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When you are a new blogger, one of the best ways for you to start monetizing your content is through affiliate marketing. So finding the right affiliate marketing programs for bloggers is going to be a vital part of your blogging journey.
Luckily, when I first started this blog, I had already been an affiliate marketer for over a year and knew my way around the space.
But I know how hard it can be to figure out which platforms work for which niches.
Most platforms don’t let you see the actual catalog of products that they have without having you sign up first.
So in this article, I am going to go through 10 amazing affiliate marketing programs that will work for almost any niche.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing As A Beginner
You may have heard some great things about affiliate marketing when you did your research about becoming a blogger.
Did it sound too good to be true?
Well, the truth is, affiliate marketing is actually one of the best and most lucrative ways for a blogger to monetize their site.
There are three main ways that you can incorporate affiliate marketing in your blog posts:
- Doing reviews
- Making How-To guides
- Making listicales
If you want to learn more about how to do these I recommend taking a look at Income School’s blog page.
They give a lot of great information about how to write these different kinds of articles and make them natural sounding for affiliate sales.
10 Affiliate Marketing Programs That Are Perfect For Bloggers
Like I said earlier, I have been on a lot of different affiliate platforms throughout the years. Some are just better suited for bloggers than others.
Especially if you are a beginner.
There are two main types of affiliate platforms:
- Marketplaces
- Individual Programs
Marketplaces generally host hundreds or thousands of affiliate products and merchants. Whereas individual affiliate programs usually are for one specific product or company.
Both of these will be featured in this niche.
So here are 10 great affiliate marketing platforms and programs that you can join.
Quick Disclaimer: I have been a part of all of these and I am also still an affiliate for most of them. So everything is coming from first-hand experience.
1-Skimlinks
I remember when I first wanted to become a blogger. I told myself that one day when I got the right kind of traffic, I would join Skimlinks.
Skimlinks was made to make the lives of bloggers and online content creators so much easier.
It basically is a huge online marketplace with over 48,000 different merchants that you can become affiliates for.
But guess what the best part is?
You don’t even need to sign up to be a part of these programs!
Due to Skimlinks API, all you have to do is enter a bit of code into your website and it will turn every link on your blog into an affiliated link.
Meaning you won’t have to sign up and keep track of dozens of different affiliates. You will have everything you need right in the Skimlinks dashboard.
One thing to keep in mind is that not all affiliate products are available in all countries. So it is best if you have traffic from countries like the US, Australia, Canada, UK, etc.
2-Share-A-Sale
Shareasale is one of the biggest affiliate marketing networks that has been around for over 20 years now.
They bring together tens of thousands of merchants into one platform so that affiliates can also easily have everything in one place.
The big difference is that you will have to apply to get an affiliate link for each merchant individually.
Unlike Skimlinks, the process is not automatic.
Each merchant has its own set of rules and guidelines that you will have to follow.
This is the kind of affiliate marketplace that is more common. And as a blogger myself, it is actually really nice to be able to have all of the merchants together.
That way, you won’t need to log into dozens of individual affiliate platforms.
3-CJ (Commission Junction)
CJ which used to be called Commission Junkie is also another big affiliate marketplace that hosts thousands of merchants.
It is actually claimed to be the world’s “largest and most established affiliate marketing ecosystem”. They basically claim to guarantee your success.
I have been on the platform myself for only 3 months and I am already seeing a lot of affiliate sales coming in.
CJ now pays out over 14 billion dollars annually and is one of the most trusted affiliate sites in the world.
Not only do they have a great range of brands like Barnes & Noble and J.Crew, but they have a wide variety of categories.
So whether you are a fashion blogger or a gamer, you will have great products that you can become affiliated with.
4-Clickbank
Clickbank is actually one of my favorite platforms.
It is also an affiliate marketplace that has a lot of affiliate products that you can get links for.
The variety is not as big as places like CJ or Shareasale, however, it is known for being one of the most beginner-friendly platforms.
It is also known for having higher-paying products which also mean more commissions. On average these kan range from 30%-100%.
I personally credit my first ever affiliate sales to Clickbank and it is still one of the platforms that I use the most.
One of the things that sticks out the most is that is one of the few places where you can find niches like the dog niche, spirituality niches, and digital entrepreneur niche.
