One of the main perks of affiliate marketing is that technically anyone can try it. As influencers already have a fairly large online following, they can make great affiliate marketers. Though, for influencers to take advantage of their following, the products that they market should appeal to their target audience. Plus, by sticking to the products that they actually enjoy (and possibly even use themselves), they don’t have to feel as if they’re damaging their reputation.
In this article, we explore over 26 high-paying affiliate programs. The vast majority of them operate independently of an affiliate network. We’ve also tried to group them together more or less by industry. You’ll notice that website builders, eCommerce platforms and web hosting services offer some of the best affiliate programs. As everyone nowadays basically needs a website (if not more than one), it can be a great place to start your search.
High-paying Affiliate Programs for Beginners:
What’s the Difference Between an Affiliate Network and an Affiliate Program?
An affiliate marketing network curates products from different brands and then works together with the affiliate marketers. In other words, it runs the affiliate marketing programs for many brands and acts like the middleman between the brand and the affiliate. Examples of well-known affiliate marketing networks are AWIN, CJ Affiliate, and ShareASale.
With an affiliate program, the brand oversees and runs the entire process. Instead, brands often use affiliate marketing software, like ReferralCandy or Refersion, to manage the program on their own. They can also appoint dedicated affiliate managers to liaise with the affiliates. One of the benefits of operating your affiliate program directly is that you don’t have to pay any affiliate network fees.
Top Affiliate Marketing Programs
Top
high paying affiliate programs
2024
Refersion is a platform that e-commerce store owners can use to incentivize their customers for promoting their business. It allows merchants to design different types of offers, create links and coupon codes, customize commission structures, track sales, and integrate the software with their e-commerce solutions. Refersion integrates directly with major platforms such as Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. It also has API keys available for customized integration with other programs.
The software enables merchants to quickly view how every affiliate contributes to their ROI through three key performance indicators—effective earnings per click, average order value, and total revenue per affiliate.
Refersion values continued engagement with its affiliates. Its dashboard has a Message tab, where brands can directly exchange messages with their affiliates. Through integrations with Mailchimp and Klaviyo, online sellers can email newsletters to update partners about new products, fresh creatives, or images to help market their brand or any changes to commissions.
Commission: The platform offers affiliates 15% for all referrals who register with the platform using their link or by responding to an email for a direct-billed Refersion subscription.
Payments: Users have three options for paying affiliates: via the integrated PayPal feature, gift cards sent to affiliates via email, and by check or deposit.
Resources and support: Refersion’s customer success and development team can help optimize their settings. To start, the Refersion Marketplace is a great place to find potential affiliates. Get discovered by over 8,000 affiliates when you place an offer here.
Cookies: The platform’s cookie length is flexible—merchants can choose between two days to two years.
You can use BigCommerce to sell basically anything online. Plus, as there are many BigCommerce apps that can help you to boost your online earnings even further, it should be an easy sell.
Commission: Affiliates will earn 200% of the customer’s first monthly payment. For an enterprise client, you can earn as much as $1,500.
Payments: No information is available on their page. So, it’s best to contact them for more info about their payment schedule.
Resources and support: Affiliates receive pre-made banners and emails. To help them generate more sales, they also have direct access to a dedicated account manager who’s an expert in affiliate marketing.
Cookies: 90-day duration
Another affiliate program that travel influencers and writers can check out is the program offered by the Sandals and Beaches brands. It’s ideal if you know your target audience is craving a Caribbean vacation. As the getaways are suitable for both couples and families, you’ll also be able to reach a bigger target audience.
Commission: Commissions start at 4% for all travel products. Affiliates can also win free trips and other performance bonuses.
Payments: The program is powered by the CJ Affiliate network. So, interested affiliates should reach out to them regarding their payout policies.
Resources and support: You’ll receive a library of hundreds of colorful banners. Promotions and offers will also be communicated by means of a monthly newsletter. To help and support you further, you’ll also be assigned a dedicated affiliate marketing manager.
