What are the best affiliate programs this year? Here’re the top affiliate marketing platforms and networks that pay the highest commission to bloggers.
This is what this article is about. But before that, let us understand what is Affiliate Marketing and how does Affiliate Program work?
Let me begin with an illustration.
This blog is hosted on Bluehost. They are awesome — reliable, secure, and very affordable.
They offer 99.99% uptime, FREE Domain name with SSL Certificate, and FREE Premium Cloudflare CDN.
What’s more, Bluehost is beginner-friendly as well.
Bluehost is one of the few hosting providers recommended by WordPress.org itself. That means if you are planning to start a WordPress blog or website, you are in safe hands.
Too good to be true? See for yourself. Seeing is believing. Click on this link to learn more.
If you purchase via this link, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
You see, I helped Bluehost find a new customer, and in return, they’ll reward me. (BTW, it’s not an affiliate link)
That’s what Affiliate Marketing is all about.
Also Read: How to Make Money Blogging: Beginner’s Guide
Almost every big company runs an affiliate program. This means hundreds of affiliate programs and affiliate networks exist.
However, like everything else in life, not all affiliate programs and networks are created equal. They differ in many ways. For example, they may differ in niche and product offerings, payment models, and region and language options. And everyone has their terms too.
This makes it difficult to select the right affiliate program, especially for new bloggers.
But no worries, we’ve attempted to make the whole process hassle-free.
We have selected the top affiliate programs and affiliate networks in different categories. These include web hosting, VPN, website builders, retail, e-commerce, online marketing, digital services, etc. affiliate programs.
Also Read: Top 30 Highest Paying Hosting Affiliate Programs
Additionally, it also includes health & fitness, travel & hospitality, credit cards & finance, and fashion & beauty affiliate programs.
Likewise, there are some emerging verticals like sports, music, video games, crypto, and CBD oil, etc.
The affiliate programs listed here are tried, tested, and trusted by top bloggers and affiliate marketers.
Let’s look at them one by one.
Overall Best Affiliate Programs
#1. Fiverr Affiliate Program
Fiverr is my all-time #1 favorite as the best affiliate program, for various reasons.
Fiverr is the largest and the most affordable marketplace for digital services. Consider them as the Amazon for online services.
They connect businesses with freelancers offering a wide variety of services. Fiverr operates in over 160 countries and has over 5.5 million active users.
There are over 3 million digital services (under 300+ categories) listed on Fiverr. With so many categories/services to choose from, you can easily find the relevant products to promote on your blog.
Fiverr generates 55% of its revenue from repeat buyers. That means, the Fiverr gigs convert well.
Unlike many other affiliate programs, you do not even need a blog/website to join the Fiverr affiliate program.
You can promote Fiverr products anywhere and everywhere – on blogs, emails, social media, podcasts, YouTube, etc.
Additionally, Fiverr provides a variety of effective marketing tools including customized deep links.
Affiliate Commission: Fiverr pays generously. They have different commission plans.
Fiverr CPA Commissions: $15 to $150 (depending on the service category)
Revenue Share model: One-time $10 CPA + 10% RevShare for one year
Fiverr Business: $100 + 10% recurring for 12 months
Fiverr Learn: 30% of every order
AND.CO: 50% of every Pro plan
Fiverr 2-Tier Affiliate Program: 10% lifetime commission (on whatever your sub-affiliates earn)
Commission Payments:
Fiverr supports three payment methods: PayPal, Payoneer, and Wire transfer.
PayPal / Payoneer for monthly commissions under $1,000.
Wire transfer for monthly commissions over $1,000.
Payments threshold: $100.
Fiverr pays on a net 30 basis.
Cookie life: 30 Days
By signing up for the Fiverr affiliate program, you are joining the world’s biggest marketplace for digital services.
#2. Bluehost Hosting Affiliate Program
Bluehost is the #1 web host for affordable WordPress hosting. Bluehost powers over 2 million websites. They are recommended by WordPress itself.
Why it is so popular?
1) Bluehost offers very affordable hosting. Their entry-level plan starts at $2.95/month.
2) Bluehost offers a free domain name and free SSL certificate with every plan.
3) Easy to use platform – Bluehost provides 1-click WordPress installs which is a big relief for the novices.
4) Top-notch 24/7 support.
All these features make it a preferred choice among beginners.
Bluehost runs a highly popular affiliate program, probably the most popular in the web hosting space. Bluehost offers a very attractive commission to its partners. They paid out over $5 million in affiliate commissions last year alone.
Why should you join the Bluehost Affiliate Program?
