New to affiliate marketing? Looking for the best affiliate programs for beginners? You’ve come to the right place!
Affiliate marketing can be a great way to make money online. But it can also be a minefield if you’re a beginner.
In this article, we’ll guide you on how to get started with affiliate marketing. We’ll share our top recommendations for beginners, and also cover some more advanced options.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
If you’ve never done affiliate marketing before, it’s important to know how to get started.
With affiliate marketing, you enter into an agreement with a merchant. You agree to ethically promote the merchant, using methods the merchant is comfortable with. This may include promoting the merchant on your website or blog, on social media, or through email marketing.
The merchant will give you a unique affiliate link so they can track referrals coming from you. You’ll be given access to your own affiliate dashboard where you can view the number of referrals you’ve sent them. Here, you can also see the number of prospects that have performed a specific action and the commissions you’ve earned.
Choosing the right affiliate marketing program is important. However, it’s only a small part of becoming a successful affiliate marketer. The most important part is finding people that would be interested in what the merchant can offer them.
In order to make a decent living as an affiliate marketer, you need to send a lot of traffic to the merchant – and it needs to be targeted traffic. So, even if you find the best affiliate program for beginners, you won’t make money if you can’t generate traffic to go purchase products.
Recommendations Before You Get Started
1. Find the right niche.
Find a profitable niche you know or would like to learn more about, and become an authority in that niche.
The more credibility you have, the more likely it will be that people will follow your advice and recommendations. As an affiliate marketer, you want to stand out from the crowd. You want your audience to take you seriously. This isn’t easy to accomplish unless people see you as an authority in your niche.
You’ll find many different affiliate programs to promote in every profitable niche. So, don’t just look for the best affiliate programs for beginners. Instead, look for the best affiliate programs for beginners in your niche.
Having trouble thinking of a good niche? Don’t worry!
At Brand Builders, we’ve compiled a list of 1,452 niche ideas. We’ve spend dozens of hours finding, vetting and organizing this list.
Best of all, you can download it for free.
2. Get a website.
Not all affiliate programs will require you to have a website before you can be accepted as an affiliate. However, many will. And even those that don’t will more than likely recommend it.
Having a website is not just about the opportunity to apply to some of the best affiliate programs. It can also help establish you as an authority in your niche and drive free organic traffic to your content and affiliate links.
In order to get traffic, though, you’ll need high quality original content. If writing is not one of your strong points or if you’d rather outsource it, there are many different options, including hiring on Upwork or working with an agency.
At Brand Builders, we offer a content creation service to provide premium quality SEO optimized content for your website.
3. Build up traffic first.
As mentioned in the previous section, you won’t make money from affiliate marketing if you can’t generate traffic.
Before you focus on how to monetize your website with affiliate offers, first focus on building up traffic to your website. There’s no point adding affiliate links to your website if it’s only getting a couple of visitors every day.
Affiliate Marketing Terms
Here’s a list of common affiliate terms you’ll come cross in this article, and while looking at affiliate programs.
Affiliate Network vs. In-house Affiliate Program
Some merchants have their own in-house affiliate program. You apply directly with the merchant and it’s up to them to approve your application. Other merchants choose to use an affiliate network. In some instances, a merchant will have their own in-house affiliate program and belong to an affiliate network as well.
Large affiliate networks have thousands of merchants. This makes it easier when you’re looking for specific programs to promote. By dealing with an affiliate network, you also have a bit of a safety net. That’s because reputable affiliate networks have strict requirements before accepting new merchants.
A good example of an affiliate network is Amazon. If you’re accepted into their affiliate program, you may promote any product listed on Amazon. You don’t have to apply with individual merchants.
Not all affiliate networks work in the same way as Amazon. Some require you to apply not only with them but also with individual merchants. Take a large affiliate network such as CJ Affiliate for example. Even after you’ve been accepted by them, you still need to apply with individual merchants as well.
Note that many affiliate networks don’t use the terms “affiliate” and “merchant.” They use “publisher” and “advertiser” instead. Here’s how that breaks down:
Affiliate = Publisher
Merchant = Advertiser
Commission per Sale vs. Commission per Lead
The most most common affiliate payment models you’ll come across are “Commission per Sale” and “Commission per Lead.”
- Commission per Sale (CPS) – You earn a commission when a visitor that’s clicked on your affiliate link buys a product from the merchant you’re promoting.
- Commission per Lead (CPL) – You earn a commission when a visitor that’s clicked on your affiliate link performs a certain action. Actions may include filling in a form, registering a free account, or even just entering their email address.
Normally, CPS pays a much higher commission than CPL. However, CPL offers often convert better because the visitor isn’t expected to buy anything.
Many merchants will not only pay you for a lead, but will also pay you if that lead buys a product from them.
What’s a Cookie?
When someone clicks on your affiliate link, a “cookie” is generated. This means if that visitor doesn’t buy something straight away but only at a later date, you’ll still earn a commission. This is on condition the cookie has not expired and that the visitor is using the same device.
Every affiliate program has a specific length of time during which a cookie will remain active. It’s normally anything from 24 hours to several months, and sometimes even longer.
You may wonder what happens if a customer first clicks on your affiliate link and then on another affiliate’s link. Who will get the commission when the customer makes a purchase? The answer differs from program to program.
Some affiliate programs will pay the affiliate whose link the customer first clicked on. Others will pay the affiliate whose link the customer clicked on last. Over time, it doesn’t really matter much. You will win some and lose some.
What Are the Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners?
Here’s a list of our recommended affiliate programs for beginners. All of them are free to join.
Amazon Associates
Our #1 affiliate program is Amazon Associates.
Amazon Associates gives you the opportunity to promote over a million products as an Amazon affiliate. Once you’re accepted by Amazon, you don’t need to apply with individual merchants.
