You don’t have to be a consultant to get paid for recommending software. Instead, you can earn money or in-app credits by using a referral program.
In other words, you can earn money for referring products without paying a cent. Yes, I know that sounds like a “I earn $1,537.87 per day from home” clickbait ad, but it’s true.
Usually you’ll be given a unique link which, when clicked, will take the viewer to a product’s home page and track you as having referred them. Then, if they sign up or make a purchase, you’ll be given a reward.
Whether you’re looking to expand your toolkit of items you can refer to clients, get a bonus for referring a tool you were promoting anyway, or just to promote more with the sole aim of earning more money, below is a list of 51 SaaS referral programs which you can use to get rewards ranging from one-time bounties and in-app credits, to lifetime recurring commissions.
From creating business systems to database automation, the following 51 referral programs will cover software spanning:
- Accounting
- Cloud storage
- Communication
- CRM
- Data management
- Ecommerce
- Email marketing
- Form creation
- Hosting
- Human resources
- Landing pages
- Process documentation
- Productivity
- Project management
- Referral programs
- Security
- Stacks, suites, and all-in-ones
- Social media marketing
- Time management
- Video marketing
- VPN
What is a referral program?
For the purposes of this article, a referral program is anything which allows someone outside of a company to promote it in return for a reward. This can be in the form of sharing a unique link which tracks who referred viewers, providing banners to be used on a website (with a similar tracker), and so on.
The terms “referral” and “affiliate” in this way are interchangeable, since “referral” typically means a direct referral to someone you know, while an “affiliate” promotes to people they don’t know.
For example, you “refer” your family members and friends to products you know and trust, but sharing a product with your Twitter followers with an aim to make money off the referrals is usually considered “affiliate” marketing. However, due to many companies using the terms interchangeably, this article will include both referral programs and affiliate programs. See ReferralCandy’s infographic above to learn more about the overlap between the two terms.
Also, as a last note before we begin, referral programs come is two varieties; direct and link-based. Direct referrals require you to know the details of the person you’re referring, as they usually involve filling out a form. Link referrals are exactly that – URLs, banners, and other materials which link back to a product and track you as the source of that referral.
Accounting
1. FreshBooks
Product link: FreshBooks
Referral program: https://www.freshbooks.com/affiliate-program
Referral type: Link
Reward: $5 per free trial signup + $55 per paid user
Serving as a platform for creating professional invoices, logging expenses, and tracking time spent on projects, FreshBooks makes accounting easy for small businesses. It’s easy to use, making it suitable both for new business owners and experienced entrepreneurs alike.
The referral program follows a similar pattern to most others on this list – upon signing up you’re given a unique link which will track any who click it as being referred by you. When they sign up for a free trial you’re given $5, and if they convert to being a paid user you’ll receive a further $55. The cookie (the thing that tracks when someone clicks your link) lasts for 120 days too, so you don’t have to worry about losing someone because they took some time to mull over signing up.
2. PayPal
Product link: PayPal
Referral program: Inside mobile app
Referral type: Direct
Reward: $5 per signup who pay with PayPal for you and them (up to $50)
PayPal allows you to set up an account to easily make and accept online payments. Think of it as a digital middleman between you and the person you’re paying or getting paid by, but with some extra security and privacy measures. To make a payment you only have to know someone’s email address, and account information is hidden from the other party, making it a much more attractive option than getting paid directly into your bank account.
PayPal’s referral program, however, is a bit of an odd one, in that they no longer have it on their main website. Instead you’ll need to install their mobile app, tap the cog in the top right of the dashboard, then tap the “Invite friends” option. Note that you will need to send this directly to a contact you have in your phone, or through an app like Facebook or Slack.
3. Shoeboxed
Product link: Shoeboxed
Referral program: https://www.shoeboxed.com/affiliates/
Referral type:Link
Reward: $5 for joining the referral program, $30+ for signups (depending on payment plan), custom amount for 100+ referrals
Shoeboxed makes the transition to paperless accounting easy. You can scan receipts to later manage and file away, and even attach to expense reports for easy documentation. Hell, you can even use these scanned receipts in your taxes, as the scanned images are accepted by both the IRS and CRA.
The referral program is generous too, giving you $5 just for signing up to it and a further $30 for both free and lite plan subscribers. The reward then increases by $10 for classic plan signups, and another $10 for referrals who use the business plan. Referring users is a synch with your own unique link, so you really have nothing to lose.
