My Top 6 Affiliate Programs for Bloggers

Top Affiliate Programs for Bloggers

Blogging can make you money! Yes, it really can! It has for me and for many others. There are lots of ways to make money with your blog and affiliate marketing is one of the best!

If you are a blogger and have not yet monetized your blog or become an affiliate yet, I’m glad you’re here. These affiliate programs work for bloggers of all genres and I’ll highlight why I work with each of them and think you should too. If you are not yet a blogger, then you’re missing out! Get started on your blog today and start making money from home. Read my tutorial on how to get started here.

Please note this post may contain affiliate links and ads, read my full disclosure here.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by recommending other people’s products. It’s an awesome way for bloggers to earn money because all you have to do is let people know what products or services you like and if they buy that same product then you get commission for recommending it. For example, I recommend new bloggers use BlueHost to get their website started because that’s what I use and I’ve been very happy with them. If you click on my BlueHost link and then signup for hosting with them, BlueHost sends me money for the referral. Score! Affiliate marketing is typically my #1 revenue source from my blog each month. No matter what genre you blog about, affiliate marketing can work for you. You don’t need to sound like a salesman when recommending a product or compromise your writing style to earn money, simply link to the product with an affiliate link and you’ll get money if a sale is made. Make sense? Below are 6 of my favorite affiliate companies. I personally am signed up with all of them and am recommending them because I’ve been happy with them and hope you can benefit from them too!

My Top Affiliate Companies

1. ShareASale – As the name suggests, affiliate marketing is just sharing a sale. I’m recommending ShareASale first because they are my top performing affiliate marketing network. Once you’re accepted as a ShareASale affiliate, you then apply to be an affiliate for specific companies they represent. They’ve been in business for over 16 years, their website is easy to use, and they have thousands of merchants so they are great for any niche. Some of the companies include: Grammarly, BuyBackWorld, Checks Unlimited, DealFlicks, ModCloth, BornToSell, Sears, Zazzle, and more!

affiliate_shareasale

 

2. Amazon Associates – I’m recommending Amazon as my #2 choice because it is the easiest place to start if you’ve never been an affiliate, plus they have everything! Any product you use, book you read, movie you watched, beauty products you use, etc. can be found on Amazon. Once you’re an Amazon affiliate you simply link to the product mentioned in your post with your affiliate link and you get a percentage of the sale if someone buys something. The cool thing with Amazon is you not only get paid for the product you recommended, but if the person buys other things while shopping through your affiliate link you get a percentage of that too! For example, I recommend this piano book and someone clicks my Amazon link. They might buy the book, they might not, but let’s say they did buy a cell phone case. I’d get commission for the cell phone case even though I didn’t recommend it. If you want to support MyIncomeJourney while shopping on Amazon, use my affiliate link here and you’ll make my day!! (-:

 

3. FlexOffers – FlexOffers is my second highest grossing affiliate network. Similar to ShareASale, they have thousands of companies they work with so it’s easy to apply to become an affiliate for big names like Betterment, Mariott, Fila, Norton, 123inkjets, Jelly Belly, and the Scholastic Store. Most of the time you’ll have a coupon you can offer your readers so it’s a win-win for them and you! Sign up for FlexOffers here.

affiliate_flexoffers

4. BlueHost – if you have a blog, then chances are you have someone hosting it for you. I love recommending BlueHost for three reasons: 1)to encourage others to start a blog, 2)I’ve been happy working with them, 3)they pay well. Yes, they get a little extra attention because they pay well. Most of the hosting companies have affiliate programs so even if you don’t use BlueHost, let people know who you use and if you like them. There’s affiliate programs out there for GoDaddy, UKHost4U, HostNed, OneWebHosting, WP Engine, and more! No matter what your blogging niche, let your audience know how you’re able to do what you do.

affiliate_bluehost

 

5. ShopHerMedia – ShopHerMedia has accounts with many major brands and give their affiliates coupons and deals to pass on to their readers. One benefit to SHM is once you’ve been accepted to them you have access to all their campaigns. You don’t need to individually apply to be an affiliate with each company like you do with ShareASale and FlexOffers. Here’s an example of some of who SHM works with: Proctor & Gamble, Vanity Fair, Pampers, Baxter, Red Plum, and many more! Check them out here.

affiliate_shophermedia

 

6. Target – Target doesn’t have quite the online presence of Amazon, but who doesn’t love Target? It’s easy to become a Target affiliate and you’ll be able to offer your readers deals like free shipping, set up gift registries, or clearance items. Sign up here to become a Target affiliate.

affiliate_target

 

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Keep in mind that becoming an affiliate for products you love and services you use that benefit you does not lessen the validity or integrity of your blog. Your blog can be more than a hobby, it can be a way to make a living. Use your affiliate links wisely and you’ll be rewarded with more than just happy readers!

