You probably started your blog with the goal of making some money somewhere down the line.
And when it comes to making money from your blog, affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to turn traffic into cash.
But affiliate marketing is only a viable strategy if you can find quality products that your visitors are interested in (and that you can feel proud to recommend).
To help, we’ve collected the 11 best affiliate platforms and networks. Collectively, they’ll give you access to tens of thousands of merchants and millions of products.
Whether you want to promote physical products or digital products, or big brands or small brands, you’ll find an affiliate platform on this list that can connect you to something that fits.
Let’s dive in, starting with one of the biggest affiliate platforms out there…
1. ShareASale
ShareASale
ShareASale is one of the most popular affiliate networks out there.
Whereas Amazon Associates is focused entirely on Amazon products, ShareASale houses affiliate programs for 4,500+ merchants, both big and small.
From one spot – the ShareASale dashboard – you can sign up to all these merchants, generate links, and view your statistics.
Note, you’ll need to individually apply to merchants and be approved by each merchant, which is a pretty standard approach for an affiliate network like this.
Overall, ShareASale is a great option for both digital and physical products.
For example, on the digital side, you’ll find plenty of WordPress theme and plugin shops, hosting providers, etc.
And on the physical side, you’ll find plenty of big and small merchants. For example, there’s Warby Parker (sunglasses), Sun Basket, Wayfair, Reebok, NFL Shop, plus thousands of other small and large businesses.
Basically – no matter what niche your website or blog is in, you can probably find some offers worth promoting.
What you need to know about ShareASale
Niche/product types: A little bit of everything, including both physical and digital products.
Average commission rate: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with.
Cookie duration: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with.
Minimum payout: $50
ShareASale pros and cons
Pros:
Thousands of merchants for both physical and digital products, including lots of well-known merchants
Trustworthy – They’ve been around for many years and work with lots of big brands
Lots of exclusive merchants. Over 1,000 of the merchants at ShareASale only work with ShareASale
Has a bookmarklet that makes it easy to generate custom affiliate links
Cons:
The dashboard design is a little clunky, though it’s gotten a lot better
2. Awin (Formerly Affiliate Window)
Awin, a shorter rebrand of the original Affiliate Window, is another popular affiliate network that gives you access to over 13,000 different merchants.
Awin actually acquired ShareASale back in 2017, though the two are still run as separate entities and have different merchants.
With 13,000+ merchants, you’ll find a lot of options for both physical and digital products at Awin.
Some of the notable big names are:
Etsy
AliExpress
HP
XE (money transfer)
StubHub
Under Armour
Gymshark
You’ll also find lots of smaller merchants across a range of niches.
Awin was founded in Germany, so you’ll find a little bit more of a European tilt to the merchant list, though there are also plenty of US/global companies.
Like ShareASale and CJ, you’ll need to individually apply to merchants within the network. Then, you can generate your links and start tracking statistics.
What you need to know about Awin
Niche/product types: With over 13,000 merchants, you’ll find both physical and digital products for almost every niche.
Average commission rate: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with.
Cookie duration: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with.
Minimum payout: $20
Awin pros and cons
Pros:
Lots of merchants to choose from
Dedicated WordPress plugin to help you import products
Low minimum payout (only $20)
Cons:
$5 sign up fee (it’s refunded if you’re approved, but you’ll lose it if you’re not approved)
3. Amazon Associates
If you want to promote physical products on your website, Amazon Associates is a good option.
With Amazon Associates, you can earn a commission on pretty much anything sold at Amazon.com.
What makes this program even more valuable is that you earn a commission on everything new that someone you refer purchases, even if it’s not the product you linked to.
For example, if you link to a $5 toothbrush but that person ends up buying a $500 TV, you still get the commission (as long as it’s within the cookie duration, of course. Also, the product can’t have already been in that person’s cart).
In the past, Amazon Associates paid you a commission rate based on how much revenue/sales you drove. However, since 2017, Amazon has moved to a flat-rate commission structure where you’re paid a flat percentage based on the category that each product is in:
While some high-volume affiliates didn’t like the change, this shift makes Amazon Associates even more attractive for smaller sites as you no longer need to worry about hitting a certain amount of sales volume to earn a higher commission.
What you need to know about Amazon Associates
Niche/product types: Anything sold on Amazon’s website (including products from third-party vendors).
Average commission rate: Ranges from 1% to 10% depending on the category.
Cookie duration: Cookies last for 24 hours. However, if you have people directly add a product to their carts, you’ll get a 90-day cookie but only for the specific product that’s in their carts.
Minimum payout: $10 for Amazon gift card or direct deposit.
Amazon Associates pros and cons
Pros:
Massive selection of products
Universal cookie, so you get credit for everything people buy within the cookie duration
Amazon is by far the biggest name in eCommerce
Very low payout threshold – only $10
Cons:
The universal cookie only lasts for 24 hours
Some categories – like video games – have very low commissions (1%)
You need to register for each country individually
Amazon has been known to slash commissions every so often
Visit Amazon Associates