If you are just a beginner into affiliate marketing, it’s very important that you know know the best affiliate marketing programs or networks that are profitable in each niche.
However you plan to monetize your affiliate marketing business, it may be through PPC, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
you will still need a vendor or advertiser to partner with.
This is where affiliate programs come in.
This time a lot of people have started blogs, but very few of them manage to monetize them
Because they do not understand how they can leverage affiliate marketing effectively so that they can make money from it.
By the time you complete reading this post, you will be conversant with everything there is to know about affiliate marketing programs,
Why they are important and the best way to choose from the hundreds of affiliate marketing programs that are available on the internet right now.
We will also review my top affiliate marketing programs for you to choose from and get started quickly.
Without much further ado, Let’s dive
What is Affiliate Marketing?
By now I am sure we all know what affiliate marketing is but I will define it for the purpose of beginners who are just starting out.
Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting a companies or individuals products or services
And in return, you earn a commission when someone buys the product or service through your own efforts.
Affiliate marketing is different from CPA marketing which stands for cost per Action.
In this type of marketing, you are paid when the customer performs a certain action.
This action may be submitting an email address, a cell phone number or simply clicking on an ad banner.
With affiliate marketing, you are paid when there is a purchase, in other words we say when there is a conversion.
This means that every time a customer buys a service or product from the vendor, you earn a commission.
At the moment almost all the big companies starting from Amazon, Apple, Walmart, etc.
They all have an affiliate program, and it’s free to join.
After joining the affiliate program, they will generate a special link used for tracking your sales.
This is the link you share on social media, your blog, ads and the email lists.
Remember that to increase the conversions, this link must be shared with the targeted audience with whom the product or service will be relevant.
What Are Affiliate Programs?
Affiliate marketing programs or affiliate networks as they are sometimes referred to are very simple to understand.
They simply provide a platform that allows for the merchants or vendors and affiliate marketers to meet.
Both the merchant and the affiliate marketer signs up with the platform, they connect and commence to work together.
The Affiliate networks help you connect with multiple merchants in different niches, rather than with just one individual company.
Take a look at the example below;
Affiliate programs will provide important tracking data and analytics to help you ( as an affiliate) get paid by the merchant.
Here are a few analytics that affiliate programs help track:
-How many impressions or number of people saw a banner ad
-How many people reached the sales page but never completed a purchase
-How many clicks a link or an ad or site got
-Income generated from a particular single affiliate among multiple merchants and offers
Without this tracking information which is readily accessible, affiliates would have a huge problem getting paid.
Besides even merchants could easily get duped by affiliates declaring false results or sales.
The affiliate network is an important part of the system because they create a relationship between the merchant and the affiliates as well as keeping track of all the transactions.
This is what makes the whole difference when choosing the right affiliate program.
These affiliate network platforms operate and reside on supercomputers called servers which require hosting and maintenance,
so the networks charge a small fee for each action completed for maintaining these computers and people managing them, thereby making the platforms free to use.
Types of Affiliate Programs
You can categorize the Affiliate programs as follows:
Social - These are programs designed to work best when advertised on social media through paid traffic, celebrities, or influencers
Content - These are programs advertised in articles, on review sites, and bogs, or hidden within the text using a method of cloaking.
Coupon - These are programs for gathering coupons and discount codes
Search - This program offers suitable for search engines, either by paid advertising (PPC) or organic search results
Email - all of us have at one time or the other received emails from these programs
When it’s time to determine which program is suitable for you, it’s important that you put this information into consideration.
Is There a Fee to Join an Affiliate Program?
Most of the affiliate programs are free to join although there are some who charge for joining the programs.
Since affiliate marketing means promoting a merchants product or service for a commission and you only get paid when there is a conversion,
The merchant is already getting free promotions through your platforms and your own efforts.
Therefore you should avoid affiliate programs that ask for you to pay to join
How to Choose an Affiliate Program
Due to the huge number of affiliate programs out there, it becomes difficult to choose the right ones for you.
Most merchants worth partnering with within the marketplace are part of a huge affiliate network that includes a lot of other companies.
