If you’re like me, when you join affiliate programs, your primary goal is to make commissions by recommending products and if you want to see the best affiliate programs to make money online, then you’ll love this guide.
I have meticulously hand cataloged and reviewed over 124+ high paying affiliate programs.
Whether you’re looking for top paying networks, programs to monetize your blog, or you’re a beginner getting started, i have gathered everything you need in one easy place.
If you want to learn how to start a blog and take part in this market projected to hit $6.8 billion in 2020, keep reading.
This list includes affiliate programs to join in standard categories like web hosting, website builders, VPNs, travel, finance, fashion, pet, and fitness.
Additionally, it includes emerging verticals like sports, music, video games, cryptocurrency, and marijuana/CBD oil.
If you don’t have a website yet to make money with affiliate marketing, I recommend you launch one with WordPress.
Ultimately, you can set up a site with Bluehost for just $2.95/month.
Why trust these affiliate program reviews?
Most of these affiliate programs i will be recommending to you are the best affiliate programs out there and i have managed affiliate programs for some large ecommerce brands over the past few years.
Over 35% of revenue gained by different bloggers around the world comes of affiliate marketing
If you want to make money faster and join the best affiliate programs in any niche, this article is for you.
I have poured over a huge range of potential programs and pulled together this list of top paying affiliate programs so that you can get stuck straight in and begin promoting a product that will be well worth your time.
Well let me cover my overall #1 best affiliate program – Fiverr.
#1 Best Overall Affiliate Program: Fiverr
You might be thinking why i choose Fiverr as my own best affiliate program. I have covered a lot of different affiliate niches in this article but there is one that stands out, the reason is Fiverr covers all the bases and is the easiest to promote.
Try Fiverr Now
Fiverr is like the Amazon of digital services.
Promote the world’s largest marketplace for digital services – Fiverr. From whiteboard explainer videos to WordPress and logo design, earn up to $150 for every first-time buyer with their with their $10 CPA/10% revshare hybrid model (service prices go up to $10,000). Get paid to drive traffic, it’s that easy.
With over 3 million digital services available, 250 unique categories and a gig purchased every 4-seconds, anyone can easily find a relevant service to promote from Fiverr’s marketplace.
Maximize your affiliate potential with Fiverr’s new stores for affiliates. As an affiliate, there are some things you do the best. You might be the best content writer, the best marketer, or the best videographer in your industry, but… there are some tasks you clearly struggle with. You may need help developing creative copy for Facebook posts or crafting that unique thumbnail image to increase clicks on Youtube, the list goes on and on.
To save you time and increase your affiliate success, Fiverr has created the ultimate set of stores to support your affiliate efforts with premier talent. Those stores include the most relevant and best performing gigs from their top sellers in variety of categories: Web or Blog, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Fiverr is my Overall #1 choice as the best affiliate program.
Join Fiverr AffiliatesAlright, let’s move onto the full list.😀
Table of Contents
- Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
- VPN Affiliate Programs
- Website Affiliate Programs
- Recurring Affiliate Programs
- Travel Affiliate Programs
- Fitness Affiliate Programs
- Finance and Credit Card Affiliate Programs
- CBD Affiliate Programs
- Fashion Affiliate Programs
- Sports Affiliate Programs
- Cryptocurrency and Bitcoins Affiliate Programs
- Music Affiliate Programs
- Gaming Affiliate Programs
- Pet Affiliate Programs
- Affiliate Marketing Programs for Pinterest
- Affiliate Marketing FAQ
- How Do I Choose The Best Affiliate Program?
- Affiliate Marketing Tips
- Conclusion
Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
Web hosting is one of the most popular affiliate marketing categories in the world. Every new website requires a host. Therefore, most affiliates that write about marketing, starting an online business, or blogging end up joining web hosting affiliate programs first.
The first website went online in August 1991
Now barely three decades later there are 1.72 billion active websites, with more added every single day.
Each of them is sitting on a web host somewhere.
All part of an industry worth a projected $115.3 billion within the next 5 years.
But has the ship sailed for affiliate marketers who want to get into the web hosting niche?
Nope.
It’s a little further away from shore, but within swimming distance.
There are numerous examples of sites that have parlayed a free tool, or content marketing, into 5-figure commission checks every month.
All that’s stopping you from emulating that save level of success is:
- Effort
- The right affiliate programs
So, i pulled out all the stops and took a deep dive into web hosting affiliate programs for you.
Here are my picks for the top 9 high paying affiliate programs:
1. Bluehost
The Bluehost affiliate program is super popular in the web hosting space. With their plans starting at $2.95/month and one-time payouts starting at $65+, the cost barrier is low, and the commissions are high.
Because of this, they are one of the convenient ways for affiliate bloggers looking to make money online. After you sign up for their program, you will get credit for referrals up to 45 days after the first click. Payments occur between the 16th and the end of each month, and you’ll need at least $100 to release your payment.
By promoting Bluehost, you’ll enjoy high conversion rates and have access to text links and banners to help them quickly. Their affiliate managers provide excellent customer service, and they are my #1 overall pick for web hosting and come with my highest recommendation.
You’ll also earn $65 for every successful referral you make through an affiliate link.
And this is from a company that paid its affiliates over US$5 million in commissions last year alone.
So if you can find a unique and ethical way to promote this affiliate program, it can be very much worth the effort.
- URL: BlueHost affiliate program
- Commission: $65 per referral
- EPC: $35.09
- Cookie duration: 120 days
2. Kinsta
Kinsta stands out in a sea of cookie-cutter web hosts for a number of reasons.
They offer actual managed WordPress hosting – they’re not just paying lip service to that concept.
Kinsta is deeply involved in the web hosting and development industry to the point where they’ve even developed their own plugins to help you optimize any WordPress install.
Kinsta, however, is not cheap.
Prices start at $30 each month for a single website, so this type of service is aimed at pro affiliate marketers.
These guys are really good.
Kinsta Hosting affiliate program is run in-house because they got tired of dealing with affiliate networks.
It also gives them a little more financial leverage with which to reward their affiliates, to the tune of up to $500 per referred sale.
You also get 10% recurring commissions
That’s a shitload of affiliate commission, even for this niche.
So that makes this the most lucrative web hosting affiliate program in this roundup, plus they have a very low churn rate, so refunds are minimal.
- URL: Kinsta affiliate program
- Commission: Up to $500 per sale
- EPC: TBC
- Cookie duration: 60 days
3. CloudWays
Cloud hosting isn’t exactly new.
But what Cloudways offers its customers is because you can choose from five different cloud providers to act as the backbone for your account.
So, unlike other hosts where you’re stuck with their choice of service infrastructure, with Cloudways you can choose to use Digital Ocean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, or Google Cloud hosting instead.
The Cloudways web hosting affiliate program offers high payouts, long recurring commissions, and three flexible payout models for their affiliates.
