After writing so many successful blogs for years and having a good amount of traffic on your website, it is time to make some passive income. When making money from blogs, you may think of affiliate marketing as one of the best ways to monetize your blog. To be a successful affiliate marketer, you must join profitable affiliate networks.
Let’s first understand what an affiliate network is and why it is necessary.
Affiliate networks
An affiliate network is a platform that connects publishers with companies looking to promote their products. The product may be some physical/digital product, or it may be some service.
Publishers like blog writers, YouTubers, or some influencers promote these products and get commissions.
Affiliate networks usually provide training, tools, and other resources to affiliate marketers.
One of the most familiar examples of Affiliate networks is Amazon associates. It is the best affiliate network that allows thousands of products to be promoted for publishers and earns a commission for each purchase made by the consumer.
Working Concepts of Affiliate Networks
The purpose of the affiliate networks is to serve as a marketplace for the affiliate programs. Publishers, usually the website owners, select the product they want to promote. A custom link is given to them to track the purchase from their website, and they get a commission when a consumer makes a purchase.
Why join an Affiliate network?
Affiliate networks have high traffic on their website. They can connect affiliate marketers to thousands of brands, thus increasing chances of earning a good income.
A few more benefits of joining Affiliate Networks are:
- You have high earning potential with no limit.
- You do not have to chase payments. The platform itself takes care of it.
- You can choose products according to the requirements of your audience.
- Many affiliate networks offer rewards and incentives to publishers from time to time. That means the more you sell, the more commission you earn.
- You can track your progress via analytics and reporting tools.
There are drawbacks, too. The commission rates on some platforms are low. Moreover, some programs require a specific amount of traffic on your website before you can apply to join.
However, affiliate networks are a powerful way to monetize website traffic.
In my previous article, I explained the different types of affiliate networks to consider. Here, let’s explore some of the top affiliate networks.
1)ShareASale
It is a Chicago-based affiliate network that has been around since 2000. It is one of the most popular networks. It is free to join and is the most reliable network. With more than 270000 publishers and 25000 brands, it has a variety of physical and digital product categories and affiliate products to choose from.
Due to the high range of products, it has commission rates ranging from a minimum of 1% up to 150%. You can sign up with your website or social media account.
The affiliate dashboard has a simple interface and is helpful for new bloggers.
Pros:
- A large variety of products and services. Thousands of well-known merchants listed
- Comparatively small but useful affiliate programs
- It is a trustworthy platform as it has been working with big brands
- payments every 1st or 15th of each month
- Round-the-clock email support to publishers
- Training webinars and resources by the company
Cons:
- They have a very outdated dashboard interface
- The approval process for affiliates sometimes takes time and is unpredictable
Overall, ShareAsale is best for new publishers as well as established affiliates.
2) Awin (formerly Affiliate Window)
Awin is the largest and oldest affiliate marketing network, with about 25000 advertisers and 1 million publishers. Reports say it generated 182 million sales and paid $1 billion in commissions to affiliate marketers in 2020.
A few years ago, it acquired another network, ShareASale. These two networks operate individually with their merchants. You can sign up with both of them separately.
Awin belongs to Germany, and most of its merchants are from Europe, though US and global companies are also on the list.
Plenty of big names have their listings on Awin. Some of these are:
- Emirates
- Etsy
- AliExpress
- Hyatt
- Under Armour
- XE (money transfer)
- StubHub
- GymShark
There are many smaller merchants in different niche ranges according to your needs. Of course, you need to apply individually to merchants within the network.
Pros:
- It is best for new publishers as well as established affiliates
- It has a lot of physical and digital products with different niches, including eCommerce.
- The payment threshold is $20. You have a choice of having payment once or twice a month. Payment is via Payoneer or wire transfer.
- It is an easy-to-use platform with a user-friendly interface.
- Easy payment tracking with the Awin dashboard
- High list of brands to work with
Cons:
- With more than 250 networks joining every day, there is a lot of competition
- Joining Awin is free for the first month only
- It concentrates on UK and EU advertisers, although there are also global merchants.
3) CJ Affiliates (formerly Commission Junction)
C J Affiliate, founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 1998 as Commission Junction, is the most experienced and has two decades of experience as a successful Affiliate marketing Network. It specializes in big brands, smaller products, and service providers.
Some of the Companies having a listing on C J Affiliate are
- Samsung,
- Under Armour
- Staples
- Zappos
- Disney Shops
- Wallgreens
- IHG (Hotels)
- Grammarly
- Trip Advisor
There are over 3800 other brands listed on the C J Affiliate Network.
C J Affiliates provide all the tools and support to the affiliate marketers. Their metrics indicate the profitability of every Affiliate program so that an affiliate marketer can decide which program to choose, thereby saving their valuable time.
Some of the best features of this network are:
- It has variable commission rates according to the partnership with the merchants.
