If you’re like me, when you join affiliate programs, your main goal is to earn commissions by recommending products so you wake up in the morning with something like this:
Get out of bed and check that you have $957.60 in your bank account from a single affiliate sale.
If you want to learn how to start a blog and participate in this market that is projected to reach $6.8 billion by 2022, read on.
This list includes affiliate programs to join in standard categories like web hosting, website builders, VPN, travel, finance, fashion, beauty, and fitness.
Additionally, it includes emerging verticals such as sports, music, video games, cryptocurrencies, and marijuana/CBD oil.
If you don’t already have a website to make money with affiliate marketing, I highly recommend launching one with WordPress.
You can read my guide on how to start a blog or my web hosting reviews to get started with your affiliate site.
Ultimately, you can set up a site with Bluehost for just $2.95/month.
So why should I trust my affiliate program reviews?
I’m an affiliate manager turned affiliate marketer, so I’ve seen both sides.
Managed affiliate programs for major eCommerce and SaaS brands for the past few years. After seeing affiliates make money, I launched this site in January 2019.
And if you check my blogging income reports, I am now making over $80,000/month from this blog.
Over 80% of this revenue comes from affiliate marketing, coming from over 100 different affiliate programs.
If you want to earn money faster and join the best affiliate programs in any niche, this article is for you.
First, I want to cover my top pick: Fiverr.
#1 Best Affiliate Program Overall: Fiverr.
While I cover many different affiliate niches in this article, there is one affiliate program that covers all the bases and is the easiest to promote.
That affiliate program is Fiverr.
Fiverr is like the Amazon of digital services.
By signing up for the Fiverr affiliate program, you can promote the world’s largest online marketplace for services. From logo design and writing to programming, WordPress presentations, and business services, the options are endless.
And after promoting these services, affiliates earn up to $150 CPA per first-time buyer or up to $1,000 per sale with their hybrid $10 CPA / 10% revenue share model (service prices go up to $10,000).
Overall, with over 250 categories and over 3 million digital services you can promote, Fiverr is my number one choice for the best affiliate program.
Get started as a Fiverr affiliate.
Alright, let’s move on to the full list.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have reviewed all of the programs in this guide and believe that they are the best for generating affiliate income. You can read my full affiliate disclosure in my privacy policy.
What are the best affiliate programs?
First, on the list, web hosting is one of the most popular affiliate marketing categories in the world.
Every new website requires a host.
Therefore, most affiliates who write about marketing, starting an online business, or blogging end up joining a web hosting affiliate program first.
Ultimately, web hosting companies offer some of the best affiliate programs and commissions, which is why they’re at the top of my list.
Here are my picks for the highest-paying affiliate programs.
1.Bluehost
The Bluehost affiliate program is very popular in the web hosting space. With its plans starting at $2.95/month and one-time payments starting at $65+, the cost barrier is low and commissions are high.
Because of this, they are one of the convenient ways for affiliate bloggers looking to make money online.
After signing up for their program, you get credit for referrals up to 45 days after the first click. Payments are made between the 16th and the end of each month, and you will need at least $100 to release your payment.
By promoting Bluehost, you will 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.
You can read my full Bluehost Affiliate Program review to learn more.
And if you still need to start your affiliate website, click my link below to get 63% off your Bluehost plan.
2. 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 earn up to $150.
And since their WordPress and small business plans tend to always be 90% off, they have strong conversion rates.
Like many other web hosts, they provide banners and promotional tools to help new affiliates get started.
If you still need to start your affiliate website, click my link below to get 90% off your Hostinger plan.
3. Elementor.
Elementor is a dynamic drag-and-drop website building platform. Elementor helps web builders build stunning, full-featured WordPress websites, no code required.
Success comes from working together: Elementor has 100,000 members in its online community. There, web builders share advice, tips, and feedback, host meetups, and push each other toward professional growth.
In general, the Elementor affiliate program offers 50% per sale and five pricing packages, ranging from $49 to $999 per year. This wide range of pricing tiers makes it easy for affiliates to strategically market various plans to specific audiences.
With some affiliates earning over $10,000 with Elementor, it is one of the best options for WordPress web hosts and bloggers.
4. Cloud ways.
Cloudways web hosting affiliate program offers high payouts, long recurring commissions, and three flexible payment models for its affiliates.
For one-time payments, you can earn up to $125 per sale based on your performance level. Plus, 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 great account managers (whom I know personally) and helpful resources including onboarding emails, guides, monthly newsletters, reference articles, and blog articles.
You can get started with the Cloudways affiliate program with the link below.
Try Cloudways
5. Host Gator.
By promoting HostGator, you can earn up to $100 per signup and get flexible commission structures and co-branded landing pages and offers.
For example, I have my HostGator home page where readers can get 60% off HostGator plans.
Plus, they have tiered commission structures – the more affiliates you refer, the more commissions you earn. You can choose a performance-based or hybrid commission model that also offers recurring payments.
By joining their program, you get a dedicated affiliate account manager and access to marketing tools like banners, text links, great article content, and email templates. They are also a great web host when starting an affiliate site.
Click my link below to get 60% off HostGator web hosting.
Get started with HostGator
6. Green Geeks.
If your users are looking for a web host that’s easy to use (and environmentally friendly), you should check out GreenGeeks.
Did you know that your website has a carbon footprint?
GreenGeeks is trying to change that by replacing 3 times 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 its affiliates over $3.5 million over time and offers dedicated account managers and helpful reporting tools to set you up for success.
Join Green Geeks
7. WPEngine.
WP Engine has one of the highest affiliate payouts, starting at $200. They are a powerful web hosting platform and one of the top web hosts for bloggers writing about WordPress plugins and themes.
