One of the biggest challenges you’ll face when building an affiliate marketing business is finding the best affiliate programs for beginners.
After all, there are thousands of high paying affiliate programs to choose from.
Choosing the wrong affiliate program could potentially set you back months, whereas the right one could see you generating your first affiliate buckaroos before your site is even “finished”.
So – because this is a question we get asked a lot – we’re going to dedicate our time together in this blog post looking at the best affiliate programs for beginners.
And we’ll try to give you a far more balanced view of why signing up for affiliate networks sometimes makes more sense than an in-house affiliate program, and vice versa.
There are more than one thousands affiliate programs out there and a billion customers. As the rule goes you are better off focusing on affiliate products that you are familiar with and two product category you will enjoy promoting, you can read my article on How to choose an affiliate Marketing Niche to help you focus and wisely choose which products or fields you should focus your energy on.
Let’s get to it.
Disclaimer: Don’t have time to look through all of the programs? We’ve divided this list into several subsections:
Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
Website Builder Affiliate Programs
Travel Affiliate Programs
Retail Affiliate Programs
Online Course Affiliate Programs
VPN Affiliate Programs
Beauty and Cosmetic Affiliate Programs
Fitness Affiliate Programs
Fashion Affiliate Programs
Crypto & Bitcoin Affiliate Programs
Sports Affiliate Programs
Best Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
Every new website requires a host.
Therefore, most affiliates that write about marketing, starting an online business, or blogging end up joining a web hosting affiliate program first.
Ultimately, web hosting companies supply some of the best affiliate programs and commissions, which is why they’re at the top of my list.
Bluehost
Commission: $65 per sale
Cookie life: 45 days
The Bluehost affiliate program is super popular as a web hosting service. With their plans starting at $2.95/month and one-time payouts starting at $65+, the cost barrier is low, and the commissions are high.
Because of this, they are one of the convenient ways for affiliate bloggers looking to make money online.
After you sign up for their program, you get credit for referrals up to 45 days after the first click. Payments occur between the 16th and the end of each month, and you’ll need at least $100 to release your payment.
By promoting Bluehost, you’ll enjoy high conversion rates and have access to text links and banners to help them quickly. Their affiliate managers provide excellent customer service, and they are my #1 overall pick and come with my highest recommendation.
Hostinger
Hostinger is another popular web hosting platform that can offer affiliates up to $150 per sale on a tiered pricing structure.
Their affiliate partner program offers a base payout of around $60, with the opportunity to make up to $150.
And since their small business and WordPress hosting plans tend to always have a 90% discount, they have strong conversion rates.
Like many other web hosts, they provide banners and promotional tools to help new affiliates get started.
Cloudways.
The Cloudways web hosting affiliate program offers high payouts, long recurring commissions, and three flexible payout models for their affiliates.
For one-time payouts, you can either earn up to $125 per sale based on your performance tier. Additionally, you can use their hybrid model and get $30 per sale plus a 7% monthly lifetime commission for the life of the customer.
Cloudways provides its own real-time tracking for its affiliates, with a performance dashboard that shows clicks, conversions, and other detailed information.
They also have excellent account managers and helpful resources including onboarding emails, guides, monthly newsletters, benchmark articles, and blog articles.
HostGator.
Commission: $65 to $125 per signup
Cookie life: 60 days
By promoting HostGator, you can earn up to $100 per sign up and get flexible commission structures and your co-branded landing pages and offers.
For example, I have my HostGator landing page where readers can get 60% off HostGator plans.
Plus they have tiered commissions structures – the more affiliates you refer, the more you earn commissions. You can either choose a performance-based or a hybrid commission model that offers recurring payments too.
By joining their program, you get a dedicated affiliate account manager and access to marketing tools like banners, text links, excellent article content, and email templates. They’re a great web host when starting an affiliate site as well.
GreenGeeks.
Commission: $50 for one sale; up to $100 for six sales
Cookie life: 30 days
If your users are looking for a web host that is both user-friendly (and environmentally-friendly), you should check out GreenGeeks.
Did you know your website has a carbon footprint?
GreenGeeks is trying to change that by replacing 3x the amount of energy consumed from the grid in the form of renewable energy credits.
By joining their affiliate program, you can earn up to $125 per sale based on performance and traffic levels. GreenGeeks has paid their affiliates over $3.5 million over time and offer dedicated account managers and helpful reporting tools to set you up for success.
WP Engine.
