Introduction
The e-commerce business trend has been on the rise for quite some time and it is not going to slow down anytime soon. In fact, it will only be growing in the future. There is a strong reason for this. People across the world have loved this idea of ordering products online and getting them delivered to their doorstep. No one has to move a muscle to buy a product they want. It can be as small as a USB connector or as big as a refrigerator everything can be bought online. But the eCommerce businesses have not always been this popular. It is only after the large scale availability of the internet the public has started using these services. The rise of the global internet users has given these e-commerce businesses a huge boost. Now there are literally no products that you cannot buy on the internet.
Many people think that selling products online is a great way of doing business. But what they do not understand is that there are thousands if not millions of products available online. In this ocean of products, it is not difficult for a product with a lot of potential to get lost. The merchant has to bear heavy losses if their products are not bought. An e-commerce website cannot help each and every product to achieve its sales target. This is mainly because people have to be aware of a product to buy it. If people do not even know what is the product and how it is useful for them why would they buy it? So in order for a product to be bought by the public, it has to be known by them. How would anyone know about them? The answer is simple marketing.
Marketing plays a major role in the success of any product. One may have created the best product of its kind that the world has ever seen but it will not be bought by people if it is not marketed properly. Marketing is key if you want your product to reach the maximum number of people in the world. Offline marketing has its own advantages but nothing can help a merchant like online marketing. Online marketing has the potential to reach the audience that a merchant would have never imagined. There are many types of marketing strategies one can use to make the public buy your product. But one of the most popular and effective ways to do it is through affiliate marketing. This marketing strategy has been very successful in driving the traffic towards e-commerce websites where people can buy products.
What is affiliate marketing and how does it work?
Affiliate marketing is a marketing strategy that helps the merchant website to sell products to the customers who are directed to the website by an affiliate. The affiliates of this website earn a small commission for each customer who visits the website through the link provided by them. All the affiliates do is search for the products they understand and are interested in. After finding the products that they are interested in they promote the product. When a customer makes a purchase through the promotion of the affiliate is given a small portion of the profit by the merchant website. The merchant website does this because the affiliate is helping them sell their products. All the sales of the merchant website are tracked through links. When a purchase is made through an affiliate link the affiliate is given a fixed amount as commission.
Affiliate marketing strategy involves various parties across the internet who are responsible for marketing a product to potential customers. This marketing strategy is widely used by the merchants to leverage the capabilities of various marketers to get customers to their website. There are three parties that are involved in the process of affiliate marketing. The first one is the merchant, the second is the advertiser or affiliate and the third is the customer. The merchant is the one who is in the possession of the product. Not only products one can even sell services online like software tutorials, etc. These people have to market their products or services. The seller or merchant doesn’t have to be involved in marketing at all times. They can simply take the help of affiliates to promote their products and generate revenue. This option is very logical and cost-effective for the merchants.
Affiliates are the ones who take up the responsibility of promoting the product on their own. The promotion of a product is done either by an individual or s company that markets products for different merchants. The affiliates play an essential role in making the customers buy products of a seller. It is the advertisers who convince the public to buy a certain product. They are the ones who make people believe that buying a particular product or availing a particular service is beneficial to them. Once they are successful in doing so the product will be purchased by the consumer and they get their commission from the seller. Generally, most of the affiliates focus on an audience of a specific type. They gain this audience by promoting products of a similar kind. For affiliates, this will often result in creating a brand for themselves. Once they establish their brand it becomes easy for them to drive consumers to the merchant websites.
Consumers are the ones who get income from their affiliates. The affiliates attract consumers through blogs, websites, social media postings, and other ways. When a consumer buys a product or avails a service through the links given in those posts the affiliates get paid. Most of the time the customers are unaware that the publisher is actually getting a commission on their purchase. But there are few incidents where the affiliates are upfront in stating that they will be receiving a certain amount if they buy products through links provided by them. But this is not a big deal as the consumers will not be buying the products for a higher cost if they purchase them through affiliate links. The consumers won’t be affected in any way if they buy products through affiliate marketing.