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This Post Has 74 Comments

  1. Thanks for this list, I have tried amazon affiliates for books but never had anyone use it. I’m going to try share a sale and see how that goes!

  3. Bluehost and Amazon are two great affiliate marketing, and I just have to find the ones that fit my market niche. Thanks for the recommendation.

  4. These are so great! Thank you so much. I am as new as they come and have had 0 idea where to start — and can I just say, I got way too excited to know you could be an affiliate with Target. lol

  7. This is a great list of affiliates. I need to jump on board with Target. Seriously, who doesn’t like Target. Thanks for such a great resource.

  10. Thanks for the list! I use some of these, but I had never heard about ShopHerMedia. Sounds great! Is it difficult to be accepted? How convenient that you don’t have to apply to individual programs too!

  12. This is a great list. I love using Amazon Associates because I feel like they have EVERYTHING for any blog niche. However, I’m having trouble getting sales. Ideas?

    1. For as much as I love Amazon and they’re so easy to be an affiliate with, they are not my highest affiliate income. I think this is because most of their cookies only last 24 hours unlike 30 – 60 days like many affiliate programs. I’m still working on improving my Amazon income and want to write a post about it soon. In the meantime, here is a good article with helpful tips http://www.nichepursuits.com/increase-amazon-affiliate-earnings/ .

  14. Thanks for sharing. I’ve still gotta get my head around properly marketing the affiliate programs I a signed up because I know I am not utilising them to their max potential but one thing at a time :).

  20. Thanks for sharing this useful info.
    Affiliate marketing seems to be a great way to add to a bloggers income.I have heard a lot about it but not yet started it.After going through this post,I feel like going for it.I hope it really helps new bloggers like me to increase their earnings.

  21. I really like your suggestions for affiliate sites. I’ve heard a lot about share a sale but I have not tried it, I think I may try on one of my blogs and see how it goes. What do you think about commission junction?

    1. I haven’t applied to CJ yet, but I’m going to give them a try because I have heard good things about them too. I’ll let you know if/when I join them and if I’d recommend them. Thanks, Tonya!

  35. Thank you for sharing this. I’m just starting to understand the whole monetize your blog thing so this is another whole new idea for me. I’ve been blogging for a few months now but just recently I became more serious and now I’m in the middle of a move so things are a little crazy again. I guess that’s the crazy mom life 😉

  38. Awesome post. I have been using Amazon for a while and I just recently started using share a sale and Target. I have the hardest time figuring out how to use share a sale, so I haven’t really used it as much as I should.

  40. I am going to have to try flex offers! I’ve been blogging for almost 3 months now… and haven’t really seen much income :(…. is this common usually? Thank you for sharing this!

  42. This was so helpful, thank you! I’ve been dreading affiliate links because I really didn’t know where to start, so this was extremely helpful

  43. I have done share a sale, target, and amazon. I am only doing ok with them, but mostly it’s because my website doesn’t lend itself to shopping. Working on getting creative though!

  48. Thanks for the tip on Zazzle. That fits into an article I wrote yesterday. It doesn’t seem to be within share a sale, but it looks like you can apply direct to them. Also, Sears wasn’t showing up in share a sale either.

  49. Oh gosh, I’m so dumb…I was searching in the wrong section. I found it in Shareasale. I’m pending there (but approved directly on their website…too funny).
    But, I’d rather do via Shareasale (as rates seem to be the same) and there is less to track (and can combine balances to get paid).

    1. I agree. It’s so much easier to have affiliates in one place rather than all over. I’ll look into if Sears is still there. They do change the companies they’re affiliates with periodically so perhaps Sears is no longer with Shareasale.

  52. Thanks so much for putting this list together! I’ve been considering eventually monetizing my blog, but am still pondering options. This list was super helpful! Cheers, Mary Jane

  54. I have recently joined ShareASale and have to say I am really enjoying their platform. I have already acquired a few opportunities through them!

  56. Great tips. I am actually trying to get into affiliate marketing but am a little leary of it. I don’t want a million ads on my page and my audience is very specific. I don’t see many ads for what I write about so I will continue to research. Cheers!

  57. Thanks for sharing these tips. I’ve just started adding more affiliates beyond Amazon, and its a little tricky finding the right fit for my niche quilling blog. I’ve just starting Commission Junction, so we’ll see how that goes. Thanks for adding the Target link. That could be useful to me, too!

  62. I love ❤️ Target! Will be signing up with them! Great post. A great read and very informative. I signed up for Amazon but am having problems with the placement of the link within my post. Do you want advice?

  63. This is a great list! I’ve been blogging for 4 months now and I had no idea that Target had an affiliate program. I’m going to look into that right away. Thanks for the information and options.

  66. Who knew Target had an affiliate program?! What a great list, I’ll definitely be checking some of these out in the future 😊

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