Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms
- Dhruba Borah
- Aug 13, 2020
- 21 min read
8 Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms And Networks To Make You More Money
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.
Let’s dive in, starting with one of the biggest affiliate platforms out there…
1. ShareASale
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.
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
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
The dashboard design is a little clunky, though it’s gotten a lot better
2. Awin (Formerly Affiliate Window)
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
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
4. CJ Affiliate (Formerly Commission Junction)
Along with ShareASale, CJ is one of the biggest affiliate networks out there, which means that you’ll be able to connect with thousands of both big and small merchants. Currently, the exact number is 2,696 different merchants.
Some of the big physical and digital companies using CJ are:
Lowes
Overstock
Office Depot
Priceline
GoPro
IHG (Hotels)
Grammarly
I think CJ’s affiliate dashboard has a bit of a higher learning curve than ShareASale, but I prefer it to ShareASale once you figure out how everything works.
What you need to know about CJ
Niche/product types: Like ShareASale, CJ covers a range of niches and 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 for direct deposit or $100 for check.
CJ pros and cons
Pros:
Huge range of big and small merchants to choose from
A nice back-end dashboard to help you manage your affiliate marketing efforts
Has a deep link generator bookmarklet that makes it really easy to generate links
Cons:
The dashboard is a little complicated when you’re just getting started
5. Rakuten Marketing (Formerly LinkShare)
11 Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms And Networks To Make You More Money
Colin NewcomerLast Updated: May 19, 2020
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 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
Visit ShareASale
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)
Visit Awin
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
4. CJ Affiliate (Formerly Commission Junction)
CJ – formerly known by the lengthier name of Commission Junction – is another affiliate network that brings together thousands of different merchants under one roof (a lot like ShareASale).
Along with ShareASale, CJ is one of the biggest affiliate networks out there, which means that you’ll be able to connect with thousands of both big and small merchants. Currently, the exact number is 2,696 different merchants.
Some of the big physical and digital companies using CJ are:
Lowes
Overstock
Office Depot
Priceline
GoPro
IHG (Hotels)
Grammarly
You’ll also find lots of smaller merchants, as well.
Like ShareASale, you’ll individually apply to these merchants from the CJ dashboard. Then, you’ll be able to generate links and view statistics.
I think CJ’s affiliate dashboard has a bit of a higher learning curve than ShareASale, but I prefer it to ShareASale once you figure out how everything works.
What you need to know about CJ
Niche/product types: Like ShareASale, CJ covers a range of niches and 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 for direct deposit or $100 for check.
CJ pros and cons
Pros:
Huge range of big and small merchants to choose from
A nice back-end dashboard to help you manage your affiliate marketing efforts
Has a deep link generator bookmarklet that makes it really easy to generate links
Cons:
The dashboard is a little complicated when you’re just getting started (though I like it overall).
Visit CJ Affiliate
5. Rakuten Marketing (Formerly LinkShare)
Rakuten Marketing (formerly known as LinkShare) is a popular affiliate network that includes a lot of big merchants. Notable merchants are:
Walmart
Best Buy
Macy’s
Papa Johns
They also have some smaller merchants, though their network isn’t as large as ShareASale, CJ, or Awin (it’s “only” around 1,000 merchants).
11 Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms And Networks To Make You More Money
Colin NewcomerLast Updated: May 19, 2020
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 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
Visit ShareASale
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)
Visit Awin
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
4. CJ Affiliate (Formerly Commission Junction)
CJ – formerly known by the lengthier name of Commission Junction – is another affiliate network that brings together thousands of different merchants under one roof (a lot like ShareASale).
Along with ShareASale, CJ is one of the biggest affiliate networks out there, which means that you’ll be able to connect with thousands of both big and small merchants. Currently, the exact number is 2,696 different merchants.
Some of the big physical and digital companies using CJ are:
Lowes
Overstock
Office Depot
Priceline
GoPro
IHG (Hotels)
Grammarly
You’ll also find lots of smaller merchants, as well.
Like ShareASale, you’ll individually apply to these merchants from the CJ dashboard. Then, you’ll be able to generate links and view statistics.
I think CJ’s affiliate dashboard has a bit of a higher learning curve than ShareASale, but I prefer it to ShareASale once you figure out how everything works.
What you need to know about CJ
Niche/product types: Like ShareASale, CJ covers a range of niches and 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 for direct deposit or $100 for check.
CJ pros and cons
Pros:
Huge range of big and small merchants to choose from
A nice back-end dashboard to help you manage your affiliate marketing efforts
Has a deep link generator bookmarklet that makes it really easy to generate links
Cons:
The dashboard is a little complicated when you’re just getting started (though I like it overall).
Visit CJ Affiliate
5. Rakuten Marketing (Formerly LinkShare)
Rakuten Marketing (formerly known as LinkShare) is a popular affiliate network that includes a lot of big merchants. Notable merchants are:
Walmart
Best Buy
Macy’s
Papa Johns
They also have some smaller merchants, though their network isn’t as large as ShareASale, CJ, or Awin (it’s “only” around 1,000 merchants).
So if you want access to a huge variety of merchants, you might be better off with one of the other networks. But Rakuten is a good option for getting access to the big guns, and they also have some nice features like the ability to rotate ads without the need for an external solution (like a WordPress advertising management plugin).
What you need to know about Rakuten Marketing
Niche/product types: With 1,000+ merchants, you can probably still find offers in most niches.
