Bottom line upfront: At AWeber’s 30% commission on their $19/month starter plan, you need to drive $50,000+ in monthly subscription value just to earn $1,000. Most affiliates never reach 10 paid referrals. But if you have an audience of small business owners actively seeking email marketing solutions, the lifetime recurring model can eventually pay off.
As one of the leading email marketing platforms used by over one million businesses, AWeber offers a referral program that lets you earn commissions for spreading the word. The recurring model sounds attractive, but the math tells a different story than most affiliate articles admit.
In this article, you’ll learn how the program actually works, what commissions you can realistically earn, and whether it’s ultimately worthwhile compared to other programs. We’re leading with the limitations because understanding the economics matters more than cheerleading.
What Is AWeber?
Founded in 1998, AWeber is an email marketing and automation platform used by bloggers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and marketers to grow their business.
With AWeber, you can create and send email newsletters, set up drip campaigns to nurture leads, integrate with over 1,000 partner apps, and track analytics on your efforts. The platform is known for its ease of use, extensive features, and solid customer support.
While AWeber isn’t the cheapest provider, they offer a free plan indefinitely with basic features. Paid plans start at $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers.
Sound reasonable? Here’s where it gets interesting for affiliates.
How Does The AWeber Affiliate Program Work?
Known as the AWeber Advocate Program, this functions like most SaaS affiliate programs with one major advantage: you keep earning whenever your referrals continue using AWeber’s services.
When you refer people to AWeber, you don’t just earn money once. You earn every month they remain subscribers. It’s genuinely passive income once you get referrals converting.
Plus, the platform gives you access to promotional materials like banners and email templates, making it easier to promote. The tracking system lets you monitor earnings and see how your referrals perform. You’ll know immediately whether your marketing strategy is working.
But here’s the catch: getting those initial conversions requires serious audience fit.
The Commission Structure (And The Math Nobody Shows You)
Here’s what AWeber pays:
30% recurring commission on all paid AWeber accounts you refer
40% commission if you refer 10+ paid accounts in a 12-month period
50% commission if you refer 50+ paid accounts in a 12-month period
Let’s do the actual math most affiliate articles conveniently skip:
AWeber’s entry-level plan costs $19/month. At 30% commission, you earn $5.70 per month per active referral. To hit $1,000 monthly income, you need 176 active paying subscribers.
Even if you hit the 40% tier (10+ referrals annually), you’re earning $7.60/month per referral. You still need 132 active subscribers for $1,000 monthly.
Pattern we see repeatedly: Affiliates celebrate their first few referrals without calculating total subscribers needed for meaningful income. The recurring model sounds amazing until you realize the volume required.
The good news? AWeber offers a 365-day cookie duration. If someone clicks your link and signs up within a year, you still get credit. That’s genuinely generous compared to 30-day industry standards.
AWeber pays earnings through PayPal every month. You track referrals and earnings through your affiliate dashboard.
The Honest Assessment: Major Limitations First
Let’s be brutally honest about both sides before diving into benefits.
The competition is intense. AWeber has been around since 1998. Thousands of affiliates promote them. You’re competing against established authority sites with better SEO, bigger email lists, and more trust.
Paid advertising has restrictions. You can’t bid on AWeber’s brand terms in Google Ads. Your options for paid traffic are limited, forcing you into organic content strategies that take 6-12 months to gain traction.
Most affiliates never reach 10 paid referrals. The 40% and 50% commission tiers sound great, but here’s what separates successful AWeber affiliates from struggling ones: sustained audience fit. If your audience isn’t actively searching for email marketing solutions, you’ll burn through content without conversions.
You’re promoting a premium-priced tool. At $19/month minimum, AWeber costs more than competitors like MailerLite ($10/month) or Sender (free up to 2,500 subscribers). Price-sensitive buyers will choose cheaper options.
Now, the benefits:
Lifetime recurring commissions provide exceptional long-term value. Once someone converts, you earn monthly as long as they stay subscribed. AWeber has strong retention rates because switching email platforms is painful.
The 365-day cookie is genuinely useful. Email marketing is a considered purchase. People research for weeks or months. The long cookie window captures delayed conversions that other programs miss.
AWeber provides solid promotional materials. You get access to banners, email templates, and tracking tools without needing to create everything from scratch.
Training resources help new affiliates. AWeber offers guidance on promotion strategies, though you’ll need to develop your own angle to stand out.
My take: The program works if you have the right audience and realistic expectations. It doesn’t work if you’re chasing quick wins or promoting to audiences who’ve never heard of email marketing.
How to Join the AWeber Advocate Program
Here’s the step-by-step process:
Step 1. Visit the affiliate signup page
Go to www.aweber.com/affiliates.htm and click “Start getting paid” to access the registration form.
Step 2. Complete the application
Fill in your personal details, website information, and payment preferences. AWeber wants to see you have a real platform, not just a link dumping operation.
