Best Affiliate Program For Bloggers

Affiliate programs are a type of marketing that sees a publisher earn commission by marketing a business’s products or services. 

In the United States alone, the affiliate marketing industry is worth $8 billion with that number expected to rise in the coming years.

Therefore, now’s a great time to get involved. However, choosing the right affiliate program for your blog can be difficult, as there are so many programs to choose from.

Today, we’re here to make your decision easier. In this article, we’ve listed the best affiliate programs for bloggers. Keep reading if you need help finding the best program for your site.

Product Reviews

In the next section of this article, we’ll review the best affiliate programs the market currently has to offer bloggers.

We’ll show you what each program has to offer, why you might want to sign-up, and we’ll also take a look at any pros and cons you should be aware of.

After that, we’ll show you what to look out for when choosing the right program and answer some frequently asked questions.

1. HostGator

The first affiliate program that makes our list is HostGator. This web host currently runs 8 million websites worldwide. 

Aside from offering web hosting services, HostGator also offers a brilliant affiliate program.

This affiliate program is particularly good for those of you that built your website using HostGator, as you have more reason to promote their services. 

Affiliates can make money using HostGator’s affiliate program by successfully selling their plans. HostGator will pay you generously for every sale you make.

Any payments you are due from the platform will be paid into your bank account or PayPal 2 months and 10 days after the sale of a hosting plan.

When we reviewed the HostGator affiliate program, we were pleased with the cookie duration the program offers

After clicking your link, cookies will have a 60-day life, meaning you can earn commission up to 60 days after the user looks at your blog.

We also found the HostGator affiliate support to be very helpful and attentive.

Pros

• Free to join – You can join the HostGator affiliate program for free.
• Generous commission – HostGator offers affiliates high commission rates.
• Good affiliate support – This affiliate program has a great support system.

Cons

• Long waiting times for payments – You have to wait at least 2 months for any payouts.

2. Adobe

If you’re a blogger, there’s a good chance you use one of Adobe’s programs to make your blog look more attractive.

Using software like Photoshop and Lightroom, you can create stunning visuals for your blog. Don’t worry if you don’t use Adobe though, because you can still join its affiliate program.

Adobe’s affiliate program is a good match for bloggers because it suits creative individuals and businesses.

There is a wide range of excellent advantages that make Adobe one of the best affiliate programs you can join.

For starters, Adobe is a highly reputable company so you shouldn’t have any problems selling its services to your readers. 

Secondly, you have a huge variety of different Adobe programs to promote, giving you more chances to earn a commission.

Finally, Adobe’s affiliate program gives its affiliates a very generous commission rate. 

You can earn commission through the Adobe affiliate program by promoting Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, and Adobe Stock. You’ll earn commissions through monthly and yearly sign-ups.

Pros

• Product variety – Adobe’s affiliate program has a range of services for you to sell.
• High commission rates – Adobe offers affiliates an extremely competitive commission rate.
• Reputable company – Adobe has an excellent reputation.

Cons

• Short cookie duration – Adobe’s cookies only last 30 days.

3. Semrush

The third affiliate program on this list of best affiliate programs for bloggers is Semrush.

For those of you that don’t use Semrush, let us explain what they do. Semrush is a popular SaaS tool that professionals primarily use for keyword research when improving their websites. 

The tool offers high-quality services when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing too.

As far as Semrush’s affiliate program is concerned, this company runs an exclusive partner program that gives bloggers the opportunity to earn regular income by getting other users to sign-up for various Semrush plans.

One of the best things about this affiliate program is that Semrush is flexible with payments.

We were thrilled when we discovered that Semrush let each affiliate set their own payout day. Then, every month, Semrush will automatically send payments on that day.

The only downside to this is that you have to hit a threshold before any payouts are made.

Pros

• Set payment dates – Semrush lets the partner choose their payout date.
• Long cookie duration – Semrush cookies have a 120-day duration.
• Low payout threshold – You only have to earn $50 before Semrush pays out.

Cons

• Minimum payout threshold – Although it’s only small, the minimum payout threshold is still frustrating.

4. Shopify

If you have a blog that focuses heavily on eCommerce, Shopify is probably the best affiliate program on this list for you.

Shopify reached the number one spot in the eCommerce industry by offering high-quality services, a full suite of features, and all the tools businesses need to manage and launch an online store. 

Shopify offers services that help small, medium, and large-sized businesses, no matter the niche.

As a result, the potential target audience you could advertise Shopify to is enormous. With that in mind, you should definitely consider signing up for the Shopify affiliate program.

The Shopify affiliate program is free to join and easy to set up.

The program comes with all the essential affiliate tools you need to share the platform with your audience. The program also has reliable affiliate support in case you need any help. 

We were most impressed with Shopify’s one-time 200% of subscription fee commission rates.

Pros

• Impressive commission – Shopify will pay you a one-off commission fee of 200% for any sale you make.
• Easy to integrate – Sharing Shopify with your audience couldn’t be easier.
• Best in the industry – This affiliate program gives you the chance to work with the best in the business.

Cons

• Must have eCommerce experience – You can only join this program if you have eCommerce experience.

5. GreenGeeks

Next up, we have the GreenGeeks affiliate program.

Whilst this web host is known for providing users with everything they need to create and publish a blog, they are better known for something else.

Interestingly, this web host is best known for being an eco-friendly web hosting option. GreenGeeks brilliantly offsets its own carbon footprint by purchasing renewable energy credits. 

When the year ends, the company calculates how much energy they’ve used and purchases 3 times the amount of wind energy to release it back to the grid.

This makes GreenGeeks a rewarding platform to promote.