For one-time payouts, you can either earn up to $125 per sale based on your performance tier. Additionally, you can use their hybrid model and get $30 per sale plus a 7% monthly lifetime commission for the life of the customer.
Cloudways provides its own real-time tracking for its affiliates, with a performance dashboard that shows clicks, conversions, and other detailed information.
Let’s face it, $50 per referral in affiliate commissions sound pretty good.
There’s obviously also a sliding scale for anyone referring 6 – 20 and 21 – 45 new customers each month.
They also have excellent account managers and helpful resources including onboarding emails, guides, monthly newsletters, benchmark articles, and blog articles
- URL: Cloudways affiliate program
- Commission: $50 per sale
- EPC: $57.49
- Cookie duration: 90 days
You can get started with the Cloudways affiliate program with the link below.
Join Cloudways4. SiteGround
Choosing a web host for your first affiliate website(s) can be a daunting task.
You can get SiteGround WordPress hosting for as little as $3.95 each month, but that doesn’t mean they cut any corners when it comes to serving customers or sites.
Your website will run on SSD hardware, and they even throw in an SSL certificate
Their WordPress plans start at just $9.95 each month, and you get quite a lot for that money.
That includes 10GB of storage space, free WordPress installation, free CDN and even a free SSL certificate to get you that HTTPS love from Google.
SiteGround has also impressed us in the past with the quality of their technical and customer support.
So what do they offer their affiliates?
Well, you get paid up to $75 for each new customer that signs up with them through your affiliate link.
But that rate is only paid for 20+ referrals each month – their base affiliate commission rate is $40 per sale.
- URL: SiteGround affiliate program
- Commission: Up to $75 per sale
- EPC: TBC
- Cookie duration: TBC
5. Hostinger
Hostinger is another popular web hosting platform that can offer affiliates up to $150 per sale on a tiered pricing structure.
Their affiliate partner program offers a base payout of around $60, with the opportunity to make up to $150. And since their small business and WordPress plans have a 90% discount and start at $0.99/month, they boast excellent conversion rates.
Like many other web hosts, they provide banners and promotional tools to help new affiliates get started. Finally, there are no payment caps, and you can send unlimited referrals.
Click my link below to get 90% off your Hostinger plan.
- URL: Hostinger affiliate program
- Commission: Up to $150
- Cookie duration: TBC
6. WP Engine
WP Engine has been around since 2010, and in that time they’ve gone from being relatively unknown to powering 500,000 WordPress sites for customers in 120 different countries.
WP Engine is also the company behind StudioPress themes and the Genesis Framework for WordPress.
So your visitors will not only get access to some of the best web hosting out there if they sign up for WP Engine, but they’ll also receive access to both StudioPress and Genesis as a bonus.
This type of managed WordPress hosting isn’t cheap, with monthly prices starting at $30 each month, but you can get a pretty deep discount by paying a year or two in advance
We know some people will balk at the idea of paying thirty bucks each month to keep their website online, but you really do get what you pay for when it comes to this stuff.
WP Engine’s listed affiliate commission structure is a little bit confusing, especially the “200%” part.
Basically, you’ll make an average of $140.53 for every affiliate referral you send their way. Plus, you have 180 days for your lead to convert to a sale.
There’s an additional bonus structure available, so if you refer more than 5 customers each month to WP Engine you get an extra $100 in commission (total), all the way up to a $1,500 bonus for 60 customers referred each month.
It’s one of the few programs here that offers a direct bonus program at this level, so you can look forward to discussing it with your dedicated affiliate manager.
- URL: WP Engine affiliate program
- Commission: Up to 200%
- EPC: $100.42
- Cookie duration: 180 days
7. HostGator
It’s pretty much impossible to put together a roundup of hosting affiliate programs without mentioning one of the granddaddies of them all – Hostgator.
There was a time when the vast majority of affiliate sites were powered by Hostgator, simply because they offered very reliable and very affordable hosting.
HostGator is still an extremely popular web host and is still offering ultra-cheap hosting with prices starting at just $2.75 each month.
Your visitors can also rely on them for fast WordPress hosting, or even high-end VPS or dedicated web hosting for more demanding sites or applications.
Any affiliate promoting this offer will earn a flat $75 commission rate for each referral.
But HostGator is willing to reward top-performers with a higher commission rate.
For example, if you can refer more than 20 sales each month they’ll up your affiliate commission rate to $125 per signup.
- URL: HostGator affiliate program
- Commission: Up to $125 per referral
- EPC: $19.99
- Cookie duration: 60 days
8. WebHostingPad
WebHostingPad doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to their basic marketing pitch, “…quality hosting but at affordable prices”.
Which is why they offer shared hosting packages from just $1.99 each month, and $2.99 each month for WordPress solutions.
But they do also offer faster VPS hosting, although most of their hosting packages do benefit from using SSD-powered servers.
Web Hosting Pad has been around for 15 years now, so they’re a veteran of the hosting industry.
WebHostingPad might not have the profile of say Kinsta, but they still pay their affiliates $70 per referral.
But that would seem to only apply to VPS hosting packages because their average affiliate payment is $27.22 per transaction.
Which still isn’t bad, but it’s at the lower level of what you’d expect from a hosting affiliate program.
- URL: Web Hosting Pad affiliate program
- Commission: $70 per signup
- EPC: $45.54
- Cookie duration: 30 days
9. GreenGeeks
If your users are looking for a web host that is both user-friendly (and environmentally-friendly), you should check out GreenGeeks. Did you know your website has a carbon footprint? GreenGeeks is trying to change that by replacing 3x the amount of energy consumed from the grid in the form of renewable energy credits.
By joining their affiliate program, you can earn up to $125 per sale based on performance and traffic levels. GreenGeeks has paid their affiliates over $3.5 million over time and offer dedicated account managers and helpful reporting tools to set you up for success. Lastly, there are no minimum sales thresholds to release your payments.
- URL: GreenGeeks Affiliate Program
- Commission: Up to $125 per sale
- EPC: TBC
- Cookie duration: TBC
VPN Affiliate Programs
Almost 25% of global internet users have used a VPN every month and the market is growing year over year. Due to this technology’s exploding popularity, all different types of affiliate sites can recommend setting up a private internet connection to their readers.
Since these companies charge a recurring fee to use their online services, affiliates typically receive a recurring payment or large one-time payout for users after signing up. It’s one of the most popular affiliate categories and there are plenty of great programs to join.
Here are the best VPN affiliate programs:
1. Express VPN
This VPN has been around longer than most, starting up in 2009. You get 160 servers spread across 94 different countries, plus support for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.
Express VPN also sells pre-configured VPN routers, for customers who want that extra level of security and speed.
It’s also regarded as one of the better VPNs on the market right now, if not the best, while also being among the best affiliate programs in this vertical.