- The payment threshold is $50 for direct deposit and $100 for check deposit. C J Affiliate makes payments within 20 days of the end of every month.
- It has a wide range of physical products like electronic gadgets, gardening tools, automotive, etc.
- Best suited for bloggers with an established audience.
Pros:
- It is the largest and most reliable partnership-based platform that has a listing of many big Brands.
- Clickbank is a solution-based platform with a transparent network for diverse publishers.
- The dashboard gives real-time visibility into violation details and compliance insights.
- Ideal for even new publishers with less than a year’s experience in affiliate marketing.
Cons:
- The dashboard is a little bit complicated to understand for new publishers.
4)Clickbank
ClickBank, founded in 1998, is one of the oldest affiliate networks. It is an e-commerce platform and affiliate marketplace that provides access to a wide range of digital and physical products.
It has more than 100k affiliates and has paid about $6.2B in commissions to its publishers. You can say it is the real rags-to-riches business story of the friends who transformed their business into US$3 billion per year in sales.
Clickbank mainly focuses on digital information products. The affiliate journey for publishers and sellers at ClickBank is simple. Publishers build a website, generate traffic, choose offers, create tracking links, promote products, and get paid. Sellers launch affiliate programs, create offers, list products on the Clickbank marketplace, use the ClickBank order form, and Clickbank, after paying the Affiliate commission, gives them a tax remittance.
Signing up for a ClickBank account is free. Clickbank is the favorite platform of the Affiliates because of the high-converting affiliate offers, reliable tracking, and on-time payments. For sellers, Clickbank is a powerful eCommerce platform that gives affiliate management solutions to thousands of businesses and brands who want to grow their businesses online.
Pros:
- Top-performing offers with high-quality products to promote
- Accurate tracking of the sales with dedicated 24×7 support
- Most reliable in terms of payments
- You can do affiliate marketing even without a website
- High commission rate of up to 90%
Cons:
- The marketplace has an outdated dashboard
- Certain products have very high refund rates
5)Amazon Associates
As I have said earlier, Amazon is the world’s largest affiliate marketing network and e-Commerce store, with millions of products listed on its platform. Established in 1996, about 60% of affiliate marketers use Amazon associates. Products include everything from books to gardening tools and fashion products to electronics.
Amazon Associates is the most reliable affiliate network. It has a simple sign-in process, a user-friendly interface, and is easy to navigate, even for new publishers. The conversion rate is very high, especially on holidays. The product list is so vast that it fits almost all businesses.
The commission rate ranges from 1% to 10%, the highest on beauty products and clothes. The payout schedule is 60 days every month.
A good thing about Amazon Associates is that it gives publishers commission on any product purchased by their audience within 24 hours of clicking their link. That means you can still earn profit even if you have yet to promote a specific product. For example, if you create an affiliate link for a T-shirt, your audience clicks on that link but ends up buying a refrigerator. You still get the commission, provided it is in cookies (Normally 24 hours).
Recently, Amazon has launched its Amazon Influencer Program for businesses with large audiences on social media platforms. This means you can make earnings from Amazon if you are a YouTuber or have an account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Pros:
- Amazon is an international Brand with global recognition
- Millions of products to promote
- Known for focus on customer satisfaction
- User-friendly Dashboard
Cons:
- The 24-hour cookies time is far from ideal to reach easily
- Commission rates vary too often
6) Etsy Affiliate Program
Etsy is a hybrid affiliate marketing program and e-commerce store. Most of the products sold on this platform are made by individual crafters and artists, although there are overseas manufacturers listed also.
Etsy, established in 2005, expanded its presence in India in 2018.
It is a global marketplace and home for extraordinary creative goods like home decor items and trending fashion products.
Etsy has over 6 million active sellers and about 90 million buyers. Buyers looking for something special and unique find Etsy a perfect platform. Etsy is a place where creativity lives and thrives.
Etsy generated $4 billion in income for small businesses in the year 2021. The platform has been growing fast since then.
You can sell anything from handmade goods to vintage items and craft supplies on Etsy. The listing fee on Etsy is around 0.20 USD.
With low fees, powerful tools, support and education, Etsy has helped create many Entrepreneurs worldwide.
Pros:
- The best affiliate platform for handmade, vintage, and craft items
- Etsy has a very clean, modern, and easy-to-navigate interface
- It constantly updates items in stock
- Diverse product range to keep you engaged on the site
Cons:
- Many popular vendors eventually keep leaving the platform
7) FlexOffers
FlexOffers was founded in 2008. It is a performance-based marketing company. It is a vast network that has partnerships with other networks like Clickbank, Awin, ShareASale, and many more. FlexOffers has about 12k advertisers and 75k publishers across 65 networks and about 650M+ products in the database.
