Joining affiliate marketing programs is one of the most effective methods to generate income online, particularly for bloggers and content creators. It allows you to start earning passive income without the need to establish your own brand or be concerned about inventory management.
With a wide range of options accessible, it can be quite challenging to select the most suitable affiliate programs.
Keeping this in consideration, we have put together a collection of the best affiliate programs, which will assist you in optimizing your potential earnings. Additionally, we will explain the concept and functioning of affiliate programs, as well as their various types.
What Is an Affiliate Program, and How Does It Work?
Affiliate marketing programs entail partnerships that compensate individuals for promoting and selling a product or service on their websites or social media channels in exchange for commissions.
Typically, vendors or affiliate networks establish a specific percentage that you will receive and utilize affiliate links to track each sale. These links will monitor the IP addresses of the referred users and verify purchases and conversions.
If users perform the desired action within a certain period of time, affiliate links will earn the affiliate marketer a commission, as they also utilize cookies that remain in the users’ web browser.
To become a member of an affiliate program, all you need to do is find products or services that you personally enjoy and that your target audience may find appealing. Numerous brands have their own affiliate programs, but you also have the option to join an affiliate marketing network that collaborates with a wide range of vendors.
Vendors primarily utilize these three methods to assess affiliate marketing since it is based on performance.
- Pay-per-sale – payments are based on how many affiliate sales the marketer can generate.
- Pay-per-click – affiliate partners’ commissions depend on how much traffic they can bring to a merchant’s website via an affiliate link.
- Pay-per-lead – commission is paid for each potential customer that takes the desired action, such as signing up for a newsletter or downloading a PDF file.
What’s the Difference Between an Affiliate Network and an Affiliate Program?
Known as AWIN, CJ Affiliate, and ShareASale, these are examples of reputable affiliate marketing networks that collaborate with affiliate marketers by curating products from various brands. Essentially, they act as intermediaries between the brands and the affiliates, overseeing the operation of affiliate marketing programs for multiple brands.
When using an affiliate program, the brand is in charge of managing the entire process. Instead, brands frequently rely on affiliate marketing software, such as ReferralCandy or Refersion, to handle the program independently. They can also assign dedicated affiliate managers to communicate with the affiliates. Operating the affiliate program directly provides the advantage of not having to pay any affiliate network fees.
Top Affiliate Marketing Programs
Semrush
Semrush has an exceptional affiliate program for content marketers, allowing them to earn a fixed-monthly commission on all subscription plans, which encompass Business, Pro, and Guru.
Previously, BeRush served as the primary in-house affiliate network for this brand, but in October 2020, the company entered into a partnership with ShareASale to enhance its affiliate and business model.
With the high level of competition, marketers can fortunately enhance their earnings by utilizing over 40 marketing tools and an affiliate manager, given the popularity of the brand.
Amazon Associates
The Amazon Associates affiliate program, which has millions of programs and thousands of creators, is one of the largest affiliate networks. Due to its marketplace offering a wide range of trendy products, it is well-suited for beginners in affiliate marketing as it can cater to various niches.
The Amazon affiliate marketing program is one of the oldest affiliate programs and has great brand authority, which leads to a high conversion rate. However, the commission rates vary depending on the industry.
To see the full range of rates, refer to the standard commission rates list, where the highest rate of 20% is exclusively for Amazon games. In contrast, the lowest rate of 1% applies to groceries, physical video games, and video game consoles.
CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate, formerly known as Commission Junction, is a prominent affiliate network that facilitates the connection between affiliates and different brands.
In addition, it provides extensive resources to assist businesses in enhancing performance and conversions. Nevertheless, the multitude of features makes it more challenging for beginners to become accustomed to.
The commission rates on the platform are difficult to define due to its nature. In certain cases, they are open to negotiation with the advertiser, especially if you have a significant influence within a specific niche.
CJ Affiliate offers a significant characteristic: the absence of cookies in their tracking system. Such feature can enhance mobile conversions since apps generally do not utilize cookies for storing data, unlike browsers. Furthermore, cookieless tracking prioritizes user privacy.
Fiverr Affiliates
Publishers of the Fiverr Affiliate Program can earn money by sharing links that advertise Fiverr’s services. Payments for these earnings can be received through bank transfer, Fiverr Revenue card, or PayPal.
Furthermore, Fiverr provides two commission plans to select from in their affiliate program.
- Cost-per-action (CPA) commission. The commission rate ranges from $15 to $150, depending on the service categories. For Instance, eCommerce gigs pay a $50 commission while other services unspecified within the tiers pay a flat $15.
- Hybrid commission. It allows you to get a $10 CPA per purchase and a 10% revenue share for a year.
In addition, by promoting other products, you can earn commissions.
- Fiverr business. It offers $100 CPA and 10% RevShare for a year.
- Fiverr affiliates. It provides 10% of each referred affiliate’s earnings for a lifetime.
- Fiverr learn. Earn a 30% rate from Fiverr’s online course subscriptions.
- Fiverr workspace. Get a 50% commission rate for every purchase of the unlimited plan.
Refersion
Refersion is a platform that enables e-commerce store owners to reward their customers for promoting their business. Store owners can use Refersion to create various offers, generate links and coupon codes, customize commission structures, track sales, and seamlessly integrate the software with their e-commerce solutions. Refersion offers direct integration with popular platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, and additionally provides API keys for personalized integration with other programs.
Merchants can use the software to easily assess the contribution of each affiliate to their ROI by analyzing three key performance indicators: effective earnings per click, average order value, and total revenue per affiliate.
Sandals
Travel influencers and writers should consider exploring the affiliate program provided by the Sandals and Beaches brands. This program is especially beneficial if your target audience has a desire for a Caribbean vacation. Additionally, since these getaways cater to both couples and families, you will have the opportunity to expand your reach to a wider target audience.
For all travel products, commissions begin at 4%. Additionally, affiliates have the opportunity to earn free trips and other bonuses based on their performance. The CJ Affiliate network is responsible for operating the program, so affiliates who are interested should contact them for information regarding their payout policies.
BH Cosmetics
The BH Cosmetics beauty affiliate program is a great option for beauty influencers. Their products are cruelty-free and offer numerous vegan choices, making them inclusive for your entire audience. Additionally, promoting their products can be valuable as sustainability and vegan-based items are expected to be influential retail trends in 2022.
You will receive a 6% commission on all sales made through your website, with an average order value of approximately $38.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor’s program is ideal for beginners since there are no minimum traffic requirements, making it suitable for both travel influencers and travel writers.
It operates in a slightly different manner compared to other programs on our list because it does not require a “sale”. Instead, you can earn a commission by simply directing users to its designated hotel booking partners. For instance, if an affiliate sends 170 clicks to TripAdvisor, they can receive $60 per month.
Currently, only hotels have the opportunity to earn commissions, which is a downside. Given the rise of short-term rental properties, it would be desirable for affiliates to also be rewarded for promoting this type of accommodation.
Teachable
If you are interested in receiving continuous commission, make sure to explore Teachable’s program. Teachable’s website states that affiliates make an average of $450 per month, with many earning over $1,000 monthly.
Teachable, in contrast to most other programs, provides their affiliates with marketing language that has proven to be effective in the past. In addition, affiliates will receive monthly emails containing updates about the platform.