Your program features incentives and pricing tiers. If you get five sales, you receive an additional $100. For ten purchases, you get $250. They also offer a two-tier program: you can earn $50 for any sub-affiliate you refer to their platform.
WP Engine has an industry-leading 180-day cookie lifetime, which gives credit for sales up to 6 months after visitors click your affiliate link.
However, the only drawback is that their product is more expensive than other web hosts, so the conversion rates are not that high.
I know many people who have run the WP Engine program and make sure they are committed to the success of their affiliates.
Get started with WP Engine
8. Liquid Web.
Liquid Web runs its own affiliate program and pays its affiliates 150% of sales, which can range from $150 to $7,000 per sale.
They have great account managers and offer a two-tier setup. This allows you to get a small credit for sales generated by other affiliates through your two-tier link (like mine in this article).
If you are looking for a great affiliate marketing program with high payouts, check out Liquid Web.
Liquid Web Affiliate Program
9. Sendin blue.
Sendinblue is a platform to grow your marketing and sales with a dedicated CRM, email marketing software, landing page builder and more.
Their affiliate program pays affiliates for both leads and sales. For example, if you refer a free user to Sendinblue, you receive €5 and for each paying customer, you receive an additional €100. In my experience with them, payments are made quickly and reliably via PayPal or bank transfer.
They have a cookie duration of 90 days and real-time tracking through Tapfiliate. Since they are a well-known and leading marketing platform, conversion rates are high from click-to-lead and lead-to-sale.
Overall, if you’re writing to an audience that needs a full set of marketing tools, promoting Sendinblue through their affiliate program is the best option.
Sendinblue affiliate program
VPN Affiliate Programs
Next, we move on to VPNs.
Since 2013, almost 25% of Internet users worldwide have used a VPN every month and the market is growing year after year.
Due to the growing popularity of this technology, all different types of affiliate sites may recommend setting up a private Internet connection for their readers.
In fact, I also jumped on the bandwagon with my post on the 19 best VPN services.
I also use a VPN to secure my internet on public WiFi, stream Netflix when travelling abroad, and even do keyword research pretending I’m somewhere else.
Since these companies charge a recurring fee for using their online services, affiliates usually receive a recurring payment or a large one-time payment for users after signing up.
It is one of the most popular affiliate categories and there are many great programs to join.
These are the best VPN affiliate programs:
1. Surfshark VPN.
Surfshark VPN is one of the leading VPN providers and aims to make online privacy easy for everyone. Also, it allows you to access blocked and unavailable content around the world, including blocked streaming services.
By promoting Surfshark, affiliates can earn a 40% revenue share for every subscription sold. Since this product offers super competitive prices and a wide range of features, it converts well in many markets.
2. IPVanish.
IPVanish is one of the best VPN services on the market and has some of the best payouts in the VPN industry.
1 month package: 100%, then 35% recurring. 3-month package: 40%, then 35% recurring. 1 and 2-year package: 40%, then 30% recurring.
3.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 payments based on the plan the user subscribes to: 1 month is $13, 6 months is $22, and 12 months is $36.
4. NordVPN.
NordVPN commissions are based on the subscription plan requested by the customer, including 100% for one month and 40% for 6-month, one-year and two-year plans. They also have high conversion rates and dedicated account managers to help you drive sales.
5. StrongVPN.
StrongVPN has been around since 2006 and has a popular affiliate program. They pay every month and offer up to 200% payout on sales generated.
6. PureVPN.
PureVPN has one of the most fun programs, with contests, a rewards system, and custom notifications that let you know when you’ve made a sale. Like others on this list, they offer 100% for the first month and 40% for longer plans.
Website Affiliate Programs
After web hosting and VPNs as two of the most popular affiliate categories, website builders like Wix and Squarespace are a close second.
The first step bloggers take to create a website is choosing a web host; the same goes for business owners looking to create a website.
Also, because paying customers can stay for 24-36 months and have a high lifetime value (LTV), SaaS companies can afford to pay more than 100% of the monthly selling price.
Here are my picks for the best website and eCommerce affiliate programs:
| Brand | Commission percentage | Cookie duration |
| 1. Wix | $100 per sale + | 90 days |
| 2. BigCommerce | 200% + | 30 days |
| 3. Shopify | 200% | 90 days |
| 4.ClickMeter | 90% | 90 days |
| 5. Great Themes | Up to 60% | 30 days |
| 6.AliDropship | fifty% | 30 days |
| 7. Weebly | 30% recurring | 120 days |
| 8. Referral Candy | $20 cash | 30 days |
| 9. Sellfy | 25% recurring | 90 days |
| 10. 3dcart | 300% | 45 days |
| 11.Site123 | $100-$182 | 30 days |
1. Wix
Wix is a high-quality website builder with a crazy 100 million users. They provide their affiliates with $100 per sale to get started and have lots of great landing pages to use in multiple languages.
Also, using Wix is one of the simplest (and cheapest) ways to create a simple website to add and monetize affiliate links.
Try Wix
2. BigCommerce.
BigCommerce is a SaaS eCommerce platform with over 60,000 merchants. They are known as the eCommerce platform of choice for growing brands due to their built-in features and advanced functionality.
Their eCommerce affiliate program offers a generous reward payout of 200% on the plan price, which means you can earn $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 tips.
I am also biased as I used to be their Affiliate Manager in 2018 and I know how good the program is.
3. Shopify.
Shopify is the world’s most popular eCommerce website builder, with 400,000 merchants and a hefty 200% commission on paid stores. With your name recognition, you get stable conversion rates. In addition, their website features helpful affiliate FAQs and promotional ideas.