- Commission: Up to $36 per referral
- Cookie: 90 days
2. IPVanish VPN
IPVanish is one of the best VPN services on the market and boasts some of the best payouts in the VPN industry.
1-month package: 100%, then 35% recurring. 3-month package: 40%, then 35% recurring. 1 & 2 year package: 40%, then 30% recurring.
- Commission: 35%-100%
- Cookie: TBC
3. Nord VPN
Nord has been helping people remain anonymous online since 2012, with 5,600+ services in 58 countries.
Since then they’ve become a trusted name in the online security marketplace.
They offer recurring commissions of 30% per month for each customer who signs up under your affiliate link.
- Commission: 40% – 100%
- Cookie: 30 days
4. CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost might not be a name you instantly recognize, but they’ve actually been in business since 2011, operating from their offices in Romania.
In terms of the VPN service itself, you get more than 7,000 servers in 90+ countries allowing you to keep all of your online activities anonymous and secure.
- Commission: Up to 100%
- Cookie: 45 days
5. Pure VPN
A VPN isn’t really worth a whole lot to the end-user unless it’s almost as fast (or as fast) as their current Internet connection.
Pure VPN claims to have the fastest VPN connections on the planet, but also have neat features like split tunneling, and support a stack of different devices.
They must be doing something right because their top affiliate earned $5,785 in one week – their numbers, not mine.
- Commission: 40%
- Cookie: 35 days
6. Strong VPN
StrongVPN has been around since 2006 and has a popular affiliate program. They pay every month and offer up to a 200% payout for sales generated.
- Commission: Up to 200%
- Cookie: TBC
7. Hide My Ass VPN (HMA)
These guys have been active on the VPN scene longer than most and do a pretty good job of it too.
HMA offers servers in 190 different countries, so they blow most of their competition clear out of the water.
They have a decent recurring commission cash with their affiliate program.
- Commission: Up to 100%
- Cookie: 30 day
Website Affiliate Programs
Web hosting as the most popular affiliate category, website builders like Wix and Squarespace and e-commerce platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify are a close second when it comes to digital products. As the first step bloggers take to create a website is choosing a web host; the same is true for business owners looking to build a website.
Plus, because paying customers may stay for 24-36 months, and they have a high lifetime value (LTV), SaaS companies can afford to pay higher than 100% of the monthly sale price.
I tested the most popular website builders on the market to find the best ones for affiliate marketing.
1. Wix
Wix offers a selection of over 500 templates to choose from. While there is no “Affiliate Marketing” category in the template library, you can start with any template that’s related to your industry or just appeals to you, and customize it however you like.
Wix is another high-quality website builder with an insane 100 million users. They provide their affiliates with $100 per sale to start out and feature a lot of great landing pages to use in multiple languages.
They are also a great drag-and-drop website builder if you want to build your own simple affiliate website outside of WordPress.
- Commission: $100 per sale
- Cookie: TBC
2. Shopify
Shopify is the world’s most popular ecommerce website builder, boasting 400,000 merchants and a substantial 200% commission on paid stores. With their name recognition comes stable conversion rates. Plus, their website features helpful affiliate FAQs and promotion ideas.
- Commission: up to 200%
- Cookie: TBC
3. Weebly
Weebly is a complete platform that allows people to start and grow their online business with curated website templates, eCommerce features, and integrated marketing. Over 40 million entrepreneurs use Weebly with more than 325 million unique viewers each month. Plans range from Free to $25 per month with enterprise offerings as well. They are the highest rated website building mobile app on both the App Store and Google Play.
Weebly is supported in 15 languages and they encourage affiliates from all around the world to apply. The average EPC is a high $60+. Weebly uses ShareASale to manage their affiliate program and give access to marketing tools, tracking, reporting, and issue commission checks. They also offer regular bonus opportunities.
- Commission: 30%
- Cookie: Up to 120 days
4. SnapPages
SnapPages launched in 2008 and was one of the first drag and drop website builders. They have been enhancing and fine tuning their platform ever since. They are a do it yourself website builder that lets you quickly and easily create a website. Plans range from $4 to $15 per month. They make it is easy to integrate with 3rd party eCommerce tools like Shopify or Paypal if you want to add an online store to your website.
Affiliates have the opportunity to increase commissions to up to 50% based on performance. SnapPages teamed up exclusively with ShareASale to run their affiliate program and give access to coupons, deals, creative, newsletters, tracking tools, and issue affiliate checks. Affiliates also have access to their dedicated affiliate team to answer any questions and offer suggestion on how to improve conversion rates.
- Commission: 35%
- Cookie: Up to 90 days
5. Site123
Site123 is another famous website builder that allows you to create mobile-friendly websites with a lot of templates to choose from and a simple user interface. Their affiliate program provides up to $182 payouts, and you can only withdraw your funds after you receive $300 of commissions.
- Commission: Up to $182
- Cookie: Up to 90 days
6. 3dcart
3dcart is a fast-growing ecommerce platform that hosts its own program and offers a 300% commission for paid conversions. They boast reliable conversion rates and have accommodating Affiliate Managers that lend a helping hand.
- Commission: Up to 300%
- Cookie: TBC
7. sellfy
Sellfy is a full-featured ecommerce tool built for bloggers and creators who want to sell digital products, subscriptions, and physical goods. Their affiliate program provides a 25% recurring commission for one year. They have a strong affiliate manager that I know who can provide affiliates with help on content and other collaborations.
- Commission: 25%
- Cookie: TBC
8. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a SaaS e-commerce platform with over 60,000 merchants. They are known as the e-commerce platform of choice for growing brands because of their built-in features and advanced functionality.
Their e-commerce affiliate program offers a generous 200% bounty payment on the plan’s price, meaning you can earn either $60, $160, $250, or $1,500 per paying customer. They have a 90-day cookie and provide banners, text links, and a weekly affiliate newsletter with content templates and SEO advice.
- Commission: $60-$1500
- Cookie: 90 days
Best Recurring Affiliate Programs
Affiliate marketing is a pretty simple concept – you refer customers to a partner site and then get paid a commission if they make a purchase.
But most of the time these are once-off sales.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s still one of the best online business models there is…but you can feel at times like you’re always chasing the next commission.
What if you got paid over and over again for the same referral?
Wait…you can do that?
Yup – all you need is a handful of the best affiliate programs that pay recurring commissions.
Which is exactly what i have put together for you.
1. KWFinder
KWFinder is ideal for any affiliate or digital marketer who needs a full range of tools but can’t afford a monthly Ahrefs subscription just yet.
It’s like an affordable digital Swiss army knife because you get the following tools for one monthly fee:
- Keyword tool
- Site analysis
- Rank tracker
- Backlink checker
- SERP analysis
In a sea of SEO tools, KWFinder remains one that i am happy to recommend.
The Mangools team is constantly adding new features to KWFinder, and they offer a 10-day free trial to whet the appetite of future users.