Commission: $200+ per signup
Cookie window: 180 days
WP Engine has one of the highest affiliate payouts, starting at $200. They are a powerful web hosting platform and one of the premier web hosts for bloggers that write about WordPress plugins and themes.
Their program features incentives and pricing tiers. If you get five sales, you receive an extra $100. For ten purchases, you get $250. They also offer a two-tier program – you can earn $50 for any sub-affiliates you refer to their platform.
WP Engine has an industry-leading 180-day cookie duration, which gives credit for sales up to 6 months after visitors click your affiliate link.
However, the only downside is that their product is more expensive than other web hosts, so conversion rates aren’t as strong.
I know many people that have managed the WP Engine program and ensure they are committed to the success of their affiliates.
Best Website Builder Affiliate Programs
Shopify
Commission: 200% commission after a referral has been an active subscriber for 2 months
Cookie life: 30 days
With nearly 2 million merchants worldwide, Shopify has truly proven itself as a market leader in the drop-shipping industry. Shopify has everything you need to start your online store, including website builders, shopping carts, web hosting and store management tools, analytics features, payment processing, and much more.
If your audience is all about e-commerce and needs help setting up an online store, Shopify’s affiliate program might be for you. Affiliates earn a whooping 200% commission on the cost of a monthly subscription (that’s up to $2,400!). Additionally, when a referral signs up for a Shopify Plus account, you get paid a flat $2,000 bounty payment.
On top of the money, as a Shopify affiliate, you get priority support for your own Shopify store, as well as free Shopify content to promote to your audience.
Joining the program is absolutely free. The main drawbacks may be that the target for this program is quite niche, since you’ll need an audience that sells products online and doesn’t already have a solid e-commerce platform.
Wix
Commission: $100 per Premium sale
Cookie life: 30 days
If you’re interested in unlimited payouts with minimal effort, Wix could be for you. The web development company is one of the most popular web hosting platforms, and offers $100 per Premium referral with no limit on the amount of people you can refer (which means, if you refer 10 people, you’ve already made $1,000). Additionally, Wix provides links and creatives, including banners and landing pages in all languages, to make it easy for you to include their link on your site.
However, it’s important to note that there is a minimum sales target you need to reach to get paid — $300 per month (if you make less than that, your earnings will stay in your account until you reach that benchmark). If you feel your website, blog, or social channel is visited on a regular basis by prospects who might be interested in creating their own website on a hosting platform, this could be a good program for you, but if you’re unsure if you can meet the minimum sales target for a while, you might want to reconsider.
Leadpages
Commission: Up to 50% commission
Cookie life: 30 days
Leadpages is an online tool that lets you create easy-to-customize landing pages to collect contact information and boost your conversion rates. (You can learn more about LeadPages by reading reviews.)
Their affiliate program is only open to Leadpages customers. Each paying customer referred brings in a lifetime commission of 30%. Membership prices range from $25 to $200 per month.
Leadpages will sometimes run special offers, such as a $5,000 bonus for affiliates who drive 10+ sales by a given date. All affiliates get access to banners, sidebar images, and social media-friendly links. You also have the option to share a unique link to a free content page (like a blog post or video) rather than a product page.
Crowdbotics
Commission: Payouts start at $750 per referral and vary by project size
Cookie life: Contact Crowdbotics for more information
Crowdbotics makes it faster than ever to build complete, scalable apps for business. With Crowdbotics, professionals can turn ideas into real code using a matched library of components and a network of on-call experts.
Crowdbotics references a library of millions of production-grade software packages to identify the most effective components and workflows for a given project. Once your referral partner starts building their app, you can claim various rewards from Crowdbotics ranging from cash payouts to development credits.
BigCommerce.
BigCommerce is a SaaS e-commerce platform with over 60,000 merchants. They are known as the e-commerce platform of choice for growing brands because of their built-in features and advanced functionality.
Their e-commerce affiliate program offers a generous 200% bounty payment on the plan’s price, meaning you can earn either $60, $160, $250, or $1,500 per paying customer. They have a 90-day cookie and provide banners, text links, and a weekly affiliate newsletter with content templates and SEO advice.
I’m also biased as I used to be their Affiliate Manager in 2018 and know how good the program is.
ClickMeter.
ClickMeter is a website link tracking service that pays up to a 90% commission per sale when you promote their tool. Their program is in Shareasale, they have a dedicated affiliate team, and you can earn up to $891 per sale! I added them high on this list because of their high commission percentage and helpful affiliate team.
Superb Themes.