Cloud storage
4. Box
Product link: Box
Referral program:https://www.box.com/en-gb/partners/channel-program/apply
Referral type:Direct
Reward:Commission on referred deals
Although it doesn’t hold the same appeal as Google Drive on its free plan, Box starts to pick up steam as a competing cloud storage service if you’re willing to pay a little to get a pro or business plan. With a greater emphasis on security than its competitors, Box serves a more niche purpose, but a solid one nonetheless.
To be able to refer someone to Box you’ll need to fill in your details and request to be recognized as a partner, which can be done by visiting this page. If you refer a user who ends up on a paid plan you’ll earn commission on that sale.
5. Dropbox
Product link: Dropbox
Referral program:https://www.dropbox.com/help/space/earn-space-referring-friends
Referral type:Link
Reward:500 MB extra space per signup up to 16 GB (both figures doubled if you have a Plus account)
Although when considering Dropbox vs Google Drive the former falls a little short, Dropbox still provides a solid option for your cloud storage needs. Whether you’re backing up your important files or just clearing some space on your main devices, Dropbox is a great way to store and access files across multiple devices. You can even integrate it with your other apps to automatically save files and save yourself the trouble.
The referral program is nice and flexible, with the option to refer contacts directly (through apps like Facebook or by submitting their email address) or to generate a link which users can click to sign up from. While this doesn’t give you direct payments, the extra storage space is incredibly useful if you’re backing up a lot of files.
6. SugarSync
Product link: SugarSync
Referral program:https://www.sugarsync.com/faq/referral_program.html
Referral type:Link
Reward: 500 MB extra storage when a referral signs up for a free account, which increases to 10 GB for you and your referral (up to 40 GB) if they pay for an account with 60+ GB space
SugarSync competes with other cloud storage platforms by focusing on having flexible sharing and syncing abilities, making it ideal for anyone with multiple devices. It is, however, more expensive to get the same amount of storage of a service such as Google Drive, so for most it can be considered a more niche cloud storage service.
Their referral program allows you and your referral to greatly expand your storage if they sign up for an account with 60+ GB of space. To get your unique link, however, you’ll have to sign up as a CJ publisher from this page. Also, remember that you’ll only get 500 MB of free space if your referral doesn’t actually pay for a 60+ GB account plan.
Communication
7. Zoom
Product link: Zoom
Referral program:https://zoom.us/referrals
Referral type:Link
Reward: Points upon a referral’s purchases (within 24 hours of their first purchase), which can be traded for gifts or a cheque
Zoom is the best video conferencing app on the market today, with free conferencing for up to 50 users and a myriad of advanced features such as screen annotations, recording functions, and live screen sharing. If you (or anyone you know) are looking for an alternative to Skype’s clunky and outdated app, this is the one for you.
Their referral program comes with a lot of provisos, however. By sharing a unique link you’ll earn a commission on the first purchase of anyone who clicks it (plus any other purchases made within 24 hours of their first one). There’s no cap to how much you can earn, but you need to have a paid account to activate it.
CRM
8. Infusionsoft
Product link: Infusionsoft
Referral program:https://www.infusionsoft.com/refer
Referral type:Link
Reward: $500 for each referral who stays as a customer for 30 days
Although Infusionsoft is a bit of an all-in-one piece of kit, it primarily serves as a CRM for small businesses. By automating sections of sales and marketing processes, along with providing elements to manage customer relations, email marketing, lead capture, and e-commerce, small businesses can use Infusionsoft to streamline and control their customers’ lifecycle more effectively.
Upon signing up for their referral program you’ll be sent a unique link. Anyone who clicks this link, signs up, and doesn’t cancel within 30 days will net you a tidy $500 bonus.
9. Salesflare
Product link: Salesflare
Referral program:https://salesflare.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward: 40% commission of every sale
Salesflare is a CRM with a heavy focus on sales and removing manual data input. By automatically tracking every interaction you have with leads, Salesflare builds a timeline which helps to organize your sales efforts and make sure that any information your team needs will be available the moment they need it.
By using GrowSumo, you can generate a unique link to earn 40% of every sale you refer to Salesflare.
