Siren Pro

Create a Two-Tier Affiliate Program With Overrides That Follow Rank

“How do I pay senior affiliates a share of the sales their junior affiliates refer?”

A single ranked chain powers the whole two-tier affiliate program: the referring affiliate keeps a flat commission, and a separate override flows upward, shrinking at every level above the seller.

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What's Included

Program

Affiliate Referral Commission

Commission Fixed per transaction

Attribution Newest engagement wins

Tracking Referral links

Program

Upline Override Pool

Commission Fixed per transaction

Attribution Performance weighted

Tracking Referral links

Reviews

Trusted by Teams Running Real Incentive Programs

Armando J.

Principal Software Engineer, PerezCarreno & Coindreau

Siren Affiliate Manager is an exceptionally well-designed and thoughtfully built WordPress plugin. If you're running an affiliate program with multiple affiliates, different transaction types, or custom engagement triggers that need to generate commissions, this tool gives you serious power and flexibility. What really sets it apart, though, is the developer. Alex has been incredibly helpful and willing to customize the plugin for my specific use case. More importantly, he was focused on creating real value for my business - not just billing hours. That kind of mindset is rare. The plugin is robust, flexible, and clearly built by someone who understands real-world affiliate program complexity. I can't recommend Siren highly enough.

Julian Foster

Digital Strategist

Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides Snapshot

A quick overview of who this program is for, what it tracks, which partners it rewards, and how Siren helps you manage it.

Best for	Affiliate programs where seniors earn on their juniors' referred sales
Main goal	Pay senior partners an override that matches their standing
Partners involved	Affiliates ordered in a linear chain, seller plus their upline
Actions tracked	Referral link visits and the purchases they turn into
Rewards supported	Flat commission per sale plus a layer-weighted override pool
Starting point	Start free with Siren Lite

What This Recipe Does

This recipe launches a tiered affiliate program where senior affiliates earn an override on the sales their junior affiliates refer. When an affiliate refers a sale, the affiliate who made that referral earns a flat commission on it, $20 by default. On top of that, a separate override amount, $10 by default, is split among the partners ranked above them, with the biggest cut going to whoever sits closest above the seller. The override is a set amount per sale rather than a percentage, so your cost per referred sale is predictable.

The result is a program where a partner’s pay follows the standing you’ve given them. Rank someone near the top, for the channel they built or the relationships they manage, and they earn an override on what the chain below them refers, on top of their own flat commission. You decide how much the override is worth, how many levels of seniority earn it, and how the cut shrinks at each level. Promoting an affiliate is as simple as ranking them higher, with no separate program to set up or maintain.

Who It’s For

Affiliate program owners who want senior partners to earn a share of the sales their junior affiliates refer, all from one program
Program managers who want to promote affiliates by rank, without the overhead of running a separate program for every tier
Partner programs where the override should follow an affiliate’s standing in your roster rather than which plan or program they happen to be in

How It Works

Think of your affiliates as ranked from top to bottom in a chain you define. Every affiliate has a flat commission they earn on the sales they personally refer. The override sits on top of that and rewards the partners ranked above the seller.

Each affiliate gets their own referral link, and a sale is credited to whoever referred the customer within the program’s attribution window. When a ranked affiliate refers a sale, two payouts happen at once. First, that affiliate earns their flat $20 commission on the sale, exactly like a standard affiliate program. Second, a $10 override on the same sale is split among the partners ranked above them in the chain. The partner directly above the seller takes the largest share, and each rank higher up takes a smaller cut. The seller is always paid for their own work, and the override is a separate reward that flows up to their seniors. The seller never earns a piece of their own override.

You control both the size of the override and how it is divided. The override is a set amount per sale, and each level above the seller is assigned a share that splits it. For example, a $10 override with shares of 100, 50, and 25 splits 4 to 2 to 1 among the first three levels above the seller, paying roughly $5.71, $2.86, and $1.43, so the closest senior partner earns the most. The override can reach up to five levels above the affiliate who refers the sale. Set a level’s share to 0 and the override stops there, so you only ever pay out as many levels as you choose to fund.

Tiers come entirely from rank. A partner ranked near the top earns the largest override share on every sale referred by the affiliates below them. To promote someone, you simply rank them higher. There is no second program to move them into and no window where they briefly sit in two tiers at once. If a senior partner is paused or inactive, the override is split among the remaining active partners above the seller, each at their own level’s weight, so none of it is wasted.