Most affiliates would view this tool as being only of interest to SEOs, but what about Etsy store owners, or people doing market research for a product they’re developing?
There’s a whole big world of opportunity for keyword tools outside of the search engine optimization audience.
- Commission rate: 30% lifetime commissions
- Monthly recurring: $14.70 per referral (based on monthly Basic subscription)
2. Pabbly
With the Pabbly Affiliate Progam you can earn a 30% lifetime recurring commission on every sale. They use a cookie period of 30 days and offer payments within 40 days.
Pabbly offers more than six sales and marketing products that include email marketing, form building, subscription-billing, email verification, application integration service, and more. What’s nice is you don’t need to refer the customer multiple times for different products.
The highest converting product is Pabbly Plus – a package that includes all Pabbly apps with their unlimited features at the price of a single product. On a single sale of Pabbly products, you get the minimum payout of $183.
Pabbly’s user-friendly dashboard makes it easier for you to manage your affiliate account.
- Commission rate: 30% lifetime commissions
- Cookies: 30 days
3. Thinkific
Thinkific is another popular online course platform, and they offer 20% recurring. You can earn up to $956 from a single Thinkific sale.
- URL: Thinkific Affiliate Program
- Commission rate: 20% lifetime commissions
- Cookies: TBC
4. GetResponse
GetResponse, for those of you who’ve never heard of it, is an autoresponder/email marketing platform.
Or in other words, they help you make the most of your email marketing efforts without having to send thousands of emails manually.
They’ve been around since 1998, so they are a more-than established brand on the marketing circuit.
GetResponse was also one of the very first companies to offer recurring commissions for anyone promoting their products.
As far as email marketing platforms go, GetResponse is easy to use, affordable, constantly being updated and is the type of product you can recommend with confidence.
- Commission rate: 33% lifetime commissions
- Monthly Recurring: $16.75 per referral (based on monthly plus subscription)
5. SEMRush
SEMRush is an influential SEO tool website owners can use to track keywords, conduct site audits, and view competitive insights in their online marketing. Their program is called BeRush, and they offer their affiliate partners a 40% commission.
- Commission rate: 40% lifetime commissions
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
6. Awber
Aweber is an email marketing platform in the same vein as GetResponse but it has some advantages, especially when it comes to their pricing structure.
With Aweber, you pay x price and you get access to all of the tools for y number of customers from day one, unlike GetResponse.
They have better A/B testing features, and they’re also one of the few email marketing platforms that still offer phone support.
How does their affiliate program compare?
You get 30% commissions for all referrals you send their way, and for the lifetime of that customer.
Affiliates have been successfully promoting this program for almost two decades now, so Aweber doing something right.
- Commission rate: 30% lifetime commissions
- Monthly Recurring: $14.70 per referral (based on monthly $49 plan)
7. Leadpages
Leadpages is a famous landing page builder that helps users build dedicated web pages with forms and calls-to-action. Their affiliate program provides a repeating 30%.
- Commission rate: 30% lifetime commissions
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
8. Teachable
Teachable is an online course platform that allows bloggers and website owners to build their classes to sell to their students. They offer a 30% repeating payout.
- Commission rate: 30% lifetime commissions
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
9. PCloud
pCloud has offered its cloud storage service since 2013, and as of last count, they have around 8 million users.
Yes, cloud storage services are pretty much a dime a dozen, so what makes pCloud so special?
Well, the first thing is that cloud storage is all they do so they’re specialists instead of generalists.
Another perk is that it’s available for any desktop, laptop or mobile device and for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android operating systems.
They’re also willing to put their money where their mouth is – there’s $100,000 up for grabs for anyone who can crack their encryption.
Nobody has, including some of the best minds in that industry.
And Yes i personally use pCloud on my PC and mobile phone
- Commission rate: 20% lifetime commissions
- Annual Recurring: $9.57
10. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is one of my favorite email marketing tools as it’s great for bloggers. They have a visual automation builder and can create triggers based on website actions and actions inside of emails. A friend of mine runs their program, and they offer a 30% per month.
- Commission rate: 30% lifetime commissions
- Annual Recurring: TBC
11. Elegant Themes
Elegant Themes is a WordPress theme library consisting of 87 easy-to-use themes and over 550,000 customers. If you’re a blogger and want to recommend themes to your readers, you can send traffic to Elegant Themes and get a high ticket 50% recurring payout.
- Commission rate: TBC
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
12. SpyFu
SpyFu is another SEO tool focused on competitive insights. You can use their tool to download data on a competitor’s top organic and paid keywords. They feature a 40% persistent payment.
- Commission rate: 40% lifetime commission
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
13. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is a popular landing page builder, and they offer a 40% payout on all sales. They have a lot of different ads and courses you can promote and an intuitive dashboard to grab your links.
- Commission rate: TBC
- Monthly Recurring: 40%
14. Benefit Box
Benefit Box is a nutrition and supplement subscription box service for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.
You can either choose to build your own box or have them do it for you.
Either way, there’s a really helpful “quiz” on the site that takes you through each step of the process, including what your overall goals are.
Once that’s done you’ll receive your monthly supply of whey protein and workout shakes directly to your front door.
Benefit Box also supply a range of vegan-friendly supplements, so you can market this offer to the broadest possible audience
This company is also one of the very few subscription box services that offer recurring affiliate payments, so it was a good find.
Your potential audience for Benefit Box is literally anyone who goes to the gym, is trying to lose weight, wants to bulk up, or is aiming to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.
- Commission rate: $3 -$9 per subscription
- Monthly Recurring: $3 -$5 per customer per month (Gold, Platinum, Diamond)
15. Kinsta
They focus on being the premium managed hosting provider for WordPress users, which is why their most basic plan, for a single website, costs $30 per month.
You pay premium prices and you get premium service.
So…how much do they pay you to send them new customers?
You get an initial $50 and $500 for every new customer who signs up, and then 10% recurring commission on their monthly subscription for the lifetime of that customer.
They also do everything they can to help you achieve your goals, including running an “Affiliate Academy”.
- Commission rate: 10% lifetime commission
- Monthly Recurring: $6 per referral (based on monthly pro plan)
16. Buzzsprout
This popular podcast host offers a 20% recurring payout, and they even provide new users with a $20 Amazon gift card to help increase conversion rates. They also have an excellent marketing manager that can help with content ideas and promotions.
- Commission rate: 20% lifetime commission
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
17. amoCRM
amoCRM is a messenger-based customer relationship management (CRM) software. Their program offers a 35% recurring commission right out of the gate (and it doesn’t expire). Plus, that number is bumped up to 50% once you reach $10k as a partner.
- Commission rate: 35% – 50% commission
- Monthly Recurring: TBC
What Does Recurring Payment Mean?
