One of the coolest things about blogging is the opportunity to make money from it. I mean really, is there anything better than making money doing what you love? And when it comes to monetizing a site, many bloggers choose to join affiliate programs to do it.
As a matter of fact, using affiliate links is one of the easiest ways to make money with a blog, even a new one!
So whether you’re totally new to blogging and want to start making money quickly, or you’ve been in the blogging game for a while and want to start monetizing your site, here are the 6 best affiliate programs for bloggers!
The Best Affiliate Programs For Bloggers
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a commission, at no extra cost to you. You can read more about affiliates in my disclaimer.
Before we discuss the best affiliate programs for bloggers, let’s talk a little about affiliate marketing!
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is when you promote other people’s products and earn a commission in return. It’s a great way to make money, especially as a blogger, and there’s the potential to make thousands, (or more), a month with affiliate marketing.
Just find some products you love and want to share with your readers, use your affiliate link, and whenever someone buys from your link, you’ll make money!
A Few Affiliate Marketing Tips
Have An Affiliate Disclosure
The three legal pages all blogs should have are a privacy policy, disclaimer, and terms and conditions. These three pages help protect you and your site. And it’s always a good idea to have legal pages whenever you’re selling something on your site, and that includes referring readers to purchase products using your affiliate links.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to getting some legal pages up on your blog, I have the best recommendation! I purchased my legal pages from Amira at A Self Guru. She’s a lawyer and a blogger, and she created these legal page templates for any and all bloggers to use! When you buy these legal page templates from Amira, you get pre-written templates that you just have to tweak a little, (like add your site name, URL, etc), and you’re good to go! They’re quick and easy to set up, and you’ll feel so much better knowing your site is legally protected. Coolest thing about them? You can reuse them if you choose to create more websites in the future, and if there’s ever any updates you’ll get them straight to your inbox, totally free!
Always Disclose
Every time you use an affiliate link in a blog post, (or social media post), you must disclose that your using affiliate links! And this is actually a law.
Your affiliate disclosure also has to be clearly written. Just using the term “affiliate” isn’t enough, since many people don’t actually know what an affiliate is. You must state that you’re using affiliate links in your post and that you make money when people purchase from those links.
A good example of an affiliate disclosure would look something like this:
“This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a commission, at no extra cost to you. You can read more about affiliates in my disclaimer.”
You also need to make sure that your affiliate disclosure is shown before any of your affiliate links. A good rule of thumb is to include it right at the beginning of your post, or if you know you won’t be using any affiliate links in your introduction, you can include it right after your heading.
When posting an affiliate link on social media, you can use the word “affiliate” or “affiliate link”. You can also use hashtags like #affiliate or #affiliatelink. Just make sure you’re clearly disclosing that you’re sharing an affiliate link on social media.
Read All Program Rules
Whenever you join an affiliate program, read their rules or terms completely. Different programs are going to have different rules and requirements, and it’s your responsibility to know what those are.
Some programs don’t allow you to use their brand name in your post title, some don’t allow you to customize your links, there a number of different specific rules an affiliate program may ask you to follow, and you need to follow them if you don’t want to get booted.
If you do fail to follow the rules, you may get kicked out of the program and your money earned, that hasn’t been cashed out, could get taken away from you. And both of those things aren’t very fun.
Keep The Number Of Programs You Join On The Smaller Side
You might think that the more affiliate networks you join, the more money making opportunities you create for yourself, but that’s not always the case.
Most affiliate networks have a payment threshold that needs to be met before you can access the commission you’ve earned. This typically varies between platforms and can be anywhere from $20 to $100, sometimes more or less.
If you spread yourself out too thin between too many affiliate networks, you will probably have a harder time meeting those payment thresholds. Even if you get tons of traffic and plenty of sales, you may not get them all within the same affiliate network. That means, it will take you a much longer time to get paid.
The best way to work around this is to keep the number of affiliate networks you join small. That’s the reason why I only included 6 affiliate networks in this post. And they’re the best of the best!
Here Are The Best Affiliate Programs For Bloggers
ShareASale
ShareASale is easily one of the best affiliate programs for bloggers of every niche! It’s also been around the longest, it was founded about 20 years ago!
ShareASale is really popular among bloggers because it’s so easy to use, and it offers a wide variety of companies and programs to join. With ShareASale you can easily find product links, banners, and other helpful tools. You also have the ability to create your own links, product galleries, and banners to really help increase conversions!
The user dashboard is easy to navigate, making it definitely one of the best affiliate program networks for beginners! Just simply search directly for a company, or use keywords for your niche to find plenty of programs to join! You also get quick access to information like commission rates and average EPC, (earnings per click), rates for each program.