Cookies: 60-day duration
Affiliate marketing can be a jungle out there. So, in some instances, it’s best to turn to the ones that you (and everyone else) know the best, especially if you’re a beginner. Amazon Associates is one of the biggest affiliate marketing programs in the world. It offers millions of products for affiliates to promote from baby products, clothing, kitchen, and outdoors to groceries, toys, supplements, technology, automotive and many others. It has helped bloggers and other types of content creators to monetize their traffic. Though, it shouldn’t be confused with the Amazon Influencer Program. Influencers with a sizable social media following can refer to this program and earn commissions on qualifying purchases.
Commission: You can earn up to 10% in associate commissions from qualifying programs and purchases.
Payments: No information is provided.
Resources and support: Amazon offers high-converting promotional and announcement banners. There’s a variety of standard banner sizes and shapes which means that you’ll be able to pick one that fits in with your branding.
Cookies: No information is provided.
A highly profitable opportunity that digital marketers and entrepreneurs should certainly explore is the Partner Program presented by Brand24. It’s an ideal choice for those with audiences interested in effective online marketing tools, offering potential customers high-quality solutions for online monitoring, social media management, and competitor analysis.
Commission: The program ensures substantial earnings with a recurring 20% commission on all payments from paying customers referred by you. What’s even more appealing is that the commission continues to flow in every time the customer renews their subscription.
Payments: Payments are generally processed through PayPal and Stripe, with disbursements typically occurring on the 13th of each month.
Resources and Support: The Brand24 Partner Program provides support for its affiliates. This includes a range of ready-to-use marketing materials to aid promotion efforts. It also grants early access to high-quality materials and constant updates on product releases, ensuring that the affiliates are always one step ahead. Furthermore, professional support, helpful tutorials, webinars, and a personal manager are provided to assist affiliates in their journey.
Tracking: The program also features a powerful tracking system through a dedicated panel. It allows affiliates to effectively monitor their performance and keep a close eye on their referrals.
Cookies: Duration for 90 days.
For beauty influencers, there’s the BH Cosmetics beauty affiliate program. Its products are cruelty-free and include countless vegan options so you won’t exclude anyone in your audience. Plus, as sustainability and vegan-based products are some of the retail trends that will shape 2022, its products can be worthwhile to promote.
Commission: You’ll earn 6% commission on all the sales generated via your site. The average order value is about $38.
Payments: No detailed information is provided.
Resources and support: You’ll receive a monthly newsletter, coupons, banners, and other captivating creatives.
Cookies: 90-day duration
Travel influencers and travel writers can check out TripAdvisor’s program. As there are no minimum traffic requirements, it’s ideal for beginners.
It works a little bit differently than most of the other programs on our list as no “sale” is needed. Instead, you’ll earn a commission when a user simply clicks out to one of its specific hotel booking partners. For example, an affiliate that sends 170 clicks to TripAdvisor can receive $60 per month.
One of the cons is that at the moment only hotels can earn commissions. With the boom in short-term rental properties, it would be nice to see affiliates getting rewarded for this type of accommodation too.
Commission: You can earn a minimum of 50% of the commissions that TripAdvisor receives from its hotel booking partners when a user visits TripAdvisor by means of your link and then clicks out to one of TripAdvisor’s partners.
Payments: Commissions are paid by Commission Junction or AWIN. So, affiliates need to refer to the Ts and Cs of whichever of the two partners they’ve selected.
Resources and support: TripAdvisor will give affiliates a selection of logos, text links, banners, buttons, and badges.
Cookies: No information is provided.
Like WP Engine, Weebly’s affiliate program is also hosted by ShareASale and it also offers regular opportunities that affiliates can earn a bonus. It’s free to join and open to affiliates from across the globe. Though, one negative is that you’ll need to have at least $50 in commissions in your account before you can receive a payout.
Commission: You can earn 30% commission.
Payments: Affiliates are paid by means of check, direct deposit or Payoneer. Payouts are made once a month.
Resources and support: Weebly doesn’t make any special mention of which resources you’ll receive to help you. So, it’s best to reach out to them directly.