1) Bluehost converts like crazy: Bluehost is a trusted name. They are recommended by WordPress. They are reliable. Plans are affordable. They offer many freebies. They provide easy-to-use tools.
And, hence, their products convert very well. A higher conversion rate means more commissions.
You don’t have to work hard to convince your audience to buy their plans. Just send your visitors to Bluehost, and let them do the rest.
2) High commissions: Bluehost offers most generous commissions in industry. Earn $65 to $125 per sale.
3) Superior support: Bluehost has a dedicated team of affiliate managers whom you can ask for help 24/7.
4) Longer cookie life: 90 Days. Longer cookie life means more sales and more commissions.
5) Automatic payments: Bluehost pays affiliate commissions through PayPal Masspay. Bluehost will pay PayPal transaction charges as well. This means you get full commissions.
This shows how affiliate-friendly Bluehost is :).
By joining the Bluehost affiliate program, you’re going to promote a trusted brand with awesome products. At the same time, enjoy strong conversion rates and earn great passion income. All these facts make it one of the best affiliate programs.
And if you are planning to launch a new blog or a website, click the link below to get 63% off your Bluehost plan.
Commission Rate: $65 – $200 per sale
Cookie Duration: 90 Days
Join Bluehost Affiliate Program
#3. Amazon Associates Program
Amazon runs an affiliate program known as Amazon Associates. Amazon Associates is one of the oldest affiliate programs.
Amazon has millions of products that you can promote. Since Amazon is one of the most trusted brands, it converts very well.
Entry is relatively easy. Amazon affiliate program is easy to use. It provides a range of tools and widgets. These facts make it very popular among affiliate marketers.
Amazon provides a 1-day cookie lifetime, which is a real motivation killer.
Another deterrent is their commission rates. Recently, Amazon has slashed its commission rates by half while they were already very low.
For most of the products, you will get less than a 4% commission. For some categories, it’s as low as 0%. What a joke!
Moreover, they also have a bad reputation for banning affiliates (for the reasons only they know). Seems like Amazon doesn’t give a damn about its affiliates.
Having said that, Amazon Associates provides an easy and powerful way to monetize your blog. Their conversion rate is among the best in the industry.
All you need to do is send traffic to Amazon sites and let them do what they’re good at — converting visitors into buyers.
Commission Rate: Up to 10% (4% on most products) per sale
Cookie Duration: 24 Hours
Join Amazon Associates Program
Best Affiliate Programs (Web Hosting)
Web hosting is probably the most popular affiliate marketing category. Mainly for two reasons:
1) High demand – every new website requires a web host, and
2) Lucrative – hosting is a competitive niche and therefore, companies offer a great commission to their affiliates.
Here are my picks for the top web hosting affiliate programs.
#1. Hostinger Hosting Affiliate Program
Hostinger is another affordable web host. They provide one of the best cloud web hosting services.
Similar to Bluehost, the Hostinger affiliate program pays generous 60% commissions to its affiliates. You can earn up to $150 per sale.
Since Hostinger is a trusted brand and the plans are beginner-friendly, their conversion rates are very strong.
Commission Rate: 60% per sale
Cookie Duration: 30 Days
Join Hostinger Affiliate Program
#2. HostGator Hosting Affiliate Program
HostGator affiliate program is very popular among bloggers and marketers.
Why? Their plans are affordable. Services are reliable.
HostGator provides one of the best Shared Web Hosting services. That results in strong conversion rates.
HostGator pays one of the highest referral commissions in the industry. By promoting HostGator, you can earn up to $125 per sign-up.
HostGator provides a dedicated affiliate account manager and co-branded landing pages. They also provide a range of marketing tools including text links, banners, and email templates that help you boost your CTR and conversion rates.
Commission Rate: $65 – $125 per sale
Cookie Duration: 60 Days
Join HostGator Affiliate Program
#3. DreamHost Hosting Affiliate Program
DreamHost is the best email hosting provider. DreamHost has some of the most affordable “Monthly” payment plans.
Besides Bluehost, DreamHost is officially recommended by WordPress.org. That means they are reliable.
DreamHost runs one of the most generous affiliate programs. You can earn up to $200 per qualified purchase.
DreamHost affiliate program is easy to join and easy to earn. They provide an easy-to-use dashboard where you can track all your earnings.
Join the DreamHost affiliate program to earn awesome passive income.
Commission Rate: Up to $200 per sale
Cookie Duration: 60 Days
Join DreamHost Affiliate Program
#4. WP Engine Hosting Affiliate Program
WP Engine is the best Managed WordPress Hosting provider.
