How many times have you seen those affiliate programs with “up to $1,500 commission”?
Or how about lists of “Best High-Ticket Affiliate Programs”?
But how realistic are those high-ticket affiliate programs?
TLDR: Not very.
As a full-time affiliate marketer, let me show you what’s the problem with those. And let me share some results with you as well to show how hard it actually is.
The Problem with High-Ticket Affiliate Programs
There are two main problems with high-ticket affiliate programs:
- Competition
- Exaggregation
If there’s money to be made, there’s always a huge competition.
If you have affiliate programs where one can earn $1,000 per sale, those spaces are flooded with big key players.
It takes years of publishing a ton of content to be able to capture even a tiny fraction of that “high-ticket traffic”.
Also, with high-ticket deals, there’s a lot of exaggeration to attract more affiliates.
What might seem like $1,000 per sale usually translates to about $10 per sale.
It’s only a tiny fraction of those offers that are in that high-ticket range.
A classic example of this is a “high-ticket” SaaS product (such as VPNs, web hosting, or AI tools).
The typical lower-tier plans are in the $5-$50/mo range. That’s what 99.9% of your sales will be.
Then, a very small fraction of your customers will be those big agencies that might net you $100+.
So in reality, high-ticket affiliate programs are usually nothing but low-yielding programs with a small chance to catch a big fish.
My Experience
Let me show you two examples of products I’ve heavily promoted in the past 2 years. These both are considered high-ticket programs that pay $500-$3,000 per sale.
On the surface, these programs should make you rich pretty quick.
But let me show you what happened to me. 🙂
#1 TailorBrands
TailorBrands is one example of a high-ticket affiliate program. One can earn up to $500 per referral.
I’ve been promoting them for almost a year now.
I’ve got 4,200 leads to their website—which is really good and by no means typical for the less experienced.
Let me show you what I earned:
Nope, that’s not $41k. That is $41. I can now buy three pizzas, yay! 🙂
Was I surprised? Nope. This is how high-ticket affiliate marketing works.
Especially with SaaS-based high-ticket programs (such as web hosting, VPNs, or design software) people usually only do free trials. Some of those can become paying customers but usually go with a $10/mo plan.
There’s only a very, very small chance that a big agency clicks your affiliate link and buys an enterprise plan.
#2 Jasper AI
Let me share you another example. This one is where I was actually able to catch a big fish.
Jasper AI is an AI-powered writing tool. It has an affiliate program (not applicable now) that might pay $3,000+ in commissions.
I’ve been promoting Jasper for 2+ years now and I was finally able to catch a big fish.
I made a whopping $3,600 commission. Someone had purchased a tailor-made enterprise plan for $12,000 and Jasper paid 30% of it to me.
So one day I woke up and saw this:
Looks epic? But once again, let me spoil the party.
To catch one big fish, I promoted Jasper AI to more than 1,000,000 people in the past 2 years.
Back in 2021, I was lucky to realize I should write AI-related content when AI tools started to make splashes.
I was among the first, thus, I got massive traffic.
Today, it could easily take 3 years of full-time work to replicate my success. This is simply because of the high competition that didn’t exist when I started.
So yes, I actually benefited from a high-ticket offer. But it took 2 years and countless hours of promotion plus some luck!
And don’t get me wrong. I love affiliate marketing. But many make it seem much easier and quicker than it actually is.
Expectations vs. Reality
Here’s what many expect when they hear about high-ticket affiliate marketing.
- Read a list of “best high-ticket programs”.
- Join the top 5 of those.
- Mix in those affiliate links to your content.
- Start making a big buck!
But here’s the reality:
- Read a list of “best high-ticket programs”.
- Apply to those that are still available.
- Get accepted to some.
- Write content around the niches of your partner’s offers.
- Work hard every day for years to stand out in fierce competition.
- Make small sales 99% of the time.
- Catch a big $1,000+ fish once a year.
Make sure to read: How to Find a Niche Where You Can Stand Out
Can High-Ticket Affiliate Marketing Work?
Now, don’t get me wrong here.
I 100% agree one should not promote products where commissions are in that $1 range. With that type of commission level, you’d need hundreds of thousands of visitors to even make $1,000/mo.
It’s much smarter to promote products where there’s a chance to earn a $1,000+ commission.
In very specific topics, you indeed might only need a handful of traffic to make a big buck.
For instance, let’s say you happened to rank on Google for something like “Best SEO Tools for Big SEO Agencies”.
Let’s assume that every visitor is interested in a $1,000/mo deal. Also, let’s say that the conversion rate is 1% and you get paid a 25% recurring commission.
With just 100 reads per month, you’d likely make a sale monthly. That would mean $250/mo recurring. In a year, you’d already make $3,000/month (assuming every customer stays).
In this example, you’d make $3,000/mo indefinitely with just 1,000 visitors and one blog post.
But here’s the problem.
Any niche where it’s possible to make that much is crowded to its fullest.
Even with years of hard work, you might never get to that 100 visitors/month level. (Unless you’re an owner of a super notable and trusted website where you can publish your content.)
Bottom Line
So, is high-ticket affiliate marketing worth it?
Absolutely! But it can take years of working 50+ hours a week to make the first sales.
And no results are guaranteed! Most who try will fail.
High-ticket spaces are always competitive.
And even if you manage to get some traffic, most sales aren’t “high-ticket offers” but cheaper products/plans.
I’ve done affiliate marketing for 2 years full-time. Thus far, I’ve captured one high-ticket commission of $3,600.
I love affiliate marketing and it gives me a nice income.
But I hate the fact that every online guide says it’s “fast money”.
It takes years to start making a good income—assuming you work super hard, strategically, and have some luck as well!
Read Also
What Is a Commission in Affiliate Marketing