4. ClickMeter.
ClickMeter is a website link tracking service that pays up to 90% commission per sale when you promote their tool. Their program is on Shareasale, they have a dedicated affiliate team, and you can earn up to $891 per sale. I added them to the top of this list because of their high commission rate and helpful affiliate team.
5. Gorgeous themes.
Superb Themes is a company that offers 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 60% commission on each sale and even earn recurring commissions annually. They also have a dedicated affiliate manager and a 30-day cookie life.
6. AliDropship.
AliDropship is an eCommerce platform for dropshipping and has two separate solutions: a full online store option and its plugins, plugins and themes. Their affiliate program gives partners trial access to plugins, a 30-day cookie window, banners, content templates, and up to 50% commission, which means you can make up to $869 from a single sale. They make punctual payments through PayPal.
7. Weebly.
Weebly is a simple website builder with over 40 million users. It’s not the most advanced website builder, but its drag-and-drop interface makes it super easy to create a quick website. They offer a 30% recurring commission for as long as the customer is active and have a generous 120-day cookie window.
8. Referral Candy.
ReferralCandy is the best referral program software for online stores. For example, their platform allows eCommerce merchants to create offers for their customers, such as “10% off for your friends, 6% off for you.” When you refer eCommerce stores to ReferralCandy, you get $20 cash each time.
9. Sellfy.
Sellfy is a full-featured eCommerce tool built for bloggers and creators who want to sell niche products online, including digital goods, subscriptions, and physical goods. Their affiliate program provides a 25% recurring commission for one year. They have a strong affiliate manager that I know of who can help affiliates with content and other collaborations.
10. 3dcart.
3dcart is a fast-growing eCommerce platform that hosts its own program and offers a 300% commission on paid conversions. They have reliable conversion rates and accommodating affiliate managers who provide a helping hand.
11. Site123.
Site123 is another famous website builder that allows you to create mobile-optimized websites with lots of templates to choose from and a simple user interface. Their affiliate program provides payouts of up to $182, and you can only withdraw your funds after receiving $300 in commissions.
Affiliate networks.
Next, let’s pause and move on to affiliate networks.
When you find affiliate programs to join, you can go to a search engine like Google and search for individual programs, search the internet for hours, and eventually discover ones that match your interests.
However, it is much faster to join an affiliate network where you can see thousands of programs in one place.
By searching your marketplace, you can easily see program fees, cookie durations, average EPCs, and more.
What are affiliate networks?
Affiliate networks are intermediaries between the merchants who sell products and the affiliates who promote them.
Affiliate networks allow publishers (affiliates) the ability to search for brands (advertisers) and join their programs in one place.
On the other hand, they allow brands to reach a wider audience by using the network to recruit affiliates.
There are other benefits too. You can compare commissions on different programs, get paid fast, and track all affiliate links on your affiliate platforms.
How do I choose the best affiliate network?
Which networks you choose to join ultimately depends on your overall strategy and the types of products you want to promote.
These are the main aspects to consider when deciding between the best.
1. Many merchants in your niche.
Some networks specialize in specific verticals like fashion, beauty, and home goods, while others may have more B2B brands and merchant merchants. If you are a blogger, make sure the network has a large number of merchants that match your niche.
2. Make sure they are 100% free.
You should NEVER have to pay to join. Networks earn by charging their merchants: setup fees, monthly fees, and sometimes a percentage of affiliate revenue. If you find one that is trying to charge you to join, move away quickly.
3. High levels of customer service.
All networks provide some level of support, but they are better than others. If you want 24/7 support via phone, email, and live chat software, check out the network features and dive into platform reviews to make the best choice.
4. Traders who pay a lot.
After finding an affiliate network with merchants that match your niche, the next step is to make sure you can earn high commissions on your sales.
Remember, average affiliate commissions (depending on vertical) range from 5-30%. When you scan the list of merchants, do some calculations on potential earnings and product prices to maximize your income.
What are the best affiliate networks?
Now that you know what to look for when choosing a network, here are my picks for the best affiliate networks.
1. Impact.
Impact is a complete partnership relationship management (PRM) software that connects top brands with publishers.
Affiliates can join the network and apply to join programs from thousands of leading brands like Uber, Airbnb, Adidas, Allstate and more.
Brands looking to create their own affiliate program can use Impact and gain access to the best partnering tools.
Impact helps brands and advertisers manage:
- affiliated associations
- influencer marketing associations
- Business Development Deals
- Analytics and attribution
- custom contracts
Optimizing channel partnerships can be challenging, and Impact’s technology streamlines partner programs all under one roof.
If you are a brand looking to create an association program, Impact is the best platform to use.
Get started with Impact
Shareasale is a massive affiliate network with over 3,900 merchants and over 1 million affiliates. They have been in business for 19 years and are leaders in the industry. Some of their top verticals to promote include Fashion, Home & Garden, Food & Beverage, and B2B. But there are many more.
Plus, they provide great features, including affiliate marketing classes, training webinars, merchant recommendations, and marketing tools to help you increase your income.
Their platform is also reliable on the technological front. Specifically, the Shareasale platform provides easy access to affiliate links and reporting tools, and they pride themselves on transparency, speed, efficiency, and accuracy.
If you’re just starting out and want to get your feet wet in affiliate marketing, I highly recommend joining Shareasale as an affiliate first.
And if you are a merchant looking for affiliates to promote your products, you can register as a merchant.
3. CJ from Conversant
CJ by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction) is an affiliate network that has been in the industry for 20 years. They process an incredible $15 billion in annual sales through their platform, with $1.8 billion paid annually to their affiliates.
If you’re looking to partner with some of the biggest brands in the world, becoming a CJ affiliate is a great option. Brand names like Overstock, Priceline, GoPro, Lowes, and Office Depot are just a few of the merchants you can partner with at CJ.