Some of the popular networks that partner with FlexOffers are:
- eBay
- Clickbank
- Awin
- Pepperjam
- Commissionfactory
- Avangate
- PartnerStack
- Rakuten marketing
- ShareASale
- Impact
FlexOffers is an award-winning affiliate marketing company committed to providing the best experience for its publishers and advertisers.
After signing up on FlexOffers, you are assigned a dedicated affiliate manager to help you navigate the affiliate program. It provides the necessary tools and resources to access the program. Thus, FlexOffers is ideal for those just starting their affiliate journey.
The payment schedule is fast. Many publishers access their payment within seven days.
Pros:
- Simple and friendly sign-in process
- Affiliates other than WordPress, such as Wix or Blogger, can also apply
- A dedicated manager is assigned to every Affiliate
- They have a novel Flex-Rev$hare program. In this program, you get a part of the revenue made by your sub-affiliates
Cons:
- Payment up to $5000 are made through PayPal outside the USA. Above 5000, it is through wire transfer
8) Rakuten Advertising (Formerly LinkShare)
Rakuten is a Japanese affiliate marketing service provider. They acquired LinkShare in 2005. Rakuten has over 20 million members and has paid about $3.2 billion cashback to its members. The business model of Rakuten is simple. Merchants pay a commission to Rakuten for sending its members to shop on their website. Rakuten then shares the commission with you in the form of cashback. Find your store on Rakuten, shop as usual, and get cashback paid via PayPal or check.
Signing up on Rakuten is free and requires only your email address.
Brands participating with Rakuten include:
- American Standard
- Home Fashion Designs
- SK Hand Tools
- Colgate
- Walmart
The approval process on Rakuten may be slow, especially when your website has little or no traffic, because Rakuten is a serious player and has a trusted name in affiliate marketing.
It is a sleeping giant, and most of the new Affiliates don’t pay attention to it. Rakuten provides brands with the necessary tools and resources to trace the user journey through the funnel and conversions.
Pros:
- Most of the big brands use Rakuten
- Rakuten is one of the oldest and most trusted networks
- A comparable alternative to Amazon
Cons:
- The back-end dashboard is outdated
- Rakuten pays commissions to its publishers only when merchants pay them
9) Advance Affiliate Network
Avangate started in 2006. It deals with digital products, mostly software. A website is necessary to partner with this network because most publishers (about 65%) are content creators and promote the products through website reviews and video content.
Other affiliate categories on this network are coupons and discount affiliates, email marketers, and social media marketers. Worldwide traffic encourages publishers to promote products in any part of the world.
If your niche is digital products and software, you can make a handsome passive income. The top-selling countries are USA, UK, Australia, Canada and Germany.
Some of the features of this network are:
- The payment schedule is 20 days from the end of each month
- The payment threshold is $100, and payment methods are Check, PayPal, Wire transfer, and Avangate Mastercard
- Avangate provides affiliate support to its publishers
- The commission rate starts from 25% and can go up to 50% or more
Popular merchants associated with Avangate are Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Hide my ass (VPN), Awario, Movavi, and Malwarebytes.
Pros:
- High range of digital products and software
- High commission rate of up to 50%
- Full affiliate support
- Best for publishers specializing in technology and SaaS products
Cons:
The payment threshold is $100, which is much higher and is sometimes difficult to reach
10)MaxBounty
MaxBounty is a world-leading performance-based cost-per-action (CPA) affiliate network founded in 2004 in Canada. Affiliates get paid when a user installs software or completes a form. Cost per action proves more beneficial than CPS (cost per sale) for advertisers and affiliates.
MaxBounty also has a referral program that offers a 10% commission for referring new affiliates to their network, thereby putting more money into the pocket of the affiliates.
MaxBounty is for experienced affiliates looking for high-paying offers because it has a strict approval process and a high minimum payment threshold.
It is a perfect platform for bloggers, media- buyers, social media experts, and email marketing experts.
Presently, it has more than 30,000 affiliates and 3000+ active campaigns on its network. Some of the popular merchants on this network are:
- Alibaba.com
- McAfee
- Shutterstock
- Norton
- Walmart
MaxBounty provides Tracking and analytic software to optimize affiliate campaigns. It has a team of dedicated managers to help gain insights, monitor success, and improve strategies to meet the goals of the affiliates.
Pros:
- MaxBounty has a well-designed interface
- The payment schedule is weekly via direct deposit, Check, PayPal, and Payoneer
- It gives additional earnings to the affiliates through performance-based rewards
Cons:
- MaxBounty has a strict sign-up and approval process
- minimum payment threshold is high (up to $100)
To Sum Up
Affiliating marketing is a very lucrative earning opportunity. If your website or any social media platform has good traffic, you have the potential to start earning passive income very soon. Search for the best affiliate network on Google.
You can also browse affiliate directories or directly visit a brand’s website. Of course, this requires a lot of research and patience to decide the most appropriate network for you.
The idea is to sign up for multiple affiliate marketing networks according to your interest, convenience, and payout terms.
