Are you looking for a way to make money online? If so, affiliate marketing may be the perfect option for you.
Affiliate programs allow you to earn commissions by promoting products or services on behalf of businesses.
In this post, we’ll take a look at 10 of the best affiliate programs for beginners in 2024. We’ll also discuss what to look for when choosing an affiliate program and how to get started.
So, if you’re ready to start earning some extra cash with affiliate marketing, keep reading!
Affiliate Networks vs. Affiliate Programs: What’s The Difference?
Before we dive into our list of the best affiliate programs, it’s important to understand the difference between affiliate networks and affiliate programs.
An affiliate network is a platform that connects advertisers with publishers. Advertisers can set up and manage their affiliate programs on the network. They can also recruit publishers to promote their products or services.
Affiliate networks make it easy for advertisers to manage their affiliate programs and for publishers to find suitable programs to promote.
Affiliate programs, on the other hand, are created by advertisers to promote their products or services. For example, a popular affiliate program with bloggers is the Bluehost affiliate program. Bluehost affiliates will earn a commission each time they refer someone to sign up for web hosting.
Affiliate programs will typically have affiliate managers that help run the program, make sure affiliates have everything they need to be successful.
Publishers can join affiliate programs directly through the advertiser’s website. Once you’re approved for a program, you’ll be given a unique affiliate link that you can use to promote the advertiser’s products or services.
So, now that you know the difference between affiliate networks and affiliate programs, let’s take a look at what you need to know so you can identify the best affiliate programs and networks for beginners.
What Should You Look For in Affiliate Programs?
When you’re looking for the best affiliate programs to join, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind.
Is It a Good Fit?
First, you’ll want to make sure that the affiliate program is a good fit for your site or blog. The products or services you promote should be relevant to your audience.
For example, if you have a blog about gardening, you wouldn’t want to promote an affiliate program for shoes.
Look For Top Paying Affiliate Programs
You’ll want to make sure that the program offers good commissions and is a top-paying affiliate program. This will help you maximize your affiliate revenue to grow your online business.
The commission is the percentage of the sale that you’ll earn when someone clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase.
For example, if an affiliate program offers a 10% commission and you refer someone who spends $100, you’ll earn $10. Other programs pay a flat fee commission for each conversion you generate.
However, there’s one thing you need to keep in mind. Even though it’s ideal to work with programs where you can maximize your affiliate income, that shouldn’t be the deciding factor. The best affiliate programs for your business are the ones you can promote and be proud to work with.
Does The Affiliate Program Have a Good Reputation?
You’ll want to make sure that the program has a good reputation. You can read reviews of affiliate programs online to get an idea of what other people are saying about them.
Is It Easy to Use?
You’ll want to make sure that the affiliate program is easy to use. The last thing you want is to sign up for a program that’s difficult to navigate or doesn’t provide good tracking tools.
Do They Have Good Customer Support?
One thing you’ll want to keep in mind when choosing an affiliate program is whether or not they have good customer support.
Some networks such as the CJ affiliate network offer dedicated affiliate managers for certain programs. This means if you have questions about a program, want to negotiate higher payouts, or want to talk about your promotional methods, you’re talking with one person instead of different people each time.
10 Best Affiliate Programs for Beginners
1. Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is one of the most popular affiliate programs, and for good reason. Amazon is a household name and people are already familiar with its products.
As an Amazon Associate, you can earn commissions on anything that’s sold on Amazon, including books, electronics, apparel, and more.
What’s great about Amazon Associates is that it’s a very easy program to join.
There are also no minimum sales requirements, so you can start earning commissions right away.
Pros
- One of the biggest pros of the Amazon affiliate program is that it offers a wide range of products to promote. No matter what your website is about, there’s likely to be an Amazon product that would be a good fit. This gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of the types of content you can create and the commissions you can earn.
- Huge brand recognition.
- Creating affiliate links is extremely easy.
- User-friendly interface.
Cons
- However, one downside of the Amazon affiliate program is that the commissions can be relatively low. In order to earn a significant income from the program, you need to generate a lot of sales. This can be difficult if you’re just starting out or don’t have a large audience.
- The payout structure of the program can also be complex, with different rates for different types of products. This can make it hard to keep track of your earnings and calculate your overall commission rate.
- A 24-hour cookie isn’t ideal for most bloggers.
2. CJ Affiliate
The CJ affiliate program, formerly known as Commission Junction, is a popular affiliate marketing program that has been around since before I started affiliate marketing.
Most of the time the CJ affiliate platform is extremely easy to use. You can quickly search for advertisers you want to work with and apply for the program with just a couple of clicks.