Ways in which affiliate marketers get paid
An affiliate marketer has to put in the initial effort to see steady cash flow. Once the affiliate is successful in driving the traffic to merchant websites they will keep on getting money. As long as the customers buy products using affiliate links the affiliate will be getting paid. Just imagine how long one would get paid for doing a job one time. An affiliate will earn money even when he is sleeping. There are several ways in which an affiliate can earn money through affiliate marketing. For the affiliate to get paid a customer does not always have to buy the product from the consumers. An affiliate gets paid based on the program or contract they have agreed upon. There are three ways in which an affiliate can earn money.
Pay per click
If the merchant and affiliate agree upon this program the consumer doesn’t have to buy the product or service from the merchant through affiliate links. All the customer has to do is visit the merchant website by clicking on the affiliate link. If the customer does this the affiliate will get paid. All the affiliate has to do is drive traffic to the merchant website. The more traffic they get the merchant website the more they get paid.
Pay per sale
This is the program that is mentioned in the article earlier. In order for the affiliate to get paid the customer has to purchase the product through an affiliate link. The affiliate will only get paid if the consumer buys the product from the seller. Merchant or the seller would pay a small price to the affiliate once the customer makes the purchase through their affiliate link.
Pay per lead
This program is a little complex compared to the other two. In this program, the customer does not have to make the purchase but has to perform some action that is desired by the merchant. Programs like this often involve actions such as signing up for a free trial, filling a contract, downloading some files from the merchant website, etc. The affiliate gets paid depending on the conversion of leads. So the customer has to perform the given action for the affiliate to get paid.
Benefits of being an affiliate marketer
Cost-effectiveness
To start any business or startup one had to put in an initial to sell products. But affiliate marketing is nothing like that. You do not need much investment to start your career as an affiliate marketer. One can do this in no time with a low budget and without any trouble. The line of work is straightforward and you don’t have to pay any fee for affiliate programs.
Flexibility
This is a freelancer’s job as it is very flexible. A person has complete independence in promoting the type of products that the individual wants. They are free to set their own targets, they can choose the products they want to promote and determine their own working hours. This job doesn’t need someone to work for extended periods of time it only wants them to get the job done. There are no rules and regulations that will be imposed on the marketer.
You can work from home
This the perfect job for a person who is looking for a job in marketing but does not want to go to an office. By being an affiliate marketer you can simply work from your home. You can just sit at your home and earn money by launching campaigns for the seller’s products. This can be done by a single person without any monitoring.
Rewards are performance-based
Most of the jobs require people to work for a fixed amount of hours to get paid. But affiliate marketing is completely different from that. One doesn’t have to work for hours and hours of the day because they don’t have to. Working for long hours is not going to any good if your performance is poor. Affiliate marketing is a purely performance-based job. You will only get paid according to what you bring in for the merchant. One will only get paid if they are successful in writing engaging reviews and launching campaigns. Only your performance is what matters when it comes to getting paid so one has to keep on improving their skills in affiliate marketing to get good results.
There are various affiliate programs that help affiliate marketers to make their job easy. One can be an affiliate to the merchants through these programs and earn money. Now that you have a full understanding of what affiliate marketing is let’s dive into the topic. Below is a list of some of the best affiliate programs that are available in the market. If you are looking to become an affiliate marketer affiliation with these programs will help you a lot.
Amazon Associates
The first affiliate program on this list might be one of the most popular affiliate programs that have ever existed which is Amazon Associates Affiliate Program. Amazon is one of the oldest players to use affiliate marketing to boost their revenue. In fact, the CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos who popularized affiliate marketing. Amazon affiliate sites are so popular that there is an entire category for Amazon affiliate sites. The Amazon affiliate program is so good that it is hard for anyone to not monetize their site with Amazon. One of the main reasons for using Amazon affiliate programs is because it is very easy to use. Another reason for choosing Amazon is that it is a very reasonable platform for niche businesses to sell their products. But the problem lies in the policies of Amazon which are not very clear. At times understanding and dealing with the policies of Amazon is very difficult.
One of the most important things a person needs to get associated with an affiliate program is large traffic. Many of the newcomers in this market cannot get approval from the affiliate networks because they do not have a lot of traffic. The reason newcomers do not get a lot of traffic is that the websites of these people are fairly new. But if you are a newcomer then don’t have to worry much if you want to join the Amazon affiliate program. Amazon will approve your website even if you have very little traffic. All your website has to do is fit the terms and conditions of the Amazon. If you can do that then your approval will be quick and easy. Amazon Associates Affiliate Program has a straightforward approach to approving a website. One just has to follow the due process and the approval will be granted within 24 hours.