When the payment is “recurring,” it doesn’t just occur once, but repeatedly as long as your commissioned user is still a paying customer. Recurring income programs pay their commissions monthly because of the customer retention rate. Most recurring programs are software as a service (SaaS) advertisers whose platforms require a monthly subscription.
With monthly subscriptions, a customer’s lifetime value (LTV) is much higher than the monthly sale price, as they continue paying every month until they churn.
Because of this, the advertiser can afford to pay one of two ways: a one-time commission higher than the monthly price, or a smaller recurring percentage over the lifetime of the customer.
Affiliates like both one-time payout and recurring models, and there are pros and cons to each approach.
One-time Payout Pros and Cons:
Pro: You get a more substantial payment upfront, sometimes as high as 500-1,000% of the monthly subscription cost.
Con: You lack consistency in your affiliate revenue stream, and may make less over the lifetime of the customer.
Recurring Commission Pros and Cons:
Pro: You generate consistent revenue each month and can better predict how much money you’ll make. Additionally, you may also make more over the lifetime of the customer if there are low churn rates and high retention rates.
Con: You make a smaller amount up-front, and the customer could churn quickly, eliminating your earnings.
Travel Affiliate Programs
From hotels and travel platforms like Expedia to airlines and vacation packages, people are buying travel packages online more than ever before – so why not cash in?
Let’s say you’re a travel blogger with an audience of loyal readers.
You can recommend hotels, travel packages, airlines, and travel equipment from travel affiliate companies and get a referral fee from each sale.
There are also a lot of customization options. You can integrate hotel booking sites into your website, choose specific destinations, and showcase properties that interest you.
Travel review sites with links to specific vacations and hotels are a fun way to create a unique experience for your readers and offer an endless supply of customizable options. Commissions are either paid at booking or when a visitor checks out of their hotel.
Here are my picks for the best travel affiliate programs:
1. Expedia
If you’ve ever booked your vacation online then you’ll have seen Expedia appear somewhere in the search results.
That’s because they’re a leading price comparison site for holidaymakers.
They also just happen to have a high-performing affiliate program i.e. their affiliates are making a lot of money on a regular basis.
You can receive up to 6% commission and their cookie as a 7-day expiration date.
2. TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is a popular travel site that’s primarily known for its local reviews of things to do. They also allow you to book hotels, vacation packages, restaurant reservations, and more. They offer an incredible 50% with a decent cookie duration of 14 days. Based on their referral fees, they are my #1 choice for the best in the travel category.
3. Travelpayouts
Travelpayouts calls themselves “The Ideal Travel Program to Monetize Your Travel Website”, and I have to agree. They cover a wide range of services and integrate other travel platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, rentalcars.com, and more. Their travel affiliate marketing platform offers up to an 80% commission, but the average is 1.6% for flights and 6% for hotel bookings. Their cookie duration is 30 days.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have vetted every program in this guide and believe they are the best for generating affiliate revenue.
4. World Nomads
Traveling the world and experiencing different cultures is one of the most positive things you can do with your life.
But you also need to plan for when things go wrong because they invariably do.
World Nomads is an insurance provider that specializes in supporting those with a nomadic lifestyle and is one of the only affiliate programs of its kind.
Their affiliates earn 10% commission and 60-days cookie expiration date
5. Kayak
Although price comparison sites are now pretty common, Kayak was the first to develop the technology to check flight, hotel, and car hire prices across hundreds of sites at once.
They’re still one of the leading travel search engines out there thanks to a ton of brand presence.
It would appear that their affiliate program has a minimum traffic level of 100,000 unique visitors per month though.
They offers up to 50% booking fees and their cookie are session based
6. Hotel.com
Hotels.com is another way to make money with hotels and they offer localized services with 85 websites in 35 languages. They also have over 15 million members in their rewards program. They offer 4% and 7-day cookie duration.
7. Priceline
Priceline is known for their cheap deals on hotels, flights, and more. They offer a 3-5% commission and a 30-day cookie duration.
8. Hotwire
Hotwire offers last minute travel deals and access to cheap flights and hotels. They provide 2% with a 7-day cookie.
9. Marroitt
It’s always nice to know that when you book into a hotel that you’ll get a certain level of service.
Like McDonald’s, except with hotel rooms instead of burgers.
That’s basically what you get with Marriot Hotels all over the world – a consistently high standard of service.
And that makes them easy to pitch to any audience.
They pay their affiliates up to 6% commission and 7-day cookie expiration.
10. Booking.com
Booking.com offers flights, hotels, car rentals, and airport taxis. By joining, you get access to over 2.2 million properties, and they offer 4%, but there is a downside as the cookie expires when a user closes their browser.
11. Royal Caribbean
If you’ve always dreamt of going on a cruise, there’s a very good chance you’ll have stared wistfully at this cruise company’s homepage.
They’re one of the biggest cruise lines in the world, and with an average order value of over $1,200, there’s money to be made here.
They give 4% commission of the sales price and have a 45-day cookie expiration date
Fitness Affiliate Programs
Whether you’re a bodybuilder, running coach, personal trainer, or an Instagram model, fitness companies payout for your physical fitness recommendations.
By partnering with a company like Bowflex and recommending their high AOV products, you can earn a high commission on every order.
Fitness is one of the highest paying affiliate verticals. The high average order value (AOV) of products like treadmills and ellipticals offer excellent earnings per click (EPC) for affiliates.
Here are my picks for the best fitness programs:
1. Reebok
Reebok (means Grey Antelope in Afrikaans) has been in business since 1895, getting their start making spiked running shoes for Olympic athletes.
The good news for affiliate marketers is that you won’t have to pre-sell your audience on Reebok products simply because they’re such a huge brand.
They offer 7% commission per sale and 7-day cookie expiration.
2. Titan Fitness
Do your visitors like lifting heavy things and putting them back down again?
If so then you’ll dig the range of benches, racks, free weights and other lifting gear available from Titan Fitness.
They don’t pay a huge commission rate, but that’s offset by the price of the products they sell.
Titan offer 4%-5% commission per sale and 30-day cookie expiration date.
3. Blowflex
Commission: 7% of sales, AOV is over $2,000
Cookie Duration: 3 days
4. Horizon Fitness
Some people love getting fit in the great outdoors, but pretty much everyone else uses a gym.
Horizon manufactures a range of treadmills, rowers, exercise bikes, and elliptical striders for use in a gym or home gym.
And the nature of the products means their average order value is at least US$800.
They offer 8% commission per sale and 30-day cookie expiration date.
5. Gene Food
You are what you eat.
And that goes double for athletes or anyone who takes their fitness regimen seriously.
Gene Food ensures that the foods you eat are aligned with your DNA, based on one of 20 different diet plans.
And you can earn some healthy commissions promoting this program to people who truly treat their body like a temple.
They offer $15 per sale and 90-day cookie expiration
6. Body Spartan
Well, you have to give the movie “300” credit – lots of guys and gals still want to learn how to train like a Spartan.
