Top 12+ High Paying Affiliate Programs for Greater Earning Potential
If you’ve been in the e-commerce space for a little while, you’re most likely familiar with the term “affiliate.” More than just an online service, affiliate marketing has been known as a thriving industry and become a crucial source of revenue for thousands of professional bloggers or publishers. It is almost unbelievable to think that there are some high paying affiliate programs out there, that you can earn a few thousand dollars from for just a single sale. But actually, there are!
Why “sell” more, when you can “sell” less and get paid more? Let’s hit the ground running with our pick of the highest paying affiliate programs that you belong to.
But … before diving into these stunning affiliate programs, it’s important to first have a look over some basic concepts and useful tips for a successful affiliate!
What Is An Affiliate Program?
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement in which a business pays another business or influencer (“the affiliate”) a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way. This can be achieved through various means, typically web content, social media, or product integration. The affiliate gets a unique link (an “affiliate link”) from which clicks can be tracked – typically using cookies.
Each agreement between an affiliate and a merchant features the commission structure and payout information.
How Do I Join Affiliate Programs?
There are primarily two types of affiliate programs: self-hosted programs, and ones in an affiliate network.
First, self-hosted programs run on the company’s website with their own affiliate software tools. You can join these by searching for “Brand + Affiliate Program,” finding their program page, and filling out a form to apply.
On the other hand, an affiliate program can live inside affiliate networks – a collection of affiliate programs in one secure place. These networks let you join new programs in different verticals, view reporting, see your commissions, and grab your affiliate links to add to your site.
With either approach, there are either automatic approvals or manual approvals. Whereas some programs accept anyone, others automatically add you if you hit specific benchmarks. Besides, there are several programs that require an Affiliate Manager to review your application manually.
What Are The Requirements To Join Affiliate Programs?
To join affiliate programs, usually, you need a website and a way to receive money – either a PayPal or a bank account. Although you can participate without a website by adding links on social media, it’s highly recommended that you have one – a well-designed website with an SSL certificate installed for HTTPS.
Additionally, it’s more than essential that you own a business email address connected to your domain and have a PayPal account set up.
What Do You Look For In High Paying Affiliate Programs In 2019?
1. Commission Rate
It refers to the percentage of a sale that’s funded by an advertiser to an affiliate for referring a new customer. This figure can range from the low single digits up to 50% or even higher.
2. Average Order Value (AOV)
Self-explanatory, AOV means the average dollar amount spent every time a customer completes an order. To calculate AOV, simply divide your total revenue by the number of orders.
3. Earnings Per Click (EPC)
EPC is the income you could earn for each click to an advertiser’s website from an affiliate link. This definition is a little misleading as the true meaning of EPC calculates the amount per 100 clicks.
4. Cookie Duration
A cookie is a value stored on an end user’s computer and is used to track affiliate sales. The duration is the length of time the cookie stays on the computer after clicking an affiliate link.
For instance, if a cookie has a 30-day life, your referral needs to make a purchase within 30-days of clicking your affiliate link in order for you to get paid – otherwise, the lead will no longer be trackable.
There’s no point in making a 5% commission on a $10 pair of socks. That’s only $0.50 for your efforts. Alternatively, it would be much better to earn an 8% commission on a $1,200 treadmill and make $96. Since your affiliate website can only generate so much traffic every month, you should promote affiliate products that provide an EPC. Finally, the last metric to look for is a lengthy cookie duration. Whereas standard cookie durations are typically 30 days, there exist several affiliate programs with a cookie as low as seven days and as high as 90+ days. Remember, longer cookie durations are a highly preferred feature.
All things considered, those that you need to pay close attention to are high payouts, high AOV, and long cookie durations.
Affiliate Marketing Tips For 2019
Smart affiliate marketers don’t want to only focus on those four affiliate concepts and blindly recommend any product just because of their high affiliate payouts.
1. You should promote the products you love and understand
Nowadays, web users are wise enough to spot any fake recommendations. What they really want is to learn from real-world experience. Thus, be authentic with your words.
The growth of the affiliate industry is definitely undeniable, and this year of 2019 will be no different. So how do you stay on top of emerging trends in the market and join the best up and coming high ticket affiliate programs?
2. You should perform some research on emerging categories
Currently, fashion is the most popular affiliate marketing category, with 18.7% of campaigns, followed by sports, and health and wellness. Other emerging affiliate markets include virtual reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, wearable tech, and drones.