The well-known brand runs an award-winning affiliate program that offers very aggressive commissions – up to a whopping $7,500 per sale commission.
WP Engine affiliate program is available via the ShareASale network.
They are the best in class. Cash in their reputation to earn $200 to $7,500 per signup (depending on the plans). Plus, they offer over a 10% bonus if you refer more than 5 customers a month to them.
WP Engine affiliate program offers an industry-leading 180-day cookie duration, which is always welcome.
WP Engine affiliate program has only one limitation, which is their price. Their services are expensive compared to other hosting providers, which can affect conversion rates.
Commission Rate: earn $200 to $7,500 per sale
Cookie Duration: 180 Days
Join WP Engine Affiliate Program
#5. Kinsta Hosting Affiliate Program
Kinsta provides super-fast managed WordPress hosting services. They employ cutting-edge technologies and the services are top-notch.
The Kinsta affiliate program is regarded as one of the most generous programs out there.
By joining the Kinsta affiliate program you can expect as high as $500 commission for every referral. Plus 10% lifetime recurring commission.
Payouts are made via PayPal which is very convenient.
Commission Rate: $50-$500 initial payouts + 10% recurring
Cookie Duration: 60 Days
There are hundreds of hosting companies out there. But these are the most reliable, high-paying, and best affiliate programs for content marketers and bloggers.
Best Website Builder Affiliate Programs
Similar to web hosting and VPN services, ‘website builders’ is a very popular affiliate marketing category.
As in web hosting, every online business needs a website. And, website builders provide the same, an easy way to build a website.
Also, since the majority of the customers do not change providers frequently, their customer lifetime value (CLV) is high, making it a profitable business.
Therefore, the SaaS companies are willing to pay very competitive payouts (even more than their monthly plan price) in exchange for a paying customer.
This is the reason why website affiliate programs are so popular among bloggers, publishers, and affiliate marketers.
We have handpicked the best affiliate programs in the website builder niche. The brands are reliable and affiliate-friendly. And, most important, these offer the best affiliate commissions.
#1. Wix
Wix is my favorite website builder. With over 200 million users, they are the most popular website builder on the market.
With industry-leading design tools, 500+ ready-to-use templates, free multilingual fonts, easy drag n’ drop features, and cloud hosting, Wix provides complete freedom to design high-quality robust websites.
Wix also runs a highly popular affiliate program. Commissions are generous and the platform is affiliate-friendly.
Wix gives you all the tools you need to promote its products. They provide an intuitive dashboard where you can manage your campaigns and track your performance (traffic, reports, payments, etc.).
They also provide a range of creatives such as banners and landing pages in all languages. You can use them to improve conversion rates.
Wix plans are affordable. They are reliable. They are popular. And, therefore, their conversions rates are very strong. All you have to do is drive quality traffic to Wix. They will do the rest.
Cash in their success and earn top commissions. Wix offers up to $100 per qualified referral, which is among the highest in the industry.
Minimum Threshold: $300
Commission Payouts: Up to $100 per qualified referral
Cookie Life: 30 Days
Join the Wix Affiliate Program
#2. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a powerful SaaS e-commerce platform. The platform is best for growing businesses.
Large e-commerce stores prefer BigCommerce because of its superior website functionality and rock-solid performance.
BigCommerce offers tons of best-in-class features like headless commerce integrations, multi-currency support, etc. Their platform is easy-to-use, lightning-fast, and secure.
They claim to have hosted over 60,000 stores.
BigCommerce has a popular affiliate program. The program is affiliate-friendly and generous.
BigCommerce affiliate program offers a generous 200% commission per qualified purchase. That can go up to $1,500 per enterprise customer.
There are no obligations, no commission caps, or minimum commitments. BigCommerce paid over $1.5 million in commissions last year alone.
They have a 90-day cookie life which is a definite plus.
Once approved, you will get access to the affiliate dashboard where you track your performance — clicks, trials, sales, and commissions.
Their support is top-notch. You will get an affiliate manager who will guide you on optimizing your campaigns. They also provide 1-on-1 support through phone and email.
Promoting BigCommerce is easy. They provide pre-made banner ads, content templates, text links, email templates, product updates, and a weekly affiliate newsletter.
Because of conversion rate-optimized themes and a great reputation, BigCommerce has strong conversion rates.
Join the BigCommerce affiliate program today to earn sustainable passive income with the leading e-commerce platform.
Their affiliate program is available through the Impact network.
Commission Payouts: 200% per qualified purchase. Up to $1,500 per enterprise customer.
