Tips & Guides — 12 Dec 2022
The Best Affiliate Programs in 2022
Connect with the best advertisers and brands directly through Affise Reach
Learn more →In recent years, a great chunk of companies in various niches, from ecommerce stores and retailers to SaaS and other online businesses, realized the power of partner marketing for growing their revenue stream and profitability. Thus, they started to run affiliate programs, such as the eBay partner network.
The surge of interest in performance marketing from brands allows publishers to make great money online and sometimes even earn passive income. The trick is to find the right affiliate marketing programs.
To help beginners, we explored the things you should think about when considering performance marketing and compiled a list of best affiliate programs offering the most profitable commissions, payment terms, and cookie time. But before diving into it, let’s define affiliate programs.
Affiliate programs (aka either partner programs or associate programs) are partnerships set up between a merchant, or retailer, and another company or individual. The merchant rewards their partner for generating traffic or sales from their websites or blogs rather than from a search engine.
In most cases, this involves a performance based payment (affiliate commissions) that sees the affiliate paid for the amount of users who follow their link or who make a purchase linked to the affiliate’s domain. To track publishers’ conversion rates and other performance metrics, affiliate platforms are used.
This type of online marketing benefits affiliates, brands, and agencies. Affiliates can make money online by posting banner ads or by including links in their content. Online stores and other businesses boost traffic to their site and also help to increase brand awareness.
One of the best-known affiliate programs is Amazon associates program, which has over 900,000 Amazon affiliates worldwide.
Read also: What is an affiliate program?
You don’t want to join an affiliate program that’s complicated and which comes with complicated plugins or software that’s difficult to use. User-friendly doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. Thus, the program you choose should offer tutorials, be easy for you to interact with, to implement SEO, to set up new links, and to monitor the traffic coming from those links, so you can analyze the results of your marketing efforts. Simple integrations with other marketing tools is a plus too.
Using an outdated or overcomplicated affiliate platform hurts merchants just as much as it hurts affiliates. Thus, if an affiliate program offers compelling conditions but drives you up the wall with its tech part, consider offering an advertiser to switch to Affise. The migration process requires literally no effort.
You need to decide on an affiliate program that offers good commission rates, as your income depends on it. The maximum rates and payouts are often indicated in the description of a program.
Usually, advertisers offer a percentage from the sales or conversions a publisher drives. If a business has a limited range, as is often the case with SaaS providers, then a flat rate of commission is usually the best choice. The affiliate commission rate can increase during a period of one partnership as affiliates achieve their individual goals.
Some firms running affiliate programs will also offer a recurring commission when a referral from you leads to a client signing up to a monthly plan. Such conditions allow you to earn money for every purchase a referral makes rather than only their first purchase alone. So pay attention to it.
The best tactic is to find a balance between different types of affiliate programs. For example, Amazon Associates pays a maximum of 10% of a sale. And let’s say an affiliate program with a 40% commission will cover many sales under the Amazon program with one deal. Thus, for affiliate marketing to become the business model for you, you need to find something in between regarding the affiliate programs’ commission structure.
Another equally important criteria for choosing the best affiliate marketing program is cookie lifetime. This indicator is crucial for sales attribution and, thus, receiving a commission for purchase from an affiliate link.
Many customers may not buy on the first visit to their site. Cookies are a way of tracking a customer’s browser activity, meaning that a sale can still be linked to you for some time after their first click unless they clear cookies. However, it should be noted that regulations such as GDPR and CPRA are restricting cookie tracking and that in 2023, Chrome will halt all third-party cookie tracking.
There are four main types of affiliate commission structures, so investigate which one (or combination) any program you’re considering joining offers you:
Another point to consider is when and how affiliates get their payouts. Today, the most common frequency of payment that affiliate programs offer daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly payments.
One more condition that can directly affect the timing of affiliate payments is the money threshold, in other words the minimum amount you need to achieve in order to get paid. For example, an affiliate program can withhold monthly payment to an affiliate marketer if the accumulated amount of money hasn’t reached the threshold of $100.
It may also be important through which payment system money transfers are made. Paypal is perhaps the most demanded financial service, but it doesn’t operate in all countries. In general, always find out the details about the payment terms of the affiliate program you’re about to join.
Good communication is essential for any affiliate program. Ask the organization running the program if they educate you about their brand and products. Make sure the advertiser provides you with the opportunity to get updates on new offers or affiliate program conditions changes in real-time. To help you leverage it, affiliate platforms should have suitable functionality. For instance, Affise offers a notification system.
You need to be clear about what your affiliate partner expects from you. While anyone with an internet connection and a reliable device can be an affiliate marketer, different companies will have different criteria, expectations, and disclaimers.
A small company or startup may be happy with small influencers and content creators, larger businesses will expect more, such as proven levels of visitor numbers, good content, and relevance to their business or product.
If you’re a budding affiliate marketer, choosing what affiliate products to promote is a crucial decision. Digital products, such as SaaS, tend to offer higher commission, but physical products tend to be easier to sell.
Relevance is important, too, unless you’re planning to market a wide range of products. For example, if you’re blogging regularly on marketing automation, there is little point in linking to children’s toys.
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: $100 for a premium sale.
One of the leading web hosting platforms, Wix offers high commissions for little effort. They also do a lot of the creative work, including links, banners, and landing pages in all languages.
You need to hit a target of $300 per month to get paid (earnings carry over if you don’t reach it).
Cookie lifetime: 10 years.
Commission rate: 40% (recurring).
SEMrush is a SaaS company that offers BeRush as an affiliate program. Their recurring commission rate means you can earn up to $160 per month, per referral. They offer high-quality marketing material in five languages and their swift signup process means you can get started immediately.
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: 200%.
