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What are the best affiliate programs?
First on the list, web hosting is one of the most popular affiliate marketing categories in the world.
Every new website requires a host.
As a result, most affiliates who write about marketing, starting an online business, or blogging end up joining a web hosting affiliate program in the first place.
At the end of the day, web hosting companies offer some of the best affiliate programs and commissions, which is why they are at the top of my list.
Here are my picks for the highest paying affiliate programs.
1. Hostinger.
Hostinger is another popular web hosting platform that can offer affiliates up to $150 per sale on a tiered pricing structure.
Their affiliate partner program offers a base payment of around $60, with the possibility of earning up to $150.
And since their small business and WordPress hosting plans tend to always offer a 90% discount, they have high conversion rates.
Like many other hosts, they provide banners and promotional tools to help new affiliates get started.
If you still need to launch your affiliate website, click my link below to get a 90% discount on your Hostinger plan.
Try Hostinger
2. Elementor.
Elementor is a dynamic drag-and-drop website creation platform. Elementor helps website builders create amazing, full-featured WordPress sites without the need for code.
Success comes from working together - Elementor has 100,000 members in its online community. Website creators share advice, tips, feedback, organize meetings and encourage each other to grow professionally.
Overall, the Elementor affiliate program offers 50% per sale and five pricing packages, ranging from $49 to $999 per year. This wide range of price levels makes it easier for affiliates to market the various paid plans to specific audiences more easily and strategically.
With some affiliates earning over $10,000 with Elementor, it's a top option for WordPress hosts and bloggers.
Try Elementor
3. Cloudways.
The Cloudways web hosting affiliate program offers high payouts, long-term recurring commissions, and three flexible payment models for their affiliates.
For one-time payments, you can earn up to $125 per sale depending on your performance level. Additionally, you can use their hybrid model and get $30 per sale plus a 7% monthly lifetime commission over the lifetime of the customer.
Cloudways provides its own real-time monitoring for its affiliates, with a performance dashboard that shows clicks, conversions, and other detailed information.
They also have great account managers (who I know personally) and helpful resources, including welcome emails, guides, monthly newsletters, reference articles, and blog posts.
You can get started with the Cloudways affiliate program by clicking on the link below.
Try Cloudways
4. WP Engine.
WP Engine has one of the highest affiliate payouts, starting at $200. It is a powerful web hosting platform and one of the first web hosts for bloggers who write about WordPress plugins and themes.
Their program includes incentives and price levels. If you make five sales, you get an additional $100. For ten purchases, you get $250. They also offer a 2-tier program: you can earn $50 for any sub-affiliates that you refer to their platform.
WP Engine has a cookie duration of 180 days, allowing sales to be credited for up to 6 months after visitors click on your affiliate link.
However, the only downside is that their product is more expensive than that of other hosts, so conversion rates are not as high.
I know many people who have managed the WP Engine program and can assure you that they are committed to the success of their affiliates.
Start with WP Engine
5. Liquid Web.
Liquid Web runs its own affiliate program and pays affiliates 150% of sales, which can range from $150 to $7,000 per sale.
They have great account managers and offer a 2-tier setup. This allows you to get a small amount of credit for sales generated by other affiliates through your 2-tier link (like mine in this article).
If you're looking for a great affiliate marketing program with high payouts, check out Liquid Web.
Affiliate program of Liquid Web
VPN affiliate programs
Now we're moving on to VPNs.
Since 2013, nearly 25% of global Internet users have used a VPN every month and the market is growing year by year.
Because of the explosion in popularity of this technology, all the different types of affiliated sites can recommend that their readers set up a private Internet connection.
In fact, I also jumped on the bandwagon with my article on the 19 best VPN services.
I also use a VPN to secure my Internet access on public WiFi networks, stream Netflix when traveling abroad, and even do keyword research pretending to be in another location.
As these companies charge recurring fees for using their online services, affiliates typically receive a significant recurring payment or one-time payment for users after registering.
It's one of the most popular affiliate categories and there are lots of great programs to join.
Here are the best VPN affiliate programs.
1. NordVPN.
The commissions of NordVPN are based on the subscription plan ordered by the customer, including 100% for one month, and 40% for 6-month, one-year, and 2-year plans. They also have high conversion rates and dedicated account managers to help you drive sales.