The best part about choosing Amazon is that you can literally join from anywhere in the. This is because Amazon operates all around the world. There are multiple sites of Amazon in most of the countries across the world. You may want to check if the country you live in has its own version of Amazon. The commission part is where the Amazon Associates Affiliate Program gets a bit tricky. One will be hearing different percentages of commission from different businesses in the market. Each category of product offers a different number when it comes to commission. For example, if you are successful in making people buy video game consoles you will earn only 2% of the commission. But if you can make people buy luxury or beauty products you are going to get a 10% commission. The availability of the product also impacts how much you are going to earn per purchase.
Pros
- Links and ads are easy to customize.
- One can sign up for free.
- It is a very reliable platform.
- Amazon has millions of products.
Cons
- Commissions for some products are very low.
- Cookies only last for a day.
- International payouts are very difficult.
Visit website: Amazon Associates
eBay Partner Network
The second affiliate program on this list is also one of the most popular brands when it comes to selling and buying products. eBay is one of the largest online brands in the e-commerce business and it has over a billion listings across different categories of products. Just looking at this number you can imagine the wide range of products you can promote. If there is any specific product or type of products you want to promote you will definitely find them on eBay. The affiliate program of eBay is called eBay Partner Network. The best part about choosing eBay is that there are no requirements if you want to join eBay’s affiliate program. But one has to understand that is very strict with whoever it approves. One will get the full idea of how eBay works once they join eBay. Thanks to the great landing page that eBay has which consists of all the information a new affiliate needs to be aware of.
But you have to be careful as information from one page is often different from the other. In case, if you find any information that is contradictory to the previous page you read don’t panic. As long as you are working according to the network agreement then you are fine. The referral period has to be the biggest drawback of the eBay affiliate program. Not long ago the cookies used to be active for an entire week but now they are active only for 24 hours. This duration is extremely short for any affiliate program. 30 days is the standard referral period and some of the affiliate programs even have a referral period of 90 days. Needless to say, this has led to eBay receiving complaints from lots of its affiliates because this has drastically reduced their earnings. eBay is also known for its one of a kind auction feature on its platform. The company itself claims that out of all the items it sells half of them are sold through auction. A referral period of 24 hours is not good for auctioning as people tend to wait till the end to buy a product in an auction.
The eBay Partner Network Affiliate Program has a very easy to use link generator tool. The affiliate program of eBay allows an affiliate to have the ability of deep linking. Using deep linking you can provide links to any page of eBay and not just the homepage. Apart from the link generator, there are also some other tools you can use. There is a tool called smart placements which is very helpful for affiliates. This tool allows an affiliate to display dynamic banners according to the consumer who is viewing it. Banners of the products that consumers have seen previously but didn’t buy are shown to them. There are all types of banners of all sizes you can use. eBay also has seasonal banners which can be used to show the current activity on the platform.
An affiliate receives a commission when his traffic turns into winning bid auctions or buy it now purchases. The commission percentages of eBay range from 50% to 70% depending on the category. The highest percentage that is 70% is for the products that are in the category of fashion and accessories. You will get a 100% bonus if a reactivated user or a new buyer makes a purchase through you. In order to withdraw the money, you have to earn at least $10. You can choose the option of direct deposit or PayPal as your payment method. But the direct deposit option is only available in 11 countries.
Pros
- Commissions that range from 40% to 80%.
- It contains millions of products.
- Easy to generate links.
Cons
- Cookies last for only 24 hours.
- Auctions last longer than cookies.
- It is confusing sometimes.
Visit website: eBay Partner Network
Fiverr Affiliates
Fiverr is the third affiliate program on this list and it is not like the first two affiliate programs. Fiverr is a well-known platform for freelancing which began as a startup and has grown into one of the most used freelancing platforms in the world. At present Fiverr offers various freelancing services to the large number of users that visit this platform every day. It has one of the best affiliate programs for beginners if you are interested in marketing freelancing services. The freelancers in Fiverr offer different types of freelancing services like writing, translation, photography, wildlife freelancing, and many more. The Fiverr platform links the freelancers who are looking for a job to related opportunities that are authentic, safe, and secure. Not only that it also helps the companies, startups, and brands who are looking for a freelancer to work for them by providing them the resumes of the freelancers that suit their job description. Affiliates earn money by driving traffic to Fiverr through Fiverr Affiliates.