It’s also extremely easy to pull an affiliate link and other creatives you want to use. Most brands will give you a wide variety of creatives you can use.
I also appreciate how easy it is to deep-link into an internal page on a company’s website.
The CJ affiliate program has a wide range of features and options, making it a good choice for both small and large affiliate marketers. Some advertisers at the time of publishing include Office Depot, Barnes & Noble, TurboTax, and more.
Here are some pros and cons to the program that potential publishers should be aware of before signing up.
Pros
- One of the biggest advantages of the CJ affiliate program is its size. CJ is one of the largest affiliate networks in the world, with thousands of advertisers to choose from. This gives publishers a great deal of flexibility in terms of the products and services they can promote.
- CJ offers a wide range of commission structures, allowing publishers to tailor their earnings to their specific needs.
- Some affiliate programs have a dedicated affiliate manager, making it easy to scale with those brands.
Cons
However, there are some downsides to the CJ affiliate network.
- Advertisers can turnover somewhere frequently.
- The dashboard can be a little tricky to understand for a beginner in affiliate marketing.
3. Rakuten Marketing
If you’re looking for the best affiliate programs for beginners, Rakuten Marketing is another great option.
Rakuten originally began as a Japanese online shopping mall and then in 2005, they purchased US-based Linkshare. This launched Rakuten into the US affiliate marketing industry.
Today, Rakuten Marketing has more than 1,000 advertisers in niches like clothing retailers, electronics, and even finance.
The Rakuten Marketing dashboard is easy to navigate, find new advertisers to work with, and pull affiliate links.
The biggest downside for me is their reporting. While it’s very good in terms of the types of reports you can pull to monitor performance, it can be confusing. This can make it a little overwhelming for a beginner looking for the best affiliate programs.
Pros
- Lots of major brands to work with.
- Low barrier of entry.
- In business for nearly 20 years.
Cons
- Reporting can be a little difficult to navigate if you’ve never used it before.
4. Impact.com
Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of different affiliate programs. However, right now I would say that Impact.com is the best affiliate program available. In 2007 it was started by the founders of CJ.com which means they know a little bit about what they’re doing.
Impact works with thousands of advertisers so there is most likely a brand for every niche. Some of the more recognizable brands at the time of publishing include Airbnb, Coinbase, The Home Depot, and more.
Many of the affiliate marketing platforms on this list have more outdated dashboard experiences for publishers. Impact.com is the exception. They provide a very modern interface that’s extremely easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for.
Modern reporting and easy-to-use dashboards are two reasons why Impact is one of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners.
Pros
- They have advertisers from different verticals. This makes it easy to find a program no matter what niche you’re working in.
- Reporting features are much more superior to other affiliate networks.
Cons
- It can be a little more difficult to get approved compared to other networks on the list.
5. ShareASale
ShareASale is an affiliate marketing network, founded in 2000. They’re part of the Awin company which we’ll talk about next.
With ShareASale, you aren’t going to find a lot of the big huge brand names, but you are going to find a lot of really good, profitable companies to work with.
Their user dashboard hasn’t changed a lot if any, since I started working with them. But it does its job.
The best part about ShareASale is that they have some extremely high-paying affiliate programs to choose from.
Pros
There are some clear advantages to using ShareASale.
- It has a large selection of merchants, so you’re likely to find products that fit your niche.
- The commission rates are often very generous.
- ShareASale offers a variety of tools and resources to help publishers promote their products effectively.
Cons
However, there are also some drawbacks worth considering.
- The interface is pretty dated and some people have noted that it’s difficult to navigate.
- Some merchants are notoriously slow in issuing commission payments.
6. Awin
Awin is one of the newest affiliate networks on my list. It launched in 2017 as a result of a merger between Zanox and Affilinet.
Awin has a very international flavor, with many programs available to affiliates both inside and outside the United States.
Some popular programs on the platform as of publishing this article include Motley Fool, Booking.com, Etsy, and more.
One of the biggest benefits of working with Awin affiliate network is their fast payments. Most affiliate networks will pay their affiliates only after they’ve been paid by the advertiser. Awin is different. They’ll pay out on verified transactions even if they haven’t received payment yet.
Pros
- Fast payments on verified transactions.
- Thousands of advertisers are available to publishers.
- Good for websites that have traffic from outside the United States.
Cons
- It can be difficult to get approved for some programs.
- The user interface isn’t as intuitive as some of the other options on this list.
7. Pepperjam
Pepperjam isn’t the biggest affiliate network, but it’s a solid choice for both new and experienced affiliate marketers.
Originally launched as an e-commerce company in 1999, Pepperjam was then bought by eBay in 2011. In 2016 it was relaunched under the same Pepperjam name. Finally, in 2020, Pepperjam was purchased by another affiliate network, Partnerize.
