Best Affiliate Programs for Beginners To Start Earning Commissions

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money from home. You can do it as your full-time job or just on the side, and there are plenty of companies that will pay you for promoting their products and services.

But not all affiliate programs are created equal.

Some affiliate programs are easier to get approved while others may have a stringent application process.

Some have higher payout rates than others, which means that if you promote those companies’ products or services, then you’ll get paid more often and in bigger chunks!

In this article, I am going to share my top five favourite affiliate programs for beginners as well as what you should look for when searching for an affiliate program to promote. Stay tuned!

Introduction: What is an Affiliate Program?

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts.

The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as “retailer”), the network (that contains offers for affiliates to choose from and also takes care of the payments), the publisher (also known as “affiliate,” which is an individual or company that markets offer for merchants) and lastly, the customer.

The market has grown in complexity over the years and there are now several different types of networks, all with different services and offerings depending on their size and sophistication.

When we say affiliate program here, we are referring to a marketing network that connects merchants with affiliates. A merchant is anyone who wants to sell their products online. They want you, the affiliate marketer, to promote and sell it for them!

An affiliate program is an agreement between a merchant and an advertiser which lays out certain rules about how merchants compensate affiliates for generating business.

Affiliate networks are great because they offer so many different programs to choose from which means you can find the affiliate program that’s best for you. They also provide advanced tracking tools so you know exactly how your traffic is converting.

How do Affiliate Programs Work?

There are several types of affiliate programs.

The most basic type of affiliate program is where the merchant agrees to pay a set commission on each sale that comes from an affiliate’s website.

Another type is the pay-per-lead affiliate program. With this program, affiliates get paid each time they bring in a lead to an advertiser’s website without selling anything.

There are also combinations of the two, where affiliates get paid for both sales and leads.

Another interesting affiliate model is called “revenue sharing” or “cost-per-action” (CPA).

With this type of program, advertisers pay a commission based on an action such as completing a survey or signing up for email alerts.

What are the Minimum Requirements for Becoming an Affiliate?

Becoming an affiliate marketer is a relatively straightforward process. There are no specific education or experience requirements, but it does require you to have the right mindset.

You are not required to have any particular qualification in order to become an affiliate marketer, but you will need to be able to show that you are capable of marketing your goods or services online.

Also, if you want to become a successful affiliate marketer, then you need to have a good understanding of how affiliate marketing works.

You also need to have a website/blog or a YouTube channel that can attract potential customers and convince them to buy the products being advertised. It is important that your content is attractive and is designed in such a way that it will encourage visitors to purchase whatever is being sold on it.

How to Find the Best Affiliate Marketing Programs to Promote?

Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online. The affiliate commissions can be very lucrative when compared to other monetization methods – like Adsense for example.

But how do you find the best ones?

Here are some of the things to consider when searching for good affiliate programs.

• How much commission do they pay?
• The payment structure for affiliates (percentage, commission, per sale)
• Are there any special offers or add-ons that make this a good deal for you?
• What types of products do they offer?
• Are there any restrictions on what you can promote and how much commission you will earn from their items?
• Is the affiliate program easy to sign up for?

The process of signing up for an account can be very frustrating especially when starting out. If the approval process is strict, try looking for another affiliate program.

If you consider these things, it will be relatively easy to find the best affiliate programs to promote to your audience.

Top Affiliate Programs to Promote as a Newbie

ClickBank

ClickBank is the top affiliate program we recommend to any beginner who wants to get started with affiliate marketing.

Top affiliate marketers in the world have been promoting ClickBank’s products for more than 20 years now and ClickBank has paid more than $4 billion in affiliate commissions to date.

Here’s why ClickBank is a great affiliate program to start promoting as a beginner.

It is Easy

I love ClickBank because it is so easy to get started. The signing up process is easy and you don’t need to have a website or blog to get started as an affiliate on ClickBank.

More Options

ClickBank marketplace features a vast array of offers that are proven to convert. It has thousands of affiliate products ready to be promoted in different niches. It has e-business products, health products, relationship products, survival niche products and more for you to promote as an affiliate.

High Commissions

If you’re looking for an affiliate program with high commissions, then Clickbank is the way to go. ClickBank pays some of the highest commissions. Commissions can be as high as 90%.