Cookie Life: 90 Days
Become a BigCommerce Affiliate
#3. Shopify
Shopify is a popular e-commerce website builder. Over 800,000 merchants use the Shopify platform to sell products online.
Shopify provides a range of features. These include basics like hosting, domain name, professional themes, free SSL certificate, and SEO tools.
They also offer advanced features like 100+ payment gateways, automatic tax rates, mobile e-commerce, and automatic shipping rates.
They have a simple yet powerful dashboard. Website setup and integration are a breeze with thousands of app partners.
Now, about the Shopify affiliate program.
Shopify’s affiliate program allows bloggers, marketers, and influencers to monetize their audience and earn commissions.
The program is free to join and offers a competitive 200% commission per referral.
As they are a well-known brand, conversion rates are excellent.
They have a ‘Growth Centre’ which provides necessary resources and support to affiliates. Once approved, you will also get an affiliate manager who will help you improve your performance.
On your affiliate dashboard, you will find tons of creatives and ready-made lead magnets. Here you can also track your performance.
As for payouts, the Shopify affiliate program only supports PayPal.
Minimum Threshold: $25
Commission Payouts: 200% per qualified referral
Cookie Life: 30 Days
#4. Weebly
Weebly is a leading website builder platform. They claim to have over 45 million users.
Weebly is well-known for its simple yet powerful interface. Their drag and drop tool makes website building a hassle-free affair. They also provide a mobile app to track website performance on the go.
Their Business Plans come with advanced e-commerce functionality such as free SSL certificates, customizable templates, product variants, inventory management, shipping calculator, coupon codes, email marketing toolkit, and great support.
Weebly runs its affiliate program through the ShareASale network. They offer a 30% recurring commission with an industry-leading 120-day cookie window.
Weebly supports 15 different languages. Payments are made through direct deposit, Payoneer, and checks.
Minimum Threshold: $50
Commission Payouts: 30% recurring + bonuses
Cookie Life: 120 Days.
Join the Weebly Affiliate Program
While there are many other web builders available, these are the best affiliate programs in the category.
Best SEO Tools Affiliate Programs
SEO tools are the must-have arsenal that every online marketer should own. These save you from tedious data analysis tasks, including keyword research, competitor analysis, and performance tracking.
The SEO tools market is very competitive and therefore, the companies are willing to pay huge commissions per referral, making it lucrative for affiliate marketers.
Here are some of the best affiliate programs in the SEO niche. Make sure you join them and generate decent passive income.
#1. BeRush Semrush Affiliate Program
Semrush is a premium online marketing toolkit. Semrush provides 45+ tools ranging from competitive research and site audit to keyword research.
Over 7 million marketers use Semrush worldwide. Likewise, 30% of Fortune 500 companies rely on Semrush. They claim to have a database of 20+ billion keywords. These figures should be enough to show how big and popular they are.
Semrush runs an incredible affiliate program called ‘BeRush’. BeRush is my favorite. Here are a few facts that make BeRush one of the best affiliate programs:
1. Killer product – Semrush is an amazing product. They are the industry leader. Semrush is a must-have tool for every online business. It comes with a bundle of useful tools and features. It includes keyword research, site audits, social media tracker, competitor analysis, and backlink audit and analysis, etc.
2. Strong conversion rates: Semrush is a trusted brand. With so many features, it converts like crazy. All you need to do is refer targeted traffic to their site and watch your affiliate income soar.
3. Industry-leading affiliate commissions: By joining the BeRush affiliate program, you can earn commission on every step. For every referral, Semrush will pay:
$0.01 for every new signup (when a referral registers an account)
$10 for every new trial activation
$200 for every new Semrush subscription sale (either monthly or annual)
4. Unparalleled cookie life: 400 days cookie window is certainly encouraging.
5. Semrush affiliate program is affiliate-friendly and offers world-class support to its partners. They have a dedicated team of account managers who are always ready to assist you.
Semrush will provide an affiliate dashboard where you can track your performance — visits, sign-ups, sales, rebills, etc.
If you’re a blogger or content marketer, you’ll want to try Semrush Affiliate Program once.
Semrush affiliate program is available through the Impact Radius network.
Semrush pays commission twice a month. Payments are made via PayPal and wire transfer.
The minimum threshold for PayPal: $50.
The minimum threshold for wire transfers: $1,000.
Join the Semrush Affiliate Program
Semrush Affiliate is one of the best affiliate programs. However, there are many other high-paying SEO affiliate programs available as well. Let us discuss some of them.
#2. Serpstat Affiliate Program
Serpstat is an all-in-one SEO toolkit. It offers 30+ marketing and SEO tools including competitive analysis, keyword research, and backlink tool.