If you fashion yourself a relationship expert or budding “love guru”, another promising category for you is dating affiliate marketing. With the number of dating websites and apps on the rise and competition more intense than ever, dating sites are leveraging affiliates to recommend their platforms and get more users.
Similarly, another big trend is mobile affiliate marketing and CPA networks. Mobile CPA affiliate networks and push notification companies help affiliates push traffic to smartphone apps and mobile platforms.
Top Highest Paying Affiliate Programs
So, you must have been well prepared with the background knowledge as well as practical tips to look for the best-suited affiliate programs and emerging trends in the industry. Right?
Now let’s explore affiliate programs with the highest earning potential to ensure you’re able to make money off your content.
I. Best Marketing and Business Affiliate Programs
1. HubSpot
Commission: Flat rate – earning up to $1,000 per product purchased
Cookie life: 90 days
Partnering through HubSpot’s Affiliate Program is a simple way to generate new revenue from your content while helping the SMB community grow better. Comprised of Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, and a powerful free CRM, HubSpot’s award-winning growth platform gives thousands of companies the tools they need to manage the customer experience – all the way from awareness to advocacy.
As a HubSpot affiliate, the commission you’ll receive will depend on the product tier of each product your referral has purchased:
- Starter/Basic: $250
- Professional/CMS: $500
- Enterprise: $1,000
Keep in mind that you can earn up to $1,000 for each product purchased. It is not uncommon for customers to buy more than one product at a time. So, just forget about minimum sales or limits on the commission you can earn, you could very well earn up to $3,000 if your referral were to purchase the Enterprise Growth Suite.
When you join HubSpot’s affiliate program, you can take advantage of large creative inventory, including demo videos, banners, and copy examples, all designed to help you earn the most commission possible. Plus, you can cultivate a one-on-one relationship with the HubSpot affiliate team, who are all dedicated to helping you succeed.
Especially, if you have a large business audience or want to monetize your content, then HubSpot is likely to be a perfect match for you.
2. AWeber
Commission: 30% recurring
Cookie life: One year
Aweber is an email marketing platform that is great for businesses and marketing teams because of their email templates and design features. This amazing platform has been the autoresponder of choice for over one million businesses and entrepreneurs since 1998.
Being an affiliate of AWeber, you can earn substantial income through two different channels. Their in-house program offers a lifetime 30% commission. Plans typically range from around $20 to $150 per month, so the payout can add up. Alternatively, you can earn up to $300 per account through CJ Affiliate. However, the cookie life with this option is only 45 days, rather than one year.
3. ConvertKit
Commission: 30% recurring
Cookie window: 30 days
As a new up-and-comer in the email marketing field, ConvertKit helps its customers grow their customer base and then build great integrations via landing pages, forms, and email drip campaigns.
ConvertKit’s affiliate program is primarily addressed to existing ConvertKit users who feel their audience could benefit from email marketing products. The program offers a lifelong 30% commission for every referred paying customer or webinar subscriber.
With plans ranging anywhere from $29 per month all the way to $2,000+, the income potential is a very attractive offer, and it costs you absolutely nothing to join the program. The program does not, however, offer any special deals or discounts for any product the affiliate might promote.
4. LeadPages
Commission: 30% recurring
Cookie life: 30 days
Leadpages is a popular landing page builder that helps users build dedicated web pages with forms and calls-to-action, which collect contact information and boost your conversion rates.
Their affiliate program is only open to LeadPages customers. Each paying customer referred brings in a lifetime commission of 30%. Membership prices range from $25 to $200 per month.
LeadPages will sometimes run special offers, such as a $5,000 bonus for affiliates who drive 10+ sales by a given date. All affiliates gain access to banners, sidebar images, and several social media-friendly links. Plus, you have the option to share a unique link to a free content page (like a blog post or video) rather than a product page.
5. GetResponse
Commission: 33% recurring
Cookie length: 120 days
In addition to email marketing, GetResponse offers landing pages, opt-in forms, webinar hosting, a CRM tool, and plenty of other marketing automation tools. GetResponse gives affiliates and corporate customers extensive coverage from unlimited broadcasting and top deliverability to 5-star customer service and over 50 easy yet powerful features.
Just like AWeber, GetResponse has two affiliate programs you can choose from (or, you can join both!):
- Their self-hosted program offers a 33% recurring commission. With plans ranging anywhere from $15 to $1,200/month, the payout can be pretty substantial.
- You can also earn $135 for every sale referred through CJ Affiliate. However, the cookie life is only 30 days, rather than 120 offered in the in-house program.