One of the most well-known affiliate companies, Shopify has over half a million stores around the world. They provide new affiliates with everything they need to start, including web hosting, templates, analytics, website builders, payment processing, and more. You can earn a huge 200% commission and can also get a $2,000 bonus if one of your referrals signs up to Shopify Plus.
Cookie lifetime: 24 hours.
Commission rate: Varies according to subscription type.
Apple’s affiliate program allows you to earn commission on referrals signing up to memberships, as well as on the sale of books, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and more.
Cookie lifetime: 45 days.
Commission rate: $65 minimum per sale.
Bluehost is another web hosting platform, currently supporting in excess of two million websites. Bluehost is an ideal choice if you want to make money from your website or blog. You can embed links or customer banners, and can make up to $130 for every sale generated from your site. It’s free to join and they offer affiliate managers to support you.
Cookie lifetime: 45 days.
Commission rate: 40% recurring plus other bonuses.
ClickFunnels is an online platform designed to help entrepreneurs with no or little tech knowledge build their own websites and sales funnels. Their affiliate program gives its users another revenue stream, by earning commission if a user becomes a ClickFunnel member.
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: 30% recurring.
Convertkit is a relative newcomer to the email marketing sector. They aim to help clients grow their customer base with landing pages, email drip campaigns, and other methods. They’re targeting affiliates who feel their readers could benefit from email marketing. They offer 30% commission for every customer referred or who subscribes to their webinars.
Cookie lifetime: 180 days.
Commission rate: $200+ per signup.
With around 30% of the world’s websites built in WordPress, WP Engine offers speedy web hosting for people who have built their site on WordPress. WP Engine uses the ShareASale network for their affiliate program. If one of your readers signs up, you get $200 or 100% of that customer’s first monthly cost (whichever is higher).
Cookie lifetime: 1 year.
Commission rate: 30% recurring.
Aweber has been around since 1998 and is the autoresponder program of choice for more than one million companies. Aweber affiliates have two choices: in-house program with a 30% recurring commission (on plans from $20 to $150 per month) or the CJ Affiliate offers a high paying rate of up to $300 per account (but with a more limited cookie lifetime of 45 days).
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: $10 CPA + 10% RevShare for Fiverr Hybrid, $15-50 for Fiverr CPA, or 30% of every Fiverr Learn course order.
Fiverr offers a range of services, from a pool of freelancers to online courses for individuals and businesses. Identify which of their services may best suit your audience and go with that. They offer their affiliates a dashboard so you can track your campaigns as well as a host of creative services to promote them.
Cookie lifetime: 120 days.
Commission rate: 33% recurring.
GetResponse offers a range of services from CRM tools to email marketing and landing pages. That means there are lots of opportunities for you to find customers for them among your audience. They have two affiliate programs: The self-hosted one offers 33% recurring (plans start at $15 per month), or you can earn $100 per sale.
Cookie lifetime: 60 days.
Commission rate: Up to $500 + 10% recurring.
Kinsta was set up by former WordPress staff, and aims to provide the best hosting platform for WordPress users. Their affiliate program pays a basic first payment (up to $500) depending on the plan purchased, and then a 10% recurring commission which can be significant in the long term, as they have a very high (95%) customer retention rate.
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: 20-45%.
As their name suggests, Coursera offers courses on everything from digital marketing to data analysis. They operate their affiliate program via the Linkshare network and their commissions range from 20 to 45% (there are also added bonuses for strong performers). They provide you with specially designed banners, as well as a monthly newsletter with relevant content.
Cookie lifetime: 90 days.
Commission rate: $150+.
Liquid Web offers a range of hosting services, including database hosting and dedicated servers. Commission starts at $150 minimum (or 150% of the monthly hosting cost, whichever is greater). They also offer affiliates a 50% bonus for pre-paid plans.
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: Varies
StrongVPN has been providing VPN services since 2006. They claim to offer the best commission rates in the industry, up to 200% of a sale in some cases. Balances of $100 or more are paid out automatically every month. They also provide specialist software to manage and track your sales and commissions.
Cookie lifetime: 90 days.
Commission rate: Varies
As one of the top education affiliates, Grammarly is a good choice if your website or blog is education-related. They offer a high level of support, cash bonuses, and perks for their top affiliate partners. Commissions can vary from $0.20 for a free registration to $20 for a premium plan.
Cookie lifetime: 90 days.
Commission rate: 100% of first month’s revenue or 15% recurring.
Hubspot provides one of the world’s leading CRM platforms. If your audience includes decision makers in any industry, this would be a great choice of affiliate program. Hubspot’s plans range from $50 to more than $3000, so this could provide a lucrative revenue stream. They provide videos, banners, and examples of content, as well as close support from their affiliate team.
Cookie lifetime: 30 days.
Commission rate: Up to $36 per sale.
Canva provides an easy-to-use online publishing and design platform for everything from logos to book covers. They provide you with the tools and support you need, from convenient payments via PayPal to tracking software that lets you see at a glance how your partner marketing is performing.
Affiliate programs are a great way for bloggers, influencers, podcast makers, or website owners to monetize their platform, especially if you have a large number of subscribers (or expect your audience to grow).
Choosing the right program for you depends primarily on relevance. For example, a tech blog should be looking at partnering with a company that sells products the blog is likely to mention.
By partnering with an efficient partnership marketing platform such as Affise Reach, social media influencers, content creators, and individual affiliates can start earning on affiliate marketing. Join Affise Reach to access the most profitable brands and advertisers and monetize your content.
Written by
Affise Academy
Affise is a partner marketing platform for brands, advertisers and agencies to scale via all possible performance marketing channels. Synergy of technology and our long standing experience lets you expand your partnerships, automate every step of the campaign lifecycle and make data-driven decisions.
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