If you want to earn serious money online as an affiliate, you need to learn about these best affiliate programs. Then, you should select their top products or services to promote. In this article, you will learn what an affiliate program is and which programs are the best for you to join.
What is an affiliate program?
It is a program where a merchant site pays commissions to affiliates for sending traffic or converting sales for their products. In this marketing model, the merchant site invites affiliates (influencers) to join their affiliate programs and then the affiliates promote their products to needy people. Some affiliate programs need approval, but others don’t.
Any interested person can become an affiliate by joining an affiliate marketing program and promoting the products on their sites. On an agreement, the merchant pays commissions to the affiliate for every sale made or a required action completed by customers.
There are several affiliate programs you can join for free and make money online with or without your website.You can join any of them and promote the best products.
You create affiliate links and place them on your website pages or somewhere you work at. When your visitors click on the affiliate links or banners, you send them to the merchant’s website. If they buy a product or do an action as the merchant wants, you get the commission as agreed.
Though the process seems easy, making money with the affiliate marketing system requires skill and effort. You need to find the best affiliate programs and know the products that may convert into sales easily.
Below is our selection of the best affiliate programs recommended by most marketers and reviewers. Join one or more of them relevant to your niche and start promoting them on your site or blog. They are all free to join. These best-paying affiliate marketing programs are also great for beginners.
Best Affiliate Programs to Join for 2024
1. ShareASale
Our first choice is ShareASale. It provides easy-to-use features to promote products. It has 1000s of merchants. So, enjoy selecting many popular products to promote. It provides a real-time reporting interface.
- Lucrative commission rates.
- Many great products to promote.
- Customizable reporting system.
- Easy and free sign up
2. Amazon
Amazon is a trusted marketplace for almost everyone on the planet. Amazon Associates Program is known for high conversion rates and a good reporting interface. Amazon offers a wide range of products to choose from and promote easily.
- Free and easy sign-up process.
- Link to any product page or category you want.
- While logging in to the account, you can search for any product and create an affiliate link. Use the SiteStripe found at the top of any page.
- View the report of any date range for link types, orders, earnings, daily trends, or tracking ID summary.
- Almost unlimited products you can choose to promote.
- The commission rate varies based on product type or category.
- You have chances to earn even for any sale of unlinked products.
- 24 hours for affiliate cookies
- The support system is available through the contact form, email, and phone.
- Payment by cheque, bank transfer, or Amazon gift card.
| Join the Amazon affiliate program
If you want to run Amazon affiliate campaigns successfully, check these books | Best Amazon Affiliate Marketing Books
3. ClickBank
ClickBank is also a popular affiliate network. You can find numerous digital products like e-books, software, and membership sites to promote.
- Free registration.
- High commission.
- Only digital products.
- Promote any product in any country.
- Good reporting system to check earnings.
- Easy product search options.
- ClickBank University to teach you to earn more.
- They offer email support.
| Join the ClickBank affiliate program
If you want to run ClickBank affiliate marketing profitably, check these books | Best ClickBank affiliate marketing books
4. Commission Junction
CJ is one of the largest affiliate marketing networks. When we reviewed Commission Junction (CJ), we found that it has everything we seek.
- Easy ad management and tracking system.
- Real-time and easy reporting system.
- Easy search options for products.
- You can find products for almost every niche.
- Tools to maximize your earnings.
- Good support system.
However, to become a CJ affiliate, you need a good amount of traffic to get accepted.
5. HubSpot
The HubSpot affiliate program is a lucrative option if you are looking to promote marketing, sales, and service software solutions.
- Commission Rate: 30% recurring commission for up to one year on sales generated.
- Cookie Duration: 180 days.
- Target Audience: If you create content targeting business professionals, Hubspot is for you. Software reviewers, content creators, online educators, and business solution providers can use Hubspot as their affiliate platform.
If you have an audience of business owners, marketers, or sales professionals interested in improving their growth strategies, you can join this affiliate program.
6. Fiverr
Fiverr is one of the largest marketplaces offering freelance services. Almost all digital services are available there. Promote any services on this platform across the globe. You’ll get paid for every service sold through your links.
- Free registration.
- Creative resources to promote.
- No referral limit and lifetime attribution.
- User-friendly affiliate dashboard.
7. Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising boasts 150,000+ publishers and brands worldwide. They have claimed the largest pay-for-performance affiliate marketing network.
- Global brands across multiple industries, from fashion to financial services.
- Custom curation and deep linking tools.
- Good help and support.
8. Affiliaxe
It is one of the most popular programs with a wide range of products and offers for global affiliate marketers. But you need to get approval for your affiliate application.
- Advanced monetization tools like product feed, deep linking, redirect tools, auto-optimized ad tags, and more.
- Active in 175 countries.
- Payout every two weeks.
