Readlink Affiliate Program
Coming soon, applications openShare Readlink.
Get paid for it.
You already tell people what you're reading. This is the part where that pays.
Earn 15% to 25% of every payment your readers make*, while they get 20% off their first one.
The program launches shortly. Applications are open now, and invitations go out in the order we review them.
- 15% to 25%
- of every payment your readers make
- Set by your tier: Bronze 15%, Gold 25%
- 20%
- off their first payment, for your audience
- $11.99 instead of $14.99 monthly. $95.99 instead of $119.99 annually
- 3 to 12 months
- of their payments earn you commission
- Counted from their first payment. Bronze 3 months, Gold 12
How it works
- 01
Get your code
We issue you a personal code and a link. Both work anywhere you already talk to your audience: video, newsletter, podcast, a post.
- 02
Your audience saves
Anyone who uses them gets 20% off their first payment, applied automatically at checkout. No hunting for a promo box.
- 03
You earn on every renewal
You keep a share of every payment they make inside your commission window, not just the first one.
- 04
Get paid, monthly
Payouts land in your bank through Stripe, with a dashboard from Stripe itself so you can audit every cent independently of us.
Two things grow as you do
Your rate, and your window: how long we keep paying you for each reader you sent. When you level up, both apply to everyone you have ever referred, not only the next person.‡
A monthly subscriber pays you a little every month they stay. An annual subscriber pays you once, on a much larger payment. The totals below add up every payment inside your window.
Bronze
0 to 24 referrals15%
of every payment they make, for 3 months
Where every affiliate starts.
$1.80 on their first payment, then $2.25 a month for up to 2 more
$14.40 on their yearly payment
Silver
25 to 74 referrals20%
of every payment they make, for 6 months
A better rate and twice the window, on every referral you have ever made.
$2.40 on their first payment, then $3.00 a month for up to 5 more
$19.20 on their yearly payment
Gold
75+ referrals25%
of every payment they make, for 12 months
Our best rate, for a full year, on every subscriber you send.
$3.00 on their first payment, then $3.75 a month for up to 11 more
$24.00 on their yearly payment
Totals assume the subscriber stays on the same plan for your full window.†
What that looks like in practice
Readlink Premium is $14.99 per month or $119.99 per year. Here is every number, with nothing rounded in our favour.
Every figure below is for a single referred subscriber. Scroll on for what that adds up to.
| For one referred subscriber | Monthly plan | Annual plan |
|---|---|---|
| List price | $14.99 per month | $119.99 per year |
| Your audience saves, first payment | $3.00 | $24.00 |
| They pay, first payment | $11.99 | $95.99 |
| You earn at Bronze (15%)* | $1.80 first, $2.25 each month after | $14.40 on their yearly payment |
| You earn at Silver (20%)* | $2.40 first, $3.00 each month after | $19.20 on their yearly payment |
| You earn at Gold (25%)* | $3.00 first, $3.75 each month after | $24.00 on their yearly payment |
| That subscriber's total, over a 3-month Bronze window | $6.30 (3 payments) | $14.40 (1 payment) |
| That subscriber's total, over a 6-month Silver window | $17.40 (6 payments) | $19.20 (1 payment) |
| That subscriber's total, over a 12-month Gold window | $44.25 (12 payments) | $24.00 (1 payment) |
At Gold, a monthly referral who stays the full window is worth more to you than an annual one. That is not a mistake: they generate more revenue over that time, so they pay more commission.†
And what it adds up to
Your referral count sets your tier, and your tier applies to everyone you have referred. So the totals do not just grow with volume, they step up when you cross a threshold.‖
| Subscribers you have referred | Your tier | If they all take monthly | If they all take annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Bronze | $63.00 | $144.00 |
| 25 | Silver (just reached) | $435.00 | $480.00 |
| 74 | Silver | $1287.60 | $1420.80 |
| 75 | Gold (just reached) | $3318.75 | $1800.00 |
| 150 | Gold | $6637.50 | $3600.00 |
Look at the two rows either side of 75. One more qualifying referral moves every subscriber you have onto Gold rates for 12 months.
Paid properly, and checkable
Affiliate programs live or die on whether you believe the numbers. So the money doesn't move through a spreadsheet we control.
Your own Stripe dashboard
Payouts arrive through Stripe Connect, which gives you a Stripe-hosted dashboard showing every transfer, balance, and payout date. It is a record we cannot edit.
