With so many affiliate programs out there, you have an endless supply of great choices this year. Whichever programs strike your fancy, we’ve got some amazing options to help you make solid income and grow your earnings fast.
If you’re looking to earn some extra cash, gain more exposure for your site, or ramp up your affiliate marketing business, consider joining some top affiliate programs. These programs are designed to effectively sell products and services online with the help of marketers like yourself. As an inexpensive way for ecommerce stores to spread the word about who they are and what they offer, affiliate programs are very popular. There are so many types of programs out there, which can be a fantastic income opportunity for affiliate partners like you. Here, you can learn all about what to look for in an affiliate program and find some of the best ones around.
What is an Affiliate Program?
Affiliate programs are agreements where an online merchant pays other affiliate merchants or websites, like yourself, a commission to send traffic, or visitors, to their site. Your affiliate site shares links to the merchant’s site and, in return, you’re compensated a pre-determined amount.
An affiliate agreement specifies how and how much affiliates are compensated and is often based on:
- the number of visitors being sent to the merchant’s site.
- the amount of sales generated from those visitors (now customers).
- some other quantifiable action.
- a combination of these things.
Essentially, if your affiliate site contains a link that generates traffic or revenue to a merchant’s site, you get paid by that merchant.
What to Look for When Joining an Affiliate Program
You never want to choose affiliate programs on a whim, or you’ll spend time, effort and resources with little to nothing in return. So, consider several factors when joining affiliate programs. Before you take the plunge, ask yourself tough questions and think about these things, then evaluate your options with them in mind.
Think like the customer
When you choose to sell something you’re interested in and passionate about, it won’t feel like work and you’ll be motivated and excited to spread the word. Go for programs with products that you believe in and would buy yourself. This will show through to customers, making them more eager to buy. And, if you can try out a product in advance, even better. Be critical like a real customer would and ask questions to learn as much as possible about what you’re selling. This way, you can stand behind it with confidence – it’s your name and reputation on the line, after all.
Consider if it works well with your niche or brand
Be sure to seek out relevant products to your site or blog. You won’t be successful if there’s an awkward association or none at all. Why? It could leave the wrong impression like you’re trying too hard, untrustworthy or illegitimate. Be creative, though, and think outside the box. For example, if your site is about skincare products you could also feature promotions for spas, cosmetics, or aromatherapy and other wellness products.
Evaluate your potential income and earnings
Of course, no matter how well a program fits with your brand or niche, it won’t be worthwhile if it can’t pay you what you need. Look at the whole package and don’t just consider high commissions on their own, though. They’re often attractive for a reason and come with low-selling products.
The number of products you sell impacts your AOV (average order value), and a high AOV with a lower commission rate earns you more than a low AOV with a high commission rate. For instance, if you sell 10 electric toothbrushes at 1% commission, you’ll earn more than selling 1 hair dryer at 5% commission.
And don’t forget to factor in a program’s conversion rate. Because affiliate marketing compensation works in a cost-per-sale format, you should be confident that your program can maintain a high enough conversion rate to make sales, earn profits and, therefore, pay you well.
Check on the merchant’s reputation
Of course, everyone has to start somewhere. But, this doesn’t mean you need to sign up with a merchant with little to no experience. It’s often best to work with reputable, longstanding companies that generate a lot of traffic already. Plus, vendors that have been around for a while should have historical conversion metrics to show you, which can offer more assurance.
So, take the time to do your research and due diligence through review of a merchant’s website and third-party review sites of both their customers and affiliate partners, if possible. But, if new merchants offer quality products with good commission rates, be open to pursuing them, too.
The Best Affiliate Programs to Join in 2022
Fiverr
As one of the biggest digital service marketplaces worldwide, Fiverr serves 11+ million users in over 190 countries with branding and design, programming and writing services, among over 3 million others in 250+ categories. The company has made a huge name for itself, which definitely translates into its affiliate program.
The Fiverr Affiliates Program offers compensation and lifetime attribution for every first-time buyer referral that you make with no cap – so, the sky’s the limit. Affiliates can also directly promote individual jobs on their blog through Fiverr Gig Ads. Your customers will love being connected to freelancers they can call on when their team is maxed out or they’re going through a peak time.
Shopify
Through Shopify’s affiliate program, it’s easy to earn commissions for every user who uses your referral link when signing up on a paid plan. Since Shopify already has a ton of content available to link to – including blog posts, videos, webinars, automated funnels, and tools – you’ll save a huge chunk of money and time, too.
WalMart
With Walmart.com’s affiliate program, you’ll have a platform to earn commissions from customer referrals to walmart.com. As the biggest US retailer, this can be quite lucrative. Each time a website visitor makes a purchase through your affiliate link, you’ll get paid. Through your dashboard, you can also get daily reports on click-throughs, impressions, sales, orders and earned commissions. And, you can utilize their weekly newsletter with featured products from which to earn commissions.
Wayfair
Wayfair’s affiliate program gives you access to one of the widest selections of home decor and furniture. Customers can choose from over 10 million products with free shipping and regular deals. You can earn commissions of up to 7% on average order sizes of $300.
eBay Partner Network
Through the eBay Partner Network, you can advertise countless eBay products including deals on your ecommerce site, blog, social media platforms or website. Each product sold through your affiliate link will earn you a commission.
Best SaaS Affiliate Programs 2022
ConstantContact
You likely already have a base of email subscribers, so why not leverage that and refer your audience to recommendations in exchange for some income? ConstantContact, a highly reputable email marketing provider, offers $5 for each person that signs up for a trial using your link, and another $105 if they convert to paid subscriber. It’s simple to do this through ads and links on your own website.