Start with NordVPN
2. PureVPN.
PureVPN has one of the funniest programs, with contests, a rewards system, and personalized notifications letting you know when you've made a sale. Like others on this list, they offer 100% for the first month and 40% for longer plans.
Start with PureVPN
3. Surfshark VPN.
Surfshark VPN is a leading VPN provider and aims to make online privacy easy for everyone. Plus, it allows you to access blocked and unavailable content around the world, including blocked streaming services.
By promoting Surfshark, affiliates can earn a 40% revenue share for every subscription sold. As this product offers very competitive prices and a wide range of features, it converts well in numerous markets.
Start with Surfshark VPN
Website affiliate programs
After web hosting and VPNs, which are the 2 most popular affiliate categories, website builders like Wix and Squarespace are just behind.
Just as the first step bloggers take to create a website is choosing a web host, so are entrepreneurs and business owners looking to create a website.
Additionally, because paying customers can stay for 24 to 36 months and have a high lifetime value (LTV), SaaS businesses can afford to pay over 100% of the monthly retail price.
Here are my picks for the best website and e-commerce affiliate programs:
1. Shopify.
Shopify is the most popular e-commerce site builder in the world, with 400,000 sellers and a substantial 200% commission on paid stores. The recognition of its name is accompanied by stable conversion rates. Additionally, their website offers useful affiliate FAQs and promotion ideas.
Open a Account to start promoting Shopify
2. Weebly.
Weebly is a simple website builder that has over 40 million users. It's not the most advanced website builder, but its drag-and-drop interface makes it very easy to create a fast website. Weebly offers a 30% recurring commission as long as the customer is active, and offers a generous 120-day cookie window.
Open a Account to start promoting Weebly
3. Webflow.
Webflow is a website creation platform that is one of the most powerful on the market. This is also the platform with which I created and hosted this website. The unique features of its CMS allow you to create dozens of pages easily by loading a CSV file.
Open a Account to start promoting Webflow
Online course affiliate programs
1. Udemy.
Udemy is a platform that allows instructors to create online courses on their favorite topics. With Udemy's course development tools, they can download videos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, audio files, ZIP files, and live courses to create courses.
Udemy focuses on volume by offering a 10% remuneration on all courses sold.
Open a Account to start promoting Udemy
2. LinkedIn Learning.
LinkedIn Learning provides access to over 13,000 high-quality, on-demand courses. Users receive personalized course recommendations based on unique data from millions of professionals from the millions of professionals on the global LinkedIn network.
Linkedin Learning offers $10 for each registration and over 35% in revenue on each sale.
Open a LinkedIn Learning account
3. Udacity.
Udacity is an online course platform for people interested in topics related to technology, such as data analysis, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and web development.
The courses are interactive and visual, and include quizzes, short videos, and projects that students can add to their portfolios.
Udacity offers $25 for new online course registrations.
Open a Account to start promoting Udacity
What are the best affiliate networks?
Now that you know what to look for when choosing a network, here are my picks for the best affiliate networks.
1. Impact.
Impact is a fully-fledged partner relationship management (PRM) software that connects major brands and publishers.
Affiliates can join the network and apply to participate in the programs of thousands of top brands like Uber, Airbnb, Adidas, Allstate, and more.
Brands that want to create their own affiliate program can use Impact and have access to the best partnership tools.
Impact helps brands and advertisers manage:
- Affiliate partnerships
- Influencer marketing partnerships
- Business Development Operations
- Analytics and attribution
- Customized contracts
Optimizing distribution partnerships can be a challenge, and Impact technology streamlines partner programs under one roof.
If you're a brand looking to create a partner program, Impact is the best platform to use.
Discover Impact now
2. Shareasale.
Shareasale is a massive affiliate network that has over 3,900 sellers and over 1 million affiliates. It has existed for 19 years and is a leader in the sector. Some of the key vertical sectors to promote include fashion, home and garden, food and drink, and B2B. But there are lots of others.
Additionally, they offer great features, including affiliate marketing courses, training webinars, merchant recommendations, and marketing tools to help you increase revenue.
Their platform is also technologically reliable. More specifically, the Shareasale platform offers easy access to affiliate links, reporting tools, and is proud of its transparency, speed, efficiency, and accuracy.