Superb Themes is a company that provides well-designed WordPress themes and writes a lot of great content about WordPress. If you want to promote WordPress themes to your audience, you can earn up to a 60% commission for every sale, and even get recurring commissions on a yearly basis. They also have a dedicated affiliate manager and a cookie duration of 30 days.
AliDropship.
AliDropship is an ecommerce platform for dropshipping and has two separate solutions – a full online store option and their add-ons, plugins, and themes. Their affiliate program provides partners with trial access to plugins, a 30-day cookie window, banners, content templates, and up to 50% commission which means you can get up to $869 from a single sale. They make prompt payments via PayPal.
Weebly.
Weebly is a simple website builder with an impressive 40 million+ users. It is not the most advanced website builder, but their drag and drop interface makes it very easy to build a quick website. They offer a 30% recurring commission for as long as the customer is active, and feature a generous 120-day cookie window.
Sellfy.
Sellfy is a full-featured ecommerce tool built for bloggers and creators who want to sell niche products online, including digital products, subscriptions, and physical goods. Their affiliate program provides a 25% recurring commission for one year. They have a strong affiliate manager that I know who can provide affiliates with help on content and other collaborations.
3dcart.
3dcart is a fast-growing ecommerce platform that hosts its own program and offers a 300% commission for paid conversions. They boast reliable conversion rates and have accommodating Affiliate Managers that lend a helping hand.
Site123.
Site123 is another famous website builder that allows you to create mobile-friendly websites with a lot of templates to choose from and a simple user interface. Their affiliate program provides up to $182 payouts, and you can only withdraw your funds after you receive $300 of commissions.
Best Travel Affiliate Programs
TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor is a popular travel site that’s primarily known for its local reviews of things to do. They also allow you to book hotels, vacation packages, restaurant reservations, and more. They offer an incredible 50% with a decent cookie duration of 14 days. Based on their referral fees, they are my #1 choice for the best in the travel category.
Travelpayouts.
Travelpayouts calls themselves “The Ideal Travel Program to Monetize Your Travel Website”, and I have to agree. They cover a wide range of services and integrate other travel platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, rentalcars.com, and more. Their travel affiliate marketing platform offers up to an 80% commission, but the average is 1.6% for flights and 6% for hotel bookings. Their cookie duration is 30 days.
Expedia.
Expedia is a major global travel brand that is the parent company of others on this list. They allow their affiliates to promote over 260,000 bookable properties with 150 websites in 70+ countries. Based on their website reach and network of properties, they are #2 on my list.
Boatbookings
Commission: 20% + 10% for returning customers
Cookie life: 30 days
If you think your website visitors might be interested in chartering yachts, you might want to join Boatbookings’ affiliate program. Boatbookings specializes in luxury yacht chartering, boat rentals, and sailing and motor yacht vacations.
On the charter value of a boat, Boatbookings receives commission on the net charter value (not including APA or any additional items ordered). On this commission, affiliates will earn 20% as a base rate, with a possibility for escalating rates if referring multiple clients. When customers return to Boatbookings, affiliates receive an additional 10% commission on that second purchase.
Cheapflights
Commission: Flat rate — up to $0.45 per click-out
Cookie life: Session
Cheapflights is a travel comparison site that helps users find the cheapest plane tickets.
Cheapflights is another company that rewards its affiliates not for bringing paying customers, but for sending traffic to their partners.
Affiliates are paid a flat fee when a user clicks through — $0.45 per click-out for desktop and tablet, and $0.25 for mobile.
As an affiliate, you get access to various creative assets, ranging from banners to search boxes and travel widgets, that allow your visitors to conduct a search on your site and display flights results on Cheapflights’ page. This is their most popular travel affiliate tool and generates the highest revenue per visit.
Momondo
Commission: Flat rate — up to $0.65 per click-out
Cookie life: Session
Momondo is a global travel search site that compares cheap flights, hotels, and car rental deals.
Each time someone clicks on a flight on Momondo’s website from your site’s link, you will earn $0.65 for desktop and tablet users, and $0.45 for mobile users.
Sandals Resorts
Commission: 4%
Cookie life: 60 days
Sandals is one of the most well-recognized names in Caribbean resort travel. All Sandals Resorts offer luxurious vacations for couples and families traveling to Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, and more.
The Sandals affiliate program pays you a commission for referring users to book either a stay in one of the Sandals Resorts, or booking an activity. While 4% might seem like a small percentage, these luxury resorts have daily rates that range from $150 to over $2,000 per person — which means, if a couple were to book a romantic week in a Sandals Resort at $500 per person per night, you would earn a commission of $280!