In terms of the affiliate program GreenGeeks has to offer, we were pleased with everything the platform has to offer.

Affiliates are paid a decent commission for any sale they make. After 6 sales, this commission doubles, giving you the chance to earn even more. 

Payments are made via PayPal, but affiliates that earn enough can request wire transfers.

Pros

• Excellent customer support – This affiliate program has people on hand to help you.
• Double your commission – With enough sales, GreenGeeks will double your commission rates.
• Eco-friendly – GreenGeeks is an eco-friendly company.

Cons

• Long wait for payouts – There can be a long wait for payouts.

6. Teachable

The final affiliate program on this list is Teachable. Teachable is one of the largest online education platforms in the world.

It allows teachers, lecturers, and others with specific skills and knowledge to host and sell their own courses online. 

Teachable currently has more than 68,000 instructors and 18 million students, so the potential to make money from the affiliate program is huge.

Teachable is one of the largest platforms in this space, so it only makes sense to try the program out. 

The Teachable affiliate program will pay you for any sale that’s made through your affiliate links.

By far the greatest thing about this affiliate program is that affiliates earn a commission for as long as the customer hosts their courses on the platform. 

Of course, this could see you lose commission if the user decides not to use the platform for very long, but it could also see you earn commission every month for years to come from just one customer.

To make things even better, Teachable will pay you a 30% commission fee.

Pros

• Easy to use – The Teachable affiliate program is very easy to set up.
• Earn lifetime commission – You will earn a commission for as long as your customer uses the platform.
• Helpful affiliate tools included – Teachable has neat features that will help you drive sales.

Cons

• 31-day minimum stay – Commission is only paid if the user stays on Teachable for 31 days.

Buyer’s Guide

We’ve shown you the best affiliate programs you have to choose from, so now it’s time to pick the best affiliate program for your blog.

Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple as it sounds. You can’t simply pick the affiliate program you like the sound of most. 

Instead, you have to take a number of key things into consideration to make sure your decision is the right one. To help you make the best decision, we’ve put together a buyer’s guide for you.

In this buyer’s guide, you’ll find all the things you need to think about before making a decision.

Suitability 

Arguably the most important thing you have to think about when choosing an affiliate program to join is your suitability.

It is important to find an affiliate program that allows you to promote something you either believe in or share an interest with.

For example, if you run a blog about running your own website, it makes little sense to join a travel affiliate program. Instead, it makes perfect sense to join a web hosting affiliate program.

If you don’t sign up for an affiliate program that suits your blog and audience, you probably won’t see many sign-ups or purchases.

Commission Rate

This next point might seem a little obvious but it’s still something you need to think about. The best affiliate programs will offer a decent commission rate or a percentage of any sale you make. 

The very best affiliate programs will offer higher commission rates and percentages than other programs. Some will also offer recurring commissions so you can receive a regular income.

We recommend looking for an affiliate program that offers a decent percentage of sales or a high commission rate. Generally speaking, a 30% commission rate or higher is pretty good.

Variety Of Services To Promote

It’s also a good idea to take a closer look at the variety of services you can promote.

An affiliate program that gives you more variety when it comes to the plans and services you can advertise is more likely to be successful.

This is because your audience has more chances of finding something that suits them.

If an affiliate program only has one service to offer, it might only appeal to one type of person.

With this in mind, we recommend choosing a program that has at least two different plans or services to offer.

Cookie Duration

Affiliate programs use cookies to track your sales. However, cookies have a lifespan.

Once that lifespan expires, the affiliate program can no longer track your sales. Therefore, you should opt for an affiliate program that offers a lengthy cookie duration.

That way, you could still earn a commission for a purchase that’s made two or three months after the user clicked on your link.

We would aim for a cookie duration of at least 30 days, although 60+ days is a lot better.

Affiliate Tools

A good affiliate program will provide affiliates with all the tools they need to successfully promote their services and products

A bad affiliate program will offer the bare minimum.

Whilst all the affiliate programs on our list are good when it comes to offering tools for their affiliates, this is something you still need to think about, particularly if you’ve never been an affiliate before.

This could be something as simple as an easy integration tool, affiliate guide, or 24/7 affiliate support.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is A Cookie?

Cookies, also known as HTTP cookies are small blocks of data created by a web server.

These blocks of data are placed on a user’s computer or other devices by the web browser.

Cookies will then track the user’s data, monitor their searches, and compile records of browsing history.

How Do You Join An Affiliate Program?

Joining an affiliate program is actually very easy. More often than not, all you have to do is sign up on the company’s affiliate program page.

You will be asked a range of questions related to your website and you might have to pass a check to see if you meet the requirements.

After that, the company will sign you up and give you an affiliate dashboard.

How Much Can You Make From Affiliate Marketing?

Whilst you’re not guaranteed to make money from affiliate marketing, the potential is huge. In fact, the average salary of an affiliate marketer in the US is just under $60,000. However, this figure can range anywhere between $58,000 and $158,000.

Final Thoughts

Affiliate marketing is a great way to boost the money you make from your blog. By making the most of various affiliate programs, it is even possible to earn a regular income online.

Whilst at first it may seem difficult to find the best affiliate program for your blog, things become a lot easier when you know what’s out there and what to look for. 

In this article, we’ve made the decision process much easier for you. We’ve shown you the best affiliate programs the market currently offers bloggers.

We showed you what each program has to offer and looked at any pros and cons you need to be aware of.

We even provided you with a helpful buyer’s guide that will help you make the right decision when choosing the best program.

All you have to do now is take all the information we’ve shown you and pick out the best affiliate program for your blog.