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
Rakuten Marketing pros and cons
Pros:
Gives you access to big-name merchants like Walmart and Best Buy
A trusted name (Rakuten is a billion dollar company)
Nice-to-have features like easy ad rotation
Cons:
The back-end dashboard looks a little dated in my opinion
Not as big a selection as some other affiliate networks
6. Avangate Affiliate Network
11 Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms And Networks To Make You More Money
Colin NewcomerLast Updated: May 19, 2020
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 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
Visit ShareASale
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)
Visit Awin
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
4. CJ Affiliate (Formerly Commission Junction)
CJ – formerly known by the lengthier name of Commission Junction – is another affiliate network that brings together thousands of different merchants under one roof (a lot like ShareASale).
Along with ShareASale, CJ is one of the biggest affiliate networks out there, which means that you’ll be able to connect with thousands of both big and small merchants. Currently, the exact number is 2,696 different merchants.
Some of the big physical and digital companies using CJ are:
Lowes
Overstock
Office Depot
Priceline
GoPro
IHG (Hotels)
Grammarly
You’ll also find lots of smaller merchants, as well.
Like ShareASale, you’ll individually apply to these merchants from the CJ dashboard. Then, you’ll be able to generate links and view statistics.
I think CJ’s affiliate dashboard has a bit of a higher learning curve than ShareASale, but I prefer it to ShareASale once you figure out how everything works.
What you need to know about CJ
Niche/product types: Like ShareASale, CJ covers a range of niches and 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 for direct deposit or $100 for check.
CJ pros and cons
Pros:
Huge range of big and small merchants to choose from
A nice back-end dashboard to help you manage your affiliate marketing efforts
Has a deep link generator bookmarklet that makes it really easy to generate links
Cons:
The dashboard is a little complicated when you’re just getting started (though I like it overall).
Visit CJ Affiliate
5. Rakuten Marketing (Formerly LinkShare)
Rakuten Marketing (formerly known as LinkShare) is a popular affiliate network that includes a lot of big merchants. Notable merchants are:
Walmart
Best Buy
Macy’s
Papa Johns
They also have some smaller merchants, though their network isn’t as large as ShareASale, CJ, or Awin (it’s “only” around 1,000 merchants).
So if you want access to a huge variety of merchants, you might be better off with one of the other networks. But Rakuten is a good option for getting access to the big guns, and they also have some nice features like the ability to rotate ads without the need for an external solution (like a WordPress advertising management plugin).
What you need to know about Rakuten Marketing
Niche/product types: With 1,000+ merchants, you can probably still find offers in most niches.
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
Rakuten Marketing pros and cons
Pros:
Gives you access to big-name merchants like Walmart and Best Buy
A trusted name (Rakuten is a billion dollar company)
Nice-to-have features like easy ad rotation
Cons:
The back-end dashboard looks a little dated in my opinion
Not as big a selection as some other affiliate networks
Visit Rakuten Marketing
6. Avangate Affiliate Network
Avangate Affiliate Network is an affiliate network that’s focused on digital goods and software, rather than physical products.
For example, you’ll get access to popular software merchants like:
Bitdefender
Kaspersky
Hide My Ass (the VPN)
Awario (read our Awario review)
What you need to know about Avangate Affiliate Network
Niche/product types: Avangate Affiliate Network focuses on digital goods and software products. You can browse the full merchant marketplace without needing to sign up.
Average commission rate: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with, but Avangate advertises up to an 85% commission rate and Avangate Affiliate Network’s digital products usually have a higher commission rate than the physical products you’ll find at other networks.
Cookie duration: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with. Avangate Affiliate Network lets merchants set their cookie length anywhere between 30 to 180 days, so you’re guaranteed at least 30 days at a minimum.
Minimum payout: $100
Avangate Affiliate Network pros and cons
Pros:
You can opt to be paid via PayPal
Lots of unique software products to choose from
Most merchants offer pretty high commissions. It’s not uncommon to see 50%+ commissions
Cons:
The $100 minimum payout is higher than most other affiliate networks
7. ClickBank
Whereas platforms like ShareASale and Awin have a lot of big, nationally known merchants, ClickBank is definitely more on the “smaller” end of merchants.
For example, you’ll find a lot of merchants who are selling eBooks, online courses, or membership sites. These merchants might not have the name recognition of a national or international brand, but they can be great offers if they fit your niche.
There’s also a downside, though – some of the ClickBank products just aren’t very high-quality products. And while ClickBank has gotten better with its review process to filter out the bad merchants, you’ll still want to be careful about which merchants you choose to promote.
What you need to know about ClickBank
Niche/product types: ClickBank definitely leans towards digital products, but you’ll find some physical products as well (and ClickBank makes it easy to filter between the two).
Average commission rate: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with, but usually pretty high. You’ll find both percentage and flat-rate commissions.
Cookie duration: Depends on the specific merchant you sign up with, but usually ~60 days.
Minimum payout: $10
ClickBank pros and cons
Pros:
Lots of smaller niche offers that you won’t find at other affiliate platforms
Pretty high commissions for most merchants
$10 minimum payout makes it easy to get paid
Offers weekly payments
Cons:
ClickBank’s generous refund policy means you might lose commissions after the fact
You have to wade through some low-quality products
At the end I will suggest to join Amazon Association Make huge amount of Money.. clik on the highlighted option.
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