A Quick Example

Picture three affiliates ranked Riley at the top, then Morgan, then Jordan. When Jordan refers a sale, Jordan earns the flat $20 commission, and the $10 override is split between the two partners above them, so Morgan takes the first-level share and Riley the smaller second-level share (about $6.67 and $3.33 with the default weights). When Morgan refers a sale, Morgan earns the flat $20 and Riley takes the whole $10 override as the only partner above. Riley sits at the top with no one above them, so a sale Riley refers pays only Riley’s own flat $20 commission. To move Jordan up, you raise their rank, and the override picture updates automatically from that point on.

Applying This Recipe

Apply the recipe to set up the whole program in one step, including the flat affiliate commission, the override, and a sample roster of ranked partners. After applying it, swap the example partners for your own affiliates, set each one’s rank, and adjust the flat commission and override shares to your numbers.

For a deeper look at how tiered overrides work, see what is a cascade, ranked partner groups, and override payouts. If you already run an older two-program tiered setup, the migration guide walks through moving to this one.

How the Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides Works in Siren

1

Start with a ready-made program

Two linked pieces come with the recipe: a base program paying the referring affiliate a flat commission per sale, and an upline override pool. Both are bound to the same ranked chain of partners, and one sale fires both.
2

Define partners and eligibility

Swap the sample roster for your own affiliates and set each partner's position in the linear chain. Whoever sits above a seller becomes their upline and earns overrides on what that seller refers.
3

Set tracking rules

Each affiliate promotes with a personal referral link, and a purchase inside the attribution window credits the linking affiliate while triggering the override for the partners above them. Both payouts are flat amounts, so a large order costs you the same as a small one.
4

Customize rewards

Pick the seller's flat commission, the total override per sale, and a weight for each layer above the seller. The default 100, 50, 25 split hands the nearest upline the biggest cut, and a 0 stops the cascade at that depth.
5

Manage approvals and payouts

Siren records what the seller and each senior partner earned, everyone watches their own numbers in the collaborator dashboard, and you settle up on whatever cadence fits your program. A refunded order reverses the seller's commission along with every override it triggered.

Watch one sale pay the chain

The ranked chain as shipped, running the default commission and override.

Jordan refers a sale and keeps the flat $20. The $10 override then relays up the chain, with the biggest cut landing closest to the seller. Click any affiliate to send a sale through them.

The override always pays out in full, split by rank among whoever sits above the seller. Promote someone by moving them up the chain and their cut grows on its own.

Everything You Need to Build and Manage a Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides

Siren gives you the tools to create the program structure, track the right actions, and reward the right partners, all from one flexible incentive program system.

Create

Prebuilt Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides recipe
Custom program builder
Program-specific rules
Partner eligibility rules
Product and category filters
Multiple program support

Track and Manage

Referral link tracking
Coupon tracking
Product or category tracking
Lead, form, or signup tracking
Partner dashboard
Payout management

Reward

Percentage commissions
Flat-rate rewards
Recurring commissions
Royalties or revenue share
Tiered rewards
Performance bonuses

Why Use Siren for a Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides?

Traditional affiliate software tools	Siren
Built for one program type	Built for multiple incentive programs
Often limited to one reward model	Supports commissions, bounties, royalties, revenue share, and bonuses
Rewards usually tied to one action	Rewards can be tied to different measurable actions
Harder to manage overlapping programs	Program groups and rules control how programs interact
May require multiple tools as you grow	Supports different partner programs from one system

Most affiliate software approximates a second tier with a duplicate program and manual promotion between the two. Siren treats the tier as a position in one ranked chain, and because the engine underneath is a general incentive system, referral, loyalty, and revenue-share programs can run on the same install.

Similar Programs, and When to Use Each

Recipes that share machinery with this one, the rule that actually separates them, and the situation where the other recipe is the better pick.

Program	How it differs	Use it instead when
Tiered Affiliate Program	The Tiered Affiliate Program builds its tiers from a program group, one program per commission rate at 10% and 25%, and a sale only ever pays the affiliate's own bracket. Nothing flows between partners in the Tiered Affiliate Program, while the Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides pays senior affiliates a slice of each sale their juniors refer.	Stick with the Tiered Affiliate Program when senior partners just need a better rate on their own referrals and nobody earns on anyone else's sales.
Sales Override Commission Program	Built for internal teams, the Sales Override Commission Program trades the referral links of the Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides for personal coupon codes, pays the closing rep 10% of the order instead of a flat $20, and runs a $50 override pool per sale rather than $10.	If the chain is your own reporting line of employees and reps close deals by phone, email, or on the sales floor, pick the Sales Override Commission Program.