One of the main reasons for joining an affiliate program is the commission rate and besides that,
I recommend that you also incorporate these factors in as well;
-Your current traffic, target audience, and your desired amount of affiliate income
-As a beginner, it’s important to remember NOT to get caught up in selecting high ticket offers with the highest commissions.
-Firstly, because these offers are very difficult to convert, which may lead to frustrations for beginners.
-And secondly, you risk being rejected into signing up for these offers as a beginner.
If you are just starting out, your first goal should be to create a brand with your platform in your chosen niche, affording you a chance to become an authority in related topics.
This means that you should not promote offers that are outside of your chosen niche on your blog as this would imply that you are not decided on what you want to promote.
Stick to one particular niche and if you want to promote a different niche, start a different blog with content related to that niche.
I recommend partnering with programs that offer products or services that are relevant to your chosen niche and audience.
When you promote products or services to the wrong audience you will not make sales.
To be sure of what products or services to promote, you can reach out to your audience from where they hung out
( this could be in social media groups, forums, etc.) and ask what their interest are then choose affiliate programs based on their response
Choosing the right partner (or programs) will help determine your level of success as an affiliate.
Keep reading to learn more about some of the best affiliate programs available to you in different niches.
# 1 – ClickBank
With millions of products in over 25 niche categories, ClickBank is a popular choice among affiliate marketers.
Clickbank has been around for a long time and boasts of Billions of dollars in sales each year.
It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or an advanced affiliate marketer,
ClickBank is an excellent option for affiliates.
Setting up an account is relatively simple, entry requirements are low,
And once you’ve entered personal and payment information, you will be accepted as an affiliate and have access to a huge database of resources at your disposal.
Commissions and Payments
Until recently ClickBank was only offering digital products that are downloadable.
And because of the nature of digital products which eliminates shipping and handling, the commission rates can be very high some times as much as 75%
Many of the products listed on ClickBank are sold on a recurring basis, which is a huge opportunity for recurring income.
Moreover, many products have upsell options that can help boost your revenue.
Free Product Research Tools
ClickBank has rules, tools, and resources to prevent unscrupulous merchants from around the world who offer questionable products
But it’s your responsibility as an affiliate to make use of the resources provided by ClickBank to counter-check and make sure you are dealing with credible entrepreneurs.
Do your homework.
For new affiliates, the user interface may not be as easy to navigate as other affiliate program websites.
but once you get hold of it,
all the information is available on products in any chosen niche.
Best E-Commerce Affiliate Program
If you focus is on digital products that offer high commissions from entrepreneurs and merchants all over the world,
ClickBank has some of the highest paying affiliate opportunities.
Pros
- A wide selection of products for practically every niche
-Many Digital products have high commission rates
-Some offer recurring commissions for repeat customers you refer
-Easy and simple to use link generator
-Premium course provided to help you learn the program
-Flexible payment schedule
-Payments via standard check, wire transfer, or direct deposit
-No join Fee
Cons
-Huge competition for high-value Digital products
-Some product offers merchants within the network products or merchants questionable
-Does not pay affiliates through PayPal except for merchants
#2 – Bluehost
Bluehost is the best Webhosting and domain registration site in the world.
And a simple search will turn up many bloggers promoting Bluehost as one of the best affiliate programs out there.
Bluehost has a great reputation and has been around for a long time.
It’s also a great option for new bloggers to recommend to their audience for a commission.
Best Service Affiliate Program
With more than 2 million users, Bluehost is a trusted firm and has one of the best affiliate programs.
Bluehost offers great services for your audience which include:
-Free domain registration for 1 year
-A free SSL certificate
-24/7 support
-VPS hosting
-Woo Commerce hosting
-Dedicated hosting
-Shared hosting
-Flat Rate Commission Per Sale
In some affiliate programs, affiliates earn commissions based on a percentage of sales conversions,
Bluehost works a little differently.
The payout for affiliates is $65 for every customer converted.
This is a one-time payment, which works out to be higher than other ongoing commissions from separate domain registrars and hosting providers.
furthermore, once your commission earnings per sale increase and your sales volume grow, your potential earnings also grow into thousands of dollars each month.
And once your sales per month increase you can contact your affiliate manager about raising your commission rate.
