Overview - Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a billion-dollar industry today- and perhaps, one of the best ways to earn some sweet passive income. As an advertiser/Vendor you can list your product on Affiliate Marketing Networks and have affiliate marketers promote it for a percentage based commission. As a marketer you can promote other people's product and generate income.
Many professional bloggers today use affiliate marketing to monetize their traffic and generate revenues on a regular basis. However, it is a viable money-making strategy only when you can find high-quality products that are relevant to your niche (and that your visitors are genuinely interested in).
But it is easy said than done. When you browse the Internet to find products/services related to your target audience, you’ll be overwhelmed with the amounts of options available. Therefore, it is always a better alternative to partner with an affiliate marketing network that gives you access to millions of products and tens of thousands of merchants in your niche – all on a single platform.
Why Partner with an Affiliate Network?
Scouring through countless affiliate marketing programs in your niche can be time-consuming and cumbersome. Managing your account, tracking performance, getting reports, and receiving timely payouts can become overwhelming. This is especially true if you have signed up for multiple affiliate programs.
An affiliate network functions as a bridge, connecting entrepreneurs and bloggers (“publishers”) with companies (“merchants”) – providing affiliate marketing opportunities for various products and services.
Here are some benefits of partnering with an affiliate network:
- Through a single platform, affiliate marketing networks provide publishers access to different affiliate programs of your choice
- They provide third-party tracking and real-time reporting, and also processes your payout checks; reducing the effort of tracking income
- Monetize your blog, website, or social following in a simple and hassle-free manner
- Most merchants manage their affiliate programs through these networks. You’d ultimately require to sign up with these affiliate networks before you get approved as an affiliate
So, they do all the hard work behind your campaign. And all you have to do is to advertise affiliate products on your platform, generate traffic, and boost your earnings.
Best Affiliate Marketing Networks for High ROI
Now that you know why it is worth joining an affiliate network, let’s dive in to get up, close and personal with some of the biggest affiliate marketing platforms today.
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Variable - depends on the merchant you sign up with | Depends on the merchant you sign up with | $20 |
Awin, rebranded from the original Affiliate Window, is one of the most popular affiliate networks that have 16,500+ advertisers and 225,000+ publishers on board. It is an intuitive and easy-to-use platform, offering a vast portfolio of brands across different sectors, advertise, and earn a commission.
They have plenty of options for both physical & digital products and services, featuring some of the top brands like Etsy, AliExpress, Emirates, Warby Parker, and many more.
With Awin, you are required to apply to each merchant individually within the network and then you can use your unique affiliate link. The platform allows you to find the right advertisers, generate trackable links, stay up-to-date with the latest promotions and offers, and even optimize your campaign using Awin’s advanced tools.
Who can Join?
Awin affiliate network is most suitable for website owners, content creators, technology partners, and influencers who want to promote a range of products and services and earn passive income.
Pros & Cons of Awin Affiliate Network
# 2 - ShareASale :
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Varies based on the merchant or product you promote | Depends on the merchant you sign up with | $50 |
ShareASale is now a part of Awin affiliate network, with 16,500+ merchants partnering to get their products and services promoted on this platform. Affiliates registered on this network have earned $1 billion in revenues last year.
To streamline the process of finding the right partnership, they offer the option of merchant search. The tool allows you to find the most relevant affiliate programs using various filters. Additionally, they have a robust reporting system that helps identify the best-performing merchants, additional insights, and much more.
ShareASale manages affiliate programs of some of the top brands like Reebok, Sun Basket, Etsy, Deluxe, Candid, Minted, and Cricut.
Who can Join?
ShareASale affiliate marketing network supports publishers of all shapes and sizes, including media partners, content creators, influencers, technology partners, and loyalty & incentive sites.
Pros & Cons of ShareASale Affiliate Network
#3 - CJ Affiliate:
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Variable, depending on the brand or product you promote | Depends on the brand or product you promote | $50 (direct deposit) and $100 (for check) |
Formerly known as Commission Junction, CJ Affiliate is another reliable affiliate network that gives you access to over 3,000 merchants. It is trusted by some of the world’s premier brands such as IHG, Office Depot, Barnes & Noble, and Priceline.
CJ Affiliate network combines innovative affiliate tools with their specialized strategies that are focused on a region, business size, vertical, or distribution model – helping you make the most of your campaign. It offers several bells & whistles, which you may utilize, but has a steeper learning curve than Awin or ShareASale.
It has an excellent omni-channel tracking integration suite that provides transparency and accuracy in campaign tracking. You can monitor your account in real-time, wherever you are and from whichever device. Affiliates can also get access to analytics and insights on-demand.
Who can Join?
Whether you are a website owner, a blogger, content creator, or an influencer with an established audience base, you can apply to join CJ Affiliate. However, as we said, it has a steep learning curve and may not be ideal for beginners.
Additionally, accounts get deactivated after 6 months if you do not earn a commission. The merchants on this platform are also quite picky about approving affiliate publishers. So, it is ideal if you have a steady traffic flow.