Fortunately, you won’t have to take your best friends to face down an army of 1 million Persians.
But you will get to make money by helping others become the best version of themselves.
They offer 10% commission and 45-day cookie expiration.
7. Bodybuilding.com
You get paid to provide your audience with cutting-edge fitness information and valuable supplement deals! They claim they have more than 1.1 million unique visitors daily. You can give Bodybuilding a try and see how it goes.
They offer 15% for new customers which is quite impressive, 5% for returning customers and have a 9-day cookie duration
Finance and Credit Card Affiliate Programs
According to Transunion, there are 2.69 credit cards for every person in the United States. If we Americans are good at one thing, it’s spending money we don’t have! However, by smartly reviewing credit cards, loan companies, and accounting tools, you can help your audience with their finances while improving their credit scores.
Secondly, with the rise of credit card and insurance review sites, there are plenty of opportunities to recommend credit card offers. Finally, you can enter the B2B space and recommend accounting software to small businesses.
Whichever finance affiliate company you choose, they are known as some of the highest paying affiliate programs on the market.
Here are the best ways to get started with finance affiliate marketing:
1. Bankrate Credit Cards
This affiliate program is a little different in that Bankrate is an affiliate network for credit cards, so it kinda straddles both sides of the fence.
What it does for affiliates is give them access to credit card offers that would be otherwise out of their reach.
They don’t publish commission rates publicly – they’re only revealed once you join the program.
2. BBVA Bank
This bank has been around since the 60s but has undergone several rounds of rebranding.
But apart from that, they’re very typical of what you’d expect from a banking affiliate program in that they offer checking accounts, loans, mortgages, credit cards and you make money by referring people to their offers.
This is a pay-per-lead program, so you’re working on a fixed commission rate regardless of the size of a sale.
They offer $85 commission per signup, but their cookie are seasoned based
3. USAA Credit Cards
There are lots of credit card companies out there, but USAA Credit Cards has a very specific market – active and retired military personnel.
But they also offer a complete range of financial services like personal loans, checking accounts, and even mortgages.
This is a pay-per-lead program, and you have a potential audience made up of 24 million members of the armed forces.
They offer $25 per signup and 30-day cookie.
4. Barclays Bank
Barclays has been involved in banking for over 400 years now.
What makes this affiliate program special though is a massive EPC combined with a ton of brand recognition.
Their affiliate commission rate is very far from impressive, but what they lack in upfront rewards they more than make up for with a very high conversion rate.
They offer $2 per signup and 45-day cookie expiration.
5. CIT Bank
CIT Bank has survived multiple depressions and recessions and is still going strong.
Their financial products include personal loans and savings accounts, mortgages but also commercial financing options.
This is another CPL program in the financial services niche with a significant payout.
They offer $100 per lead and 30-day cookie expiration.
6. Experian
Experian is probably among the most recognized credit scoring service out there.
It’s also a perfect complementary program for anyone working in the financial services niche.
You can help people sort out their credit score before successfully applying for a new credit card, helping you bank more commission in the process.
So we’d consider this among the best affiliate programs in the finance niche.
They offer $8 per sale and 10-day cookie expiration.
7. TransUnion
Finding a credit scoring and monitoring service in the United States is pretty easy.
But what about Canada?
Well, that’s where TransUnion comes into the picture- you can ask them to generate a credit score report for you, but they also offer a credit score monitoring service for $24.95 per month.
So affiliates obviously get a cut of that.
8. Discover
Discover is probably best known for its range of credit cards, and the bonus that they don’t charge annual fees on any of their cards.
But they do also offer a number of other financial service products such as loans, mortgages and home equity financing.
So you have a diverse range of financial services products and services to offer your audience, and all under the Discover brand. They offer up to $40 commission.
9. Liberty Mutual
As a participating publisher in the Liberty Mutual Affiliate Program, you’ll earn a commission each time a visitor to your site clicks on their link and completes a quote. The more quotes you drive, the more you can earn. Additionally, when you show us that your site is able to drive quality traffic, you may be eligible to receive a higher payout!
The above statement is from their official website not mine, See their commission structure below.
10. QuickBooks
Not much to talk about them, they offer 7% commission and 45-day cookie duration. Read more from their URL below.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have vetted every program in this guide and believe they are the best for generating affiliate revenue.
CBD Affiliate Programs
With Michigan becoming the 10th state to legalize cannabis for recreational use and medical marijuana legal in 33 states, it’s time to jump into this growing area. This effective, safe pain treatment is going mainstream.
If you want a high paying affiliate category to jump into, now is the time to get into the marijuana and CBD space.
With this category, I’m not explicitly recommending you try ALL of the products before approving them. Slow down, Relax yourself. However, if you’re looking for an up and coming industry, you can earn some high commissions.
Here are some of the best CBD affiliate marketing programs:
1. Seedsman
Commission: 15% of sales
2. Grasscity
10%, plus 5% of sub-affiliate sales
3. Green CulterED
Commission: 60%
Cookie Duration: 365 days
4. Just CBD
Commission: Up to 25%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. THC University
Commission: $25 per student
Cookie Duration: 30 days
6. Green Road
Commission: $10 per sale
Cookie Duration: 90 days
7. CDB Medic
Commission: 20%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
Fashion Affiliate Programs
Fashion affiliate programs are perfect for bloggers and influencers looking to recommend the latest fashion trends on Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube – and make money from their recommendations.
When recommending fashion products, you should focus on a sub-niche so that you hone in on your audience and are the go-to resource for your specific type of fashion.
Once you’ve figured out your sub-niche, search for clothing and accessories that match your brand. Keep in mind; there are also fashion platforms like RewardStyle and Shopstyle Collective to help you find fashionable products to promote.
In the end, the fashion affiliate company that you choose to work with should match your unique style, and you should like their brand.
Here are my picks for the best fashion affiliate programs:
1. Eddie Bauer
Commission: 5% per sale
Cookie Duration: 7 days
2. H&M
Commission: Up to 7.4%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
3. JNCO Jeans
Commission: 20%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
4. Lane Bryant
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 15 days
5. ModCloth
Commission: 7%
Cookie Duration: 45 days
6. MVMT Watches
Commission: 10%
Cookie Duration: 15 days
7. Newchic
Commission: Up to 18% per sale
Cookie Duration: 60 days
8. Nordstrom
Commission: 2-20%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
9. Stitch Fix
Commission: 4%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
10. True Religion
Commission: 7%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
11. Warby Parker
Commission: 20%
Cookie Duration: 45 days
12. Impact Radius
commission: 4% per sale
Cookie Duration: ??
13. Fashionmia
Commission: 15%
Cookie Duration: 90 days
Sports Affiliate Programs
The sports industry is predicted to reach $73.5 billion in market value in 2019. This revenue includes media rights, merchandising, sponsorships, and the rise of fantasy sports.
