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.
Three affiliates, ordered from senior to junior
Revenue after commissions / month
Seller and upline commissions / month
Simulating in Siren
Team orders / month
Sales revenue / month
Reward details
- Seller commissions
- —
- Upline overrides
- —
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Reviews
Trusted by Teams Running Real Incentive Programs
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Siren is extremely flexible, and it opens up a whole world of possibilities in WordPress based collaboration. I recommend you try it out for yourself, and if you have any questions, the support is excellent.
Armando J.
Principal Software Engineer, PerezCarreno & Coindreau
Siren is so much more than an affiliate plugin with its multiple rewards structures. There's nothing like it on the market. Period.
Justin Ferriman
Founder, BrightGrowth
Finally, a WordPress solution that allows you to turn your learning site into a Netflix, or Udemy clone. Siren is the future of affiliate marketing and partnerships for the eLearning and WordPress industries.
Chris Badgett
CEO, LifterLMS
Siren Affiliates plugin has all the features I need, and the ones that I didn't know I needed!
It lets me track traditional affiliate referrals, but also, allows me to track revenue shares with my course co-creators.
And, one of the most important things I like most about Siren isn't a feature, but it's the top notch support provided by the development team!
I highly recommend Siren from the support to the plugin features.
Thank you for creating this, and at an affordable price.
Darren Mullen
Smart Workflow Guru
I feel support actually reads and understands what is being asked, which is one of my biggest frustrations with most support teams in the plugin's business. Most support replies are scripted and not relevant to what's being asked. This is not what happens with Siren.
Marco Almeida
Founder, PT Woo Plugins
These guys are the best. The program is simple and easy to use and their support is very quick to answer questions.
Adam McGee
Founder, Lemon Head Design
Siren is fantastic. Intuitive, powerful, well-supported. I'm thrilled I switched from AffiliateWP.
Corey Maass
Creator, Developer
I am thrilled to be a new Siren customer. Today, I created the first Affiliate Program for my LifterLMS site. This is an excellent solution for compensating content creators, and I can think of a couple of other use cases that I can't wait to try out! I highly recommend this product.
Robert Mascatello
Founder
I purchased Siren Affiliates and had a one-on-one with Alex. I was really impressed with the product and all the features it has. He was really thorough. I'd definitely recommend this plugin to anyone who needs to launch an affiliate program.
Anita
Web Designer
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
This plugin just makes sense. The support is excellent. It opens up many possibilities.
Julie Rennie
You can build traditional affiliate programs, but also referral programs, revenue shares, partner incentives, and much more! Alex is super responsive and take the time to answer all of my doubts.
Santiago Vera
Siren is on another level. I'd hesitate to call it an affiliate program because that's a massive understatement. It's much more than that. What I like about it most as a utility is that it encourages you to think about the goals of your project rather than molding your project to the utility's limitations. You define whether the "program" is affiliate, referral, loyalty, or something you came up with yourself. And the "recipes" system makes it so easy to begin exploring various programs.
Honestly, it's a genius system that sits in a category of its own from what I can see.
Sean Davis
Siren is a really powerful tool. It provides a great user experience, and you can have pre-built programs that make things much easier. What always strikes me is its simplicity and how it offers the best options for each type of business.
The support is also something completely different. You can communicate directly with the founder — there are no layers or unnecessary steps in between.
skagia
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 collaborators an override that matches their standing |
| Partners involved | Collaborators 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 collaborators earn an override on the sales their junior collaborators refer. When a collaborator refers a sale, the collaborator 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 collaborators 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 collaborator’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 a collaborator 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 collaborators to earn a share of the sales their junior collaborators refer, all from one program
- Program managers who want to promote collaborators by rank, without the overhead of running a separate program for every tier
- Partner programs where the override should follow a collaborator’s standing in your roster rather than which plan or program they happen to be in
How It Works
Think of your collaborators as ranked from top to bottom in a chain you define. Every collaborator has a flat commission they earn on the sales they personally refer. The override sits on top of that and rewards the collaborators ranked above the seller.
Each collaborator gets their own referral link, and a sale is credited to whoever referred the customer within the program’s attribution window. When a ranked collaborator refers a sale, two payouts happen at once. First, that collaborator 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 collaborators ranked above them in the chain. The collaborator 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 collaborator earns the most. The override can reach up to five levels above the collaborator 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 collaborator ranked near the top earns the largest override share on every sale referred by the collaborators 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 collaborator is paused or inactive, the override is split among the remaining active collaborators above the seller, each at their own level’s weight, so none of it is wasted.
A Quick Example
Picture three collaborators 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 collaborators 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 collaborator 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 collaborator commission, the override, and a sample roster of ranked collaborators. After applying it, swap the example collaborators for your own collaborators, 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 collaborator 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.
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 collaborator's own bracket. Nothing flows between collaborators in the Tiered Affiliate Program, while the Tiered Affiliate Program with Overrides pays senior collaborators a slice of each sale their juniors refer. | Stick with the Tiered Affiliate Program when senior collaborators 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a two-tier affiliate program?
A two-tier affiliate program pays on two levels of activity. A collaborator is paid for the sales they refer directly, and the collaborator 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 collaborator seniority should show up in the pay. If a collaborator 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 collaborators introduce new collaborators, but the override follows the ranking you maintain, not who introduced whom. It also fits programs that promote collaborators over time, since moving someone up the chain widens their override reach without creating another program to manage.
How do I promote a collaborator to a higher tier?
You rank them higher in your collaborator list. The override rate follows a collaborator'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 collaborator who refers the sale earn anything from the override?
Yes, but not from the override itself. The collaborator who refers the sale earns their own flat commission on that sale. The override is an extra payout that goes only to the senior collaborators ranked above them, so the seller and the collaborators 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 collaborator'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 collaborator 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 collaborator who refers the sale. The first level is the collaborator 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 collaborator is paused or inactive?
They are skipped on that sale, and the gap is not filled. The collaborator 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 collaborators in proportion to their shares. No part of the override is lost to an inactive collaborator.
How does Siren know which collaborator referred a sale?
Each collaborator gets their own referral link, and when a customer arrives through that link and buys within the program's attribution window, Siren credits that collaborator 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 collaborator 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 collaborator earns more on their own sales, one program per bracket does that on any plan, including Lite, and the program-group version that keeps the brackets from paying twice on one sale runs on Siren Essentials. See the Tiered Affiliate Program recipe, linked below, for that shape.