When it comes to payments, there is a minimum $50 threshold before you can cash out, but you can also increase this. With Share A Sale you’re paid monthly, (once the minimum threshold is met), and you can choose to get paid via direct deposit, mailed check, or a wire transfer.
Awin
Awin is another really great affiliate program for bloggers! Although it’s free to use, you are required to pay a $5 fee to apply, but you’ll get it back once you meet the minimum payment threshold, which is $20.
Awin is one of the best affiliate programs for all bloggers because it has so many merchants to choose from! It’s very easy to search for and apply to different programs on Awin. You also have the ability to create your own affiliate links for advertiser’s products, plus access to banners and images. Awin also offers a Google Chrome Extension that makes it even easier to find and convert regular links into affiliate links.
Awin’s layout is a little a more confusing than Share A Sale’s, but it’s still one of the easiest affiliate platforms to use once you get the hang of it. And definitely not one you want to sleep on, since it has over 6,000 programs to choose from!
Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising is another super popular choice for bloggers of any niche. It’s free to join Rakuten Advertising, and once approved, you’ll have access to thousands of affiliate programs, including some super big names.
Rakuten is one of my favorites due to its simple set up and user-friendly interface. Finding programs to join is effortless, just use the advertiser search to find programs in your niche. Once you find the programs you want to apply to, signing up to them takes literally seconds.
The user dashboard has plenty of helpful tools that allow you to view data, keep track of conversion rates, and so much more! Plus, you have access to their product link finder and deep linking features, which make finding affiliate links to use so easy. Rakuten also has a coupon finder function that allows you to search for current coupons and sales you can share directly with your readers!
The minimum payment threshold for Rakuten Advertising is $50 and they pay out every month as long as the threshold is met. You can choose to be paid via PayPal, direct deposit, or if you’re in the US, with a mailed check.
YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR RAKUTEN ADVERTISING HERE!
RewardStyle
Have you ever come across posts on Instagram that say in the caption “shop my post with the LikeToKnowIt app”? RewardStyle is what people use to create shoppable images for their Instagram feed. But did you know you can also use RewardStyle links in your blog posts?
RewardStyle is an affiliate network that allows you to add affiliate links to your posts from a huge number of brands. Instead of applying to each brand or company’s separate affiliate program, you just simply search for a specific product and there you’ll find your links. RewardStyle also shows you which product has the highest commission, so you can make even more money! RewardStyle is best for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle bloggers and content creators. But travel, tech, home, food, parenting, and health blogs can also become successful using RewardStyle.
There are a few requirements to join though. Typically, RewardStyle wants to see 4 months of consistent and original content, so if you’re brand new to blogging, you may not get accepted. They also want to see an engaging and growing audience. If you do apply and get rejected, don’t get discouraged! Many bloggers get rejected the first them they apply for RewardStyle, but later get accepted once their blog has grown!
You can also join RewardStyle through another member’s referral. If you know someone who is already in, ask if they can refer you! If you’re interested in joining and feel as though you meet all of their requirements, feel free to send an email to alexandra@bloggingbabes.co with your blog and Instagram account and I’ll check it out and send you a referral!
ShopStyleCollective
If you haven’t reached the requirements for RewardStyle yet, you can always try signing up for ShopStyleCollective!
ShopStyleCollective is a very similar affiliate program to RewardStyle. They both have the same type of dashboard, where you can access thousands of products to link by simply searching for them. Just like RewardStyle, ShopStyleCollective mostly caters to fashion, beauty, and lifestyle bloggers. But if you blog about parenting, travel, home, food, or health and wellness you can also find success with ShopStyleCollective.
The thing that sets ShopStyle apart from RewardStyle is that anyone can join! Applying is quick and easy, and once you’re in you’ll have access to thousands of products, analytics, and plenty of insights and tips!
My favorite thing about ShopStyleCollective is that you can create shoppable widgets that you can place directly on your site! They look so professional, and can definitely help drive commissions!
JOIN SHOPSTYLECOLLECTIVE HERE!
Products From Other Bloggers
If you’ve ever purchased something from another blogger and really enjoyed it, check to see if they offer an affiliate program. Many bloggers have affiliate programs, with really good commission rates, for their products.
These are some of the best affiliate programs not only because of the higher commision rates, but because you get the chance to support another blogger as well! And what could be better than that?
So you’ve applied to affiliate programs, now it’s time to keep things organized. Easily keep track of and have quick access to the affiliate programs you’ve joined, and their commission rates, with the Blogging Babes Printable Blogging Workbook + Planner! This comprehensive workbook features 50+ pages of blogging help, planning, tracking, and so much more!
Read More:
7 Things You Need To Start A Money Making Blog
Ways To Make Money With Your Blog
Blogging Mistakes You Need To Avoid
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