This program is only worthwhile, however, if your site and audience has a true interest in luxury travel to the Caribbean.
Marriott.
Marriott is another hotel brand offering a large selection of hotels to promote in their program. They offer 3% for vacation packages and 4-6% for hotels. They provide a cookie length of 7 days.
Travelocity.
Travelocity is a travel platform known for its price match guarantee and affordable prices. They offer a 2-4% commission and extend a generous 45-day cookie length.
Priceline.
Priceline is known for their cheap deals on hotels, flights, and more. They offer a 3-5% commission and a 30-day cookie duration.
Hotels.com.
Hotels.com is another way to make money with hotels and they offer localized services with 85 websites in 35 languages. They also have over 15 million members in their rewards program. They offer 4% and 7-day cookie duration.
Hilton.
Hilton is a global hotel brand that offers luxury hotel stays and a wide range of hotel properties. They offer a 4% commission, and their cookie length is seven days.
Hotwire.
Hotwire offers last-minute travel deals and access to cheap flights and hotels. They provide 2% with a 7-day cookie.
Booking.com.
Booking.com offers flights, hotels, car rentals, and airport taxis. By joining, you get access to over 2.2 million properties, and they offer 4%, but there is a downside as the cookie expires when a user closes their browser.
Best Retail Affiliate Programs
Amazon Associates
Commission: 1-10% (depending on the product category)
Cookie life: 24 hours
Amazon is one of the most popular online shopping platforms, so if you’re looking to buy something, chances are you’ll find it on Amazon.
Amazon Associates get commissions between 1% and 10%, depending on the category the product purchased falls under. The most valuable items to promote are clothes and luxury beauty products, both of which can earn you a 10% cut on the price.
One of the main advantages of doing affiliate marketing with Amazon is that people already know the company and love to shop there, so it’s not a hard sell. The company has very high conversion rates, especially around the holidays. And because the product selection is so vast, it fits most kinds of businesses.
If you write about animals, for instance, you can promote cat treats or dog toys. If your audience is interested in cars, you can recommend jumper cables — you get the idea.
Additionally, if someone ends up on Amazon through your link and buys something other than what your content links to, you still get commission on the user’s entire cart.
Ultimately, the only downside is some categories have particularly low commissions, such as video games and electronics.
For businesses with large audiences, Amazon recently launched their new Amazon Influencer Program as an extension to the Associates program for social media influencers. You get similar benefits to the online Associates program, as well as your own page on Amazon with a unique URL to showcase the products you recommend to your followers.
Currently, you must have a YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook account to qualify. Amazon looks at the number of followers and other engagement metrics of your social media accounts to determine whether you’re eligible for the program.
Target
Commission: 1-8% (depending on the product category and sales volume)
Cookie life: 7 days
While it doesn’t offer as wide a selection as Amazon or eBay, Target remains a highly recognizable brand with a variety of different products.
Target’s affiliate program operates on a volume-based commission structure, meaning that your commission increases as the number of items purchased increases. Sadly, a product category that does not benefit from this model is the Health and Beauty products — the commission on this category caps at 1%, regardless of volume.
It’s also critical to note — most people tend to prefer buying Target products in-person, rather than online, so this could have an impact on your returns.
Hammacher Schlemmer
Commission: 8% on any sale
Cookie life: 30 days
Hammacher Schlemmer is America’s longest-running catalog with a lifetime of over 150 years, and continues to successfully sell items ranging from electronics to outdoor living gear. Additionally, the company offers an impressive affiliate program with the potential to earn incredibly high commissions.
They offer 8% commission on any product you’re able to sell through your own website or blog. While 8% might not sound like a lot, consider some of the higher-priced items they sell, including a Muhammad Ali Autographed Photo Collage for $5,000, or the Full Immersion Professional Racer’s Simulator for $65,000.
Ultimately, if you’re able to find products or services on Hammacher Schlemmer’s website that align well with your own core offerings or might interest your buyer persona, you might consider partnering with the brand.
Additionally, this affiliate program could be a good idea for an ecommerce business interested in expanding their offerings. Hammacher Schlemmer provides tools (including password-protected online reports) and content to help your online store succeed.
Spocket
Commission: 20% per Bronze subscriber; 25% per Silver subscriber; 30% per Gold subscriber (up to 445.50 per subscriber)
Cookie life: 90 days
Spocket, a dropshipping supplier, wholesaler, and distributor of high-quality American and European products, enables entrepreneurs to sell products from thousands of dropshipping suppliers around the world. They also offer an incredibly impressive affiliate program — you can make up to $450 for each customer you refer to Spocket, and you’ll continue to collect commission off your referral’s Spocket account as long as they remain a customer.