They have over 200,000 paying customers. Some of the big names include Samsung, Uber, Lenovo, Phillips, etc.
Serpstat provides an affordable option as compared to other SEO tools. Hence, it’s quite popular among individual publishers and small businesses.
Serpstat has an amazing affiliate program. It offers a 30% recurring commission for a lifetime.
You can use your affiliate commission to pay for your account. The best part, if you are their customer, each dollar (out of your affiliate commission) is calculated as $1.5 when used to pay your own Serpstat account fees.
High conversion rates: Serpstat is relatively inexpensive compared to other SEO tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and SimilarWeb, while offering almost similar features. Therefore, they have strong conversion rates.
Serpstat provides a dashboard where you can track your affiliate sales, campaign performance, etc. As an affiliate, you will get personalized landing pages and promo materials.
They also provide an affiliate manager who will assist you in campaign optimization and conversions.
So, if you are a blogger, content marketer, or influencer, the Serpstat affiliate program is the right fit for you.
Serpstat makes weekly payments without delay. Payments are made via PayPal.
Commission Rates: 30% recurring commission per subscription sale
Cookie Life: 30 days
Minimum threshold limit: $50
Join the Serpstat Affiliate Program
#3. Mangools SEO Affiliate Program
Mangools is an SEO software suite. It includes KWFinder, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler, SERPChecker, and SERPWatcher. Among them, KWFinder is the most popular keyword research tool.
Over 500,000 people have used Mangools so far. They have more than 25,000 paying customers.
Mangools runs a very popular affiliate program.
Mangools SEO tools are a must-have for every online marketer. They are quite popular. They have got a seamless interface and powerful features.
Plus, Mangools offer a 10-day free trial without giving any payment information. Their plans come with a 48-hour money-back guarantee.
All this ensures high and quick conversion rates (according to their data, more than 67% of users who subscribed did so within the first 24 hours after registration).
As an affiliate, you will get access to highly engaging promo materials, both static and dynamic banners.
Dynamic affiliate banners allow your visitors to submit the form directly on your website, which will boost your conversion rates.
The commissions are paid once a month. Payments are made via PayPal.
Commission Rate: 30% lifetime recurring
Minimum Threshold: $150
Cookies Life: 30 Days
Join the Mangools Affiliate Program
#4. SE Ranking affiliate program
SE Ranking is a leading SEO analysis and marketing tool.
The All-in-one SEO software helps online businesses monitor competitors, spot technical errors, and monitor backlinks.
Marketers also use this tool to perform an in-depth website audit and track real-time SERP rankings. They claim to have monitored over 3 billion keywords.
SE Ranking runs an awesome affiliate program. They have a community of over 4000 affiliates. It shows how popular they are.
The SE Ranking affiliate program pays generously. They are one of the highest-paying affiliate programs. The platform is affiliate-friendly.
SE Ranking pays twice a month. Payments are made via WebMoney or PayPal.
Commission Rate: 30% lifetime commission
Cookie Life: 120 Days
Minimum Threshold: $50
Join the SE Ranking Affiliate Program
#5. SimilarWeb Affiliate Program
SimilarWeb is the best competitive analysis tool. It provides web analytics services for online marketers and businesses including website traffic volumes, traffic sources, referral sources, keyword analysis, similar sites, and audience interests, etc.
The SEO tool comes with the most innovative features and provides up-to-date data. More than 10 million people use SimilarWeb.
SimilarWeb runs a high-paying affiliate program. They pay for every lead and trial registration you refer. The program provides performance bonuses as well.
SimilarWeb affiliate program is available via the ShareASale affiliate network.
So, if you are a blogger, influencer, or marketer, the SimilarWeb affiliate program is for you.
Commission Rate: $50 per trial registration, $10 per lead; plus bonuses
Cookie Life: 60 days
Join the SimilarWeb Affiliate Program
Best Email Marketing Affiliate Programs
Email marketing and marketing automation is lucrative niche for affiliate marketers. Particularly because almost every email marketing platform offers lifetime recurring commission to its affiliates. So, let us discuss the best affiliate programs in the email marketing space.
#1. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is the best email marketing tool for start-ups and small businesses. They have been in the business for over 20 years.
The platform is beginner-friendly and is the preferred choice among bloggers and marketers.
Constant Contact’s affiliate marketing program pays a $5 commission for all free trial sign-ups. If your referral turns into a paying customer, you’ll get paid an additional commission of $105 per referral.
