Have you been thinking about getting into affiliate marketing? Maybe you’ve heard about it already and you’re looking to expand your horizons. Or you’re just now learning about it for the first time. Wherever you are on your affiliate marketing journey, I’m here to help!
Affiliate marketing is a legitimate way to make money, and many people use it as a means to generate income. This could either be as a side hustle or a full time gig. One nice thing about affiliate marketing is its’ extreme flexibility. You can post whenever you have the time. There are no minimum requirements or time restrictions. The more you post, however, the more possibility for income you have.
This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click and sign up, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). As an LTK Influencer and Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my full disclosure policy for more details.
What Exactly is Affiliate Marketing?
Now, what exactly is affiliate marketing and how can you use it to make money? Affiliate marketing is a term used to describe a person or ‘affiliate’ earning commission for marketing another person’s or company’s product. You don’t have to have your own products to sell. You can simply find an already-existing product, share and promote it to your audience, and earn a piece of the profit from each sale you make.
How to Start
You can start by signing up with an affiliate platform that allows you to create unique links to products with your affiliate ID attached to them. Each platform differs slightly in the analytics they provide but in general, this affiliate ID will keep track of your clicks and sales.
You would then promote these products or services through various channels. These include your website, blog, social media, email marketing, or other online platforms. Some affiliate platforms have very specific rules and guidelines on where you can share their links, so be sure to check with each one before promoting any products through them.
When a customer clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase or performs a desired action (such as signing up for a newsletter or filling out a form), you will earn a commission. The commission is typically a percentage of the sale or a fixed amount.
Getting Paid
The advertiser calculates your earnings based on the agreed-upon commission structure and pays out regularly, often monthly, for any successful referrals and commissions earned.
Affiliate marketing benefits all parties involved. The advertiser gains exposure and increased sales through the efforts of affiliates, while affiliates earn passive income by promoting products or services they believe in. It is a popular strategy for businesses to expand their reach and generate sales without solely relying on their own marketing efforts.
Affiliate Platforms
Now that we’ve gone through a basic understanding of what affiliate marketing is, let’s talk about the different platforms you can use to create links with. I’m going to share a few of the most popular platforms that I personally use, and give some personal insight into each.
Amazon Associates
The Amazon Associates Program, also known as Amazon Affiliate Program, is one of the largest and most popular affiliate marketing programs in the world. It allows you to earn commissions by promoting and referring customers to Amazon.com and its various regional websites.
I would suggest signing up as an Amazon Affiliate at some point because of how massive Amazon is and how many people use it on a daily basis. There is a huge amount of opportunity with the Amazon program alone, even though their commission rates are on the lower end compared with other affiliate platforms.
Amazon also has the Amazon Influencer Program. This is an extension of the Affiliate Program, that offers a whole other world of opportunity. I’m in the process of writing a separate blog post on that for Influencers who want to expand their opportunities for monetization. So be on the lookout for that if you’re interested!
It’s important to note that the specific terms and conditions of the Amazon Associates Program may vary by region or country. They are also one of the strictest platforms when it comes to their Terms of Service. Therefore, it’s advisable to review the program policies and guidelines provided by Amazon for the particular region you plan to operate in.
Click here to sign up with the Amazon Affiliate Program.
Mavely
Mavely is an affiliate platform with over 900+ brands and retailers. What sets Mavely apart is their bi-weekly payout (compared to once a month like most other platforms) and their bonuses. When you hit certain tiers in sales each month, you have the opportunity to earn extra bonuses on top of the commissions you will have already earned. This makes Mavely unique and enticing to use in order to hit that next bonus level! Here’s a breakdown of their bonus tiers for 2023.
Click here to sign up with Mavely.
Cactus Media
Cactus Media is an affiliate platform that partners with more subscription-based services, like Sirius XM, Sam’s Club, and Weight Watchers to name a few. This one is great because it has high payouts for a lot of the sign ups and they’re always adding new incentives or increasing payouts for certain brands. They pay out once a month and you will be matched up with a rep who you can reach out to at any time to add more offers to your account. My experience with them has been nothing but positive, and I love that extra boost in high commissions each month!
Click here to sign up with Cactus Media!
Collective Voice
Collective Voice (or CV) previously known as Shopstyle Collective is an affiliate platform with access to thousands of brands as well. CV is the closest platform to LTK if you’re familiar with that. Not only do they give you the opportunity to create unique links to share with your audience like all of the other platforms do, they also have other features like TapTo.Shop, Lists, and Widgets. They also have a ton of great resources on their site, share weekly sales, and best practices. If you are wanting to dip your toes into the world of content creation, I would suggest signing up with CV and reading through all of their helpful articles.
Click here to sign up for Collective Voice!
Howl
Howl is one of the more complicated platforms on this list, but it still has value which is why I’ve included it. The reason I say this is because their website and dashboard is not very user friendly. There is a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier to use. They have campaigns that run through certain dates with higher commission payouts for individual brands, and some of those rates can be pretty lucrative. They also have CPC, or Cost Per Click campaigns that pay out per click versus by sale amount. This can be helpful if you’re just starting out and don’t have a huge audience yet.
Click here to sign up for Howl.
Brandcycle
Brandcycle is another affiliate platform to add to your repertoire. I like that it’s very transparent about each brand’s commission rates and cookie length. You can find that information on each retailer’s page on their website. Here’s an example of one below.
They also have a Bookmarklet Tool that you can download in order to create unique links directly from the retailer’s website. Let’s say I’m on Tarte’s website shopping for a restock of my concealer and I see that they’re having a major sale. I can actually create a shoppable link right then and there by clicking on the Bookmarklet tool in my web browser’s toolbar. This has saved me so much time and is one of the features I love about Brandcycle.
Click here to sign up for Brandcycle!
Shop Your Likes
Shop Your Likes is another affiliate platform with over 600 retailers, some of which you won’t find on the other platforms mentioned here. They also have CPC campaigns like the ones I mentioned earlier with Howl. Overall, they’re a pretty straightforward and easy-to-use platform.
Click here to sign up for Shop Your Likes!
Summary
Ok, so we’ve learned all about what affiliate marketing is, how you can use it to earn money, and how to share your unique links with your audience. Are you ready to sign up to get started? Once you’ve read through my blurbs about each platform above, use the links I’ve provided to sign up for each one that you’re interested in. The sign up process will differ slightly with each platform but they’re all pretty straightforward.
You’re going to have to provide your socials and/or websites for most of them. Use your socials with the best engagement for your best shot at being approved. If you’re denied the first time you apply, don’t fret! Just take a look at what that particular platform is looking for and work on it, and then reapply. I was denied from a few in the beginning of my journey but I did just that and was eventually accepted everywhere.
There are way more affiliate networking platforms out there, but these are the ones that I’ve personally used and have experience with. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to me on my socials. I’ll be more than happy to help! Finding affiliate marketing and being able to monetize my blog and my social media accounts has been life changing. It has allowed me to stay home with my son and I can’t think of anything better.
I wish you the best of luck on your journey with affiliate marketing! It’s a wild ride, but one that is SO worth it! It has changed my life for the better and I hope it does the same for you.