9. BlueHost
It is one of the best hosting companies in the world. Make money by becoming a BlueHost affiliate. Sign up for free and promote their attractive hosting packages, WordPress hosting plans, and domain registrations. Bluehost has affiliate managers for any help and personal advice.
- Free registration.
- Reliable tracking system.
- Dedicated team to help affiliates.
- No cap on earning commissions.
- Many promotional resources.
10. Shopify
Shopify is one of the famous e-commerce software tools used by retailers and bloggers to open their online shops. Join as an affiliate and drive traffic to increase the number of Shopify users. You will earn handsome commissions. Your application needs approval to get started.
- Free to sign up.
- No earning caps. Earn as much as you can.
- Blogs, webinars, video tutorials, tools, and automated funnels to save your content creation time and effort.
- Partner support is available via phone, email, or live chat.
- Unique affiliate link for tracking each referral.
11. Cloudways
The Cloudways affiliate program is a great way to earn money by promoting a popular cloud hosting platform. To join the program, you must have a website or blog. It is a popular choice for those in the web hosting niche.
- Commission rates: 7% recurring lifetime commissions
- Cookie duration: 90 days
- Minimum payout: $50
- Target audience: Web developers, designers, and businesses
- Promotion methods: Banners, text links, creative content
12. SEMRush
BeRush is the affiliate program of SEMRush – one of the most popular complete SEO software tools. As SEMRush is a famous marketing tool, you can convert more visitors into subscribers.
- Free sign-up.
- $200 for every new sale, $10 for every new trial, $0.01 for every new sign-up.
- Payout twice a month.
- 120-day cookie life.
- Exclusive promotional materials in 5 languages – English, Spanish, French, German, and Russian.
13. Skillshare
The Skillshare affiliate program offers a 40% commission on each new member you refer who begins a free trial and then signs up for a paid membership without a refund. To join their program, you must create an account through the Impact network. Once your account is approved, you will generate your unique affiliate links.
- Commission rates: 40% on new members
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Minimum payout: $50
- Target audience: People looking to learn new skills
- Promotion methods: Banners, text links, creative content
14. Elementor
Elementor is a dynamic drag-and-drop website builder. It has hundreds of widgets, integrations, website templates, and design tools. This WordPress plugin is increasingly popular among WordPress users. So, the conversion potential is high.
- 50% commission per sale
- 45 days cookie life
- You can promote it on your websites and social media.
15. AWeber
It is one of the most popular email marketing tools for bloggers and affiliate marketers. So, its marketing potential is high.
- Free sign up
- 50% commission
- One-year cookie life
16. Razer
The Razer affiliate program is great for earning money by promoting a popular gaming hardware and accessories brand. To join the program, you must have a website or blog for gamers and tech enthusiasts. You can promote the program using banners, text links, or other creative content.
- Commission rates: Up to 10%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Target audience: Gamers and tech enthusiasts
- Promotion methods: Banners, text links, creative content
17. HostGator
It is a popular web hosting company. Enjoy a flexible commission structure. See how much you can earn from their affiliate program:
The commission rate per sign-up:
- $65 for 1-5
- $75 for 6-10
- $100 for 11-20
- $125 for 21+.
18. WP Engine
Join the WP Engine WordPress hosting affiliate program. Most webmasters want super-fast WordPress hosting. Hence, you can make more sales with their program.
- $200 or 100% of the first-month payment for WP Engine & Genesis Pro sales
- 35% of StudioPress Theme sales
- Cookie life – 180 days for WP Engine or 60 days for StudioPress theme sales
19. Constant Contact
It is a well-known email marketing platform. You can earn a good referral income from their affiliate program.
- Easy sign-up process
- $5 commissions for every referral of free trials
- Up to 80% when the new referral pays for the full account.
- No cap for earning.
20. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a popular choice for affiliate marketers because of its high commission rates, recurring commissions, and large customer base. If you are looking for a high-paying affiliate program in the email marketing niche, ConvertKit is a great option to consider.
- Commission rates: 30% recurring commission for 24 months
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Minimum payout: $50
- Target audience: Creators and entrepreneurs
- Promotion methods: Banners, text links, creative content
21. Wix
It is one of the most popular web hosting platforms. They provide links and creatives, in all languages, to make it easy for you to put on your site. But, if you can’t reach a minimum sales target of $300 per month, your earnings will remain in your account.
- $100 per Premium referral
- No sales limit.
- 30 days of cookie life.
22. Coursera
It offers over 4,000 courses and specializations, including Digital Marketing, Applied Data Science, Personal Development, and more. Each course consists of pre-recorded videos, puzzles, and assignments. They use easy-to-integrate Linkshare tracking links.