While they don’t have as many big brands as some other networks, they do host PayPal, AutoZone, Ace Hardware, and more.
Pros
- You can email advertisers directly from the account dashboard, which is a very handy feature. I’ve used this frequently to inquire about outstanding program applications.
- They have a browser extension that makes it super easy to create a deep link.
Cons
- Fewer advertisers compared to other affiliate networks.
8. Fiverr
Fiverr isn’t an affiliate network like the others but it is one of the best affiliate programs for beginners. The reason is that it has a wide range of services you can promote and the affiliate revenue potential is high.
Fiverr has given the freelance community a simple way to find gigs. You can find freelance opportunities for everything from digital marketing work to graphic designers and even voice-over work.
With the Fiverr affiliate program, you can choose from either a flat CPA model where you can earn from $15 to $150. They also have a hybrid model which pays a $10 CPA plus a 10% RevShare for the first 12 months.
Pros
- You have the ability to earn a significant amount of money for each conversion.
- The affiliate dashboard is extremely user-friendly.
Cons
- You won’t earn a commission for existing users.
9. Skimlinks
Skimlinks is quite a bit different than other affiliate marketing networks. Instead of applying for individual programs, Skimlinks will automatically insert affiliate links into your content. They also give you the ability to insert links manually as well.
Because Skimlinks works with more than 24,000 advertisers there’s likely something for everyone no matter what niche your website is in.
Pros
- Affiliate links can be automatically added to your content. This can be extremely profitable for user-generated content like a forum.
- Huge amount of available advertisers that you can work with.
Cons
- Because Skimlinks is essentially a third-party, your commissions are going to be less than if you worked directly with each advertiser.
10. Flexoffers
If you’re a new blogger or just getting started in affiliate marketing, Flexoffers is a great place to start. You do have the opportunity to work directly with some advertisers, but for the rest, you’ll essentially be a sub-affiliate.
The upside is that it’s much easier to get approved by certain advertisers. However, the downside is that the payouts will be less than if you had a direct relationship with the brand.
All this being said, Flexoffers is certainly one of our best affiliate programs for beginners.
Pros
- Huge selection of advertisers you can work within many different niches.
- You can get approved for some programs that tend to have strict requirements.
Cons
- Because you’ll be working as a sub-affiliate for many advertisers, the payouts are going to be lower.
The Bottom Line: Choosing The Best Affiliate Marketing Program for Beginners
Now that you know a little more about affiliate marketing and some of the best affiliate programs for beginners, it’s time to get started.
Remember, there’s no such thing as overnight success. It takes time, effort, and patience to build up a successful affiliate marketing online business.
But if you’re willing to put in the work, you can absolutely make it happen.
One final piece of advice: make sure you choose an affiliate program that you’re actually interested in. Promoting products that you’re passionate about will make the process a lot more fun (and profitable!) in the long run.
What are your thoughts? What are some of your favorite affiliate programs for beginners? Let us know in the comments below!
FAQ
Should I Pay to Join an Affiliate Program?
No, you should not have to pay to join an affiliate program. If you’re asked to pay a fee to join, that’s a red flag and you should move on.
Can I Join More Than One Affiliate Program?
Yes! In fact, we recommend joining multiple affiliate programs in order to maximize your earnings potential.
Do Affiliate Marketers Make Money?
Yes, affiliate marketers can make a lot of money. However, it’s important to remember that affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time, effort, and patience to build up a successful affiliate marketing business.
What Are The Highest Paying Affiliate Programs?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It depends on a number of factors, including the niche you’re in and the type of products you’re promoting. Web hosting companies tend to be a favorite because most pay out $100 or more. There are some programs that can pay upwards of $1,000 or more.
How Much Commission Does Amazon Pay Affiliates?
Amazon pays a commission of up to 10% for most products, but there are some exceptions. For example, Amazon Games currently offers commissions of 20%.
How Do I Promote My Affiliate Links?
There are a number of ways to promote your affiliate links. The method you choose will depend on your niche, the products you’re promoting, and your personal preferences. Some popular methods include writing blog posts, creating YouTube videos, creating social media content, and running email marketing campaigns.
Can I Use Affiliate Links on Social Media?
Yes! In fact, many affiliate marketers use social media as a primary platform for promoting their links. However, it’s important to make sure you’re not being too spammy or self-promoting, as this could turn off your followers.
Do I Need a Website to Be an Affiliate Marketer?
Some affiliate programs will require you to have a website, but others won’t. However, having a website can help you build credibility and authority, which can lead to more success in the long run.