Data management
10. Airtable
Product link: Airtable
Referral program:https://community.airtable.com/t/what-are-credits-for/179
Referral type:Link
Reward:Credits which can be used to upgrade a team’s Airtable plan
Airtable is an incredibly powerful tool which lets you create a smart, interlinked database. By creating spreadsheets, inter-linking your entries, creating custom views and filters, and integrating with hundreds of other apps, this app makes is possible to easily manage vast stores of data in one place.
Airtable credits are earned for each successful referral, which can be used to upgrade any base you’re an admin of to a higher plan, or to extend a paid plan for free.
11. Evernote
Product link: Evernote
Referral program:https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209005427-How-to-refer-a-friend-to-Evernote
Referral type:Link
Reward:10 points for the first 3 referrals, then 5 for each successive one, which can be redeemed to upgrade to Evernote Premium
Evernote is the best note-taking app on the market in terms of clipping and organizing web resources. Not only does it make taking screenshots, clipping articles, and annotating documents an absolute breeze, but its integrations with both other apps and mobile devices mean it’s easy to record notes, photos, and even voice clips while on the move.
Evernote rewards you with 10 points for your first 3 successful referrals (people who install the app), then 5 for each successive referral who signs up for Evernote Pro. These points can then be spent to upgrade yourself to Evernote Pro.
12. Webmerge
Product link: Webmerge
Referral program:https://www.webmerge.me/referrals
Referral type:Link
Reward: 25% commission of every paid subscription you refer
Webmerge is a massively time-saving app based on one principle; why bother copying information you already have documented? Instead, Webmerge takes information you have stored in another app and can automatically generate documents, invoices, presentations, and more with it.
Each referral you send via your custom URL which converts into a paying customer will earn you a 25% commission of whatever they spent. Plus, each month your referral renews their paid plan you’ll continue to earn that 25% commission.
Ecommerce
13. BigCommerce
Product link: BigCommerce
Referral program: https://www.bigcommerce.com/partners/affiliates/
Referral type:Link
Reward: 200% of the referral’s initial plan value
BigCommerce lets you build your own online store with a massive selection of features and themes to choose from. Not only that, but it also allows you to list your products on Amazon, Facebook, and eBay, and even comes with some inbuilt SEO features to make setting up a store even easier.
BigCommerce’s referral program gives you a link like many others (along with resources such as banners for your website), but its model is a little novel in that they give you 200% of your referral’s “bounty” upfront. The fee doesn’t recur, but it’s a nice initial boost to encourage you to share the app around.
14. Shopify
Product link: Shopify
Referral program:https://www.shopify.co.uk/affiliates
Referral type: Link
Reward:200% of referral’s initial subscription fee (up to $1,500 per referral)
Shopify might not have some of BigCommerce’s more advanced tools, but it is easier to use to build an online store. Shopify also has far more store themes (both free and paid) to choose from, most of which are more varied than BigCommerce’s too. Essentially, while BigCommerce serves a more niche audience who are looking for more advanced tools, Shopify takes the more popular general road.
Much like their competitor, joining Shopify’s referral program will give you a link which you can share to refer users. You’ll be credited with 200% of the referral’s initial subscription fee (up to a maximum of $1,500 per referral).
Email marketing
15. ConvertKit
Product link: ConvertKit
Referral program: https://convertkit.com/affiliate/
Referral type:Link
Reward: Recurring 30% commission
Although is doesn’t have the easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor of Mailchimp when creating emails, ConvertKit is a powerhouse of email marketing when it comes to automation. By selecting different trigger and action events you can have ConvertKit automatically segment your email lists and subscribers depending on the actions they take rather than spending hours doing the same thing manually.
Their referral program offers a nice recurring incentive too, since referrals from your link will net you a 30% commission on whatever their account plan is worth. Yes, this will roll forwards for as long as the referral is on a paid plan.
16. AWeber
Product link: AWeber
Referral program:https://www.aweber.com/affiliates.htm
Referral type:Link
Reward: Recurring 30% commission
Along with Mailchimp and Infusionsoft, AWeber is easily an industry standard tool for email marketing, allowing users to build email lists, use templates for emails, newsletters, and signup forms, build follow-up campaigns, and much, much more.
AWeber’s referral program mirrors ConvertKit (or vice versa) as you’ll earn 30% of whatever referrals from your link spend on their pricing plan. You don’t technically get a link to use, but instead you get a unique ID which you can append to any URL. This means that you have far more flexibility in how you refer users to AWeber, as you can link to specific blog posts or help articles and (as long as you use your ID) it will still count.
