Affiliate marketing is not as easy as they sell it to you. If you are just starting with your online store, getting that first sale can be challenging. There will be days when you would simply wait for someone to click on the affiliate links, and there will be no conversions.
However, it’s not that difficult to figure it out as well. With some patience, perseverance, and a never give up attitude you will surely start selling over the period with substantial ROI. But, if you are using any other form of marketing like social media ads, etc. you may not always get enough conversions as expected and may not even recover the investment made. In this case, making a revenue becomes extremely important to be able to reinvest in the traffic that’s been generated thus, helping your business to grow.
So, as you research for an affiliate marketing program that works for you, remember that not every affiliate marketing partner will work for you. You need to partner with a program that offers quality relationships. Before, we take a look at some of the best affiliate marketing programs which will help you with your goals effectively, let’s take a look at some facts and figures.
Facts & Figures
As per a study conducted recently, almost 90% of the advertisers believe that affiliate programs have helped their business significantly by contributing to over 20% in their annual profits. They also believe that the programs have proven critical to their overall marketing strategies. 40% of the US merchants that their major source of acquiring traffic and sales is through affiliate marketing programs. In fact, according to a survey affiliate marketing emerged as one of the fastest growing revenue mediums for online merchants. By 2020 investment in affiliate marketing in the US is expected to grow upto $6.8 billion, that is, by 10.1% of compounding annual growth rate.
Affiliate Marketing Risks
If you are learning the affiliate marketing tactics from an expert, chances are that they won’t work for you just because it worked for them. It’s not always that one will have a huge subscriber list and an infinite budget for bonus distribution for any product that you launch. Wondering how to go about it then? All you need to do is to be smarter and find the best affiliate programs that not just pay well, and offer a wide range of products, but also offers commissions for lifetime for any referral sale, and that is not too common.
What to look for when finding the best affiliate marketing programs
- Check if it offers a long term earning potential which is obviously the major aspect to look for.
- If the cookie gets tracked, the follow-up products earn added commissions.
- Get to know the quality of the backend promotion and if it’s going to boost your profits.
- Check what the refund rate is with the merchant, before you start promoting any offer.
- It’s important to know if you earn commission for a sale of another product by the same vendor instead of the target product.
- Is the merchant using a credible affiliate marketing software that helps keep a proper track of the traffic and the sales made for transparency? For example, eCommerce merchants like Shopify are associated with trusted affiliate tracking software like LeadDyno that helps keep a track of all the user activity from visiting your website to making the final purchase, so that you do not miss out on any referral commission.
- How soon do you get the pay-out?
- If the merchant offers 2nd-tier commissions.
Best Affiliate Marketing Programs You Can Try
- Commission Junction
This is especially suitable for bloggers. As an affiliate you can earn commissions by getting traffic and sales for the advertiser/merchant via your blog or website. The pay Per Call solution offered by their program allows you to promote their products or services using a wide range of distribution channels via trackable.
- Clickbank.com
It’s big and needs no introduction. As an affiliate marketer, you will eventually come across a product that’s run by Clickbank. Being the largest and one of the most popular affiliate, it makes money making easy for both merchants and the affiliate marketers. It’s known for timely payouts, excellent customer service via emails, and an overall fantastic experience for an affiliate marketer.
- Acceleration Partners
From leading the industry in affiliate recruitment & engagement, designing campaign, and delivery, to allocation, and reporting, acceleration partners dominate the next generation affiliate marketing category. It offers high-quality account management mixed with refined strategy that helps attract customers who are profitable.
- Booking.com Affiliate Partner Program
This is specifically for those who are running a travel blog. Once you sign up with the Booking.com affiliate network you will be allowed to opt for a banner, link, or a search box that can be placed on your website. The choice will be yours. The commission starts from a pay-out of 25% for 0 to 50 bookings per month, 40% for 501 bookings, and more as the number of stays are higher.
- Sharesale.com
You have choice to make from their 2500 and more merchants. It offers your sales and traffic stats in real-time, and is know for their timely pay-outs.
- Shopify
This eCommerce company is known for its extensive affiliate program that helps you earn upto $2000 for every new merchant referral. From entrepreneurs, influencers, or visionaries to tastemakers or the common man, anyone can be an affiliate partner with Shopify and start earning referral income in easy steps.
- JVZOO.com
If you are looking for instant payments, JVZOO.com is the right place to be. However, the only pitfall is that every seller has to approve you to start earning the commission. Once you are approved, you can promote any product in offering.
- Button
This is a leading provisional company that links mobile apps and webpages from top publishers such as, Huffington Post, Conde Nast, Ibotta, and more with other apps. This helps in attracting traffic of profitable customers.
Whether you are running a blog, website, or an eCommerce portal affiliate marketing certainly offers a steady income flow when done in the right way. While promoting the right products and placing relevant ads matter to a large extent, getting involved with the right affiliate program is also one of the prerequisites. So, check out this list and find the best affiliate marketing program for your website and start earning today!