- Free to join
- 10% to 45% commission
- Professionally designed banners and text links
- 30 days cookie life
23. Teachable
It helps interested people create and sell online courses. Teachable is also one of the most reputable e-learning platforms, with a variety of courses.
- Up to 30% commission per subscription
- 30-day cookie window
24. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an online store builder. Thousands of e-commerce sites in over 150 countries use it in a wide range of industries, including fashion, automotive, manufacturing, food, and health. Their affiliate program offers a 200% bounty payment on the plan’s price.
- Free to apply
- 200% bounty per referral and $1,500 per Enterprise referral
- No commission caps
- Referral links, pre-made banners, emails, and more
- 90 days cookie life
25. Adobe Creative Cloud
It is a recurring affiliate program. They offer an 85% commission on first-time sales of Creative Cloud subscriptions. This is one of the highest-paying affiliate programs. Adobe Creative Cloud is a popular choice for affiliate marketers because of its well-known brand.
- Commission rates: 85% on first-time sales
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Minimum payout: $100
- Target audience: Creative professionals and businesses
- Promotion methods: Banners, text links, creative content
26. Wordable
Their affiliate program offers a 30% recurring commission on all sales generated through your affiliate links. You must have a website or blog with a target audience of bloggers, content creators, and marketing professionals.
- Commission rates: 30% recurring commission
- Cookie duration: 45 days
- Target audience: Bloggers, content creators, and marketing professionals
- Promotion methods: Banners, text links, creative content
27. SocialPilot
It is a social media marketing and scheduling tool used by many social media professionals to increase their marketing efficiency and save time.
- Recurring 20% commission for every new sale or renewal of a SocialPilot subscription
- 90-Days Cookie Duration
- Promo banners and text links to share anywhere on your website, blog, and Social Media
28. JVZoo
JVZoo is one of the most popular online stores selling digital products like eBooks, plugins, tools, apps, product development guides, etc.
- Up to 100% commissions on some products
- Recruit sub-affiliates for 2-tier earnings.
Note: From the list, ClickBank, ShareAsale, and Rakuten Marketing are affiliate programs that don’t require a website. It means that you create content and promote the products on platforms like Medium, YouTube, and social media sites without your site.
Important Affiliate Marketing Terms
Cookie: An affiliate cookie is a file that is created and stored on the web browser when a visitor clicks on an affiliate link. With the help of the cookie, the affiliate networks can track where a sale came from.
EPM: It means earnings per 1,000 impressions. If a program is based on EPM type, you will earn the agreed amount for every 1,000 impressions from your campaigns.
EPC: EPC stands for Earnings Per Click. It typically refers to the earnings you might earn for every 100 clicks on affiliate links.
CPA: It stands for Cost per Action, which is a payment model of advertisers to pay their affiliates for conversions only.
CPS: Cost Per Sale is a flat rate per sale or a percentage of the price of a product.
CPL: Cost Per Lead is a rate paid for each successful lead generated.
CPC: Cost Per Click is a rate paid for every valid click on an advertisement.
How to maximize your earnings as an affiliate marketer?
If you want to become a successful affiliate marketer, you need the following 6 things:
- A highly profitable niche
- A well-designed affiliate site
- Best affiliate marketing programs related to your niche
- Skills of choosing the right products your target audience would love
- Content writing skills
- Skills in driving traffic and improving conversion rate.
So, the more skills you have in the above areas, the more money you can make. If you excel in each of the above things, you can maximize your affiliate earnings up to the level you can imagine.
All affiliate sites started with great hope. But most of them fail to achieve their dream goals. Because they don’t have enough skills in those areas above.
So, what should you do?
Learn from the experts. Read some books. Enroll in some good courses. They reveal the top secrets and strategies. They help you shorten your time and efforts to master affiliate marketing. If you don’t know how to perform a particular task, spend a few bucks on an expert’s service. This will enable you to increase your affiliate earnings quickly.
Affiliate Marketing Books & Courses
These selected books and training courses will teach you top success secrets and shortcuts from experienced people in the field. Apply their tips and tricks. Even try to go beyond them. Click the links below:
| Best affiliate marketing books
| Best affiliate marketing courses
Affiliate Services
Meet an expert. From designing a new affiliate site to research, management, and promotion, many experienced freelancers are available on Fiverr. For a small investment, your heavy work will get done in the stipulated time. Doing so will save you time and energy. Click the link below and scroll down the list to find a service you need:
Your comments are most welcome. If you are happy reading this list of the best affiliate marketing programs, please share this page with your social media posts.
Ibochouba Singh is a content writer and reviewer with a passion for writing about digital marketing and tech gadgets, including software tools and new tech gadgets. He has over 15 years of experience writing for several consumers and clients, including tech startups, marketing agencies, and software companies. He is writing many articles and product reviews for many websites, including nigcworld.com, buywin.in, medium.com, and quora.com.
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