Easy to Join, Stiff Affiliate Competition
Immediately after joining you’ll receive your unique affiliate link along with a variety of banners to promote Bluehost on your website.
And they have recently rebranded their Homepage, Shared Hosting, and Hosting Category pages.
It’s free to sign up and there’s no waiting period to be approved, Which makes it one of the easiest affiliate programs to join
Since every blogger starting out is promoting Bluehost because of the amazing services and ease of use.
Its difficult to stand out amongst the thousands of Bluehost affiliates, but it is possible to grow your affiliate income if you are creative.
Pros
-Recommended by WordPress.org, and in agreement for a click install of word press when you host with Bluehost
-Flat rate commission per sale
-Ability to negotiate higher flat rates per sale as the number of sales per month increases
-No upper limit on earnings per month
-No fees deducted from earnings
-Products come with a money-back guarantee
-Free to join
Cons
-Payment processing can take more than 30 days after the sale is earned
-Minimum threshold required for payout
-Payments only via PayPal
-Doesn’t offer monthly subscriptions
#3 – Commission Junction
Commission Junction, more commonly known as CJ Affiliate, after it changed its name, has been helping affiliates and merchants for a very long time.
Possibly one of the oldest affiliate programs if no the oldest.
On CJ Affiliates are known as “publishers” within the CJ Affiliate network.
To be an affiliate with a commission you should have an already established website for you to be able to create an account.
If after 6 months you have not made a sale, CJ will deactivate your account for about 3 months before you can re-apply for the program
Commissions and Payments
As a publisher, you get paid via direct deposit, check, or Payoneer (for non US residents).
CJ Affiliate pays out within 20 days of the end of the month, as long as you have a minimum payment threshold of US$50 (Direct Deposit) or US$100 (Check).
Commissions from multiple programs will be put together in one account
CJ Affiliate is one of the biggest networks available on the market and it has advanced features which allow you to deal with high-end retailers.
They also offer tracking and deep linking on there dashboard
Like any other serious company, CJ Affiliate is expanding and in addition to the USA, you can find their headquarters in United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and South Africa.
They also offer customer support by email and phone.
Best Affiliate Program for Beginners
As a beginner affiliate marketer, CJ Affiliate is one of the best programs available to get started with.
They’ll manage most of your relationships with merchants, allowing you to concentrate on your promotions and earning commissions.
CJ Affiliate also provides real-time reporting on their dashboard, which allows for account activity monitoring as they happen.
The signup process is relatively simple, though you would have to apply with specific merchants to promote their products once you’ve joined the network.
And not all of them will accept your request especially if you are a beginner.
Unlike ClickBank where you don’t have to apply to promote products from the merchant for most of the products and services.
Some merchants grant you instant approval, while others may take a few days or even reject your application.
Pros
-Wide variety of niches to choose from
-Merchants have the ability to seek you out and connect, increasing your ability to grow
-They have a relaxed relationship approach for bloggers and social media marketers
Cons
-Paid via standard check or direct bank deposit only
-It is also important to mention that CJ does not consider PayPal as payment.
-Minimum payout threshold
Choosing the Best Affiliate Program For You
There are hundreds of Affiliate programs out there and many more are springing up almost every day, and they are as varied as affiliate marketers.
Of course, no two would be the same, but your traffic or audience, their needs, and interests will help you narrow down the number among hundreds of options to choose from.
Among many affiliate programs to consider joining in 2021, I recommend getting started with these:
-Best E-commerce Affiliate Program: ClickBank
-Best Service Affiliate Program: Bluehost
-Best Beginner Affiliate Program: Commission Junction
This shortlist is by no means conclusive but hopefully has provided some insight for you to get started.
If you don’t already have an audience or have not created any content on your blog by the time you are applying for the affiliate program.
Assess how established your online following is, and how much you want to earn through affiliate marketing.
Finding the best affiliate program suited to you and your audience is ultimately up to you.
Searching what’s out there, may take some time, but it will definitely be worth the effort.
Hopefully, the post above was able to help get things going for you.
If You have suggestions, questions, or opinions about what you’ve read,
Don’t hesitate to reach me out.
Thank you, and good luck!
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