Amazon Associates is a highly respected network. This means your visitors will be less cautious buying from Amazon than from many other affiliate networks or merchants.
Type: Affiliate Network
CPS: Up to 10%
Cookie Length: 24 hours*
* It’s a universal cookie. It means if you refer customers to a certain product and they buy something else, you’ll still earn a commission. However, as soon as a customer buys something the cookie is wiped clean. So if the customer buys something else one hour later, you won’t receive a commission on that transaction.
Amazon’s cookie works a bit differently than other cookies. If a customer adds a product to their cart but doesn’t buy it right way, the cookie length is extended by 89 days. Then, even if the customer uses another device to complete the purchase, you’ll still receive a commission on the sale.
Payment date: Approximately 60 days following the end of each calendar month. For example, for January sales you’ll get paid by late March. This is on condition you’ve reached the minimum commission threshold, which is $10.
Pros
- Choose from over a million products to promote.
- International brand recognition.
Cons
- The 24 hour cookie length is very short.
Under Amazon’s operating agreement, you need a “Site” to promote them. This can be a website, social media user-generated content, or online software application.
In addition to the above, as stated in Amazon’s operating policies: “Your Site(s) must contain original content and be publicly available via the website address provided in the application. You must identify your Site(s) in your application.”
We recommend you only apply with Amazon Associates if you have a website or blog with high quality, original content.
Note: At Brand Builders, we specialize in building high quality, turnkey affiliate websites that are perfect for Amazon. You can have a fully functional affiliate website in under 24 hours. We also offer custom made affiliate websites.
ClickBank
ClickBank is a reputable, well-established affiliate network that’s paid out over $4.2 billion in commissions. Originally, they only accepted digital products that could be downloaded. However, they’ve evolved over the years and now also offer physical products and subscriptions.
The network is very popular with affiliates, mainly due to the high commission rates paid for digital products. As is the case with Amazon, you don’t need to apply with individual merchants once ClickBank has accepted your application.
What makes them different from Amazon is it’s up to the merchant to decide how much commission they’re willing to pay. Commission rates of up to 75% are not uncommon. Some merchants also “upsell” additional products that allow their affiliates to make extra money.
Type: Affiliate Network
CPS: Up to 75%
Cookie Length: 60 days.
Payment Date: Wednesdays, two weeks after the end of the pay period. The pay period can be weekly or biweekly. This is on condition you’ve reached the minimum commission threshold. The default amount is $100, but you can change it to a minimum of $10.
ClickBank will deduct a standard return allowance of 10% that will be credited back to your account after 12 weeks.
Your first commission payment is subject to you meeting their Customer Distribution Requirement (CDR). Your account must show a minimum of five sales and at least two of the following payment methods before you get paid:
American Express, Carte Bleue, Diners Club, Maestro, MasterCard, PayPal, and Visa.
Pros
- Choose from thousands of products to promote.
- High commission rates of up to 75% per sale.
- Not hard for beginners to get approved.
- Can earn recurring monthly commissions from subscriptions.
Cons
- Need at least five sales before you’ll get your first commission payment.
- Many merchant websites look “spammy.”
ClickBank doesn’t require you to have a website before you can apply to become an affiliate. However, they highly recommend it.
According to ClickBank: “We have found that the best and most secure platform is a blog. A blog is more stable and trustworthy than promoting solely through third party sites, such as Facebook, YouTube, etc.”
Signing up for an account is pretty straightforward and it’s not difficult to get started as a ClickBank affiliate.
Fiverr
Fiverr is the world’s largest marketplace for digital services. It has more than 11 million active users from over 160 countries. It offers over 3 million different services.
According to Fiverr, an order is placed every 4 seconds, and they have the highest conversion rates in the industry. They also have a great affiliate program that’s perfect for beginners.
Type: Affiliate Network
CPS: $15 – $50 (Fiverr) and $150 (Fiverr Pro)
The above CPS is a one-time payment for first-time purchases only. And it’s only for people that don’t already have an account with Fiverr.
In January 2020, they added a new “hybrid” model option to their commission structure. With this model, you’ll get a flat commission of $10 on all first-time purchases. However, you’ll get a 10% commission on other purchases made by the user for the next 12 months.
You can choose which model you want to use. You can even use both models, as they have different affiliate links.
Cookie Length: 30 days
Fiverr offers lifetime attribution. It means if someone opens an account but only buys something at a later date, you’ll still earn a commission.
Payment Date: Net 30 days. Once you’ve earned $100, you can request payment by the beginning of the following month. You’ll be paid one month later, at the beginning of the month. So, if you request payment by the beginning of January, you’ll be paid by the beginning of February.
Pros
- Recognized international platform for freelancers.
- Instant approval makes it ideal for beginners.
Cons
- Only earn a commission for first-time buyers.*
- Commission for Fiverr Pro is capped at $150.*
- High payment threshold. You only get paid once you’ve earned $100.
* This doesn’t apply to the “hybrid” model, as discussed above.
Fiverr also offers a 30% commission rate on digital courses at Learn from Fiverr.
You also have the opportunity to earn more commissions by promoting the Fiverr Affiliates program. You can earn 10% of the revenue made by affiliates that you’ve referred to the program.
CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction)
CJ Affiliate, previously called Commission Junction, is the world’s largest and most established affiliate marketing network. Founded in 1998, they have 14 offices worldwide and are used by some of the world’s largest brands. Apart from changing their name from Commission Junction to CJ Affiliate, nothing else has changed.
Type: Affiliate Network
CPS: Varies from merchant to merchant.
Cookie Length: Varies, normally between 1 – 120 days. They also support Cookieless tracking.
Payment Date: Payments are made around the 20th of every month. Note that different mercha