Fiverr is a platform that provides opportunities for freelancers to find the jobs they want. On the other hand, it gives the companies access to freelancers who can increase their productivity. The freelancers can earn a good amount of money by doing the freelancing jobs available in Fiverr. It is a win-win situation for the freelancers and the companies who hire them. The platform has great security features that ensure that no freelancer or company is conned in the process of exchanging services for money. Fiverr makes this sure by screening and verifying each and every freelancer who is willing to use their platform. Every user who is using the platform is asked to provide documents to prove their credibility as a company or for a freelancing job. Fiverr is actively used in over 200 countries where various companies and freelancers use the platform to fulfill their requirements.
There are two affiliate programs of Fiverr which can be joined by anyone. The first one is a self-hosted affiliate program which can be done by using software for affiliate tracking like Cellxpert. The second affiliate program is hosted on the CJ affiliate network. It is better to use a self-hosted affiliate program as first-party links are always more efficient compared to second party links. The Fiverr Affiliates has an excellent landing page. It’s landing page is so informative it has everything one can ask for. They offer guides that show how to get started and FAQ questions on the signup page. Not only that there are also video tutorials on the signup page. The commission rates of Fiverr are also very great. Its affiliate programs have four different commission types each one is unique and has its own benefits. You don’t have to stick to one type of commission depending upon your interest you can promote other links with a different type of commission. It offers CPA plans of $15 to $50 for first-time users. Through Fiverr Pro, you can make $150, 30% for AND CO, and 30% for Fiverr learn. If you have sub-affiliates then you will get 10% of that revenue. The cookies on Fiverr last for 30 days.
Pros
- It has very little competition in the market.
- There is always some new service to sell.
- Referral commission can be as high as $150.
- It has a great affiliate interface
Cons
- Many merchants leave eventually.
- One does not get paid for selling services to already existing customers.
Visit website: Fiverr Affiliates
ClickBank
For those of you who don’t know what ClickBank is, it is one of the largest sales platforms that are present on the internet. This company was founded in 1998 and currently, it has over 200 million users across the world. ClickBank has been very successful in building a strong reputation among bloggers, digital marketers, and entrepreneurs during all these years. You can sign up with ClickBank as a vendor to sell your goods or as an affiliate who helps in selling the goods of a vendor by writing information about those products on your website and blogs. There is a wide range of digital products that are sold on ClickBank. The website sells software, apps, ebooks, courses, guides, games, and much other stuff. All these products belong to different types of industries like home, gardening, cooking, food, software, health and fitness, etc. This is a great opportunity for affiliate marketers who are looking for different products to promote.
The problem with this is while you have a wide range of digital products you don’t know which are good and which are bad. Oftentimes ClickBank has faced backlash for offering poor quality and low-end products. There are still a lot of products on ClickBank that are scammy and useless. So one has to be very careful while choosing a product from ClickBank to promote. But there are still many products on ClickBank that are very useful which can be promoted by affiliate marketers to make money. Not very long ago ClickBank used to have only one payment method that is check. But it’s payment methods have evolved with time. Nowadays you can either get paid through a check or get the cash directly deposited into your account. You can set the frequency of payment to weekly or bi-weekly. But there is also a threshold amount you have to reach in order to get paid. For example, if you set a threshold of $100 per week you have to earn $100 in a week if you want to get paid.
If you don’t reach the threshold you won’t get paid. You will only get paid after you reach the threshold. But you can change the threshold in payment settings manually. For some of the products on ClickBank, it offers a 75% commission on the product. ClickBank uses a number called gravity to inform its users on how well a product is doing on its platform. There are many ways to calculate this gravity but usually, a product that is 20 to 100 is deemed ideal to be promoted by affiliate marketers. The ClickBank affiliate program has a knowledge base for affiliate marketers that is well documented. The payment for affiliates is always made on time and it offers direct payment to the affiliates. ClickBank provides various tools to the affiliates which they can use for getting product insight, researching, and reporting.