6. SEMRush
Commission: 40% recurring
Cookie life: 10 years
SEMRush is a powerful SEO solution that website owners can use to track keywords, conduct site audits, and view competitive insights into their online marketing. They run their affiliate program is called BeRush, which offers a 40% recurring commission over the lifetime of a referral’s subscription, which translates to up to $160 per month per referral. Plus, they offer a very generous 10-year cookie life.
Furthermore, since BeRush functions under a first cookie attribution model, if a referral were to cancel their subscription and sign up again in the future (within 10 years), you still get commission on that second subscription.
Exclusive SEMRush promotional material is available in five different languages and applicants are automatically pre-approved, so the sign-up process is only a few minutes, enabling you to get started right away.
II. Best Website Builder Affiliate Programs
7. BigCommerce
Commission: 200% or $1,500 per enterprise customer
Cookie life: 90 days
BigCommerce is an online store builder that powers thousands of e-commerce stores in over 150 countries. They are known as the e-commerce platform of choice for growing brands because of their built-in features and advanced functionality.
Their e-commerce affiliate program offers a generous 200% bounty payment on the plan’s price, meaning you can earn either $60, $160, $250, or even $1,500 per paying customer. They have a 90-day cookie and provide banners, text links, and a weekly affiliate newsletter with content templates and SEO advice.
8. Shopify
Commission: 200%
Cookie life: 30 days
With over 500,000 Shopify stores worldwide, Shopify has truly proven itself as a market leader in the drop shipping industry. Shopify has everything e-commerce businesses need to launch their online store, including website builders, shopping carts, web hosting, and store management tools, analytics features, payment processing, and much more.
If your audience is all about e-commerce and needs help setting up an online store, Shopify’s affiliate program just might be for you. Affiliates earn a whopping 200% commission on the cost of a monthly subscription (that’s up to $2,400!). Additionally, when a referral signs up for a Shopify Plus account, you get paid a flat $2,000 bounty payment.
On top of the money, as a Shopify Affiliate, you get priority support for your own Shopify store, as well as free Shopify content to promote to your audience. One fascinating thing is that joining the program is absolutely free. The main drawbacks may be that the target for this program is quite niche since you’ll need an audience that sells products online and doesn’t already have a solid e-commerce platform.
9. 3dcart
Commission: 300%
Cookie life: 45 days
3dcart is a fast-growing e-commerce platform with a high focus on SEO. Like Shopify, 3dcart provides you with all the essential tools to build, promote, and grow your online store.
3d cart affiliates earn a 300% commission on each referred customer – which is up to $687 per referral. 3dcart boasts strong conversion rates and has very helpful Affiliate Managers that lend a helping hand. Their affiliate program runs on both the Commission Junction and ShareASale networks, and both offer the same commission and cookie life, so it’s up to you to decide which platform you prefer.
III. Best Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
10. WP Engine
Commission: $200+ per signup
Cookie window: 180 days
There are millions of websites on the Internet, and staggeringly around 30% of them are built on WordPress. WP Engine is a powerful web hosting platform and one of the premier web hosts for bloggers that write about WordPress plugins and themes.
WP Engine’s affiliate program runs on the ShareASale network. By promoting WP Engine plans, you can earn $200 per signup or 100% of the customer’s first monthly payment – whichever one is higher. Their program features incentives and pricing tiers. If you get five sales, you receive an extra $100. For ten purchases, you get $250. They also offer a two-tier affiliate program – you can earn $50 for any sub-affiliates you refer to their platform.
Plus, WP Engine has an industry-leading 180-day cookie duration, which gives credit for sales up to 6 months after visitors click your affiliate link. However, the only downside is that their product is more expensive than other web hosting options, so your users may convert at a slightly lower rate.
Whereas it may not be easy to find an audience looking to build a new WordPress website, when you do find those users, the profits can be huge.
11. Kinsta
Commission: Up to $500 per referral + 10% recurring
Cookie life: 60 days
Founded in 2013 by veteran WordPress developers, Kinsta is one of the leading Web Hosting platforms in the world. They strive to offer WordPress hosting that is fast, secure, and reliable.
Kinsta’s affiliate program pays an initial commission, followed by a recurring 10% monthly payment. Affiliates can earn up to $500 initially, depending on the type of plan the referral has purchased:
- Starter: $50
- Pro: $100
- Business: $150
- Enterprise: $500
Whereas 10% may not seem like much, your referrals are likely to have a high lifetime value, thanks to Kinsta’s high customer retention rate of 95%.