17. Mailchimp
Product link: Mailchimp
Referral program:http://kb.mailchimp.com/accounts/billing/monkeyrewards-credits
Referral type: Link
Reward:$30 in Mailchimp credits for you and your referral (if both accounts are paid)
Mailchimp is a great option for anyone starting out in email marketing, and even for those looking to run small-scale campaigns. with all the standard features of a decent email marketing platform, Mailchimp injects a sense of fun with its unique and relaxed company culture with features like giving you a high-five for every email you send.
Mailchimp gives a solid $30 bonus to both you and the person you refer with your link if both accounts are paid. That $30, however, is in the form of Mailchimp credits, which you can only spend on the product itself – you can’t cash it out for real money.
18. Reply
Product link: Reply
Referral program:http://reply.io/reply-reseller-program/
Referral type:Link
Reward: Recurring 20% commission
Reply is a tool which aims to automate your emails while keeping the personal touch. Many have also praised Reply’s customer success team for helping them to get the most out of the product.
The commission you can earn by using their referral link, however, is a little lower than some of the larger name email marketing platforms at 20% of every referred user’s value.
Form creation
19. Typeform
Product link: Typeform
Referral program:https://www.typeform.com/help/referral-program-faq/
Referral type:Link
Reward:10% off your Typeform subscription per paid referral (up to 100%)
Much like Mailchimp and AWeber, Typeform are something of an industry standard when it comes to creating responsive, professional forms. Whether you’re using them to collect data from your users or as a pseudo-FAQ, Typeform makes it easy to relay or collect the information you need.
Typeform’s referral program is also very lenient, with a 10% discount on your subscription fee for every paid referral you send their way. This means that (for as long as they pay) 2 referrals will get you a 20% discount for Typeform, while 10 will get you a completely free subscription.
Hosting
20. Bluehost
Product link: Bluehost
Referral program:https://www.bluehost.com/affiliates
Referral type:Link
Reward:$65 per paid referral
Another hard-hitter in its niche, Bluehost is a website hosting company which allows for easy installation and is particularly popular among WordPress sites. Most users report that Bluehost is fast, the software is easy to use and has excellent security measures, although the customer support (and heavy upselling) leaves a little to be desired.
Using referral links and (if you wish) supplied banners, any referral who signs up for a Bluehost plan will net you $65. There’s no upper limit to how much you can earn, but you can only get this once per referral.
21. HostGator
Product link: HostGator
Referral program:https://www.hostgator.com/affiliates
Referral type:Link
Reward:$50-$125 per referral signup
HostGator come with various web, cloud, and WordPress hosting options, and while they are criticized a little for their customer support and minor blips in their uptime (99.85%), the platform is nonetheless easy to use and can more than happily serve your hosting needs.
While they do not offer a recurring reward program, HostGator offer increasing amounts of money per signup depending on how many signups you get in a month. At the extremes, 1-5 signups in a month will get you $50 per user, while 21+ signups will net you $125 per user, thus making most signups a high priority if you’re going for big bucks.
22. WP Engine
Product link: WP Engine
Referral program:https://wpengine.com/affiliate/
Referral type:Link
Reward:$200 or 100% of referral’s first month’s payment (whichever is higher), plus $50 for each customer they refer
WP Engine runs a slightly odd referral model, in that they pride themselves on paying much greater amounts for referrals than other WordPress hosting services. As for the hosting itself, however, they run much the same as other highly-rated hosting services. While it does offer daily backups and malware scanning, it’s worth noting that most criticism mentions the service being a little pricey for what it is.
The referral program for WP Engine can indeed lead to huge payouts though. Along with paying either $200 or 100% of whatever your referral spends on their first month (whichever is higher), there is no upper limit to the amount you can earn in that one payment.
Human resources
23. Breezy HR
Product link: Breezy HR
Referral program:https://breezyhr.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward:20% of every sale
Breezy HR is all about attracting and hiring the best employees you can. With applicant sourcing and tracking, resume analysis, video interviewing, and generally very positive reviews they’re a solid choice if you’re looking to employ top talent without manually scouring LinkedIn, AnglelList, and other similar sites.
Breezy HR’s referral program is only accessible through GrowSumo, making it easy to manage within their dashboard. They reward you with 20% of every sale you refer to them.