If you’d like to tap into this vast market, take a swing at a sports affiliate program.
To recommend products from specific sports companies, join a sporting goods, fan gear, or golf affiliate program. Additionally, another strategy is to take your fantasy football knowledge and make commissions from daily fantasy sites like Draft Kings or FanDuel.
Sports aren’t one of the most significant categories in affiliate marketing. However, the sports vertical is a good one for bloggers who already review the latest sports equipment.
In due time, you can be successful by building your brand around a very specific sports sub-niche and coupling that with an in-depth knowledge of the products you’re recommending.
Here are my picks for the best sport affiliate programs:
1. Dick’s Sporting Goods
Commission: 5% on average
Cookie Duration: 10 days
2. Under Armour
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
3. Enigma Fishing
Commission: 20%
Cookie Duration: 90 days
4. Go Pro
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. Leather Head Sports
Commission: 10% of sales
Cookie Duration: 60 days
6. TaylorMade Golf
Commission: 5% of sales
Cookie Duration: 30 days
7. Under Armour
Commission: 5% of sales
Cookie Duration: 30 days
Cryptocurrency and Bitcoins Affiliate Programs
I got deep into crypto-mania last year, spending hours every day trading Bitcoin, Litecoin, Cardano, Stellar, and every coin under the sun on Binance.
Although the market has slowed down since January 2018, it is primed to make a comeback.
Many bitcoin programs are similar to referral programs, whereby registering users, you make a cut of their trades for up to a year. Other crypto programs include recommending digital wallets like Ledger and Trezor.
Above all, Blockchain technology is not going anywhere. If you’re interested in working with affiliate companies in a rising (and falling) industry, check out these programs and watch your revenue charts go to the moon.
Here are my picks for the best Cryptocurrency and Bitcoins affiliate programs:
1. Binance (referral program)
Commission: 20% of referral’s trade fees, 40% if holding 500+ BNB
Payout: Pay in real-time to Binance account
2. Coinbase (referral program)
Commission: When a user buys $100 of BTC, receive $10 of BTC
Earning period: Once per customer
3. BitBond (referral program)
Commission: 20% for introducing borrowers and 30% for lenders
4. Ledger Wallet
Commission: 10% of the net sale amount
Payout: Payout in BTC, with 0.1 BTC minimum payout amount
5. LocalBitcoins.com
Commission: 20% of the user’s trading fee per trade
Earning period: 1 year from the user’s registration date
6. Trezor Wallet
Commission: 20% of sales
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have vetted every program in this guide and believe they are the best for generating affiliate revenue.
Music Affiliate Programs
Music industry contains composers, artists, sound engineers, music teachers, music equipment manufacturers, vocal coaches, and more. With all of these different product niches and affiliate companies, there are plenty of ways to profit with high paying music affiliate programs.
If you’re a sound engineer, you may review the latest guitars, microphones, and audio equipment. If you’re a music teacher, you may recommend online music courses. There are countless ways to generate revenue with your music knowledge.
Above all, make sure that you deeply understand the products you promote so that your audiences get the best recommendations.
Here are my picks for the best Music affiliate programs:
1. Guitar Center
Commission: 6%
Cookie Duration: 14 days
2. Musician’s Friend
Commission: 4%
Cookie Duration: 14 days
3. MasterClass
Commission: 25%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
4. Sam Ash
Commission: 7-10%
Cookie Duration: 60 days
5. Singorama
Commission: 70% on instant downloads, 40% on shipped course
Cookie Duration: 60 days
6. zZounds
Commission: 6% + bonuses
Cookie Duration: 45 days
Gaming Affiliate Programs
If you are a gamer, Twitch streamer, or upload YouTube videos, there are a ton of video game affiliate programs.
The Twitch Affiliate Program gets gamers one step closers to realizing their financial dreams by allowing affiliates to monetize audience subscriptions and video game sales.
All you need to join is 50 Twitch followers and 500 broadcast minutes over the last 30 days, seven unique broadcast days, and an average of 3 or more concurrent viewers. Alternatively, you can recommend video game subscription services like Gamefly and generate income from new trials and game purchases you create with your affiliate links.
Ultimately, look for a video game affiliate company that best matches your gaming interests.
Here are my picks for the top high paying gaming and Twitch affiliate programs:
1. Astro Gaming
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 180 days
2. Fanatical
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 90 days
3. Nvidia
Commission: 2%
Cookie Duration: 45 days
4. G2Deal
Commission: 10-20% on software, 3% on other products
Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. Gamefly
Commission: $15 per trial sign-up, 5% for new games, 10% used games
Cookie Duration: 30 days
6. Twitch
Commission: 50% of subscriptions, 5% on game sales
7. Modded Zone
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 90 days
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have vetted every program in this guide and believe they are the best for generating affiliate revenue.
Pet Affiliate Programs
The growing need for pets around the world and the willingness of people to spend huge amounts of money on them have given affiliate marketers an opportunity to make money. Just in the US alone, pet owners spent up to $72.56 billion on acquiring and maintaining their animals. For a normal person, this amount means nothing but for an affiliate marketer, it means that you can get a lot of commissions from this vertical. The pet niche is ever-growing and is among the top niches today.
1. FitBark
Commission: 12%
Cookie Duration: 60 days
2. PetCube
Commission: 10% per sale
Cookie Duration: 60 days
3. Whistle
Commission: 20% per sale
Cookie Duration: 30 days
4. Pet Warehouse
Commission: 8 -10%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. Holista Pet
Commission: 25%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
Affiliate Marketing Programs for Pinterest
Back in May, 2017, affiliate marketers can place affiliate links right in their Pinterest pins instead of going through their blogs. This update led to a wave of affiliates making money online without needing a ton of website traffic.
Similarly, this opened the door for influential fashion, beauty, and lifestyle affiliates to reach the 200 million+ Pinterest users more efficiently. With 29% of U.S. adults using Pinterest and 93% of Pinners saying they use Pinterest to plan purchases, it is a lucrative way to generate affiliate revenue.
The best strategy is to join an affiliate network with products that match what people consume on Pinterest. Popular categories on Pinterest include food and drink, DIY, home decor, women’s fashion, and health and fitness.
Here are some networks to join for Pinterest:
1. Shareasale
Shareasale is a popular affiliate network with over 3,900 merchants in verticals like fashion, home and garden, food and drink, fitness, software, and more.
For example, you could work with a home decor merchant like Minted and make 20% on all sales. If food and drink is more your cup of tea (or glass of wine), promote Winc Wine and earn $18 for every transaction. With their large merchant base, the opportunities are endless.
2. SendOwl
Become a content creator and sell online courses and ebooks directly on Pinterest. You can also sell memberships as SendOwl integrates with three of the top membership sites.