On the publisher side, they partner with big brands like CNN, Time, Digg, and Buzzfeed. With this stiff competition, one drawback is that it can be difficult for new affiliates to get approved to work with larger merchants. You’ll need to get creative with your email outreach to work with them.
However, with its free and easy setup, great real-time reporting, and reliable monthly payments, CJ is a great platform to join.
If you’re an experienced affiliate looking to work with some of the world’s biggest brands, join CJ by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction).
Rakuten, formerly known as LinkShare, is an affiliate network that has been in business since 1996. Although they have been in business longer than most, they are not as big as CJ by Conversant.
However, they do have around 1,000 merchants to choose from, including many well-known brands like New Balance, Pac Sun, Ray-Ban, and Sephora.
What makes them unique? First, Rakuten has a very intuitive user interface, advanced deep linking tools, and the ability to create rotating banners when promoting your merchants. The configuration is very simple. Plus, they have great transaction reports and video tutorials to help you get started and maximize income.
However, there are some drawbacks. For starters, they don’t have as many merchants.
This drawback may limit your ability to sell from a wide range of different brands, and you may need to supplement your income by joining another network. Second, they have irregular payment schedules, so you may not earn commissions at the same time every month. These are not deal-breakers but are worth noting.
Ultimately, if you are an affiliate who has already joined larger platforms and would like to expand your reach, consider joining the Rakuten network.
5. Lemonads
Lemonads is a performance marketing network with over 10,000 businesses affiliates can promote.
When affiliates sign up and join your platform, they gain access to many tools:
- Exclusive CPA offers from trusted brands.
- Smart affiliate link tools with reports so you can optimize your campaigns in real-time.
- Fast payments are made by bank transfer, PayPal, Paxum and ePayments.
- Customer service through various channels.
85% of publishers increase their income within the first 3 months of using Lemonads.
If you’re an advertiser looking to join their platform, you also get some great tools:
- Pay-for-performance models, you can choose from CPA, CPS, CPL, CPI.
- Monitored traffic from verified sources.
- AI fraud detection.
- Follow-up of results in real-time.
Some other notable mentions are Awin, avangate, VigLink, Pepperjam and Clickbank. If you’re in the B2C consumer product niche, Clickbank offers a marketplace to promote products from a wide range of industries such as food, health, fitness, nutrition, home and garden, and more.
The best recurring affiliate programs
While many of the best affiliate programs offer one-time CPA payments after a sale, others offer a recurring payment each month. A recurring program is when an affiliate earns a commission for selling a site’s product on a recurring (or monthly) basis.
Here are my picks for the best recurring shows:
1. Pabbly.
With the Pabbly Affiliate Program, you can earn a 30% lifetime recurring commission on every sale. They use a 30-day cookie period and offer payments within 40 days.
2. Buzzsprout.
This popular podcast host offers a 20% recurring payment and even provides new users with a $20 Amazon gift card to help increase conversion rates. I support Buzzsprout on my podcast hosting page, and they have a great marketing manager who can help with content ideas and promotions.
3. Thinkific.
Thinkific is another popular online course platform and offers 20% recurring resources. I made $956 from a single Thinkific sale and (as of April 2022), I’m their #1 affiliate.
4. IPVanish.
IPVanish is also on this recurring list as they are the best VPN service on the market and have some of the best payouts in the VPN industry. They also have an outstanding affiliate manager.
5. Wordable.
Wordable is a SaaS tool that helps content creators instantly publish content from Google Docs to their CMS (WordPress, HubSpot, Medium, Shopify, BigCommerce, and more).
They offer a 30% monthly recurring commission on every sale and plans range up to $1,000 per month for enterprise businesses.
6. Activate Campaign
ActiveCampaign is my favourite email marketing software and their affiliate program pays on a recurring basis. They offer commission levels based on the number of sales you generate and go as high as 30%.
They have over 6,000 affiliate partners, helpful affiliate resources on a partner portal, and a fantastic affiliate manager.
7. Moosend.
Moosend is a popular email marketing tool and their affiliate program offers a 30% recurring commission. They also have a super helpful affiliate manager and a 120-day cookie duration.
8. Netpeak software.
Netpeak Software develops tools for professional search engine marketers: Netpeak Spider and Netpeak Checker. They offer up to a 30% recurring rate and an average income per active affiliate of $100 to $2,000 per month. They also provide dedicated support and promo codes that can be shared to help generate leads.
9. amoCRM.
amoCRM is a messaging-based customer relationship management (CRM) software. Their program offers a 35% recurring commission right from the start (and doesn’t expire). Plus, that number goes up to 50% once you hit $10k as a partner.
10. Lead pages.
Leadpages is a famous landing page builder that helps users create dedicated web pages with forms and calls to action. Their affiliate program provides a 30% repeat rate.
11. Teachable.
Teachable is an online course platform that allows bloggers and website owners to create their classes to sell to their students. They offer a repeat payment of 30%.
12. GetResponse.
GetResponse is another email marketing service that offers a 33% recurring commission. They are another excellent email marketing affiliate program.
13. SEMRush.
SEMRush is an influential SEO tool that website owners can use to track keywords, conduct site audits, and view competitive insights in their online marketing. Their program is called BeRush and they offer their affiliate partners a 40% commission.
14. Aweber
Aweber is an email marketing software that is ideal for businesses and marketing teams due to its email templates and design features. They offer a 30% recurring rate.
15. ConvertKit.
ConvertKit is one of my favourite email marketing tools as it’s great for bloggers. They have a visual automation builder and can create triggers based on website actions and actions within emails. A friend of mine runs their program and they offer 30% per month.