24. CakeHR
Product link: CakeHR
Referral program:https://cakehr.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward: 20% of every sale
CakeHR is a time management platform for your company. By tracking both you and your employees’ time you can add accountability to workdays, track projects with reports, and create schedules to manage your team more effectively.
Like Breezy, CakeHR’s referral program is run through GrowSumo and offers a 20% commission on every sale from your link.
25. Recruitee
Product link: Recruitee
Referral program:https://recruitee.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward: 20% of every sale
Recruitee takes a novel approach to acquiring talent, in that it combines website creation with collaborative hiring. In other words, you can create your own careers site to better convey your company brand and values to prospects. Combined with easy applicant tracking and integration with over 800 job sites, Recruitee is certainly a powerful tool in any HR team’s arsenal.
Again, referrals to Recruitee earn you 20% of their sale worth, and the program itself (and referral link) is managed using GrowSumo
26. Vervoe
Product link: Vervoe
Referral program:https://vervoe.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward: 20% of every sale
Vervoe is an interesting example of seeing how much you can automate in your business. Vervoe’s primary purpose is to automate the interviews in your hiring process by creating a kind of test using a custom or premade script, which candidates can answer using text, images, video, multiple choice, and so on.
Like the rest of our HR SaaS referral programs, Vervoe’s is managed using GrowSumo, and rewards you with 20% of referred sales.
Landing pages
27. Leadpages
Product link: Leadpages
Referral program:https://lps.leadpages.co/partners/
Referral type:Link
Reward:30% recurring commission
Leadpages is all about growing your email list, primarily through designing landing pages to convert your website’s visitors. You can, however, also the service to make lead magnets (eg, popups) and webinars to achieve the same effect. With an easy-to-use design and over 140 premade templates to choose from, this is a great choice if you’re getting traffic, but are lacking email subscribers.
Leadpages rewards referrals from your unique link with a 30% recurring commission of whatever the referral spends on the app.
28. Instant
Product link: Instant
Referral program:https://instant.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward:30% of every sale
Instant specializes in optimizing your landing pages to convert the visitors you’re directing at them. With a heavy focus on AB testing (from content to layout to keywords to AdWords reports), this app makes it easy to fine tune what are arguably the most important pages on your site for conversions.
Instant is another referral program managed by GrowSumo, but unlike most others gives a nice 30% commission on each sale made from your link.
Process documentation
29. Process Street
Product link: Process Street
Referral program:https://www.process.st/partner-program/
Referral type:Link
Reward:20% of what your referral spends in their first year
Process Street is the best process documentation software on the market. By documenting your processes and running them as trackable checklist templates, you can build a framework for your business and ensure that everything you do is consistent, repeatable, scalable, efficient, and accurate.
With Process Street’s partner program you can earn 20% of whatever your referrals spend in their first year using the app, with no upper limit as to how much you earn. You can also easily monetize Process Street outside of this program by selling templates, but to learn more check out our post on our partner program.
Productivity
30. Focus@Will
Product link: Focus@Will
Referral program:https://www.focusatwill.com/affiliate-program/
Referral type:Link
Reward:30% commission
If you’ve ever struggled to find the right backing track to your work day, Focus@Will is the app for you. With music spanning over 20 genres carefully chosen to help you focus down and produce your best quality work when it really matters, this app may seem like a fruitless investment, but just having the right level of background noise pays itself back tenfold.
Focus@Will’s referral program is managed by ShareASale and gives a 30% commission on sales made by users after clicking your referral link.
31. Grammarly
Product link: Grammarly
Referral program:https://support.grammarly.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000091032-What-is-Grammarly-s-referral-program-
Referral type:Link or direct
Reward:One week of Grammarly Premium for you and your referral when they install the browser extension
Grammarly is an absolute life saver when it comes to checking your spelling and grammar across both the web and your computer in general. While its free plan is perfectly suitable for casual users, Premium offers extra support in the form of flagging advanced errors rather than just basic spelling and grammar.
To access the referral program you need to be using a free account and have the browser extension installed. Click the icon in your browser, then click “Invite friends”. From here you can directly enter your contact’s email address or copy a link which they can click to sign up.
Again, the free plan works perfectly fine, but if you’re going to recommend Grammarly anyway (since there’s little downside to having it), you might as well get Premium credited to both you and your referral.