Timely Payments And Tracking

ClickBank pays its affiliates on time, every time. They have been doing this for the past 20 years. Also, they have got an excellent tracking system.

Recurring Commissions

There are many products that offer recurring commissions inside ClickBank.

Although ClickBank is a great place to start your affiliate marketing journey you might face certain issues while signing up for their program.

I am sorry to say that, though ClickBank has an easy signup process for all affiliates- it seems some people from certain countries aren’t getting approved as of late.

If that’s the case with you, then the next affiliate program on our list should be your choice.

DigiStore 24

Digistore24 is an online sales platform that offers you an integrated online store and an affiliate network. Also, it supports all common payment methods and also provides you with accounting automation incl. tax automation.

DigiStore24 accepts affiliates from all countries and it is very easy to sign up for their program. Many of the affiliate products on ClickBank can also be found on DigiStore 24. So if you are searching for a good ClickBank alternative, it has to be this one.

You can sell and promote digital products, physical products, events and more on DigiStore 24. Similar to ClickBank, you can earn up to 85% commissions on every sale of some products on DigiStore.

Also, you can promote products in different niches like Health & Fitness, Green Energy, Animals & Pets and more.

As mentioned earlier, you can also promote events on Digistore24 and earn up to 50% commission on each sale.

Amazon Associates Program

Amazon associates program is one of the largest affiliate marketing programs in the world. This program helps content creators, publishers and bloggers monetize their traffic.

With millions of products and programs available on Amazon, you can use the easy link-building tools available inside your Amazon Associates account to direct the audience to your recommendations and earn from qualifying purchases and programs.

As long as the visitors that click on your links end up buying something from Amazon, you will earn a commission for that sale.

They can buy literally anything.

You will earn a commission even if they buy a completely different product than the one you referred them to.

But the sale should be completed within 24 hours.

If they buy something after 24 hours of clicking your affiliate link, you will not get any commissions. That should always be kept in mind when you are promoting affiliate products as an Amazon Associate.

Also, the commission you earn may vary depending on the country where the Amazon associates account you have signed up is based.

For example, Amazon.com, which operates mainly in the US will pay you anywhere between 1% to 10% affiliate commissions on qualifying purchases, whereas Amazon.co.uk which operates in the United Kingdom may have a totally different commission structure.

Getting started with the Amazon associates program is straightforward. You need to complete a simple registration process to get started promoting Amazon’s products.

Having a website or blog was not mandatory earlier. But looks like, having a website/blog has been now made mandatory to get approved as an Amazon associate.

eBay Affiliate Program

Most people don’t know this but eBay has an affiliate program. eBay’s affiliate program is also called the ‘eBay Partner Network’.

To get approved into the eBay Partner Network you need to have an eBay account. You can open an eBay account easily. But the affiliate approval process can be stringent at times.

By promoting your listings outside of eBay as an affiliate, you can increase your earnings and diversify your revenue streams. You can even get credit for your final value fees when you share your item and it sells.

If you make a qualified sale as an affiliate, you can earn up to 4% of the item’s sale price as commissions. At present, you can sign up for the eBay affiliate program through Impact.

Commission Junction

Commission Junction was founded in 1998 and was acquired by ValueClick in 2003. After the acquisition is was rebranded to “CJ Affiliate by Conversant” in 2014. If you want to promote some of the biggest brands in the world, Commission Junction is the place to go.

As they claim, Commission Junction is one of the largest and most established affiliate marketing programs in the world. Some of the top brands on their affiliate program include Barnes & Noble, Blue Apron, IHG Hotels & Resorts and more.

You don’t need to have a website to start promoting Commission Junction’s products as an affiliate. However, having a website is always a better idea before you start applying for different affiliate programs.

Conclusion

So, now you know some basics of affiliate marketing and have a few good programs to promote. What are your thoughts on which one is best?

Do you think ClickBank or Amazon Associates has better products that would fit with your site’s niche audience?

Or is it DigiStore24 or CJ Affiliate?

The choice is yours when choosing what affiliate program will be most profitable for you.

Remember, no matter which company you decide to work with make sure it fits in well with your website’s content so as not to confuse readers by promoting something completely different from what they came there expecting!