Unbounce
Unbounce, a well-reviewed custom landing page builder, has many packages ranging from $80-$300/month. You’ll get 20% commission from each customer you bring to the company, along with a 20% lifetime payout from every purchase your referrals make. The Unbounce affiliate program offers many marketing and promotional resources and templates, along with training and support throughout your journey.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a flexible CRM (customer relationship management) tool that works well for many business models to, among other things, track communication, manage leads, create reports and automate processes. As a Pipedrive affiliate, you’ll get a 33% commission that recurs monthly for a customer’s first contracted year. You can also take advantage of online training materials, and marketing and creative assets and resources to help you succeed.
Prowly
Prowly, a tool for digital PR, happens to be the only affiliate program in PR tech, which means there’s less competition to deal with and more opportunities to earn income as an affiliate partner. You’ll get a $200 commission for each new subscription, along with useful landing pages and other promotional materials to get your campaign off the ground and running.
Adobe Creative Cloud
With the Adobe Creative Cloud video editing tool, you can create 2D animations, motion graphics, visual effects, video stories and more. The tool is part of Adobe’s suite, which includes some of the most frequently used creative SaaS tools worldwide.
Using regular promotions and many marketing and creative assets, you can set up a worthwhile affiliate campaign. Your commission from the program is contingent on the plan your referral signs up for. You’d get 85% of one month’s fee from monthly rolling or annual plans that are billed monthly. Annually-billed plans payout 8.33% of the annual fee.
Want to see even more affiliate programs? Check out the GrowthHero Marketplace, where you can find hundreds of more programs to join.
Best Gaming & Sports Affiliate Programs 2022
Razer
Founded in 2005, Razer is a manufacturer of popular gaming lifestyle products, including PC games, console players, mobile gamers and more (there’s even an energy drink!). Though their products aren’t cheap, they come backed with a lot of brand recognition and value, so many long-term fans are willing to buy.
Through the affiliate program, you’ll get commissions for Razer products on a sliding scale, anywhere from 1-20%, depending on the product.
Kinguin
Kinguin sells game keys through its global digital marketplace and delivers them 24/7. The company has 10 million+ accounts and at least 500,000 new transactions every month, so if you’re considering joining their affiliate program – aka the Kinguin Mafia – you’ve got a big pool to work with.
The program uses a multi-tiered commission structure that, for starters, pays 5% on each sale made through referral links. Plus, you can earn passive income. If a new affiliate partner signs up for the program through your link, you’ll also get 0.75% of their commissions. Then, when new members join through those links, you’ll get another 0.25% on their sales. Not bad!
PokerStars
It’s easy to become an affiliate for the PokerStars affiliate program, Stars Affiliate Club, if you have social media or a website with its own domain name. Through the program, you’ll gain access to marketing links and banners to promote the Stars brand portfolio, including PokerStars, Full Tilt, PokerStars Casino and PokerStars Sports, and earn commissions for player referrals.
GOG
GOG is a digital distribution platform that handpicks a variety of games. They have an affiliate program for influencers, publishers and business partners. To join, email affiliate@gog.com with your request to join and include a link to your website or social channel. Then, sign up on AdTraction.com, the third-party partner that handles GOG’s affiliate partnerships and payments. You’ll then be asked to register your channel on their platform and should be approved or contacted within a few days.
Twitch
Twitch is a video live streaming service focusing on video game and esports competitions live streaming, among other content. The Twitch affiliate program was created to monetize video game sales and audience subscriptions. To participate, you need:
- 50 Twitch followers and 500 broadcast minutes from the past 30 days.
- 3+ concurrent viewers on average.
- 7 separate broadcast days.
Or, you can earn income from game purchases and new trials through your affiliate links when you recommend video game subscription services. Examples include Fanatical, Gamefly, G2Deal and others. Each pays different commission rates, but average out at about 5%.
Best Digital Services Affiliate Programs 2022
Surfshark VPN
A leading VPN provider with competitive prices and many features, Surfshark VPN makes online privacy easy and gives access to unavailable or blocked content from around the world, like streaming services. The product converts quite well in numerous markets and, as an affiliate, you can earn 40% revenue for each subscription you help sell.
Wix
Wix is a popular, simple and inexpensive website builder with 200 million users and counting. As a Wix affiliate, you can utilize many landing pages in different languages and earn $100 per sale to start. There is no cap on the number of referrals you can make, and the company sees huge conversion rates for Premium plans.
eHarmony
eHarmony is a dating site focused on making meaningful connections that turn into lifetime commitments. The company created the very first patented compatibility-based matching system. Their affiliate program pays up to 20% commission on sales, and their regular TV ads boost online affiliate ad effectiveness, which can help boost your earnings. You’ll also have access to creative assets and advertising materials which help with your campaigns.
Superb Themes
Superb Themes creates quality-designed WordPress themes and creates helpful WordPress content. When you promote WordPress themes through their affiliate program, you’ll earn up to 60% commission per sale, including recurring annual commissions. You’ll be supported by a dedicated affiliate manager and utilize the company’s logo and banners on your website to promote their offerings.
Bluehost
Bluehost’s web hosting affiliate program is super popular because of the company’s high conversion rates, low-cost plans for as little as $2.95/month and generous commissions. You can earn at least $65 on one-time payouts with Bluehost. You’ll have access to banners and text links for promotion and enjoy fantastic support from the program’s affiliate managers.
Want to see even more affiliate programs? Check out the GrowthHero Marketplace, where you can find hundreds of more programs to join.
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