Constant Contact is easy to monetize. They provide a range of assets including links, banner ads, and ad copies. Just place them at the right positions on your website and you are good to go.
You can track your performance on the affiliate dashboard provided. Expect 5-star affiliate support.
Commission Rate: $5 for all free trial sign-ups, $105 for paid accounts
Cookie Life: 120 Days
Affiliate Network: Impact Radius, Commission Junction
Payment Methods: As per affiliate networks
Become a Constant Contact Affiliate
#2. Sendinblue
Sendinblue provides top-quality services on a budget. The platform is most suitable for growing businesses. They have over 180,000 paying customers.
Sendinblue’s affiliate marketing program is generous and straightforward. It pays for every customer you refer to them.
You will receive a 5€ (euro) commission when your referral signs up for a free account. If the customer buys a paid account, you’ll earn an additional 100€ (euro).
Sendinblue uses, Tapfiliate, an affiliate management software that allows you to track your commissions in real-time.
Commission Rate: 5€ per free trial sign-up, 100€ per paid subscription
Cookie Life: 90 Days
Affiliate Network: In-house
Payment Methods: Every month through PayPal or bank transfer
#3. GetResponse
GetResponse is an all-in-one automated lead generation tool. They are known for high-converting automated sales funnels, opt-in forms, web push notifications, and CTA landing pages.
GetResponse runs one of the affiliate programs in marketing automation. GetResponse’s affiliate marketing program offers industry-leading recurring as well as flat commissions.
Commission Rate: 33% recurring or $100 (one-time) per sale
Cookie Life: 120 Days
Affiliate Networks: CJ Affiliate and In-house
Payout Method: Check, ACH, and Eurotransfer
Join the GetResponse Affiliate Program
#4. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a great email marketing software for influencers, bloggers, and creators. The platform enables marketers to automate email marketing campaigns and build stunning landing pages on the fly.
ConvertKit’s affiliate program is managed by LinkMink. It offers a 30% recurring commission for every successful referral sign-up. There are no minimum threshold payout limits.
ConvertKit is a trusted brand and converts well. The affiliate program is beginner-friendly. You’ll get free access to training courses, webinars, and video guides.
They provide a dashboard where you can track your sales, commission, and payments. Find your affiliate links on the LinkMink dashboard.
Commission Rate: 30% Lifetime Recurring
Cookie Life: 90 Days
Affiliate Software/Networks: LinkMink
Payout Method: PayPal
Join the ConvertKit Affiliate Program
#5. MailerLite
MailerLite is the simplest email marketing service. The handy tool is easy to use and features advanced tools such as landing pages and marketing automation.
MailerLite affiliate program offers lucrative 30% recurring commissions for a lifetime of the customer you refer.
It provides a custom partner dashboard equipped with a content editor. You can track your campaigns, earnings, and other reports.
The MailerLite email marketing affiliate program is perfect for bloggers and content marketers.
Commission Rate: 30% lifetime recurring
Cookie Life: 30 days
Payout Method: PayPal
Minimum threshold: $50
Affiliate Network: In-house
Join the MailerLite Affiliate Program
#6. Moosend
Moosend is an excellent all-in-one email marketing platform. The automation tool is best suitable for AI-powered e-commerce sales.
The platform features a range of lead generation tools including subscription forms, landing page builder, and subject line optimizer, etc.
Moosend also runs an affiliate program. It offers attractive 30% recurring commissions to affiliates.
Once approved, you’ll get an analytics dashboard where you get access to affiliate links, ready-made creatives, reports, and more.
The best part, Moosend follows the ‘first touch attribution model’. This means you will get a commission even if the visitor you referred to Moosend later clicks on other referral links.
Moosend is an established brand and plans are affordable. Therefore, they have strong conversion rates.
Commission Rate: 30% lifetime recurring
Cookie Life: 90 Days
Payout Methods: PayPal, Stripe
Minimum Threshold: $25
Affiliate Network: PartnerStack
Join the Moosend Affiliate Program
#7. AWeber
AWeber is the best email marketing platform for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
AWeber helps businesses with marketing automation with a range of email templates, landing pages, autoresponders, web push notifications, reports, and more.
They have been in business for over 20 years. The AWeber affiliate program is one of the longest-running referral programs in the email marketing space.
Your referral account comes with a dashboard where you can track your referrals and sales stats. They also provide creatives, ads, easy-to-repost articles, educational content, how-to videos, and more.
AWeber has two types of commission structure: If you join the program through CJ Affiliate, you will get a one-time fixed referral payment. AWeber pays a 30% recurring commission through its in-house program.