Their program will also provide you with the tools and resources you need to successfully promote their business. If your website visitors are entrepreneurs or ecommerce businesses, this is a good affiliate program to explore.
eBay Partner Network
Commission: 1-4%, depending on category
Cookie life: 24 hours
With over one billion listings from a wide range of product categories, eBay’s affiliate program shares a lot of the same advantages as Amazon’s — well-known brand, high conversion rates, and a diverse selection of products.
The eBay Partner Network pays a commission of 1% to 4%. You earn a percentage of the revenue eBay earns from that purchase, based on the product category.
Best Online Course Affiliate Programs
Udemy
- Commission: 15% depending on publisher
- Cookie duration: 7 days
Udemy is without a doubt, one of the most popular education affiliate programs, according to our analysis of affiliate links from top elearning websites.
It has over 155,000 courses, each managed by independent instructors. Anyone can create and publish a course on Udemy, so be sure to vet the quality of courses before recommending them.
At only 7 days, it’s cookie window is 75% shorter than the industry standard of 30 days. In practice, this means customers must arrive at your link ready to buy. Luckily, Udemy has a Marketplace Insights tool that you can use to gauge the most popular courses and perform niche research.
Although Udemy does provide assets like banners and images, these assets look like ads and in general do not convert as well as deep links. Deep links are hyperlinks that direct your audience to a specific place on a website. In this case, a specific course.
Pluralsight
- Commission: $5.00 per lead, 50% on monthly plans, 15% on annual plans, 10% on premium plans
- Cookie duration: 45 days
Pluralsight is a learning platform for code and software development. It offers generous affiliate compensation. First, you’re paid $5 for every lead that signs up for a 10 day free trial. Then, you receive 50% of monthly revenue or 15% on an annual subscription. This is a significantly higher base payout than the 15-30% that is typical of the industry.
What’s more is the generous cookie duration gives you time to warm up your audience until they are ready to buy. They also offer robust affiliate resources such as optimized banner ads, free trials to certain courses and even a monthly newsletter.
LinkedIn Learning
- Commission: $40.00 at most per monthly subscription, 35% on individual courses
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Linkedin is a growing social media platform with over 750 million members. What’s more impressive is these users tend to be high-earners, with 44% of American Linkedin users earning over $75,000.
Knowing this, it’s no surprise that Linkedin has a hefty budget to put towards their learning program. They pay $5 per lead and 35% per sale and invest heavily towards promoting their courses both on-platform and through offline advertising. Anecdotally, I took some Linkedin Learning classes offered on a flight entertainment system once.
These classes are offered globally, but note that commission is subject to change if your audience pays in a currency other than USD. Nevertheless, this is a potentially lucrative route if you’re serving a professional audience.
Kaplan
- Commission: 2.4% base commissions
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Kaplan is the oldest education program on this list. It started in 1938 when founder Stanley Kaplan tutored students in a New York basement. Now, the company offers everything from SAT prep for high schoolers to Bar review for soon-to-be lawyers. The brand is internationally recognized, with employees in 28 countries across the globe.
While the commission rate may seem low, the average purchase runs upwards of USD $1,200 (€1.1k), bringing the potential earnings up. The program also adds value to affiliates through co-branded “bespoke content and press releases”, as well as discounted member pricing. Even so, it would take a high conversion rate to make this a viable affiliate choice.
Rocket Languages
Commission: 40-70% depending on the number of sales you make
Cookie duration: 60 days
Rocket Languages is one of the most generous language affiliate programs and comes with a personal recommendation from one of Affilimate’s customers and founder of French Together, Benjamin Houy.
Both the commission percentage and cookie duration are quite generous for the education industry and a high conversion rate is the cherry on top.
With their top courses priced at $449, your 40-70% commission rate can net between $179 and $314. Lower priced courses at $99 still provide decent commissions as well.
You can choose to promote one of 14 languages: Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, ASL, English. Monica recommends inserting their pre-made free trial form into high-performing blog articles to optimize for conversions.
Teachable
- Commission: 30-70% Depends on the course, often 30-70%
- Cookie duration: days
It is possible to promote Teachable as a software product, to an audience of course creators.
But beyond that, many Teachable course creators can run their own affiliate programs. Meaning, you can promote individual courses by Teachable instructors and earn a commission.
On one hand, this democratizes knowledge-sharing and allows for a wide range of courses. But this also means you must be careful to vet the courses you promote.
