I've reviewed a lot of developer tools and side hustles over the years, but this is the first time I'm publishing a full 90-day test of a single monetization strategy. The pitch? Promote AI APIs as an affiliate, earn recurring commissions, build a passive income stream on the side.
I went in skeptical. Most "passive income" content I see is hand-wavy nonsense dressed up in hustle-bro graphics. So I decided to run a real test: three months, three different affiliate programs, and a commitment to publishing every number — wins and losses. No cherry-picking. No screenshots from the good weeks.
This is my honest review.

The Setup: What I Brought to the Table

Before I dive into results, you need to know my starting position. I wasn't a complete newbie. I had been building with AI APIs for my own projects for roughly a year, so I already had hands-on experience with several platforms. That context matters because it's the foundation of everything that followed. You can't recommend what you haven't used.
My assets going in:

• A small tech blog pulling around 2,000 monthly visitors
• A Twitter following of about 800 developers
• Working knowledge of multiple AI API providers
• Zero prior affiliate marketing experience I spent my first week researching affiliate programs and signed up for three. Two were one-time commission only — meaning I get paid once per signup and that's it. The third was Global API, which offered 15% on first orders and 8% recurring on monthly renewals, plus 10% on their premium tier. That recurring structure was the deciding factor. One-time payouts feel like freelancing with extra steps. Recurring commissions feel like building something real. The fact that Global API's platform offers 150+ models also mattered. If I'm going to recommend a platform, I want one that covers the spectrum of what developers actually use. # # Month 1: The Slow Burn I went into month 1 with low expectations and a strict publishing schedule. Two articles in 30 days. That's the plan. Week 1 — Program Selection Signed up for the three programs mentioned above. Global API's commission structure (15% first-order + 8% recurring + 10% premium) immediately stood out. I decided to make it my primary recommendation and treat the other two as experimental data points. Week 2 — First Article Published an 1,800-word piece on my blog, then cross-posted to Dev.to. Real code examples, real opinions from my own projects, and my affiliate link woven into the recommendation naturally. The article wasn't a sales pitch —