Cookies: 120-day duration
WP Engine’s affiliate program is an award-winning program that’s hosted by ShareASale. One of its perks is that it includes exclusive custom discounts and deals that you can share with your followers. Plus, you can also earn bonus commissions for sending at least 5 referrals per month. One con is that you don’t earn commission for add-ons or plan upgrades.
All in all, it’s one of the best-paying programs for content creators who focus on WordPress plugins and themes.
Commission: For each new purchase, you can earn a one-time payment. The minimum amount for WP Engine hosting plans is $200. The commission rate for a StudioPress theme purchase is 35%.
Payments: Payouts are made on the 20th of each month. Though, commission will only be paid if the new referral didn’t cancel within the first 62 days (for WP Engine hosting plans) or 60 days (for StudioPress theme purchases).
Resources and support: You’ll have a dedicated WP Engine affiliate manager. There are pre-designed banners and landing pages as well as custom co-branded assets.
Cookies: For WP Engine, the duration is 180 days, while for StudioPress theme sales it’s only 60 days (though, it’s still longer than most programs).
Bloggers who like to write about website management, web development or online business can check out Hostinger’s affiliate program. While its commission is some of the highest, the minimum payout is $100 and you have to wait 45 days. All in all, considering the level of support affiliates are offered, it’s one of the best affiliate programs for newbies.
Commission: You can earn at least 60% commission for every hosting package sold (one-month hosting plans are excluded). Commission is not paid for hosting upgrades or renewals.
Payments: Commissions are only paid out after 45 days. The minimum payout is $100 for transfers via PayPal and $500 for payouts via bank transfer.
Resources and support: You can easily keep track of your campaigns via the control panel or reach out to your personal affiliate account manager for support. Hostinger also shares marketing material, like banner packages, that’s customized to fit your style.
Cookies: 30-day duration
Fiverr is one of the top marketplaces for freelance services. From design to writing, it offers a wide range of services. As its services include virtually any need, it doesn’t really matter who your target audience is.
With Fiverr’s affiliate program, there are actually a few products that you can promote, making it a good choice for beginners. These include Fiverr Logo Maker, And.co and, obviously, Fiverr itself.
Commission: Each commission is different for each product. Depending on which category is purchased, you can earn anything from $15 to $150.
Payments: You need to have $100 in your account before you can claim a payment. Payouts are made once a month via PayPal, Payoneer or wire transfer. The latter method is only available for payouts of more than $1,000.
Resources and support: You’ll get a dedicated affiliate manager and access to tutorials and a portfolio of creative assets. To help affiliates keep tabs on their campaigns, they can use the intuitive dashboard.
Cookies: 30-day duration
With more than one billion listings, just like Amazon, eBay’s affiliate program also offers influencers and bloggers a lot of opportunities to earn a commission. One of the advantages is that it includes both new and used products. So, if you know that your audience likes used products, this can be a good program to join. What’s more, if you drive a high volume of traffic to its platform, you can also possibly be invited to join its invite-only Premier program.
One of the main pros of eBay’s affiliate program is that it offers a variety of products to choose from to promote. Let’s say you are looking for a fashion affiliate program or maybe you’re up to some health and fitness affiliate program. You have all that on eBay, as this program covers many categories of products and your chances to find the right products for your niche are considerable.
Commission: Affiliates earn a percentage of the GMB for that purchase based on eBay’s category-level commission rates. For example, for fashion items, you can earn 4%.
Payments: Payments are made via PayPal or electronic fund transfer.
Resources and support: To help you monitor your performance and optimize results, eBay offers reporting tools. There are also deals that you can use to help drive traffic and access to logos and banners to create captivating branded content.
Cookies: A qualifying transaction occurs when a user makes a purchase within 24 hours after clicking on your affiliate link.
About the Author
Writer
Koba Molenaar brings nearly a decade of rich experience in content writing, specializing in digital marketing, branding, SaaS, and eCommerce. Her passion for helping brands, from solopreneurs to established companies, connect with their audiences shines through her work. As a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, Koba’s commitment to excellence is evident in her work, showcasing her as a relatable and knowledgeable voice in the industry.