12. Flywheel
Commission: 300%, up to $500 per referral
Cookie life: 90 days
As another dedicated WordPress hosting solution, Flywheel aims to take away all the hassle that comes with web hosting so users can focus on doing what they do best – creating and designing websites.
Flywheel affiliates can earn up to $500 per referral. Being a Flywheel affiliate, you can gain access to tons of creative assets, from banners to co-branded landing pages to stylish social images. The Flywheel team will even work with you to create custom images that can take your commissions to the next level.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that there is no minimum threshold limit to receive a payment.
Bonuses:
IV. Travel Affiliate Programs
13. TripAdvisor:
Crowned the “world’s largest travel site”, TripAdvisor provides travelers with the wisdom of the crowds to help them decide where to stay, how to fly, what to do, and where to eat. Powered by Commission Junction, TripAdvisor’s affiliate program pays an incredible 50% commission off the revenue generated from a user clicking on links and/or ads that send them to a TripAdvisor partner site. Additionally, their cookie duration is 14 days.
14. Boatbookings
If you think your website visitors might be interested in chartering yachts, you might want to join Boatbookings’ affiliate program. Boatbookings specializes in luxury yacht chartering, boat rental, and sailing & motor yacht vacations. On the charter value of a boat, Boatbookings receives commission on the net charter value. On this commission, affiliates will earn 20% as a base rate and an additional 10% commission for a returning customer. Their cookie has a life of 30 days.
15. Momondo
Momondo is a global travel search site that compares cheap flights, hotels, and car rental deals. Each time someone clicks on a flight on Momondo’s website from your site’s link, you will earn $0.65 for desktop and tablet users and $0.45 for mobile users.
16. Sandals Resorts
Sandals is one of the most well-recognized names in Caribbean resort travel, which offers luxurious vacations for couples and families traveling to Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, and more. The Sandals affiliate program pays you a commission for referring users to book either a stay in one of the Sandals Resorts or booking an activity. Whereas 4% might seem like a small percentage, these luxury resorts have daily rates that range from $150 to over $2,000 per person – which is a decent figure for cookie duration of 60 days.
V. Best Online Course Affiliate Programs
17. Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that lets users create online courses, launch marketing campaigns, build landing pages, and design the perfect website. As an affiliate, you’ll receive a 30% lifetime commission for any new member you bring to Kajabi that stays active past their trial period. Their cookie duration is 30 days.
18. Coursera
Coursera offers over 1,000 courses and specializations ranging anywhere from Digital Marketing to Applied Data Science and Personal Development. Their affiliate program runs on the Linkshare network and offers a commission ranging from 20% to 45% with bonuses for strong performance. Like Kajabi, their cookie lasts for 30 days.
19. Teachable
Teachable is a powerful site to create and sell beautiful online courses. With over 18 million students and 186 thousand active courses, Teachable is one of the most reputable e-learning platforms. Ranging from Facebook ads to cake decorating tips, Teachable is suited for a variety of niche subjects. Teachable’s affiliate program pays a recurring 30% commission on the referral’s monthly subscription fee and has a 90- day cookie duration. Plans can go anywhere from $29 to $499 per month, meaning you’ll be able to earn up to $150 a month per sale.
VI. Best Retail Affiliate Programs
20. Amazon Associates
Amazon is one of the most popular online shopping platforms, so if you’re looking to buy something, chances are you’ll find it on Amazon. With their name recognition comes strong conversion rates. With cookie duration of 24 hours, Amazon Associates pays commissions between 1% and 10%, depending on the category the product purchased falls under. The most valuable items to promote are clothes and luxury beauty products, both of which can earn you a 10% cut on the price.
21. eBay Partner Network
With over one billion listings from a diverse range of product categories, eBay’s affiliate program shares a lot of the same advantages as Amazon’s – well-known, high conversion rates, and a diverse selection of products. The eBay Partner Network pays a commission of 50% to 70% of auction fees — not the sale price. Their cookie life is 24 hours for “buy it now” items and 10 days for auction items.
22. Target
Whereas it doesn’t offer as specialized a selection as Amazon or eBay, Target remains a highly recognizable brand with a wide variety of different products. Target’s affiliate program operates on a volume-based commission structure, meaning that your commission increases as the number of items purchased increases, which range from 1 to 8%. Their cookie length is 7 days – longer than two mentioned platform
The bottom line
The hardest part is done: to draw up a great resource that shows you a bunch of top-level affiliate programs. All that’s left to do is find the perfect match for yourself! No matter what stage you’re at, or what niche you are in, or how much you want to earn, the most important thing is to get started now.