32. MindMeister
Product link: MindMeister
Referral program:https://www.mindmeister.com/affiliate
Referral type:Link
Reward:20% recurring commission
MindMeister is a brilliant tool for anyone who does better when planning issues visually – it’s a cloud-based collaborative mind map service. From planning content to brainstorming, taking notes in meetings, and planning huge projects in detail, with MindMeister you can collaborate with your team on a single mind map without ever having to download a thing.
With no limit to the maximum you can earn through referrals, MindMeister’s 20% recurring commission is a bonus indeed when used as part of your referral arsenal.
Project management
33. Trello
Product link: Trello
Referral program:https://trello.com/recommend
Referral type:Link
Reward:1 free month of Trello Gold per referral (up to 12 months)
Trello truly is a king of project management, with its kanban board layout making organizing even the most complex project list as easy as pie. Boards are set up for projects (or sites, or whatever you want really), with columns and cards further dividing boards into categories and individual tasks. It can even serve as an extension of your business process management software, with Trello collecting task resources into a centralized card, letting you breeze through your processes.
While the battle of Trello vs Asana is a tough call, Trello’s ease-of-use puts it a smidgen ahead as the tool of choice. Their referral program also gives you one free month of Trello Gold (more power ups per board, stickers, emojis, higher card attachment file size, etc) per referral up to a maximum of 12 months.
Referral programs
34. GrowSumo
Product link: GrowSumo
Referral program: In-app marketplace
Referral type:Link
Reward:25% commission of every sale made by referrals (+75% bonus on their first sale)
GrowSumo lets companies easily create their perfect referral program, both in terms of setting up the necessary pages and details and in managing leads and influencers. Its marketplace is also what inspired this very post, as here you can browse a vast array of referral programs which you can join right then and there from inside GrowSumo.
Their referral program grants a 25% commission on every sale your referrals make, plus a bonus 75% on your referral’s first sale. If nothing else, it’s worth signing up to GrowSumo (it’s free) just to see the referral programs they have on offer, as their dashboard makes it easy to manage your unique links and income earned.
Security
36. LastPass
Product link: LastPass
Referral program:https://lastpass.com/friendemail.php
Referral type:Link
Reward:1 month of LastPass Premium for free for you and your referral (up to a maximum of 12 months)
LastPass is a password creation, management, and autofill piece of software which randomly generates long, complex passwords and stores them for later use through its browser extension. That way you’re both generating stronger passwords for all of your accounts and keeping them all in a single secure place for easy access – just click the extension and then on the password for the login screen you’re viewing.
LastPass offers a month of free Premium subscription for you and anyone you refer, with a cap of 12 months. Premium, however, is only $1 per month, so it’s worth keeping in mind that this isn’t a significant benefit – it’s more of a “get it while you’re recommending us anyway” kind of deal.
Stacks, suites, and all-in-ones
36. FieldPulse
Product link: FieldPulse
Referral program:https://fieldpulse.growsumo.com/i
Referral type: Link
Reward:30% commission of every referred sale (+20% bonus on your first referred sale)
FieldPulse is a powerful all-in-one service business management piece of software, with features ranging from job scheduling, time tracking, and invoicing to customer relationship management and more. If you or a potential referral run a service business, you’d be amiss not to check this one out.
FieldPulse runs its referral program through GrowSumo, so your link and 30% commission on referred sales can be easily managed along with your other GrowSumo referrals.
37. Google Suite
Product link: Google Suite
Referral program:https://gsuite.google.com/intl/en_us/landing/partners/referral/
Referral type:Link
Reward:$15 per user in the referral’s domain (up to $1,500 per domain, depending on the number of paid users)
Containing 13 powerful apps ranging from Gmail to Google Sheets, Docs, and Hangouts, Google Suite is a powerhouse collection of apps which are useful to practically any business on the planet. Although you can register to most of these apps for free, on a paid account you’ll also get a professional email at your domain, more storage on Gmail and Google Drive, 24/7 customer support, and more.
Google Suite’s referral program will net you $15 per user who signs up in your referral’s domain, up to $1,500 per domain. The amount you’ll receive will also depend on the number of paid users there are.