Step 3. Get instant approval
AWeber provides instant approval for most applicants. You’ll receive your affiliate login details via email shortly after submitting.
Step 4. Access your dashboard
Use your credentials to access the AWeber affiliate platform and dashboard where you’ll find tracking, materials, and payment info.
Step 5. Grab your referral link
Once inside your account, grab your unique affiliate link to start promoting.
That’s it. The approval process is straightforward compared to programs that manually review every application.
How to Actually Earn Meaningful Income (Not Just “Get Started”)
To hit those higher commission tiers and build sustainable income, here’s what actually works:
Focus on comparison content, not generic promotion. When someone searches “AWeber vs ConvertKit” or “best email marketing for online courses,” they’re closer to buying than someone reading “what is email marketing.” Target bottom-funnel searches.
Place your affiliate link prominently on your website, email signature, and resource pages. Make it easy for your audience to find and click through. Visibility matters more than “clever” placement.
Create detailed tutorial content showing AWeber’s specific features. Blog posts, videos, and walkthroughs demonstrating automation setup, segmentation, or integration capabilities work better than surface-level reviews.
Promote to your email list, but do it strategically. Your subscribers already trust you, making them warmer leads. But don’t spam them. Share AWeber recommendations when relevant to their actual problems.
Want to accelerate growth? Partner with influencers who can share your affiliate link with their audiences. If they genuinely use and recommend AWeber, this works. If they’re just promoting for cash, their audience will smell the inauthenticity.
Key insight: Join affiliate marketing communities on Facebook or Reddit, but focus on learning rather than spamming your links. These groups have strict rules against self-promotion. Contribute value first, build relationships, then naturally mention your content when appropriate.
Is the AWeber Affiliate Program Worth Your Time?
With the limitations and earning requirements crystal clear, is joining ultimately worthwhile?
Consider the potential value: If you realistically build 20 active referrals at 30% commission ($5.70/month each), you’re earning $114 monthly in passive income. Not life-changing, but genuinely passive once established. Scale to 100 referrals? That’s $570/month that requires minimal maintenance.
Consider the effort required: Getting those first 20 conversions takes 6-12 months of consistent content creation, SEO optimization, and audience building. You’re investing significant upfront time for eventual passive returns.
Compare the alternatives: Most affiliate programs offer lower commissions (10-20%), one-time payouts, or shorter cookie windows (30-90 days). AWeber’s lifetime recurring model at 30-50% genuinely outperforms most options for SaaS products.
Evaluate your niche fit: If your website or audience focuses on email marketing, online business, or marketing automation, the alignment makes this opportunity obvious. If you’re in a completely different niche, you’ll struggle regardless of commission rates.
Bottom line: For affiliate marketers in the email marketing space or building passive income portfolios, the AWeber Advocate Program offers strong long-term value. The high recurring commissions, generous cookie window, and brand reputation outshine most competing programs.
But here’s the hard truth: it requires sustained effort to see results. The lifetime value from referrals makes the program rewarding over years, not weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should join the AWeber Advocate Program?
Anyone with an audience of small business owners, content creators, or online entrepreneurs who need email marketing tools. The program works best when you’re already creating content about digital marketing or business growth.
Is there a fee to join?
No. The program is completely free to join.
Are there minimum requirements to become an affiliate?
No official minimums exist. However, you need a real platform (website, YouTube channel, email list) to promote AWeber effectively. Just having an affiliate link without an audience won’t generate income.
Can I combine AWeber with other affiliate programs?
Yes. You can promote multiple email marketing platforms or other business tools simultaneously. Just be transparent with your audience about your affiliate relationships.
Top AWeber Advocate Program Alternatives
If AWeber doesn’t fit your audience or strategy, consider these alternatives:
1. GetResponse Affiliate Program
GetResponse offers a robust affiliate program with tiered commissions. You can earn 40% to 60% recurring commission in the first year for customers you refer. Their structure encourages high performance, and they support affiliates with marketing assets.
2. ActiveCampaign Affiliate Program
ActiveCampaign pays a 30% lifetime recurring commission on referrals of their marketing automation / email / CRM product. Their program is built to reward long-term revenue rather than one-off payouts.
3. ConvertKit Affiliate Program
ConvertKit’s affiliate program is well-known in the creator / blogger space. Affiliates generally receive 30% recurring commission for each referral who becomes a customer, often for as long as they stay subscribed. It matches well with audiences of content creators, writers, podcasters, etc.
4. Moosend Affiliate Program
Moosend offers a competitive affiliate model — often 30% to 40% recurring commission, with a 90-day cookie window for tracking referrals. Its automation and email marketing tools make it appealing to marketers, giving you good promotional content to work with.
5. Kit Affiliate Program
Kit (formerly associated with ConvertKit) gives you 50% commission for the first 12 months, and if you refer enough paying customers, you can earn 10–20% recurring beyond that. The tiered structure means your more active efforts get rewarded.