If you're just starting out and want to get your feet wet in affiliate marketing, I recommend joining Shareasale as an affiliate first.
And if you're a merchant looking for affiliates to promote your products, you can register as a merchant.
3. CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction) is an affiliate network that has been in the industry for 20 years. They process an incredible $15 billion in annual sales through their platform, with $1.8 billion paid annually to their affiliates.
If you're looking to partner with some of the biggest brands in the world, becoming a CJ affiliate is a great choice. Brands like Overstock, Priceline, GoPro, Lowes, and Office Depot are just a few of the sellers you can partner with on CJ.
On the publisher side, they partner with big brands like CNN, Time, Digg, and Buzzfeed. With this fierce competition, one downside is that it can be difficult for new affiliates to get approved to work with big sellers. You'll need to be creative in your email approach to work with them.
However, with its free and easy setup, great real-time reports, and reliable monthly payments, CJ is a great platform to join.
If you're an experienced affiliate looking to work with some of the biggest brands in the world, join CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction).
Top Recurring Revenue Affiliate Programs
While most of the best affiliate programs offer one-time CPA payments after a sale, others offer a recurring payment every month. A recurring program is when an affiliate receives a commission for selling a product from a site on a recurring (or monthly) basis.
Here are my picks for the best recurring programs:
1. Thinkific.
Thinkific is my preferred online course platform, and it offers 30% recurring commissions to its affiliate partners. It is a growing company that is well known in the industry, which increases their conversion rates. I would highly recommend them.
Discover Thinkific
2. Phantombuster.
Leadpages is a famous tool for collecting data on the web and social networks that help users automate web scraping actions with preconstructed scenarios such as looking for email addresses or information on LinkedIn/Instragram/Facebook etc... of its users.
Their affiliate program offers 20% monthly earnings.
Discover Phantombuster
3. ActiveCampaign.
ActiveCampaign is my favorite email marketing software and their affiliate program pays on a recurring basis. They offer commission levels that are up to 30% based on the number of sales you generate.
They have over 6,000 affiliate partners, helpful affiliate resources in a partner portal, and a fantastic affiliate manager.
Discover ActiveCampaign
4. Moosend.
Moosend is a popular email marketing tool and its affiliate program offers a 30% recurring commission. They also have a very useful affiliate manager and a cookie validity period of 120 days.
Discover Moosend
5. Leadpages.
Leadpages is a famous landing page creation tool that helps users create dedicated web pages with forms and calls to action.
Their affiliate program offers 30% monthly earnings.
Discover Leadpages
6. Teachable.
Teachable is an online course platform that allows bloggers and website owners to create their courses to sell to their students.
They offer a 30% return of recurring revenue.
Discover Teachable
7. GetResponse.
GetResponse is another email marketing service that offers a 33% recurring commission. This is another great affiliate program for email marketing.
Discover GetResponse
8. SEMrush.
SEMrush is an influential SEO tool that website owners can use to track keywords, conduct site audits, and view competitive information in their online marketing. Their program is called BeRush, and they offer their affiliate partners a 40% commission.
Discover SEMrush
9. Aweber.
Aweber is an email marketing software that is ideal for businesses and marketing teams because of its email templates and design features.
They offer 30% recurring revenue.
Discover Aweber
10. Sendible.
MeetEdgar is another great tool from management and programming of social networks.
It offers up to 20% of recurring revenue per active affiliate per month.
Discover Sendible
11. PipeDrive.
PipeDrive is a must-have CRM software, one of the best HubSpot alternatives created to help you make more sales.
PipeDrive offers several levels of income depending on the amount generated each month:
- Level 1: For any month where you generate less than $199.99 in revenue from all customers, you will earn 20% of all revenue generated during that month.
- Level 2: For any month where you generate between $200.00 and $499.99 in revenue from all customers, you will earn 30% of all revenue generated during that month.
- Level 3: For any month where you generate between $500.00 and $999.99 in revenue from all customers, you will earn 40% of all revenue generated that month.
- Level 4: For any month where you generate over $1,000.00 in revenue from all customers, you will earn 50% of all revenue generated during that month.
