Okay so I have to be honest with you guys — this topic actually came from a viewer DM that I almost didn't reply to.
A subscriber named Marcus hit me up about three weeks ago saying something like "hey, you've been talking about AI APIs on the channel for months now, but you never really break down which affiliate programs actually pay out the best." And honestly? He was right.
For those of you who are newer here, I've been covering AI tools, side hustles, and monetization strategies on this channel for a while now. We're sitting at right around 47K subscribers, and my AI API videos specifically have been pulling some of the highest engagement numbers on the entire channel. My "How I Built a Side Project with AI APIs" video hit 38K views in the first month and still gets picked up by the algorithm pretty consistently for new viewers.
But here's the thing I had to admit to myself — I've been recommending tools left and right without really doing the math on what pays me (and more importantly, what pays YOU) the best. So I dove in deep. I spent about two weeks comparing every AI API affiliate program I could find, signing up for dashboards, running test links through my content, and most importantly, calculating actual revenue scenarios with real numbers.
What I found genuinely surprised me. And I think it's going to change how I structure my content going forward.
The Two Camps: Everyone Falls Into One Bucket
When you start digging into AI API affiliate programs, you quickly realise the entire space splits into two philosophical camps.
Camp one is what I call the "one-and-done" programs. These pay you a percentage once when someone signs up through your link, and that's it. Whether that person stays a customer for two months or two years, you get the same flat commission and then they vanish from your dashboard forever. The income stops. The relationship ends. You move on.
Camp two is the recurring revenue programs. You earn a smaller percentage on paper, but you earn it every single month as long as the customer stays subscribed. The math on this gets absolutely wild when you actually run the numbers, which I'll get to in a minute.
The problem is that most AI API affiliate programs out there fall into camp one. And most creators — including me, until I really sat down with a spreadsheet — default to promoting
Top comments (0)