16. Promo Republic.
PromoRepublic is an excellent social media scheduling and management tool. They offer up to 30% per sale and an average income per active affiliate of $40 to $1,500 per month. They also provide bonuses for the best and coupon codes to share to help generate sales.
17. Elegant Themes.
Elegant Themes is a WordPress theme library consisting of 87 easy-to-use themes and 550,000+ clients. If you are a blogger and want to recommend themes to your readers, you can send traffic to Elegant Themes and get a 50% recurring payment.
18.NinjaOutreach.
NinjaOutreach is an all-in-one influencer marketing tool. It helps you conduct outreach, finds influencer email addresses, builds email lists, and grow your content promotion efforts. They used to offer 50% recurring, but now they offer 20%.
19. SpyFu.
SpyFu is another SEO tool focused on competitive information. You can use their tool to download data on a competitor’s top paid and organic keywords. They have a persistent payment of 40%.
20. Click Funnels.
ClickFunnels is a popular landing page builder and offers a 40% payout on all sales. They have a lot of different ads and courses that you can promote and an intuitive panel to get your links.
What does recurring payment mean?
When the payment is “recurring”, it does not occur just once, but repeatedly, as long as the commissioned user remains a paying customer. Recurring income programs pay your commissions monthly due to the customer retention rate. Most of the recurring programs are software-as-a-service (SaaS) advertisers whose platforms require a monthly subscription.
Source: Datapine.com
With monthly subscriptions, a customer’s lifetime value (LTV) is much higher than the monthly selling price, as they continue to pay every month until they drop out.
Due to this, the advertiser can pay in two ways: a one-time commission higher than the monthly price or a lower recurring percentage during the life of the client.
Affiliates like both one-time and recurring payment models, and each approach has its pros and cons.
Pros and cons of the single payment:
Advantage: You get a more substantial payment upfront, sometimes as high as 500-1,000% of the monthly subscription cost.
Disadvantage: It lacks consistency in its affiliate income stream and can earn less over the lifetime of the customer.
Pros and cons of recurring commissions:
Advantage: It generates constant income every month and you can better predict how much money you will earn. Additionally, you can also earn more over the lifetime of the customer if there are low churn rates and high retention rates.
Disadvantage: You earn a smaller amount upfront and the customer could quickly leave, wiping out your earnings.
travel affiliate programs
From hotels and travel platforms like Expedia to airlines and vacation packages, people are buying travel packages online more than ever, so why not get paid?
Let’s say you’re a travel blogger with an audience of loyal readers.
You can recommend hotels, travel packages, airlines, and travel gear from affiliated travel companies and earn a referral fee for each sale.
There are also many customization options. You can integrate hotel booking sites on your website, choose specific destinations and display properties that interest you. For example, you could start a dedicated “Denver Family Vacation” affiliate site, write content on the best things to do in Denver, guide to the local area, and promote specific hotels.
Travel review sites with links to specific vacations and hotels are a fun way to create a unique experience for your readers and offer endless customizable options. Commissions are paid when booking or when a visitor checks out of your hotel.
Here are my picks for the best travel affiliate programs:
| Brand | commission structure | Cookie duration |
| 1.TripAdvisor | fifty% | 14 days |
| 2. Travelpayouts | up to 80% | 30 days |
| 3. Expedia | 2-6% | 7 days |
| 4. Marriott | 3-6% | 7 days |
| 5. Travelocity | 2-4% | 45 days |
| 6. Priceline | 3-5% | 30 days |
| 7. Hotels.com | 4% | 7 days |
| 8. Hilton | 4% | 7 days |
| 9. Hotwire | two% | 7 days |
| 10. Booking.com | 4% | When closing the browser |
1. TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor is a popular travel site best 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% off with a decent cookie life of 14 days. Based on their benchmark rates, they are my number one choice for the best in the travel category.
2. Travelpayouts.
Travelpayouts calls itself “The ideal travel software to monetize your travel website”, and I agree. They cover a wide range of services and integrate with other travel platforms like Booking.com, Airbnb, rentalcars.com and more. Their travel affiliate marketing platform offers up to 80% commission, but the average is 1.6% for flights and 6% for hotel bookings. The duration of cookies is 30 days.
3. Expedia.
Expedia is a major global travel brand that is the parent company of others on this list. They allow their affiliates to promote more than 260,000 bookable properties with 150 websites in more than 70 countries. Based on their website reach and property network, they are number 2 on my list.
4. Marriott.
Marriott is another hotel brand that offers a great selection of hotels to promote in their program. They offer 3% for vacation packages and 4-6% for hotels. They provide a cookie duration of 7 days.
5. 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 cookie duration of 45 days.
6. Priceline.
Priceline is known for its cheap deals on hotels, flights, and more. They offer a 3-5% commission and a cookie duration of 30 days.
7. Hotels.com.
Hotels.com is another way to make money from 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 a cookie duration of 7 days.
8. 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.
9. Hotwire.
Hotwire offers last-minute travel deals and access to cheap flights and hotels. They provide 2% with a 7-day cookie.
10. 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.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have reviewed all of the programs in this guide and believe that they are the best for generating affiliate income. You can read our full affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.
Finance and credit card affiliate programs
According to Transunion, there are 2.69 credit cards for every person in the United States. If Americans are good at one thing, it’s spending money we don’t have! However, by smartly reviewing credit cards, loan companies, and accounting tools, you can help your audience with their finances while improving their credit scores.
Second, with the rise of insurance and credit card review sites, there are plenty of opportunities to recommend credit card offers. Finally, you can enter the B2B space and recommend accounting software to small businesses.
Regardless of which financial affiliate company you choose, they are known as some of the highest-paying affiliate programs on the market.