Open a PipeDrive account To start the promotion
12. ClickFunnels.
ClickFunnels is a popular landing page builder that pays 40% on all sales. In addition to helping you start your own sales funnels, they have lots of different ads and courses that you can promote and an intuitive dashboard for grabbing your links.
Open a ClickFunnels account To start the promotion
Crypto & Bitcoin Affiliate Programs
Last year, I plunged into crypto mania, spending hours trading bitcoin, litecoins, cardanos, stellars, and every other currency in the world on Binance.
Likewise, I've even taken part in a few ICOs, using digital wallets to exchange one crypto for another.
Many bitcoin programs pay you a percentage of each transaction qualified to get people into a crypto exchange; you cut back on their transactions for up to a year. Other crypto programs include recommending digital wallets like Ledger and Trezor, crypto tax software, and more.
Above all, Blockchain technology is not going anywhere.
If you want to work with affiliates in a booming industry, check out these programs and watch your revenue charts climb to the moon.
Here are the highest paying cryptocurrency affiliate marketing programs
1. Binance (referral program)
Commission: 20% of the recommended person's transaction fees, 40% if they hold more than 500 BNB.
Payment: Real-time payment on the Binance account
2. Coinbase (referral program)
Commission: When a user buys $100 worth of BTC, they get $10 worth of BTC.
Earning period: Once per customer
What is an affiliate program?
Affiliate programs are agreements between an online merchant who sells products and pays an affiliated website a commission for any sales generated by referral traffic. The affiliate website places affiliate links pointing to the merchant's site to track transactions. Each deal between an affiliate and a merchant indicates the commission structure and payment information.
There are three main parties involved:
- The salesman. For example, a retailer that sells products.
- The affiliate. For example, a product review website that offers a link to products on the retailer's site.
- The customer, who visits the affiliate site, clicks on the affiliate link to the retailer's website and buys the retailer's product.
How do you find the affiliate programs that pay the best?
The first 2 elements to take into account are commission rates and average order value (VMC). Remember, high rates x high average order value = more affiliate revenue. Next, look at the duration of the cookie and the potential earnings per click (EPC).
Here are four things to look for in the best high-paying programs:
1. Commission rate.
The percentage of a sale that is funded by an advertiser to an affiliate for referring a new customer. This percentage can range from a few figures to 50% or more.
2. Average Order Value (AOV)
The average dollar amount spent each time a customer completes an order To calculate AOV, divide your total revenue by the number of orders.
3. Earnings per click (EPC)
The revenue an affiliate earns for each click to an advertiser's website from an affiliate link. This definition is a bit misleading because the true EPC definition calculates the amount for 100 clicks.
4. Duration of the cookie
A cookie is a value stored on an end user's computer and is used to track affiliate sales. The duration is the time that the cookie remains on the computer (stored by the browser) after clicking on an affiliate link. For example, with a 30-day cookie duration, if a user clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase within 30 days, the affiliate is credited with the sale.
There is no point in taking a 5% commission on a $10 item. It's only $0.50.
On the other hand, it would be much more interesting to receive an 8% commission on an item worth $1,200 in order to earn $96. Since your affiliate website can only generate a limited amount of traffic each month, you should promote affiliate products that offer an EPC.
Finally, the last important thing to look for is the duration of cookies.
The standard duration of cookies is generally 30 days. You can find programs that are as short as 7 days or longer than 90 days.
Longer cookie durations are a standard feature of the programs I recommend.
Remember, you want high payouts, high AOV, and a long cookie lifespan.
Summary
Regardless of the best affiliate program you want to join, there are a ton of different ticket categories high to suit your unique interests.
First, when choosing a program, remember to check commission rates, average order values (VMC), average earnings per click (GPC), and cookie duration.
Second, check to see if the program is a recurring affiliate program or if it offers one-time payments.
Finally, choose a niche that matches your interests and that you can promote with passion.
The affiliate market is growing faster than ever, and there are plenty of opportunities.
Remember that the first step is to create your affiliate website on WordPress.
First of all, to create your affiliate site, I recommend that you start with Bluehost.
Finally, don't forget to use my 2 very useful affiliate marketing tools:
- Affluent to combine all your reports in a single dashboard
- ThirstyAffiliates to hide your links. (for Wordpress sites)