Pros
- Commission rates are high.
- Recurring commissions are promoted.
- Link generation is quite easy and simple.
- Wide range of products.
Cons
- It contains many low quality and spammy products.
CJ Affiliate
Commission Junction Affiliate Program which is also known as the CJ affiliate program has been in the market for more than two decades. CJ affiliate is one of the oldest and largest affiliate networks in the world. Commission Junction specializes in pay per performance affiliate programs. One of the major features of CJ junction is its real-time reporting. It always provides analytics that is up to the minute. Navigating the dashboard may seem difficult in the beginning but as you spend more time on it you will learn how intuitive it is. You can choose which products you want to promote and where you want to promote them. If your site gets a lot of traffic every month then you have to become one of their content certified publishers. A content certified publisher is automatically connected with over 600 brands that are top brands on the website. Commission Junction offers a variety of programs to its users. The programs include things like gardening, automotive, electronics, recycling, etc.
Most of the offers on the commission Junction Affiliate Program are cost per acquisition that is pay per sale, pay per call, and pay per lead. Only a few advertisers offer the options of pay per click and pay per view. You can promote the products on social media according to the products you choose. Commission Junction offers various payment methods for its affiliates. You can get your money through a check, direct deposit, or through Payoneer if you are not from the US. Commission Junction pays its affiliates every month within 20 days. But in order to receive your earnings, you have to reach a certain threshold. If you want direct deposit you need to have a minimum of $50 and if you want to cash it through check you need to earn at least $100. No matter how many programs you may be part of all the commission from those programs are put into the same account.
One doesn’t have to worry if they do not live in the US they can get paid through Payoneer. It offers payments in over 150 local currencies across the world. All the money is deposited into the accounts of affiliates without clearing fees. One has to have a minimum understanding of HTML in order to use the CJ affiliate. CJ affiliate is one of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners.
Pros
- A well-reputed affiliate program.
- The promotional method is flexible.
- Has many popular merchants.
Cons
- Not very friendly if you are really new.
- Confusing payment methods.
- The competition is very high.
Rakuten
The next affiliate program on this list is Rakuten Affiliate Program which was earlier known as LinkShare. This is also one of the oldest affiliate networks that are present in the market. It was founded in 1997. Rakuten has always been exploring new ideas and dimensions of affiliate marketing. It is considered to be one of the finest affiliate networks that are present in the market. There are over 1000 merchants in their network. In 2016 the company facilitated more than 100 million orders. This a Japanese company which is based in Tokyo. Rakuten offers its services in over 200 countries. Anyone who lives in these countries can become affiliates and earn money. Rakuten is one of the best affiliate programs for beginners because of its ability to integrate tech. This is a feature that is very unique to Rakuten. If you are someone who can customize tech then you will definitely enjoy this feature.
However, you don’t have to worry even if you don’t know how to customize tech. Rakuten also has simple banners and ways to place ads. Ad units are easy to create once you are approved by each and every advertiser. All you have to do is select the ad you would like to use and you will receive the code required. By using a specific line of code one can effortlessly add rotating banners. One can look at how the ad is performing in the rotating banner. This makes it easy for an affiliate to find out which ad unit is performing well. Rakuten also has the feature of deep linking which means the affiliate can direct the user to the page they want to visit. Using Rakuten PopShops you can see shopping API or create a data feed. But getting paid is one of the most difficult parts of using Rakuten. The affiliates are only paid after 60 days of earning a commission.
Rakuten offers two payment methods to its affiliates. They can get their money by either check or PayPal. But not all of these payment methods are available in all the countries that Rakutenis present in. If you are someone who is living in the UK, France, Australia, or Germany you cannot get your payments through checks. Like most of the affiliate networks on this Rakuten also needs its affiliates to reach a certain threshold in order to get paid. But one does not have to worry as the payment threshold is just $50. If someone wants to increase their minimum payout.
Pros
- It is completely free.
- There are a large number of merchants.
- It has great resources.
Cons
- The Schedule of payout is not fixed.
- Small affiliates are often rejected.
- PayPal payments do not work.