Pros & Cons of CJ Affiliate Network
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Up to 10% depending on the category you promote | 24 hours | $10 for direct deposit or Amazon gift card |
Imagine partnering with the world’s largest e-commerce giant to monetize your traffic by promoting literally millions of products! That’s what affiliate marketing with Amazon Associates is all about. It has been there since 1996, offering you mammoth catalog of physical and digital products to promote.
By joining this affiliate network, you can earn a commission on the sale of pretty much anything available on the platform. A unique aspect of Amazon Associates is that even if your referred customer does not buy a product linked to your account and purchases anything new, you will still receive a commission.
For instance, if your account is linked to a $10 product but your referred customer ends up buying another product worth $50, you can still earn the commission. However, this purchase should be made within the cookie duration and the product must be in the customer’s cart before.
They have a fixed standard commission rate for specific product categories:
This makes it clear to every affiliate of how much they can earn as a commission by promoting products in a specific category.
Who can Join?
The Amazon Associates program is ideal for publishers, content creators, and bloggers who have a qualifying website or mobile app. Amazon also has an Influencer Program for influencers who have a well-established social media following.
Pros & Cons of Amazon Associates Affiliate Network
#5 - FlexOffers:
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Up to 50% with FlexRev-Share | Depends on the product or category you promote | $50 within the USA and $100 outside the USA |
FlexOffers has been in the affiliate network industry for a long and is a widely popular platform among merchants and publishers alike. It provides access to 12,000+ different merchants/advertisers, with more than 5,000 campaigns to promote. From smaller brands to the top ones, you have a wide choice and you can also browse their directory of merchants before signing up.
FlexOffers also has some of the well-established brands on their platform, including Lenovo, priceline.com, Skechers, Macy’s, etc.
It has introduced the latest Publisher Pro 2.0 that features the latest products, online-only offers, and special promotions from niche advertisers as well as global brands. Affiliate marketing content can be seamlessly integrated into your website or blog as text links or banner ads. You can also have exclusive promotional content curated by FlexOffers editorial staff.
Key features of FlexOffers Publisher Pro 2.0 include a custom affiliate marketing platform, crisp dashboard layout, quick loading times, real-time reports, data feed, link search, latest news, and professional support.
Who can Join?
FlexOffers affiliate marketing is most suitable for blog monetization, influencers with a high social following, professional content creators, or generate additional revenues streams for website owners.
Pros & Cons of FlexOffers Affiliate Network
# 6 - Rakuten Advertising:
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Varies based on the specific merchant you register with | Varies based on the specific merchant you register with | $50 |
Rakuten Advertising, previously known as LinkShare, is one of the oldest affiliate marketing networks – established in 1996. Despite being in the industry for so long, they only have around 2,500 merchants on board. This gives you a limited choice of affiliate programs but includes some of the best household names that you would like to be associated with.
An interesting aspect of Rakuten Advertising is the unique commissioning system. For scaled revenue generation, it offers dynamic commissions and also provides better transparency into advertisers’ goals and payouts.
Rakuten also has a coupon commissioning system that allows you to earn revenues based on how your referred customers are using various coupon codes. Multi-touch commissioning ensures you get paid for your affiliate sales at the beginning, middle, and end of the customer journey.
Some of the key features of this platform include a well-developed dashboard, data-driven advice for valuable merchant partnerships, global reach, customized product showcases, mobile app tracking, consumer graphs, training & support.
Who can Join?
If you are looking for an affiliate marketing network that has an intuitive user interface, has a strong reputation, and provides great reports, then Rakuten Advertising is a good choice. However, you may be limited by the number of merchant options available on this platform.
#7 - ClickBank:
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Up to 90% | Varies based on the specific merchant you register with, usually 60 days | $10 |
ClickBank is home to some of the top online brands and entrepreneurs, offering a huge scope for affiliate marketers who want to boost their earnings. The affiliate network has been in the industry for over 20 years, with a presence in 200+ countries.
ClickBank is a preferred choice for affiliates because it has a constantly evolving selection of physical and digital products. It has the reputation of offering some of the top commissions in the industry, up to 90%. It has 4,000+ marketplace products, providing you ample opportunities to monetize your traffic.
ClickBank has a unique HOPLINK tracking system that allows you to monitor every element of your campaign and ensure you get the credit for every sale coming through your affiliate link.
To receive a payout from ClickBank network, an affiliate account must reflect a minimum of 5 qualifying sales via at least two of the payment methods available – American Express, MasterCard, Maestro, Diners Club, Carte Bleue, PayPal, or Visa. All payments are made 1 week after the end of the pay period.
Who can Join?
ClickBank specializes more in digital products. So, if you want to promote a vast selection of digital products exclusively, then this affiliate network is a good bet. However, it also has a decent range of physical goods to promote.
Pros & Cons of ClickBank Affiliate Network
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Variable; up to 85% | Variable; anywhere between 30 to 180 days | $100 |
Avangate Affiliate Network has been one of the top choices for software and digital goods affiliate marketing in the world. The platform allows you to choose from a wide range of top-selling software products and align them with your content to earn commissions.