Commission Rate: 30% recurring or up to $300 per sale
Payment Methods: PayPal (in-house); Direct Deposit, Check, Payoneer (CJ)
Affiliate Networks: In-house and CJ Affiliate
Join the AWeber Affiliate Program
#8. Omnisend
Omnisend is a popular omnichannel e-commerce marketing automation service. It has more than 50,000 customers worldwide.
The platform has partnered with some of the big names in e-commerce including Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.
Omnisend also supports 50+ e-commerce apps. The platform helps businesses to drive sales by automating email and SMS channels at the same time.
Omnisend affiliate program offers up to 300% one-time commission for each qualified customer you refer. Which may go up to $1,200 per customer.
Once joined, you’ll get a dedicated account manager who will help you optimize your campaigns. Besides ready-made content, you’ll also get access to tons of ads, banners, ads, and other promotional materials.
Commission Rate: up to 300%
Cookie Life: 30 Days
#9. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is another popular email marketing software. It provides a 3-in-1 solution to businesses: email marketing management, marketing automation, and customer relationship management (CMS) system.
ActiveCampaign affiliate program offers a tiered commission structure. It starts with a 20% recurring commission that can go up to 30%. The commission is paid automatically every month via PayPal.
Once approved, you’ll get access to the Affiliate Portal where you can track your affiliate sales. Plus, you’ll find the latest product updates, marketing materials, and a community of influencers.
Commission Rate: Up to 30% recurring
Cookie Life: 90 days
Payment Method: PayPal
Become an ActiveCampaign Affiliate
#10. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is a powerful sales funnel builder. The platform enables entrepreneurs to easily build beautiful landing pages that convert.
With ClickFunnels you can build a successful sales funnel. From the first visit to your website to product suggestions and customer follow-up, ClickFunnels helps you guide customers through every step of their shopping journey.
ClickFunnels pays up to 40% monthly recurring commissions to affiliates. Base commissions begin at a 20% recurring.
With over 108,000 paying customers, ClickFunnels is a trusted name in the email marketing automation space. This makes it easier for publishers (like you) to convince and convert their audience.
Commission Rate: Up to 40% monthly recurring
Cookie Life: 30 Days
Become a ClickFunnels Affiliate
So, these are the high-paying affiliate programs in email marketing automation. You’ll want to join them to earn lucrative passive income every month.
Best Affiliate Networks
There are hundreds of affiliate networks. They differ in size, niche, geographical coverage, and compensation and payment methods. Below are the top 5 affiliate networks. These are big, diverse, and most trusted ones.
#1. CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction or CJ by Conversant) is one of the top global affiliate marketing networks. They run pay-for-performance programs.
CJ Affiliate generates over $15 billion in annual sales for brands. The massive affiliate network pays over $1.8 billion annual commissions to affiliates through their platform.
CJ Affiliate has a huge database of programs from thousands of merchants across the world. Some of the biggest names include Overstock, Office Depot, J. Crew, IHG Hotels, and Barnes & Noble, etc.
And these are just a handful of merchants that run their affiliate marketing programs via CJ. There are over 3000 other brands available on a range of verticals and niches.
For premier publishers (who make over $10,000 per month on their platform), CJ Affiliate offers the CJ Performer Program (CJP). CJP provides more personalized support and helps you make a fortune.
Their platform is robust and the interface is easy to navigate. CJ is free to join. Partner with the world’s biggest and best brands and generate great passive income.
If you are a merchant, you can partner with the world’s most widely recognized brands like CNN, Digg, Buzzfeed, Time, etc. to promote your products.
Tip: Many of the merchants pay a higher commission through CJ Affiliate than their in-house affiliate programs. So you want to check them on CJ before you apply for their programs.
Commissions: Vary
#2. Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising (formerly known as Rakuten Marketing) is ranked #1 by mThink and IPMA. They are one of the largest affiliate platforms with a global reach.
Rakuten Advertising operates multichannel campaigns for big brands in retail, finance, lifestyle, etc. Some of the notables include Best Buy, Lacoste, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, etc.
As of 2016, it claims to have paid over $1 billion in publisher commissions. Same year, they also claim to have facilitated 100 million orders worldwide. Which is remarkable by any means.
They offer dynamic commissioning options including coupon commissioning and multi-touch commissioning.
Rakuten Advertising offers some advanced features such as automatic ad rotation and the ability to link to any page on the merchant’s website.
Rakuten supports multiple languages such as English, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, etc.
Support is top-notch. They provide a publisher dashboard where you can track your performance.
