $20 | $10 |
| Recruiter (5% of sale) | $5 | $2.50 |
| ViralPayouts fee (10% of payouts) | $2.50 | $1.25 |
Refund before payout
Refund after payout
Refund before the sale arrives
A brand rejecting a sale by hand must pick one of the listed reasons, and once a commission is past its hold only fraud can reverse it. Refunds reported by your checkout always reduce it in proportion. Details: program terms.
Why brands choose ViralPayouts
Recruits never get mixed up with customers
Two links per partner per program, with different paths and different jobs. A customer cannot become a recruit by accident, and a recruit link can never credit a sale.Recruiters paid on sales, not sign-ups
A recruiter earns only when a recruit makes an approved sale, and loses it when that sale is refunded. Nobody is rewarded for padding a list.Every refund handled for you
The partner, the recruiter and the ViralPayouts fee are reversed in proportion, with entries you can trace. Nobody has to work out a claw-back by hand.Partners find you
Programs can be listed in the public program directory, where partners join with one account and see your commission and override up front.
Questions brands ask before they switch
- Our sub-affiliates want to recruit their own sub-affiliates.
- Each recruiter earns on the partners they recruit directly, so anyone who recruits is rewarded for it. Paying further up the chain only thins the money. Why two levels is the right number.
- Our partners are not all the same.
- Per-product rates and bounties change what a partner earns, a brand can agree its own payment schedule with one partner, and a share-of-commission override follows whatever the partner earns.
- Why not pay recruiters for sign-ups?
- Because a sign-up costs you money and earns you nothing. Paying on approved sales means every override you pay came with revenue.
- Where do our first partners come from?
- Your customers and fans, through your own links, plus partners browsing the program directory. Every partner you approve can then recruit more with their recruit link.
Try it on test money first
Set your commission and recruiter override, see what each sale costs you, and run it on the test network before a real partner joins. No monthly fee.
Related pages
- Two-tier affiliate softwareWhat a second tier is, the split on a $100 sale, and who offers it from what price.
- Multi-level affiliate trackingWhy two levels is the right number, and what deeper chains cost a brand.
- Affiliate software with no monthly feeThe fee table, and what a flat-price plan still leaves you to do yourself.
- Pay-for-performance affiliate softwareYou pay on approved sales only, and refunds take the fee back.
- Stripe affiliate softwareThe webhook, the two metadata values, renewals and refunds.
- For recruitersHow recruiter overrides are earned and paid, per program.
- GlossarySub-affiliate, override, hold period, clawback and the rest, each with a worked number.