Teachable has a course discovery tool which you can use to discover Teachable courses in a bunch of different categories. Topics range from everything including fitness, investing, food, yoga, and more.
So no matter what topic you are covering on your website, there’s probably a Teachable course you could try yourself and promote to your audience.
Note that not every Teachable course offers an affiliate program, and the terms can vary greatly between programs. Definitely check the individual course (or even email the instructor) before buying it if you are planning to write a review, and need to know the affiliate terms first.
Treehouse
- Commission: $3.00 per lead, 20-50% per sale
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Treehouse is another learn to code affiliate program with a slight twist. It not only offers programming courses, but also has a specific focus on networking and community. It has a wide range of offers, from true beginners to more advanced levels.
This wide range is appealing because it allows you to speak to a wider audience, but it comes with a complex payment structure. Subscriptions have payouts ranging from 20-50% and free trials earn $3-10. Trials have a payout period of 30 days and subscriptions take 45 days to go through.
Lambda School
- Commission: $500.00 per student
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Lambda provides in-depth learn to code courses in exchange for a percentage of a future paycheck. Their programs cost no money down and instead rely on this income-sharing agreement.
Unlike other platforms, which offer highly specialized short courses or even singular classes, Lambda focuses on intensive, A-Z courses geared towards career changes or early career development. These classes used to take place in-person, but have since moved online.
Their affiliate program pays out a whopping $500 per student who begins the program. They offer a 90-day free trial prior to commitment, so while the commission is high, the payout period is longer than most.
Coursera
- Commission: 10-45% commission (Rakuten), 10% commission (Skimlinks)
- Cookie duration: 29 days (Rakuten), Not listed (Skimlinks)
Coursera partners with universities and professors to offer over 3000 courses on a diverse range of topics. Many of these courses can be taken for free, but require payment for certification. As an affiliate, your audience must have a need not only for the information, but also for the certification in order for this to be a revenue stream.
As far as commission structure, Coursera has different incentives based on the product purchased. Base commission for individual courses is set at 20%. “Specializations and professional certificates” earn a commission of 45%, as does a monthly Coursera Plus subscription. An annual subscription receives a 10% payout.
This already complex commission structure becomes even curiouser upon closer inspection. Unlike other affiliate programs, which typically pay out up to the first year, Coursera only pays commission on the first month of a monthly subscription.
The good news is that it’s possible to receive commission on multiple purchases. Let’s say you promote two specific courses with certification. If one of your followers buys both courses, you should receive payout for both of them, even if they are already signed up.
Masterclass
- Commission: 25% Commission (Skimlinks), 25% (ShareASale)
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Masterclass takes a unique approach to online learning by leveraging well-known celebrity voices such as Gordan Ramsey, Issa Rae and Steve Martin. Their videos have high production value and take on a podcast-like tone. Full disclosure: this is one of my favorite platforms to learn from.
However, Masterclass is very strict about brand image and will deny affiliates whose websites rank for search terms like “Download, Free, Torrent, Discount, Coupon, Promo, [or] Offer”.
Their cookie window and commission payout is conservative compared to other programs that offer incentives for leads. While they offer tiered volume bonuses, their process is not as transparent as other affiliate programs.
VPN Affiliate Programs
Next, we’re moving to VPNs.
Since 2013, almost 25% of global internet users have used a VPN every month and the market is growing year over year.
Due to this technology’s exploding popularity, all different types of affiliate sites can recommend setting up a private internet connection to their readers.
In fact, I hopped on the bandwagon as well with my 19 Best VPN Services post.
I also use a VPN to secure my internet on public WiFi, stream Netflix when I’m traveling abroad, and even do keyword research pretending I’m in another location.
Since these companies charge a recurring fee to use their online services, affiliates typically receive a recurring payment or large one-time payout for users after signing up.
It’s one of the most popular affiliate categories and there are plenty of great programs to join.
Here are the best VPN affiliate programs.
1. PureVPN.
PureVPN has one of the most fun programs, with contests, a reward system, and custom notifications letting you know when you’ve made a sale. Similar to others on this list, they offer 100% for month one and 40% for longer plans.
2. Surfshark VPN.
Surfshark VPN is one of the leading VPN providers and aims to make online privacy easy for everyone. Plus, it allows you to access blocked and unavailable content worldwide, including blocked streaming services.
By promoting Surfshark, affiliates can earn a 40% revenue share for each subscription sold. Since this product offers super competitive pricing and a wide range of features, it converts well in a lot of markets.