It has been ranked #5 overall CPS network for 7 years in a row in mThink’s Blue Book. There are over 1,200 affiliate programs listed on the network. The choice is limited but quite significant in the software & digital goods market. Some of the top merchants that have partnered with Avangate are Kaspersky, Bitfinder, Movavi, Iobit, Malwarebytes, and more.
In addition to this, the affiliate network also provides expert tips and advice for successful affiliate selling.
Who can Join?
If you are a technology solutions provider, an avid tech blogger, or a website involved in promoting digital products, then Avangate is an ideal option for you to earn passive income.
Pros & Cons of Avangate Affiliate Network
# 9 - JVZoo:
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Varies based on the merchant or product | Lifetime | $50 |
JVZoo isn’t a typical affiliate network like ShareASale, ClickBank, etc. It functions as an intuitive platform that connects qualifying affiliates with the most relevant merchants/products. It exclusively works with digital products, including online courses, e-commerce, and internet marketing offers.
However, there are no restrictions on the number of buy buttons, links, or a call to action to a website. This often results in poor-quality products and affiliate offers. Nevertheless, it is still giving strong competition to other popular affiliate networks.
It has over 800,000 active affiliates registered on its network and has made $1.2+ billion in sales so far. You will have only one affiliate link for all products in a funnel. Additionally, EPC and real-time conversion insights show you what to expect from an affiliate offer.
However, an interesting feature of JVZoo is its instant commissioning system. Every time you make a sale via your affiliate link, the commission will be deposit instantly to your JVZooPay account. But there is a catch here. You can withdraw the amount in JVZooPay only once the product refund period is over and there is a minimum payout of $50 in your account.
Who can Join?
If you are interested in earning revenues by promoting digital products, this platform is suitable for you. However, you do not require your own website or blog to become an affiliate with JVZoo. All you need is the knowledge of driving traffic to a squeeze page or landing page in order to earn commissions. Therefore, it is best suited for professionals who have a strong presence in the digital marketing area.
Pros & Cons of JVZoo Affiliate Network
#10 - eBay Partner Network:
Affiliate Commission | Cookie Duration | Minimum Payout Threshold |
|---|---|---|
Variable; depends on the product category you promote. Ranges between 1.0% and 4.0% of sales value | 24-hour referral period, but you can earn a commission even if the auction takes 10 days to end. However, the bid must be placed within the first 24 hours | $10 |
eBay is another eCommerce giant, with 1.4 billion listings and over 183 million buyers in 190 markets. This makes it a preferred choice in the affiliate network industry. The platform has some of the top global brands, including Adidas, JBL, Philips, Nespresso, Medion, and more. It also has several unusual products that you will not find anywhere else.
There are different product categories you can promote on this platform and earn a commission. These include business & industrial, collectibles, fashion, electronics, lifestyle, home & garden, media, real estate, parts & accessories, and others. You can choose the right affiliate model based on your type of business.
Who can Join?
If you want to promote physical products and earn commissions with complete peace of mind, then eBay Partner Network is a suitable option. Be assured you will be partnering with a top-tier, billion-dollar company that is not going anywhere.
Pros & Cons of ShareASale Affiliate Network
Tips to Choose the Right Affiliate Marketing Network
Whether you want to use affiliate marketing as an additional revenue stream or it is the primary source of your blog’s income, finding the right affiliate network matters. Here are some valuable tips to find an affiliate network that works for you:
What is the Reach? Does it Fit Your Niche?
Numbers do matter. An affiliate network, with more merchants or product listings on board, will surely open up increased earning opportunities and more choices. But at the same time, make sure the affiliate programs fit your niche. Otherwise, having thousands of merchants won’t serve your purpose.
You should also consider the extent to which the affiliate network works with renowned brands.
Quality, Not Quantity
Often, affiliate networks will brag about how many merchants or products they have in their networks. However, you should focus on the quality rather than the numbers. Are the merchants vetted before they join the network? Does the affiliate network monitor the type of affiliate programs they post?
Considering these factors is important because you would not want to scour through a bunch of unwanted or poor-quality products or offers.
Fees & Payout Conditions
Is the affiliate network free to join or it charges a sign-up fee? Some top-tier affiliate networks charge a nominal sign-up fee but make sure it is not applicable or you receive the refund if you do not get approved as an affiliate.
It is also important to read the payout terms carefully. What is their payout frequency? Do they pay you immediately after a sale or when they receive payment from the merchant? What is their minimum payout limit?
Convenience
The learning curve with an affiliate network should be moderate so that even a beginner can get started with ease. Check the sign-up process. Is it simple or requires you to fill up several complex fields? Are the reports easy to understand and provide actionable insights? Do you need to sign up and get approved by each vendor individually? Does the network offer campaign tracking?
Commission Rates
The commission rates on an affiliate network will vary depending on the merchant or product you choose. This is true for most affiliate networks. So, make sure you choose one where merchant affiliate commissions are typically higher than other platforms.
Considering these factors will help you join the right affiliate network that delivers value for your hardwork and time.
Conclusion:
Now that you have a comprehensive list of the top 10 affiliate marketing networks think about which features or product niches would benefit you the most.
A good affiliate network is one that serves your overall affiliate goals, provides a wide range of tools, offers lucrative commissions, and most importantly, pays you on time