A live referral ledger
Your Readlink dashboard shows every referral, what stage it is at, what it has earned, and how far you are from the next tier.
A 30-day hold, and why
Commission locks 30 days after payment, once the refund window has passed. It keeps payouts final instead of clawing money back later.
Monthly, from $50.00
Payouts run monthly once your locked balance reaches $50.00. Anything under that rolls into the next month rather than disappearing. Stripe's fees for paying you are ours, so what you see as payable is what arrives.
Questions worth asking
How do I join?
The program is invite-only, but applications are open. Fill in the form on this page and tell us where you'd promote. We review every one, and send invitations as the program opens up.
How can one monthly subscriber be worth more than a month of Premium?
Because you're paid on every payment they make, not just their first. At Gold, a monthly subscriber earns you $3.00 on their first payment and $3.75 on each one after, for up to 12 months. That is $44.25 in total if they stay that long. Someone who cancels after two months earns you two payments of commission, and nothing more.
Do I need to be a Readlink user?
Yes. You'll need a Readlink account to accept your invitation and reach your dashboard, and honestly, promoting a reading app you don't read on tends to show.
When does my tier go up?
Tiers are based on referrals who have paid and cleared the 30-day refund window, so a conversion counts about a month after it happens. When you cross a threshold, both the higher rate and the longer window apply to every referral you already have, not just new ones.
Can my tier go down?
No. Your tier is a high-water mark. A quiet quarter never costs you the level you reached.
What if you change the program later?
Your tier schedule is locked to the version in force when you joined, currently v1. If we raise the thresholds for new affiliates, yours stay where they are. Commission you have already earned is never reduced.
What if someone starts monthly and upgrades to annual?
If they upgrade on readlink.app, they stay yours and the payment earns at the annual rate for your tier, as long as it happens inside your commission window. Attribution attaches to the person, not the plan they first picked, and the window doesn't restart. The one exception: if they cancel and resubscribe through the App Store or Google Play instead, commission stops there, even mid-window, because those platforms send us no attribution at all.
What if they cancel and come back?
They're still attributed to you, because attribution is permanent. Whether you earn again depends on timing: payments they make while your window is still open earn commission, payments after it closes don't.
Does an App Store purchase count?
No. Codes and commissions only work through checkout on readlink.app. Purchases made inside the iOS or Android app go through Apple and Google, who don't pass attribution to us. There is genuinely no way for us to see or credit them.
What happens if someone refunds?
That commission is reversed. If it hasn't been paid out yet it simply drops off; if it has, we net it against your next payout. It's why there's a hold period rather than instant payment.
How do I get paid, and what does it cost me?
Through Stripe. You'll complete Stripe's own onboarding for identity and bank details, handled by Stripe and never stored by us. Payouts run monthly once your balance clears $50.00; below that it rolls forward. Every Stripe fee involved in paying you is ours, not yours: the amount shown as payable is the amount that gets sent.
Can I start promoting before my bank details are set up?
Yes. Your code works the moment you accept. Commission accrues whether or not you've finished the Stripe onboarding. You just can't be paid out until you have.
Tell us about your audience
Where you publish, who reads you, and how Readlink would fit. We read every application and reply to the ones that do.
- *Commission is a share of the amount the customer pays, excluding tax, at the rate set by your tier: Bronze 15%, Silver 20%, Gold 25%.
- †Totals are the maximum for one referral who stays on the same plan for your whole commission window, and are the sum of every payment inside it rather than a single payout. Commission accrues only on payments actually made, so a subscriber who cancels earlier earns proportionally less, and one who upgrades plan mid-window can earn more than the figure shown. Annual plans bill once a year, so a single annual referral produces one commission payment within a window of 12 months or less.
- ‡A qualifying referral is one whose first payment has cleared the 30-day refund window. Refunded and charged-back conversions never count. Tier upgrades apply retroactively to referrals you already have, raising both the rate and the window.
- ‖Totals assume every referral stays for your whole window on the plan shown, which is a ceiling rather than a forecast. Tier upgrades apply to your existing referrals, but commission already paid to you at a lower rate is not recalculated, so ramping gradually earns slightly less than the figure for that tier.
- §Attribution works only through checkout on readlink.app. Subscriptions purchased or moved to the Apple App Store or Google Play cannot be attributed or commissioned, even inside an open commission window. Existing and previous Readlink Premium subscribers are not eligible.