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels Affiliate Program is said to be one of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners out there. ClickFunnels Affiliate Program offers a lot of options for its affiliates but they have to master everything offered by it to be a successful affiliate of the website. ClickFunnels is not only good at building up sales but is also great at increasing returns from the customers. ClickFunnels does everything it promises to do. The affiliate program of ClickFunnels uses something called a sticky cookie. It is a piece of a commission that credits the affiliates for their sales. Once they click on the link provided by you they will receive your sticky cookie. This will make you earn a commission from each and every product they purchase in any funnel they may visit.
ClickFunnels is a completely self-funded company that has a 360 million dollar business. This is very impressive for a company that is self-funded. The company has set clear guidelines that all of its affiliates must follow. One can easily understand all of this if they look at their FAQ page. It would be more helpful for affiliates if they join the Facebook group of ClickFunnels which has more 200,000 followers. One can start promoting products right away by using ClickFunnels. All the material and graphics that one needs for marketing are present on the affiliate dashboard. Not only that but the best part of using the ClickFunnels Affiliate Program is that it offers free training for new affiliates. Anyone who is interested in understanding how to promote products can join Free Affiliate Bootcamp Training course.
Promoting products of ClickFunnels can earn great commissions. ClickFunnels gives its affiliates 40% of the profit on every recurring commission. The lowest plan of ClickFunnels is $96 per month. One has to only refer to three customers every month to earn more than $100. You can only imagine how much money you will be making if you just have 1000 customers under you. Apart from this commission, you will be earning 40% of every other product that is related to it.
Pros
- It has got great commission structure and incentives.
- One of the most popular and trustworthy affiliate programs.
- The training material and support is of top quality.
- Sticky cookies are very helpful for affiliates.
Cons
- The waiting time for payments is 75 days.
- Getting approved from tier one to tier is quite hard.
- The payment methods available for affiliate payouts are limited.
Etsy
The next entry on this list of best affiliate programs is the Etsy affiliate program. This affiliate network is a bit different from all the affiliate networks that were mentioned before this. It is one of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners who want to promote handy craft items or vintage goods. It is the best place for creative people to sell their products and affiliates who want to promote such products. An affiliate can earn money by promoting and selling the products present in Etsy through affiliate links on their websites or social media. Not many ordinary people know about Etsy as it does not offer typical items that are sold on other websites. But Etsy is very popular in the world of crafting and vintage goods. But an affiliate marketer needs to have some qualities that Etsy needs in order to be an affiliate of Etsy. The qualification is simple and understandable, the person who wants to be an affiliate of Etsy should have a customer base that suits the products it has.
They also need you to deposit $5 in your account if you want to sing up. But no need to worry those $5 will be credited back once you receive your initial payment. They just want to make sure that there are no bots. It is a program that is not available for vouchers or cashback websites. Etsy is one of the leading companies in the world of homemade items and vintage goods in the world. The creators of the products register to this website to sell products on their own Etsy. In their store, they will have all of their products that they will be able to successfully sell. The goal of Etsy is to provide a platform for creative minds where they can sell their products. There are millions of users you use Etsy to buy quality products. It has products related to vintage goods, clothing, handmade jewelry, specialized candies, toys, craft tools, craft supplies, stickers, stamps, and many more.
The commission offered by Etsy is always based on your location. Depending upon your location Etsy offers a 4% to 8% commission on all the sales made through your affiliate links. A person has to buy the product through your affiliate link if you want to get paid. This commission may seem a bit low when compared to other affiliate programs that offer at least a 5% commission on each sale. But the great thing is Etsy offers a cookie that lasts for 30 days. A person who already has an Etsy store and sells products can also become an affiliate of Etsy.
Pros
- Great modern interface that is easy to navigate.
- The affiliates can support the actual product creators on Etsy.
- It has a diverse range of products.
- One of a kind platform that offers unconventional products.
Cons
- Many popular vendors tend to leave the platform.
Shopify
Shopify is another company that is popular among people. It is often referred to as one of the best e-commerce services in the world. Shopify Affiliate Program is one of the best affiliate programs for beginners. One can use this service to sell products directly on Amazon, Pinterest, and Facebook. A person can buy the products without leaving the social media platforms or market place. You can start your online store using Shopify. It takes care of payments, hosting, and PCI compliance. Shopify is one of the highest paying affiliate networks that are present in the market. The affiliate program of Shopify includes educators, entrepreneurs, content creators, and influencers. These people can educate and inspire their audience about entrepreneurship through Shopify. The program is free for everyone to join. Affiliates can monetize their audience and earn money. An affiliate earns money with each new referral of a merchant.