3. IPVanish.
IPVanish is one of the best VPN services on the market and boasts some of the best payouts in the VPN industry.
1-month package: 100%, then 35% recurring. 3-month package: 40%, then 35% recurring. 1 & 2 year package: 40%, then 30% recurring.
4. ExpressVPN.
Founded in 2009, ExpressVPN is one of the most popular options for users looking to protect their privacy online. They offer high one-time payouts based on the plan a user signs up for: 1 month is $13, 6 months is $22, and 12 months is $36.
5. NordVPN.
NordVPN’s commissions are based on the subscription plan ordered by the customer, including 100% at one month, and 40% for 6 months, one year, and two year plans. They also have strong conversion rates and dedicated account managers to help you drive sales.
6. StrongVPN.
StrongVPN has been around since 2006 and has a popular affiliate program. They pay every month and offer up to a 200% payout for sales generated.
Best Beauty and Cosmetic Affiliate Programs
Ulta
Commission: 1-5%
Cookie life: 30 days
Ulta is a go-to brand for beauty enthusiasts who want both affordable and prestige skincare, makeup, and personal care products. Ulta is popular for its diverse offerings, which can cater to the tastes of a large readership.
Ulta’s affiliate program pays 1-5% in commissions. While this number may seem low, the company is ranked #2 in the beauty and cosmetics online space, meaning that your readers have likely heard of it and could even be current customers. You are provided with dynamic banners and text links to promote Ulta’s products. The company has ongoing promotions, including free shipping and free products, to help you drive more sales.
Sephora
Commission: 5%
Cookie life: 24 hours
If you serve a more affluent readership, Sephora is the affiliate program for you. The retailer offers a wide selection of prestige beauty products, including skincare, body care, makeup, and fragrances. Additionally, they offer a superior customer experience — for instance, they offer a free gift with any purchase and have a strong rewards program.
Sephora’s affiliate program offers a 5% commission rate on all sales, which is higher than Ulta’s and most online retailers’ commission rates. Like most programs, Sephora gives affiliates access to promotional banners and other creative assets, which you can use on your site and social media accounts.
The only downside to this program is that the cookie length is uncommonly short: The cookie will expire just 24 hours after the user clicks on the affiliate link.
FragranceNet.com
Commission: 1-5%
Cookie life: Unknown
A leader in the online perfume space, FragranceNet.com gives you access to hundreds and thousands of top designer fragrances and aromatherapy products. It sells other products, too, such as skincare and makeup. However, due to its specialization in fragrances, we recommend it for bloggers who primarily write about fragrances.
Affiliates earn 1-5% for every purchase generated through their link. The brand gives you access to links and banners, fresh blog content, seasonal ads, and coupon codes to drive your referral to a conversion. The program is run through the Rakuten platform.
BH Cosmetics
Commission: 8%
Cookie life: 60 days
Born and raised in LA, BH Cosmetics is one of the leading companies in the beauty industry. They are passionate about creating new and innovative beauty trends and dedicated to bringing customers the best in cruelty-free cosmetics. They also run promotions and sales regularly to help convert those leads.
BH Cosmetics affiliates receive an 8% commission on purchases made within 60 days of the user’s visit. The site has an average order value of $38 and an on-site conversion rate of 6.46%.
As an affiliate, you’ll get exclusive access to coupons and banners you can use on your website, blog, or emails. You’ll also receive monthly affiliate newsletters. Plus, their dedicated in-house affiliate team runs monthly incentives and affiliate contests to encourage you to promote your affiliate link.
Fitness Affiliate Programs
Whether you’re a bodybuilder, running coach, personal trainer, or an Instagram model, fitness companies payout for your physical fitness recommendations.
By partnering with a company like Bowflex and recommending their high AOV products, you can earn a high commission on every order.
Fitness is one of the highest-paying affiliate verticals. The high average order value (AOV) of products like treadmills and ellipticals offer excellent earnings per click (EPC) for affiliates.
Here are my picks for the best fitness programs:
1. Ace Fitness
Commission: 8% of sales
2. BodyBuilding.com
Commission: 15% for new customers, 5% for returning customers
Cookie Duration: 9 days
3. Bowflex
Commission: 7% of sales, AOV is over $2,000
Cookie Duration: 3 days
4. Life Fitness
Commission: 8%+
Cookie Duration: 30 days
5. ProForm
Commission 8-11% of sales
6. TRX Training
Commission: 8% of sales
Cookie Duration: 30 days
Fashion Affiliate Programs
Fashion affiliate programs are perfect for bloggers and influencers looking to recommend the latest fashion trends on Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube – and make money from their recommendations.
