Last Updated on May 16, 2026 by Mr.Feng
This article is part of Experiment #001 — Iteration 3 prep.
After deciding that recurring SaaS is the best offer type for Google Ads cold traffic, I needed a method to actually find these programs. Product Hunt turned out to be a surprisingly useful source, especially for early-stage tools that aren’t on any affiliate network yet.
[👉 See why I switched to SaaS offers: How I Choose Offers for Cold Traffic]
When I was evaluating what types of affiliate offers are suitable for testing with Google search cold traffic, I decided to focus on recurring SaaS affiliate programs.
Compared to one-time commission products, recurring SaaS has a clear advantage. It can generate ongoing income. As long as users keep subscribing to the product, I can continue earning commissions as the promoter.
However, when I actually started looking for these affiliate programs, I realized that finding high quality recurring SaaS products is much harder than I expected. So I needed to figure out a method that works for me.
Why Most Ways of Finding Recurring SaaS Affiliate Programs Didn’t Work for Me
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been using the usual methods to look for recurring SaaS affiliate programs, like searching on Google for “best SaaS recurring affiliate programs” or “top SaaS recurring affiliate programs.”
From those lists, I picked one affiliate program with a decent commission structure and did some keyword research around it. What I found was that it’s very hard to identify keywords that have both low CPC and strong commercial intent. For someone like me, with a limited budget who needs to keep testing different offers, this is not a friendly situation. On top of that, most of the recurring SaaS affiliate programs you find through “best” or “top” type list articles on Google have already been heavily promoted and are highly competitive.
At the same time, I noticed that most SaaS affiliate programs are actually on affiliate networks, so I applied to Impact, a well known platform, but the result was not ideal. My application was rejected at the account registration stage.
From what I’ve observed, these affiliate networks tend to favor partners who already have a stable source of traffic, such as a website or other established channels. These methods may work well for affiliates who already have traffic, authority, or an email list. But for someone starting from zero and relying on paid search to test offers, the economics simply don’t work.
Right now, I don’t have a blog with stable traffic or social media accounts with a meaningful following, such as X or LinkedIn. So I decided to use the resources I currently have to apply and test which SaaS affiliate networks are actually beginner friendly.
Why Product Hunt Is a Good Place to Find Affiliate Offers
I came across a hidden gem: Product Hunt. It’s a well known platform for launching products, especially in tech, SaaS, apps, and tools.
While browsing Product Hunt, I noticed something interesting. A lot of early stage SaaS products launch there first, and most of them are not on affiliate networks. Instead, they only offer affiliate programs on their own websites.
This creates an opportunity for me. Since these products are still in the early growth stage, founders are usually more open to expanding their distribution and getting more people to promote their products and increase exposure. Because of that, the barrier to getting accepted into these affiliate programs is often lower. It’s easy to find recurring SaaS affiliate programs that don’t require a website or any traffic proof.
Another big advantage is that every product page on Product Hunt has real user discussions and comments. This helps me quickly understand whether people are actually interested in the product and what kind of problems it solves.
If I can spot early or unique SaaS products, there’s even a chance to find keywords that have strong commercial intent but are not overly competitive.
In some cases, early stage SaaS products may even allow bidding on brand keywords, which can be a valuable opportunity when testing offers.
At this stage, most competitors haven’t discovered these products yet. That means lower CPC, less competition, and sometimes even overlooked high-intent keywords.
My Criteria for Filtering Recurring SaaS Offers on Product Hunt
When I browse Product Hunt to look for potential affiliate offers, I usually apply a few simple filtering criteria.
1. Clear Pricing Page
The SaaS product needs to have a clear pricing page. This indicates that the product already has a defined business model and is targeting paying users.
2. Has an Affiliate Program
I check whether the product’s website offers an affiliate program. Usually, I press Ctrl+F on the homepage and search for “affiliate” or “partners.” Often, you can find a relevant page in the website footer.
3. Free Trial or Freemium Plan
If a SaaS product offers a free trial or a freemium plan, it’s more suitable for low-budget testing and allows me to gather conversion signals faster.
4. Sufficient Cookie Duration
Cookie duration is another important factor. The longer the cookie lasts, the higher the chance you’ll get credited for commissions. Generally, I prefer programs with a cookie duration of 30–90 days or longer.
5. Recurring Commission Duration
The final important factor is how long the recurring commission lasts. Usually, the longer the commission duration, the better. Ideally, it would be a lifetime recurring commission.
Step-by-Step: How I Find Recurring SaaS Affiliate Programs on Product Hunt
1. Open Product Hunt
Go to https://www.producthunt.com/
2. Browse “Top Products Launching Today”
On the homepage, find the Top Products Launching Today section. Each product has an icon that you can click to visit the official website of the tool.
3. Quickly Search for an Affiliate Program
Once on the website, use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) to search for the keyword “affiliate“.
If you don’t find any relevant information, skip the product. Only proceed to the next step if you do.
4. Evaluate the Affiliate Program
Use the criteria I outlined earlier to evaluate the program, such as whether it offers recurring commissions and whether there is a free trial or freemium plan.
5. Apply for the Affiliate Program
Fill out the application and see if you get approved. Early stage SaaS tools are generally easier to get accepted.
6. Research Keywords and Features
I visit the tool’s website to collect brand keywords and feature related keywords for the SaaS product.
7. Analyze Using Google Keyword Planner
I input the collected keywords to check each keyword’s CPC (cost per click) and search volume. Based on the data, I decide which keywords are suitable for creating landing pages and running Google Ads campaigns.
What’s next
Honestly, this manual approach hasn’t been very efficient.
Even when browsing newly launched products on Product Hunt, it’s rare to find one that actually offers an affiliate program. On average, I might go through ten products and only find one that even qualifies and that’s before applying my own filtering criteria.
That said, the process wasn’t a waste.
Going through it manually helped me clarify exactly what I’m looking for what makes a recurring SaaS affiliate program worth pursuing, and just as importantly, what disqualifies one immediately.
But doing this every day by hand isn’t sustainable.
So my next step is to build an automated tool that pulls new product launches daily and flags potential affiliate opportunities. The goal is to speed up discovery without losing the judgment layer I’ve developed.
If the tool starts producing meaningful results, I’ll share the data with my email subscribers first.
In the meantime, if you’ve tried a similar approach or have found a better way to discover early stage SaaS affiliate programs, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me on X at @IamMrfeng.