Here are the best ways to get started with financial affiliate marketing:
1. Credit cards with the bank rate
Note: CPM, CPC, CPL, and CPA bids based on credit card type
2. Bankaffiliates.com
Note: affiliate network that connects you with credit card offers
3. Credit.com commission: many different payments depending on the type of credit card
4. Commission Soup Note: Affiliate Network Connecting You With Credit Card Offers
5. Equifax Commission: $10-40 Cookie duration: 30 days
6. Freshbooks commission: $5 cost per lead, $55 per customer Cookie duration: 120 days
7. Liberty Mutual Commission: cost of $3-17 per potential client, depending on the type of insurance
8. NetQuote commission: $2.50-20 cost per lead, depending on insurance type
9. QuickBooks commission: 7% Cookie duration: 45 days
10. TransUnion Commission: $20 Cookie duration: 45 days
Fitness Affiliate Programs
Whether you’re a bodybuilder, running coach, personal trainer, or Instagram model, fitness companies pay for your 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 offers excellent earnings per click (EPC) for affiliates.
Here are my picks for the best fitness programs:
| Business | Commission | Cookie duration |
| 1.AceFitness | 8% | 30 days |
| 2. Bodybuilding.com | 5-15% | 9 days |
| 3. Bowflex | 7% | Three days |
| 4.LifeFitness | 8% + | 30 days |
| 5.ProForm | 8-11% | 30 days |
| 6. TRX Training | 8% | 30 days |
1.AceFitness Commission: 8% of sales
2. BodyBuilding.com Commission: 15% for new clients, 5% for clients recurring Cookie duration: 9 days
3. Bowflex Commission: 7% of sales, AOV exceeds $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
CBD Affiliate Programs
With Michigan becoming the 10th state to legalize cannabis for recreational use and legal medical marijuana in 33 states, it’s time to jump into this growing area. This effective and safe treatment for pain is becoming widespread.
If you want to get into a high-paying affiliate category, now is the time to get into the marijuana and CBD space.
With this category, I do not explicitly recommend that you test ALL products before approving. Slow down, Cheech Marin. However, if you are looking for a promising industry, you can earn some high commissions.
Here are some of the best CBD affiliate marketing programs:
1. Seedman Commission: 15% of sales
2. Grasscity: 10%, plus 5% of sub-affiliate sales
3. Green CulterED Commission: 60% Cookie duration: 365 days
4. University THC Commission: $25 per student 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 earn money from their recommendations.
When recommending fashion products, you should focus on a sub-niche so that you can target your audience and be the go-to resource for your specific type of fashion.
Once you’ve discovered your sub-niche, look 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 trendy products to promote.
In the end, the fashion affiliate company you choose to work with should match your unique style and you should like their brand.
Here are my picks for the best trendy affiliate programs:
| Business | Payments | Cookie duration |
| 1. Eddie Bauer | 5% | 7 days |
| 2.H&M | 7.4% | 30 days |
| 3. JNCO Jeans | twenty% | 30 days |
| 4. Lane Bryant | 5% | 15 days |
| 5.ModCloth | 7% | 45 days |
| 6. MVMT Watches | 10% | 15 days |
| 7. Newchic | 18% | 60 days |
| 8. Nordstrom | 2-20% | 7 days |
| 9. Stitch fix | 4% | 7 days |
| 10. True religion | 7% | 7 days |
| 11. Warby Parker | twenty% | 45 days |
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 Watch 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
9. Commission of correction of stitches: 4% Cookie duration: 7 days
10. True Religion Commission: 7% Cookie duration: 7 days
11. Warby Parker Commission: 20% Cookie duration: 45 days
Beauty and makeup affiliate programs
Top beauty affiliates have huge followings across their blogs, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and social media channels. Her ardent followers are hungry for the latest cosmetic tips and product reviews. Therefore, beauty and makeup influencers tend to focus on video and image tutorials showing how to use their newly endorsed products.
Due to this popularity, there are plenty of beauty affiliate companies to work with, but you have to choose the brands you promote, as commissions vary widely. For example, beauty affiliate payouts range from 2% to 10% on average and earnings can vary widely.
Finally, choose a brand to promote that pays well and matches your personal preferences and style. Here are my picks for the best beauty affiliate programs:
| Brand | Commission | Cookie duration |
| 1. Madison Reed | $20 | 30 days |
| 2. Avon | Up to 10% | 30 days |
| 3. Beautytap | 7.5% + bonuses | 7 days |
| 4. BH Cosmetics | 8% | 60 days |
| 5. L’Occitane en Provence | 2.5% | 45 days |
| 6. Sephora | 5-10% | 24 hours |
| 7. Ulta Beauty | 2-5% | 30 days |
1. Madison Reed Commission: $20 Cookie duration: 30 days
2. Avon Commission: up to 10%, the average is 3%
3. Beautytap Commission: 7.5% + performance bonuses Cookie duration: 7 days
4. Commission of BH Cosmetics: 8% Cookie duration: 60 days
5. Commission of L’Occitane en Provence: 2.5% Cookie duration: 45 days
6. Sephora Commission: 5-10% Cookie duration: 24 hours
7. Ultra Beauty Commission: 2-5% Cookie duration: 30 days
Twitch and Gaming Affiliate Programs
Whether you’re a gamer, Twitch streamer, or YouTube video uploader, there are plenty of video game affiliate programs out there.
The Twitch Affiliate Program brings gamers one step closer to realizing their financial dreams by allowing affiliates to monetize viewership subscriptions and video game sales.
All you need to join is 50 Twitch followers and 500 minutes of streaming over the past 30 days, seven unique streaming days, and an average of 3 or more concurrent viewers. Alternatively, you can recommend video game subscription services like Gamefly and generate revenue from new trials and purchases of games you create with your affiliate links.
