Suppose you are starting a blogging website, YouTube channel, or even a social media page. In this case, it might be wise for you to research affiliate marketing programs, especially ones that pay well. 

That way, you can do what you love the most while earning a little extra on the side. Once your website, channel, or page gets large enough, you can earn a decent living, making it worthwhile to live in! 

Although many affiliate marketing places are excellent, check out what they offer and what your website is about. For example, if you are discussing cosmetics, it might not be the best idea to sign up for an affiliate program that sells baby and toddler items, as this confuses your audience. However, it would be wise to sign up for a website that sells cosmetic material to fit your niche. 

This article delves deep into what kind of affiliate marketing programs are out there, how much percentage you get from each sale, and why it is worth investing in. Continue reading for more information. 

What Are the Best Affiliate Marketplaces?

As mentioned above, there are many wonderful affiliate marketplaces. Our goal is to help you find the best one that suits you and your niche the best. Some websites might sell multiple items whereas some might sell a few, so consider this before immediately jumping on one. We also recommend going through all of them before making an informed decision on which ones suit you best. 

1. Amazon Associates

The first associate program we will discuss is from Amazon, which is one of the best choices you can get. Amazon Associates makes 3 to 4% of each sale by net 60. Although that does not sound like a lot, it adds up quickly if you promote a lot of different links. 

For example, if you have a website geared specifically for small birds, you can recommend specific cages, toys, food bowls, etc. This affiliate program is free to join and is best suited for those who are starting their website from scratch. Here are some pros and cons to this specific program:

2. Rakuten

Rakuten is a Japanese affiliate marketing program that was created back in 2005. This specific affiliate program represents over 1000 brands and businesses that pay anywhere between 3% to 7% per sale. However, you need to review the terms for each sale before you join to ensure you get what you are looking for. 

Rakuten is similar to most affiliate programs, making them perfect for beginners to use. If you are looking to broaden your horizons beyond Amazon or eBay, it is the perfect website to use. You get paid through net 30. Some advantages and disadvantages of Rakuten are as follows:

3. Shopify

Shopify has been making commerce better for everyone since 2006 and helps support the next generation of entrepreneurs all over the world. As an affiliate marketer, you will be selling e-commerce to businesses that provide them with tools to become successful. 

To meet the criteria of becoming an affiliate partner, you will need over 1000 followers on public social media accounts. You will also need to be based in the USA, UK, or Canada and accept automatic payouts. Shopify pays through Paypal or bank transfer, making it an easy breeze for you to get your money. Some pros and cons of Shopify are as follows:

4. eBay Partner Network

eBay is one of the largest affiliate networks out there. When you think of this company, your mind automatically goes to selling old junk that might be lying around your home. However, the opposite is true as most people will sell brand-new items instead. 

What helps eBay stand out with most sellers is their affiliate program is not run by a 3rd party but you work directly with them. This helps you build a solid relationship between you and their affiliate managerial team, which is a huge asset in the long run. 

This affiliate program is free to join and is best suited for anyone as eBay sells almost anything online. You get paid through net 30 and the payment threshold is $10. Here are some more pros and cons of this particular affiliate program:

5. HubSpot

HubSpot is the perfect affiliate program to get yourself involved with if your website or social media content is directly about building websites or digital marketing. It is used if you want your website to become successful. Six hubs are used for different purposes:

• Sales hub: Builds pipelines and closes deals.

• Marketing hub: Automates marketing & generates leads.

• Content hub: Helps manage and create content with their content marketing software.

• Commerce hub: B2B software designed to automate billing and collect payments.

• Service hub: A customer service software that helps drive retention & scale support.

• Operations hub: Manages and activates your data.

For those advertising HubSpot, note that you do not need to be a user to become an affiliate and you can sign up completely free. There are no minimum sales requirements to earn any commission. However, the cost to join might be a deterrent for some people, so consider that beforehand. 

6. Clickbank

Clickbank is considered one of the grandparents in the affiliate network world as this specific website was created back in 1998. 

Clickbank focuses more on selling digital products than items that have to be shipped to your doorstep. Doing so allows you to have no overheads and instant delivery. 

For example, if your niche is fitness and health, you can easily sell a digital product in that category. If someone’s goal is to challenge themselves to a 6 or 8-week workout session, you can easily refer them to a specific product. 

This website also allows them to work directly with creators. The range of products Clickbank offers does well with social media audiences, too.

Lastly, you can join Clickbank completely for free and you get paid through Net 60. Some advantages and disadvantages of the website are as follows:

7. CJ Affiliate

CJ Affiliate was formerly known as Commission Junction in 2014. This particular affiliate program stands out more than some others because it represents many big brand companies and sells smaller product and service suppliers. Some large companies include but are not limited to Walgreens, Weight Watchers, Michaels Store, and American Eagle Outfitters.

This program has great metrics, saving you a ton of time as you can see if something you are trying to sell will be profitable or not. Because of this, you can easily choose what programs you want and how much you will make per sale. 

The cost to join this program is free and you can be paid Net 30. It is best suited for those with at least 3 to 6+ months of experience. Now onto some good and bad of this program:

Can You Make $10,000 a Month With Affiliate Marketing?

Yes, you can innately make $10,000 a month with affiliate marketing. However, this does not happen overnight as you will need to work diligently in earning this amount of income. Here are some quick tips to get started in the right direction:

• Know who your audience is. 

• Choose the right topic.

• Create high-quality content.

• Build a following with SEO, email marketing, social media advertising, etc.

• Follow the law. Always be clear and transparent about using affiliate programs. 

• Use multiple platforms, meaning do not just depend on one specific place to spread your affiliate links. 

• Always keep learning new things.

• Choose the right goods, like well-known brands that your audience needs or wants.

• Analyze and monitor performances, by using analytics tools. 

• Optimize conversion rates (call to action, persuasive writing, A/B testing, etc.)

Can You Make $100 a Day With Affiliate Marketing?

Yes, making $100 a day is a more realistic goal than $10,000 a month. However, with the right strategic planning and efforts, you can make this happen. All it takes is a little patience and effort on your end. 

Is Affiliate Marketing a Legit Side Hustle?

Yes, affiliate marketing is a legit side hustle, as you can get paid real money. Most affiliate marketers do not make millions of dollars, but there are plenty of those out there who have quit their full-time jobs to do affiliate marketing. However, it can also be a side hustle that you earn a little extra cash from time to time. 

How Hard Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing in itself is extremely simple in terms of getting the links and sending them out to people who you feel might be interested in said product. However, it is an extremely competitive business model, as many people have used this method for years. Therefore, it may be difficult to start making money at first. 

For example, if you just made a website about babies and are trying to promote a specific car seat, but you see a website that contains thousands, if not millions of monthly followers, will gain much more money for the same product you are trying to promote as well. 

Final Thoughts

To summarize everything, there are thousands of affiliate programs out there for you to choose from. However, we hope this article has helped you gain some clarity on where you want to go next. If you need any more questions answered, we recommend looking at our other articles for more information. We hope you find success in whatever affiliate marketing endeavor you wish to embark on next!