When recommending fashion products, you should focus on a sub-niche so that you hone in on your audience and are the go-to resource for your specific type of fashion.
Once you’ve figured out your sub-niche, search for clothing and accessories that match your brand. Keep in mind; there are also fashion platforms like RewardStyle and Shopstyle Collective to help you find fashionable products to promote.
In the end, the fashion affiliate company that you choose to work with should match your unique style, and you should like their brand.
Here are my picks for the best fashion affiliate programs:
1. Eddie Bauer
Commission: 5% per sale
Cookie Duration: 7 days
2. H&M
Commission: Up to 7.4%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
3. JNCO Jeans
Commission: 20%
Cookie Duration: 30 days
4. Lane Bryant
Commission: 5%
Cookie Duration: 15 days
5. ModCloth
Commission: 7%
Cookie Duration: 45 days
6. MVMT Watches
Commission: 10%
Cookie Duration: 15 days
7. Newchic
Commission: Up to 18% per sale
Cookie Duration: 60 days
8. Nordstrom
Commission: 2-20%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
Commission: 4%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
9. Stitch Fix
10. True Religion
Commission: 7%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
11. Warby Parker
Commission: 20%
Cookie Duration: 45 days
Crypto & Bitcoin Affiliate Programs
I got deep into crypto-mania last year, spending hours trading Bitcoin, Litecoin, Cardano, Stellar, and every coin under the sun on Binance.
Similarly, I even took part in a few ICOs, using digital wallets to exchange one crypto for another.
Many bitcoin programs pay you on a percentage of every qualified trade for getting people into a crypto exchange, you make a cut of their trades for up to a year. Other crypto programs include recommending digital wallets like Ledger and Trezor, crypto tax software, and more.
Above all, Blockchain technology is not going anywhere.
If you’re interested in working with affiliate companies in a rising industry, check out these programs and watch your revenue charts go to the moon.
Here are the top-paying cryptocurrency affiliate marketing programs.
1. Binance (referral program)
Commission: 20% of referral’s trade fees, 40% if holding 500+ BNB
Payout: Pay in real-time to Binance account
2. Coinbase (referral program)
Commission: When a user buys $100 of BTC, receive $10 of BTC
Earning period: Once per customer
3. Ledger Wallet
Commission: 10% of the net sale amount
Payout: Payout in BTC, with 0.1 BTC minimum payout amount
4. LocalBitcoins.com
Commission: 20% of the user’s trading fee per trade
Earning period: 1 year from the user’s registration date
5. Trezor Wallet
Commission: 20% of sales
Sports Affiliate Programs
The sports industry is predicted to reach $73.5 billion in market value in 2019. This revenue includes media rights, merchandising, sponsorships, and the rise of fantasy sports.
If you’d like to tap into this vast market, take a swing at a sports affiliate program.
To recommend products from specific sports companies, join a sporting goods, fan gear, or golf affiliate program. Additionally, another strategy is to take your fantasy football knowledge and make commissions from daily fantasy sites like Draft Kings or FanDuel.
Sports aren’t one of the most significant categories in affiliate marketing. However, the sports vertical is a good one for bloggers who already review the latest sports equipment.
In due time, you can be successful by building your brand around a very specific sports sub-niche and coupling that with an in-depth knowledge of the products you’re recommending.
Here are the best high paying sports affiliate programs.
1. Dick’s Sporting Goods
Commission: 5% on average
Cookie Duration: 10 days
2. Draft Kings (referral program)
Commission: 40% of referral’s net gaming revenue first 30 days, 25% days 31+
3. Fanatics
Commission: Up to 10%
Cookie Duration: 7 days
4. FanDuel
Commission: $25-35 per signup, 35% rev share for referrals’ first 2 years
5. Sports Memorabilia
Commission: 9% of sales
Cookie Duration: 365 days
6. TaylorMade Golf
Commission: 5% of sales
Cookie Duration: 30 days
7. Under Armour
Commission: 5% of sales
Cookie Duration: 30 days
Best Affiliate Programs – Summary
No matter which one of the best affiliate programs you want to join, there are a ton of different high ticket categories to match your unique interests.
First, when choosing a program, remember to check the commission rates, average order values (AOV), average earnings per click (EPC), and cookie durations.
Second, look into if the program is a recurring affiliate program, or provides one-time payments.
Finally, choose a niche that matches your interests, and you can passionately promote.
ALL THE BEST