Ultimately, look for a video game affiliate company that best suits your gaming interests.
Here are my picks for the best Twitch affiliate programs and highest-paying games.
1. Astro Gaming Commission: 5% Cookie duration: 180 days
2. Fanatical Commission: 5% Cookie duration: 90 days
3. G2Deal Commission: 10-20% on software, 3% on other products Cookie duration: 30 days
4. Gamefly Commission:$15 for trial registration, 5% for new games, 10% for used games Cookie duration: 30 days
5. Twitch Fee: 50% of subscriptions, 5% of game sales
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have reviewed all of the programs in this guide and believe that they are the best for generating affiliate income. You can read our full affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.
music affiliate programs
The music industry contains composers, artists, sound engineers, music teachers, music equipment manufacturers, vocal coaches, and more. With all these different product niches and affiliate companies, there are plenty of ways to make money with high-paying music affiliate programs.
If you’re a sound engineer, you can check out the latest guitars, microphones, and audio gear. If you are a music teacher, you can recommend online music courses. There are countless ways to generate income with your musical knowledge.
Above all, make sure you fully understand the products you’re promoting so your audience gets the best recommendations.
These are some of the highest paying programs in the music category.
1. Guitar Center Commission: 6% Cookie duration: 14 days
2. Musician’s Friend Commission: 4% Cookie duration: 14 days
3. Sam Ash Commission: 7-10% Cookie duration: 60 days
4. Singorama Commission: 70% instant downloads, 40% ongoing shipped Cookie duration: 60 days
5. Commission from zZounds : 6% + bonuses Cookie duration: 45 days
Crypto and Bitcoin Affiliate Programs
I dove deep into crypto-mania last year, spending hours every day trading Bitcoin, Litecoin, Cardano, Stellar, and every coin under the sun on Binance.
Similarly, I even participated in some ICOs, using digital wallets to exchange one crypto for another. He was addictive.
Although the market has slowed since January 2018, it is poised to make a comeback.
Many bitcoin programs are similar to referral programs, whereby by registering users, you make a portion of their trades for up to a year. Other crypto programs include recommend digital wallets like Ledger and Trezor.
Above all, Blockchain technology is not going anywhere. If you’re interested in working with affiliates in an industry that’s on the up (and down), check out these programs and watch your income charts soar.
These are the highest paying cryptocurrency affiliate marketing programs.
1. Binance commission (referral program): 20% of referral trading fees, 40% if you have more than 500 BNB, Payment: Pay in real-time to the Binance account
2. Coinbase commission (referral program): When a user buys $100 of BTC, they receive $10 of BTC, Earning Period: Once per customer
3. Ledger Wallet Commission: 10% of the net sale amount, Payment: Payment in BTC, with a minimum payment amount of 0.1 BTC
4. LocalBitcoins.com Commission: 20% of the user’s trading fee per trade, Earning period: 1 year from the date of user registration
5. Trezor Wallet Commission: 20% of sales
Sports Affiliate Programs
The sports industry is forecast 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 want to take advantage of this vast market, try a sports affiliate program.
To recommend products from specific sports companies, join a golf, sporting goods, or hobbyist affiliate program. Also, another strategy is to take your fantasy football knowledge and order from daily fantasy sites like Draft Kings or FanDuel.
Sports is not one of the biggest categories in affiliate marketing. However, the sports vertical is good for bloggers who already review the latest sports teams.
In due time, you can succeed by building your brand around a very specific sports sub-niche and combining it with a deep understanding of the products you are recommending.
Here are the best paying sports affiliate programs.
1. Dick’s Sporting Goods Commission: 5% on average Cookie duration: 10 days
2. Draft Kings Commission (referral program): 40% of net gaming revenue from referral first 30 days, 25% days 31+
3. Fan Commission: up to 10% Cookie duration: 7 days
4. FanDuel Commission:$25-35 per signup, 35% revenue share for the first 2 years of referrals
5. Sports Memorabilia Commission: 9% of sales Cookie duration: 365 days
6. TaylorMade Golf Commission: 5% of sales Cookie duration: 30 days
7. Under Armor Commission: 5% of sales Cookie duration: 30 days
Affiliate marketing programs for Pinterest
As of May 2017, affiliate marketers can place affiliate links directly on their Pinterest pins instead of going through their blogs. This update led to a wave of affiliates making money online without needing a lot of website traffic.
Similarly, this opened the door for influential fashion, beauty, and lifestyle affiliates to reach Pinterest’s 200+ million users more efficiently. With 29% of US adults using Pinterest and 93% of Pinners saying they use Pinterest to plan purchases, it’s a lucrative way to generate affiliate income.
The best strategy is to join an affiliate network with products that match what people consume on Pinterest. Popular categories on Pinterest include food and drink, DIY, home decor, women’s fashion, and health and fitness.
Here are some networks to join Pinterest:
1. Amazon Associates.
Sell any product on Amazon directly through your Pinterest pins. If you are in the US, you will need to have a website or blog to get approved. You can earn up to 10% on over a million products. They also help you post links and promote products on your site with banners. Although they are not a network per se, they provide a wide range of products.
An added benefit is that when you link to a product with your Amazon affiliate link, you get credit for any products the user purchases in that session. Plus, if they add a product to their cart and it stays there, you get credit for up to 90 days.
Notable Mention: eBay’s Partner Network takes a similar approach and can promote over 1.1 billion listings through affiliate links. With eBay, you can earn 50-70% of the sale price. However, you only earn revenue when a user purchases within 24 hours of visiting eBay.
Shareasale is a popular affiliate network with over 3,900 merchants in verticals like fashion, home & garden, food & beverage, fitness, software, and more.