38. GoTo Suite
Product link: GoTo Suite
Referral program:https://goto.yourefer.com/register-partner/
Referral type:Direct
Reward:Up to 30% commission
GoTo’s suite of products includes GoTo Meeting, GoTo Webinar, GoTo Training, GoTo Assist and more, which gives huge benefits to anyone wanting to hop on a quick online call, broadcast a live webinar to thousands of people, or generally improve communication and connections to their business.
To get access to their referral program you’ll need to fill out a form on their website, following which you’ll be able to directly refer prospects. In return, GoTo will help guide both you and your referral through the process and give you up to a 30% commission on any sale.
39. Marin Software
Product link: Marin Software
Referral program:http://www.marinsoftware.com/referral
Referral type:Direct
Reward:$500-$2,000 depending on referral’s spend (have to spend at least $10,000 per month on paid search and be a customer for 6 months)
Marin Software’s suite is all about optimizing your ads for maximum ROI, whether you’re running ads on social media, your own site, or even buying ads on search engines. If you’re looking for ways to get more bang for your advertising buck, look no further.
Marin Software’s referral program needs you to directly refer a customer by filling out a form on their website, meaning you’ll have to actually know the details of the person you’re referring. For your trouble, you’ll be given $500-$2,000 depending on how much your referral spends and how long they stay as a paying customer.
40. Office 365
Product link: Office 365
Referral program:https://products.office.com/en-us/business/office-365-affiliate-program
Referral type:Link
Reward:$5-$20 per “seat” for each referral, depending on the product purchased
Office 365 expands on the regular Microsoft Office Suite by including services such as OneDrive and Skype For Business, while including classics such as Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Think of Office 365 as a cloud-based, business-focused version of Office’s regular selection of apps for personal use.
Your commission for referring users to Office 365 will vary depending on what product they purchase and how many “seats” they buy. Regular Office 365 will net you $10 per seat, while Office 365 Enterprise E3 & E5 has a bounty of $20 per seat. For a further price breakdown, see their FAQ.
41. Upserve
Product link: Upserve
Referral program:https://upserve.com/partners/
Referral type: Link
Reward:“Competitive” payment model based on referral spending
Upserve is a restaurant management platform which is designed to improve operations both at the front-of-house and behind the scenes. Analytics allow you to view customers’ favorite meals, sides, and how cooked they like it, while marketing and management features let you monitor server performance, customer feedback, and more.
Upserve’s referral program is rather vague on details other than saying that their payment rewards are “competitive”, but anyone can sign up for free. Again, it’s a pretty niche piece of software, but if you’re going to recommend it anyway you might as well get a little bonus for your trouble.
Social media marketing
42. Elokenz
Product link: Elokenz
Referral program:https://elokenz.growsumo.com/i
Referral type: Link
Reward:20% of every sale
Although Elokenz is set to become a suite of products in the future, their current offering of Repost is nonetheless a useful tool in the arsenal of any business with an eye on social media. Repost gets your content analyzed and then automatically schedules it to repost on the social media channels where it will resonate the strongest.
Once again, Elokenz’s referral program is managed through GrowSumo, making it easy to track and withdraw your 20% commission on referral sales.
43. Hootsuite
Product link: Hootsuite
Referral program:https://hootsuite.com/about/partner-programs/affiliate-program
Referral type:Link
Reward: Commission on monthly (100% of first month value) and annual (15% of total value) plan referrals
Hootsuite lets you manage your social media accounts from a single dashboard, making it invaluable for businesses which want to increase the efficiency with which they manage their social presence. Coupled with their analytics and being available across mobile devices, this is pretty much a must-have for anyone looking to efficiently build and scale their social marketing.
Hootsuite’s referral program needs you to sign up through Commission Junction, and by doing so you’ll receive commission on whatever your referrals spend on HootSuite Pro. For referrals on monthly plans you’ll get paid the full amount that they spent in their first month, and for yearly contracts you’ll get 15% of the total value of the referral.
44. Postcron
Product link: Postcron
Referral program:https://postcron.com/en/faqs
Referral type:Link
Reward:10% off Postcron monthly subscription for you and your referral if they subscribe to a paid plan (up to 100% discount)
Postcron is more basic than Hootsuite but is great for scheduling posts to all of your social media networks, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You can also add a watermark to your posts to reinforce your branding, and bulk upload posts to save you even more time.
To get your unique referral link, log into your Postcron account and click the “Referrals” option in the upper menu. For your trouble both you and your referral will receive 10% off your Postcron subscription fee (up to 100%).