If you want to maximize your earnings from Shopify you to make the transition from the trial plan to a paid plan. There are certain requirements that a person has to have to make this transition. One has to own and run their own website. They must create original content like blogs, seminars, videos, online courses, etc. One must have experience in using Shopify or other e-commerce platforms along with an established audience who bring in steady traffic every month. If someone is new they can get into affiliate programs by signing up for Shopify’s partner account. Once you have a partner account you can apply to become a Shopify affiliate. In order to get the approval, your application must have an active website, sample content that showcases your idea of promoting Shopify, and the experience you have in digital marketing.
The affiliate links used by affiliates direct the users to the page of Shopify they want to go. Each affiliate link has a unique referral which allows the company to track every new merchant referred by an affiliate. On average an affiliate can earn up to $58 for every user that signs up to the website for a paid plan. But if a customer signs up to Shopify plus the affiliate earns $2000 for a referral. Each user that is referred to use Shopify signs for a 14-day free trial once the free trial ends they have to sign up for a paid plan. Once they sign up for the paid plan the affiliate receives a commission.
Pros
- The conversion to sales is high.
- Provides great support.
- It is a solution that is highly in demand.
Cons
- Sometimes affiliates are banned.
ShareASale
ShareASale Affiliate Program is the last affiliate program on this list of best affiliate programs that are present in the market. It is known in the industry for its transparency, honesty, and its willingness to constantly improve itself to serve the customers in a better way. ShareASale is one of the best affiliate marketing programs beginners due to its honesty. It was founded in the year 2000 in Chicago, Illinois. Since then ShareASale has been constantly improving itself by solving its issues and bugs. At present ShareASale has more than 4500 partners out of which 1000 are exclusive to it. ShareASale is widely known as the affiliate program that is extremely user friendly and customizable. This is the reason it is often referred to as one of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners.it does not take much effort to use ShareASale.
The process of signing up for ShareASale is very simple, all you have to do is complete five steps. First, you have to set up a username and ID. After that you have to enter your website information then you need to enter your email address. At last, you have to fill your contact information and payment information. After doing all these things one has to pay $5 to ShareASale. It uses that money to do a background check. The money will be refunded to your account once the background check is completed. One has to pay a monthly fee of $25 if the account balance is less than $50. But if the balance is below $25 your account will be deleted. ShareASale always alerts you when the balance is below $25 and does not delete your account immediately. One has to sign up for ShareASale only when they have good traffic.
ShareASale offers a large number of ad types that include texts, banners, images, pop-ups, and widgets. One can easily change and customize the ads. All you have to do is click a few buttons to customize the ads according to your need. Even though the tracking features of ShareASale are not very user friendly they have improved a lot and they have become very useful. Getting paid by ShareASale is very convenient. It deposits your earnings in your account on the 20th of every month. ShareASale charges 20% for each commission you earn from a purchase. It offers a minimum of $10 every month for 60 to 120 days. After 120 days the minimum amount is set to $25 per month. This will give you time to grow your customer base.
Pros
- It has very small programs that are extremely good.
- Looking at the Power Rank metric one can know where a program sits in its top 1000.
- Payments are done in short time frames.
Cons
- The interface needs to be upgraded.
- It unpredictable approval times for programs.
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing is one of the best strategies to increase the sales of a product. It drives the traffic from one website to the other website where the client can purchase a certain product from a merchant. It is one of the best ways to earn passive income. Affiliate marketers do not have to work for long hours they just have to run successful campaigns to promote a product. Once they start getting traffic to their blogs or websites they don’t have to worry about it anymore. The more the customers use the affiliate links provided by the affiliate the more income they will get. But one has to carefully choose the products they are promoting. You should not promote low-quality products or products that you don’t have an idea about. One should only promote the products they know about and interested in. Once you gain a decent amount of audience for yourself you will be earning a good income. If you are a beginner in affiliate marketing choose one of the programs in the above list as they are the best affiliate programs for beginners. I hope this article has helped you in choosing a good affiliate program.