Connect Your Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides to the Tools You Already Use

Siren works as the incentive layer behind the systems where partner-driven actions happen: your website, checkout, ecommerce store, forms, LMS platform, subscription flow, or custom workflow.

WordPress WooCommerce Easy Digital Downloads North Commerce REST API Custom workflows

Start Your Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides for Free

Use Siren Lite to launch your first two-tier affiliate program without paying upfront. Start with a real program, test your setup, and upgrade when you need more advanced partner management, reward logic, or attribution.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a two-tier affiliate program?

A two-tier affiliate program pays on two levels of activity. An affiliate is paid for the sales they refer directly, and the partner ranked above them earns an override on those same sales. In this recipe the seller takes a flat commission while a separate override is split among their upline, and the chain can carry that override up to five levels if you want more than two tiers.

Who should use a two-tier affiliate program?

Programs where partner seniority should show up in the pay. If a partner earned a high rank because they built your channel, manage key relationships, or bring strategic reach, the second tier pays them an override on the sales referred below their position. Some programs also let senior partners introduce new affiliates, but the override follows the ranking you maintain, not who introduced whom. It also fits programs that promote partners over time, since moving someone up the chain widens their override reach without creating another program to manage.

How do I promote an affiliate to a higher tier?

You rank them higher in your affiliate list. The override rate follows an affiliate's rank, so moving someone up automatically gives them a cut of the sales referred by everyone now below them. There is no separate program to add them to and no window where they sit in two tiers at once.

Does the affiliate who refers the sale earn anything from the override?

Yes, but not from the override itself. The affiliate who refers the sale earns their own flat commission on that sale. The override is an extra payout that goes only to the senior affiliates ranked above them, so the seller and the partners above them are all paid for the same sale.

Is the override a percentage of the sale or a fixed amount?

It is a fixed amount per referred sale, not a percentage, so it does not change with the order total. The default is a $10 override on each sale a junior refers, and you can set that amount to whatever you want. The referring affiliate's own commission is also a flat amount, $20 by default.

How do I set how much each level earns?

Two settings control it. First you set the total override amount per sale, $10 by default. Then you give each level above the seller a share, and Siren splits that total in proportion to those shares. A setting of 100, 50, and 25 splits the override 4 to 2 to 1 among the first three levels above the seller, so the closer a partner sits to the seller, the larger their cut. You decide both the total and the split.

How many levels of seniority can earn an override?

Up to five levels above the affiliate who refers the sale. The first level is the partner directly above the seller, and each level after that is one rank higher. Set a level's share to 0 to stop the override there, so you only pay out as many levels as you choose to fund.

What happens if a senior affiliate is paused or inactive?

They are skipped on that sale, and the gap is not filled. The partner above a skipped member keeps their own level and weight rather than dropping into the empty slot, and the skipped member's portion spreads across the remaining active partners in proportion to their shares. No part of the override is lost to an inactive affiliate.

How does Siren know which affiliate referred a sale?

Each affiliate gets their own referral link, and when a customer arrives through that link and buys within the program's attribution window, Siren credits that affiliate with the sale and runs the override up the chain above them. You set the window length when you create the program. See the referral tracking guide, linked below.

How and when does everyone get paid, and what about refunds?

Siren tracks what the seller and each senior affiliate earned, and you pay them on your own schedule. Everyone can see their earnings in the collaborator dashboard. Because credit follows real sales, a refunded or cancelled order reverses the commission for that sale, including the overrides paid up the chain, so a sale that did not stick does not stay paid. See the how to pay collaborators and collaborator dashboard guides, linked below.

Does this require a specific Siren plan?

This recipe needs Siren Pro, because the ranked chain and the automatic override relay are the Pro features. The tiers themselves don't require Pro. If you only want two rate brackets where each affiliate earns more on their own sales, the program-group version runs on Siren Essentials. See the Tiered Affiliate Program recipe, linked below, for that shape.

affiliate tiered-affiliate-program override-commission multi-tier-affiliate affiliate-commission-structure partner-program affiliate-program-management wordpress-affiliate-plugin