3. Amazon Associates
Sell any product on Amazon directly through your Pinterest pins. If you’re in the US, you will need to have a website or blog to get approved. You can earn up to 10% on over one million products. They also help you post links and promote products on your site with banners. While they’re not a network per sell, they provide a massive range of products.
One extra benefit is that when you link to a product with your Amazon affiliate link, you get credit for any product the user purchases in that session. Additionally, if they add a product to their cart and it remains there, you get credit for up to 90 days.
4. ShopStyle Collective
Finally, this fashion site has a ton of clothing and accessories products to promote. They offer an easy user interface, reporting tools, and helpful ways to build your audience.
Notable mention: The eBay partner network which is similar Amazon, you can promote over 1.1 billion listings via affiliate links. With eBay, you can earn between 50 and 70% of the sale price. However, you make revenue only when a user purchases within 24 hours of an eBay visit.
Affiliate Marketing FAQ
What Are Affiliate Programs?
An affiliate program is an agreement between you and an online advertiser that they will pay you a percentage or fixed amount in commission for every purchase made on their site by your visitors.
This payment is known as an affiliate commission and can be for generating a sale, or simply generating a lead instead.
The idea of being an “agent” for a company has been around since trading first began – affiliate marketing simply took the process online.
There are three main parties involved:
- The merchant. For example, a retailer selling products.
- The affiliate. For example, a product review website linking to products on the retailer’s site.
- The consumer, who visits the affiliate site, clicks the affiliate link to the retailer’s website and purchases the retailer’s product.
How Do I Join Affiliate Programs?
There are a number of ways to do this.
The first of these is by applying directly to the program via the merchant’s website.
The second way is to sign up for an advertiser’s affiliate program via whatever affiliate network runs it for them. Typical examples of the more popular affiliate networks include Commission Junction, ShareASale, FlexOffers, Rakuten Linkshare and ClickBank, for example.
And finally, by invitation – sometimes companies will find your site, want exposure to your traffic, and will contact you to express their interest in having you as an affiliate.
What Are the Requirements to Join Affiliate Programs?
To join, you need a website and a way to receive money – either a PayPal account or bank account. Although you can participate without a website by adding links on social media, this works best for high-end social media influencers, and I always recommend having a website.
I recommend you have a well-designed website with an SSL certificate installed for HTTPS. You should own a business email address connected to your domain, and have a PayPal account set up.
What To Look For In An Affiliate Program?
There’s a number of metrics you can measure any affiliate program by. Most affiliates look for offers with the highest payout, but it’s just as important to consider the following:
- Conversion rate
- Cookie duration
- EPC (Earnings per 100 clicks)
- Payment schedule
Simply chasing the highest-paying deals will usually lead to frustration – you should ask to see their metrics before promoting any affiliate offers, especially their conversion rate and their EPC.
Affiliate Programs Vs. Affiliate Networks
While an affiliate program is a direct agreement between you and an online advertiser, an affiliate network is basically a directory filled with thousands of affiliate programs.
The function of affiliate networks is to manage the affiliate programs for a range of businesses, including things like affiliate queries, payment and payment issues, policy changes, and terminating affiliate relationships.
A business that runs its own in-house affiliate program has to manage it directly, whereas with an affiliate network they can effectively outsource the grunt work of their affiliate program onto an affiliate network instead.
How To Get Approved For Affiliate Programs
What’s required of affiliates can vary wildly from one affiliate program to the next, but here are some basic rules to follow:
- Your website should be active
- Ideally, your site would have at least a few thousand unique visitors per month
- Your content should be at least tangentially related to the products or services sold via the program e.g. you’re not a sports shooting site applying to a knitting affiliate program.
- Your content doesn’t include material of a graphic, questionable, or downright illegal nature
- Develop an elevator pitch for your site – how would you explain it if you only had 30 seconds to close the deal with somebody you met in an elevator?
You’ll find that if you can tick the boxes for “Has active site” and “Has existing traffic”, most affiliate managers will give you the benefit of the doubt.
How Do I Choose The Best Affiliate Program?
1. A lot of merchants in your niche.
Some networks specialize in specific verticals like fashion, beauty products, and home goods, while others may have more B2B brands and business merchants. If you’re a blogger, make sure that the network has a large number of merchants that match your niche.
2. Make sure they’re 100% free.
You should NEVER have to pay to join. Networks earn by charging their merchants – set-up fees, monthly fees, and sometimes a percentage of affiliate revenue. If you find one that is trying to charge you to join, turn away fast.
3. High levels of customer support.
All networks provide some level of support but are better than others. If you’d like 24/7 support via phone, email, and live chat software, check the network’s features and dive into platform reviews to make the best choice.
4. High paying merchants.
After you find an affiliate network with merchants that match your niche, the next step is to make sure you can earn high commissions from your sales. Remember, average affiliate commissions (depending on vertical) range from 5-30%. When you scan the list of merchants, do some math on potential earnings and product prices so that you maximize your revenue.
Affiliate Marketing Tips.
Affiliate marketers don’t want to only focus on those four affiliate concepts and blindly recommend any product just because of their high affiliate payouts.
1. You need to promote the products you love and understand.
Web users can spot fake recommendations quickly and want to learn from real-world experience. Therefore, it’s vital to be authentic with your product reviews.
The growth of affiliate is undeniable, this year will be no different. Affiliate marketing accounts for 16% of all online orders.
So how do you stay on top of emerging trends in the market and join the best up and coming high ticket affiliate programs?
2. Research emerging categories.
Currently, fashion is the most popular affiliate marketing category, with 18.7% of campaigns, followed by sports, and health and wellness.
Emerging affiliate markets may include virtual reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, wearable tech, and drones.
If you fashion yourself a relationship expert or budding love guru, another emerging category is dating affiliate marketing. With the number of dating websites and apps on the rise and competition more intense than ever, dating sites are leveraging affiliates to recommend their platforms and get more users.
3. Mobile networks are multiplying.
Similarly, another big trend is mobile affiliate marketing and CPA networks. Mobile CPA affiliate networks and push notification companies help affiliates push traffic to smartphone apps and mobile platforms.
So we’ve discussed what to look for in the best high paying programs and emerging trends in the industry.
Conclusion
No matter which one of the best affiliate program you want to join, there are a ton of different high ticket categories to match your unique interests.
First, when choosing a program, remember to check the commission rates, average order values (AOV), average earnings per click (EPC), and cookie durations.
Second, look into if the program is recurring, or provides one-time payments.
Finally, choose a niche that matches your interests, and you can passionately promote.
The affiliate market is growing as fast as ever, and the opportunities are wide open.
Remember, the first step is to build your affiliate website on WordPress or any platform you choose, but i recommend WordPress.
First, to create your affiliate site, I recommend you get started with Bluehost for 63% off, or just $2.95/month.
What affiliate programs would you like to see added to this list? Leave your comment below.