Commissions: Vary
Join Rakuten Advertising Network
#3. Sovrn //Commerce
Sovrn //Commerce (erstwhile VigLink) is one of the largest affiliate networks. They are a consortium of affiliate networks.
They integrate advertisers from other affiliate networks. They have over 60,000 merchants from 31 affiliate networks.
Sovrn network works in a very different way. They provide an automated link monetization solution to publishers. Their JavaScript code identifies commercial product links mentioned in your content and converts them into affiliate links.
Unlike many other networks, Sovrn //Commerce offers ultimate freedom and flexibility to its affiliates.
You can create affiliate links from your browser. Install their Chrome extension create an affiliate link instantly from any product page.
You have the freedom to share the link anywhere you like. Besides content pages, you can share affiliate links on social media or in your emails.
They provide an awesome dashboard where you can track your performance.
So, if you want to diversify your income streams and looking for a hassle-free way, Sovrn //Commerce affiliate network is for you.
Commissions: Vary
#4. ShareASale Affiliate Network
ShareASale is another major affiliate network. The numbers show how big they are.
They have over 3,900 merchants across 39 categories including the big names such as Reebok, U.S. Polo Assn., Minted, and Etsy, etc. They have over 225,000 active affiliates.
ShareASale claims to have generated over 182 million sales for clients in 2019. In 2020, they paid over $1 billion to affiliates in the year 2020 and generated $14 billion in revenue for merchants.
ShareASale is a trusted brand in the affiliate marketing space. They are known for their transparency, quality customer support, and on-time payments.
They provide a feature-rich dashboard for real-time tracking, affiliate segmentation, and custom link creation. ShareASale also provides an affiliate API.
If you are a blogger, particularly in lifestyle and fashion niches, ShareASale is for you.
Commissions: Vary
Join ShareASale Affiliate Network
#5. ClickBank Affiliate Program
ClickBank is different from the affiliate networks discussed before. They offer digital products only.
ClickBank is huge. They have over 6 million digital products in 20 categories. They claim to have over 200 million customers worldwide.
ClickBank is great for bloggers who want to monetize their blogs with informational products. They have a huge range of digital products to choose from – in almost every category. That means you’ll always find products that match your niche.
If you have been in affiliate marketing for some time, you would know that promoting digital products is relatively easy. Because it’s instant, there’s no hassle like shipping/return, etc.
The best part, you get up to 75% commission per sale (40-50% is common).
Unlike many other affiliate programs, ClickBank pays on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, which is always welcome. Payment modes are direct deposit, wire transfers, and checks. Check payments are made once every two weeks.
Commissions: Vary
Join ClickBank Affiliate Network
Also: Best Affiliate Programs in India That You Must Try This Year
What To Look For In An Affiliate Program?
So, what is are the best affiliate programs? Let’s understand what makes an affiliate program attractive.
For me, the best affiliate program is the one that meets the following conditions:
Easy To Join: Low entry barrier, Hassle-free onboarding process
High Paying: Offers great commission, preferably recurring income
On-Time Payments: Several payment methods (PayPal, direct deposits etc.)
Cookie Life: Provides longer cookie duration
Trusted Brand: Has great reputation, awesome product(s) range that convert well
Ease to Use: Provides user-friendly dashboard, several tools and widgets
Support: Offers great support to affiliates
Affiliate Marketing Definition
In Affiliate Marketing, you promote other company’s products. When someone completes a specific action through your affiliate link, the company compensates you with a commission for each action you deliver.
Here the ‘Action’ can be anything from requesting a quote, downloading or installing an app, watching a video, filling out a form, or purchasing a product/service.
In this case, you are an ‘affiliate marketer’ and the companies run ‘affiliate marketing programs’ under which they recruit affiliate marketers.
Almost all big companies run some kind of affiliate marketing program. While some companies run their affiliate programs themselves, others use third-party platforms called affiliate networks.
What is an Affiliate Network?
An affiliate network is a marketplace where merchants showcase their affiliate programs. Publishers search, compare, and then join the affiliate programs best suited for them.
Affiliate networks act as an intermediary that connects affiliate marketers (bloggers or publishers) with advertisers (merchants) that run affiliate programs for their products or services.
While this allows advertisers to reach a larger base of affiliate marketers, it also helps publishers to join the best affiliate programs in one place without having to search and apply for various affiliate programs run by different companies.
Meira Rawel is a Content Marketing Strategist at Web Content Edge. She has over 10 years of experience in content marketing and SEO. With a passion for creating engaging online experiences, Meira is instrumental in developing content marketing strategies for our clients that drive organic traffic, improve user engagement, and increase conversion rates.