45. SumAll
Product link: SumAll
Referral program:https://sumall.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward:30% of every sale
SumAll is primarily a social media data management and analytics company, although they also provide the same service for email and traffic data too. The basic package of digests and “My Week Tweets” is free, but to access the reporting side of the product you’ll need to start paying.
SumAll’s referral program is managed handily by GrowSumo, from which you can earn 30% of every referred sale through your unique link.
Time management
46. Bookafy
Product link: Bookafy
Referral program:https://bookafy.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward:25% of every sale
Bookafy is a tool to let you (and your customers) easily schedule online appointments without the hassle of matching up your calendars and losing invitations in yard-long chat logs. Stop wasting time arranging your meetings and get down to actually conducting them.
GrowSumo once again manages Bookafy’s referral program, so head on over there to start earning 25% of every sale you refer.
47. Buddy Punch
Product link: Buddy Punch
Referral program:https://buddypunch.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward:20% of every sale
Buddy Punch add accountability to your employee schedules, as it allows you to track their hours through an online punch card system. With their reporting feature, you can easily monitor who’s putting in the required hours and later use those clocked hours in your payroll calculations.
Buddy Punch touts a 20% commission on every sale you refer with your unique link, and their program is managed through GrowSumo.
48. HubStaff
Product link: HubStaff
Referral program:https://hubstaff.com/affiliate
Referral type: Link
Reward:30% recurring commission
HubStaff is a brilliant piece of time tracking software for remote teams and those employing freelancers. With app and internet monitoring, a built-in payroll system, and integrations with other apps, HubStaff lets you rest easy in the knowledge that your employees’ time is accountable and monitored.
HubStaff offer a generous 30% recurring commission on referred sales through your unique link or their supplied banners. You can apply to their referral program through a form on their website.
49. ZoomShift
Product link: ZoomShift
Referral program:https://zoomshift.growsumo.com/i
Referral type:Link
Reward:20% of every sale
ZoomShift, on the other hand, is an employee time tracker with a focus on creating schedules with the allotted time. That way the relevant party can check their scheduled work times, clock in and out, and have their payroll calculated all within the same app.
As with most other referral programs managed by GrowSumo, ZoomShift will give you a 20% commission on any sale which you refer to them.
Video marketing
50. TubeBuddy
Product link: TubeBuddy
Referral program:https://tubebuddy.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000672244-partner-program-overview
Referral type:Link
Reward:Undisclosed % of every sale
If you’re at all interested in producing content for YouTube, you should probably check out TubeBuddy. It’s a browser extension which allows creators to streamline the submission process, including bulk updating tags, titles, descriptions, and so on, along with promotion tools you can access without leaving the site.
TubeBuddy’s referral program is a little vague in promising a percentage of every sale you refer, but again, if someone’s looking for an app to help them manage their YouTube channel you may as well get an extra reward for referring it. You’ll need a TubeBuddy account to get your referral link.
VPN
51. Unblock-Us
Product link: Unblock-Us
Referral program:https://affiliates.unblock-us.com/
Referral type:Link
Reward:30% lifetime recurring commission
Unblock-Us is a virtual private network which lets you access the internet without any third-party snooping. Having said that, it’s also not technically a VPN since it just reroutes your DNS queries through its own servers. It’s a brilliant service for accessing country-specific content or streaming foreign media, but not quite so much for anyone with more technical requirements.
Considering that it’s easy to use, has extensive setup guides, and works on pretty much any device though, it’s well worth signing up to their affiliate program and getting a 30% lifetime recurring commission on suitable referrals.
Sign up and start earning rewards today
Referral programs are a fantastic way to earn more money by sharing useful technology with your audience, be they family, friends, customers, or subscribers. The choice is yours with how far you want to go with pushing these apps, however.
A quick word of warning on that front; if you’re too pushy with your referral links (especially for the sake of making a commission) then expect to be treated like a salesperson. Recommend products where they will be relevant and useful by all means, and (since you’re recommending them anyway) grab that referral bonus for yourself, but don’t risk alienating the person you’re talking to.
What do you think of referral programs? Are they a gimmick or do they hold genuine merit in a company of any size? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Ben Mulholland
Ben Mulholland is an Editor at Process Street, and winds down with a casual article or two on Mulholland Writing. Find him on Twitter here.