For example, you could work with a home decor merchant like Minted and earn 20% of all sales. If food and drink is more your cup of tea (or glass of wine), promote Winc Wine and earn $18 per transaction. With its large merchant base, the opportunities are endless.
3. SendOwl.
Become a content creator and sell online courses and eBooks directly on Pinterest. You can also sell memberships as SendOwl integrates with three major membership sites.
4. ShopStyle Collective.
Finally, this fashion site has a ton of clothing and accessory products to promote. They offer a simple user interface, reporting tools, and helpful ways to build an audience.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links that may provide me with a small commission at no cost to you. However, I have reviewed all of the programs in this guide and believe that they are the best for generating affiliate income. You can read our full affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.
What are affiliate programs?
Affiliate programs are agreements where an online merchant selling products pays an affiliate website a commission on sales generated from their referral traffic. The affiliate website places affiliate links pointing to the merchant’s site to track transactions. Each agreement between an affiliate and a merchant presents the commission structure and payment information.
Source: regentseo.com
There are three main parties involved:
- The trader. For example, a retailer that sells products.
- The Affiliate. For example, a product review website with links to products on the retailer’s site.
- The consumer, visiting the affiliate site, clicks the affiliate link to the retailer’s website and purchases the product from the retailer.
How do I join affiliate programs?
There are mainly two types of programs: self-hosted programs and programs in an affiliate network.
First, self-hosted programs run on the company’s website with affiliate software tools. To join them, search for “Brand + Affiliate Program”, find the program page and fill out a form to apply.
On the other hand, a program can live within affiliate networks, a collection of merchants who offer their links in a secure place. These networks allow you to join new programs in different verticals, view reports, view your commissions, and get their affiliate links to add to your site.
With either approach, there are automatic approvals or manual approvals. Some programs accept anyone; some add you automatically if you hit specific benchmarks. Many programs require an affiliate manager to review your application manually.
What are the requirements to join affiliate programs?
To join, you need a website and a way to receive money, whether it’s a PayPal account or a bank account. Although you can participate without a website by adding links on social media, this works best for high-end social media influencers, and I always recommend having a website.
I recommend that you have a well-designed website with an SSL certificate installed for HTTPS. You must have a business email address connected to your domain and have a PayPal account set up.
What do you look for in high paying affiliate programs?
The first two things to look for are commission rates and average order value (AOV). Remember, high fees x high average order value = more affiliate income. Next, look at the cookie lifetime and potential earnings per click (EPC).
Here are four things to look for in the best high-paying programs:
1. Commission rate.
The percentage of a sale funded by an advertiser to an affiliate for referring a new customer. This percentage can range from low single digits to 50% or more.
2. Average Order Value (AOV).
The average dollar amount spent each time a customer completes an order. To calculate AOV, divide your total revenue by the number of orders.
3. Earnings Per Click (EPC).
The revenue an affiliate earns for each click to an advertiser’s website from an affiliate link. This definition is a bit misleading, as the true definition of EPC calculates the amount per 100 clicks.
A cookie is a value stored on an end user’s computer and is used to track affiliate sales. The duration is the time that the cookie remains on the computer after clicking on an affiliate link. For example, with a cookie lifetime of 30 days, this means that if a user clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase within 30 days, the affiliate receives credit for the sale.
There is no point in making a 5% commission on a $10 pair of socks. That’s only $0.50.
Alternatively, you would be much better off earning an 8% commission on a $1,200 treadmill and earning $96. Since your affiliate website can only generate so much traffic each month, you need to promote affiliate products that provide an EPC.
Finally, the last metric to look for is a long cookie lifetime. The standard duration of cookies is usually 30 days. You can find programs from seven days to more than 90 days. Longer-lived cookies are a standard feature of the programs I recommend.
Remember, you want high payouts, high AOVs, and long cookie durations.
Affiliate Marketing Tips.
Source: cloudways.com
Affiliate marketers don’t want to focus only on those four affiliate concepts and blindly recommend any product just because of its high affiliate payouts.
1. You need to promote products that you love and understand.
Web users can spot fake recommendations quickly and want to learn from real-world experience. Therefore, it is vital to be authentic with your product reviews.
Affiliate growth is undeniable, this year will be no different. Affiliate marketing accounts for 16% of all online orders.
So how do you stay on top of emerging trends in the market and join the best and upcoming high-priced affiliate programs?
2. Research emerging categories.
Fashion is currently the most popular affiliate marketing category with 18.7% of campaigns, followed by sports and health and wellness.
Emerging affiliate markets may include virtual reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, wearable technology, and drones.
If you become a budding relationship expert or love guru, another emerging category is dating affiliate marketing. With the number of dating websites and apps on the rise and competition more intense than ever, dating sites are tapping into affiliates to recommend their platforms and gain more users.
3. Mobile networks multiply.
Similarly, another big trend is mobile affiliate marketing and CPA networks. Mobile CPA affiliate networks and push notification companies help affiliates drive traffic to smartphone apps and mobile platforms.
Best Affiliate Programs – Summary
No matter which of the best affiliate programs you want to join, there are plenty of different high-ticket categories to suit your unique interests.
First, when choosing a program, remember to check commission rates, average order values (AOV), average earnings per click (EPC), and cookie duration.
Second, find out if the program is recurring or offers one-time payments.
Finally, choose a niche that matches your interests and you will be able to promote it with passion.
The affiliate market is growing as fast as ever and the opportunities are wide open.
Remember, the first step is to create your WordPress affiliate website.
First, to create your affiliate site, I recommend you start with Bluehost at 63% off or just $2.95/month.
Lastly, be sure to use my two favourite (and must-have) affiliate marketing tools: Affluent to keep all your reports in one dashboard and ThirstyAffiliates to hide your links.