The products are high-quality and surprisingly easy to sell, even though the prices are a bit higher.
5-Grammarly
You may be scratching your head a bit but yet, Grammarly has its own affiliate program. It is an individual platform for the Grammarly product only.
If you are a blogger and you are not using Grammarly or some type of editor, then you are missing out on some great tips to better your writing.
In fact, because so many writers and bloggers use it and love it, it makes it perfect for them to also promote.
It has a free extension that you can download which makes it a lot more attractive for people who are trying to become better editors.
When it comes to the commissions, you can get $0.20 per free download and $20 per premium plan upgrade.
I personally love the program for the incentives that it gives and the 90-day sticky cookie window.
It is probably the easiest affiliate program that you can join.
6-Bluehost
Another blogger favorite is Bluehost.
If you know anything about starting a blog then you have probably seen Bluehost everywhere.
Heck, this very site is hosted on Bluehost.
It is a favorite in the blogging community which is why many bloggers that host their site there, also choose to join their affiliate program.
But the great thing is that you can join whether you have a Bluehost site or not.
The commission setup is very simple: $65 for every account that you refer to Bluehost.
That’s it!
Not only is it simple, but you will also get recurring commissions if the person renews or upgrades their plan.
They will also give you great resources, banners, and special links for promos and offers.
7-GetResponse
GetResponse is an email marketing automation platform that over 100,000 businesses and individuals use daily.
So it is no surprise that they also have an affiliate program for their product.
It is also one of those products that are easy to sell because they have a free plan available for beginners with a smaller contact list.
They have two different commission tiers:
- One with a 33% monthly recurring commission
- One with $100 per sale (non recurring)
I personally think that it is better to stick to a recurring plan that will come in every month but to each his own.
Because of the fact that it is so well-known, it is a product that many people will like.
8-Amazon Associates
I am still surprised that so many bloggers have no idea that Amazon has its own affiliate program.
Amazon will let you promote anything in its catalog including products like Amazon Prime, Amazon Video, and Audible.
The great thing about being on Amazon is that everyone uses it and it is already a big name. Plus there are millions of things that you can promote in all different categories.
The sky really is the limit.
Getting a link is super easy and there is no need to “apply” for certain products like on other marketplaces.
However, due to the range of prices, the commissions are also not that high and usually range from 2%-5% for products.
With 10% for bounty products like Amazon Prime.
So it is not considered a high-ticket platform but it is a very easy sell.
One thing you should know is that, when you sign up, you will have 180 days to make 3 sales. Otherwise, your account will be deactivated. Thankfully, it is easy to sign-up again and reactivate your account.
9-Etsy
Another big name in the industry is Etsy.
The Etsy affiliate also opens the entire Etsy catalog for all its affiliates meaning hundreds of thousands of products that you can choose from.
So in that sense, it is a lot like Amazon Associates.
However, there are two different kinds of affiliate commissions on Etsy:
- 4% for standard publishers (directly with affiliate links)
- 2% for content created on social media.
So this is not considered a high-paying affiliate program either but it is also a platform where it is very easy to find products that you use or that you like and share them.
It is very beginner-friendly and also a favorite in the blogging world.
10-Canva
Last but definitely not least, you have Canva.
Canva is going to be the best friend of any online content creator. Whether you are a youtuber, an influencer, a digital marketer or a blogger.
It is an online platform that allows you to make everything from blog banners to Instagram posts, to pins, to videos.
The best part is, they have a completely free version that has almost everything you will need as an online content creator.
This makes it very easy to promote and share with your viewers.
However, Canva’s affiliate program works a bit differently.
If you promote the free version then it doesn’t pay actual money. What it does is give you credits that you can use on their platform.
Meaning you can use the platform for free and also get access to certain premium features.
But if you chose to promote Canva Pro, you can make $36 per referral. But you will have to sign up via Impact.
Final Thoughts
This list is something that I wish that I had when I first started blogging.
I remember spending hours online trying to figure out how to find the right affiliate programs. It wasn’t an easy task and it took a long time.
This article is made to help anyone who is a blogger and who wants to eventually monetize their site.
Affiliate marketing is quickly going to become your favorite income stream.
Personally, I don’t even look at ad revenue anymore due to how well my affiliate marketing is going.
So hopefully, if you set your content up correctly, you will also be able to optimize your website for monetization.
