Best Affiliate Programs For Beginners – Start Affiliate Marketing Free!

How To Get Started With The 3 Best Affiliate Programs For New Bloggers

High paying affiliate marketing programs are a great way to monetize your blog – even from day 1! Unlike adding ads to your site or writing sponsored content, you can typically join and get started with affiliate marketing programs without needing huge traffic to your site. But which affiliate marketing programs are the best ones to start with if you have a new blog?

The options can be overwhelming.

The details in this post on the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners include affiliate program info on 3 of the best networks to get started with. All 3 are very easy to join, have an EXTENSIVE variety of product options to link to, and are not difficult to learn how to use. If you’ve never used affiliate text links in your blog posts or are just getting started with them, these networks can help you to gain familiarity and begin to make money even on a small site.

(This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through one of my links I make a commission on your purchase – at no additional expense to you! Read my full disclosure here.)

Note: If you are already signed up with affiliate programs and have links in your blog posts but are having trouble earning with them then I HIGHLY recommend the affiliate marketing training Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers by one of my favorite bloggers, Carly Campbell. This course is NOT about signing up for programs and learning how to put links into your posts – for that keep reading below! However, if you are already familiar with how to join programs and use their links but want to dig further into implementing affiliate marketing on your blog then I wholeheartedly recommend her course! I learned A LOT from it myself.

If you are a total beginner trying to figure out where to get started with all of the affiliate marketing tools available, then below are the programs that I recommend most.

Best Affiliate Programs For New Bloggers

I recommend each of the below options for beginners to get started with affiliate marketing because they offer a wide range of product options, have very low entry barriers to work with them, and cost little to nothing to join. I’ve summarized each one and provided some of the primary pros and cons to help you decide if it’s a good fit for your blog.

1. Amazon Associates

Amazon Associates is a great program for beginners to get started with because nearly EVERYONE has heard of Amazon! The company has high credibility, so if readers like the sound of the product you link to in your post they are likely to click through knowing that it is provided by Amazon. Getting started with affiliate marketing using Amazon’s program also allows you to link to a huge variety of products which makes it easy to find one to suit your post’s content. (Amazon Associates can link to almost any Amazon products with the exception of some very high ticket items.)

PROS:

Highly credible and recognized company
Huge variety of product options
Easy to use interface
Easy text or image link creation

CONS:

Low commission rates (most of the time)
Need to have 3 sales in a 3 month period to maintain your acceptance in the program
Cannot use links or images in emails or on social media platforms (must link email or social media content to a blog post containing the Amazon link)

You can sign up for Amazon’s affiliate program here. It’s completely free to join.

2. ShareASale

ShareASale is an affiliate network that connects publishers (or bloggers) with companies that want to have their products promoted. For example, if you join ShareASale you can then promote products from other individual companies such as Sears PartsDirect, Mixbook Photo Co., Claire’s, Crest White Smile, and more. ShareASale has merchant partner options in all kinds of categories including home and garden, fashion, green, business, kids and family, health, sports and rec, and more. When you join ShareASale you can apply for individual affiliate programs with the available companies. If they approve you, you can use the ShareASale site to access the companies’ affiliate links and track your clicks and earnings.

If you plan to sign up with ShareASale’s affiliate network, I recommend searching their site first to make sure there is at least one company that you want to promote so it’s worth your time and effort.

PROS:

Large variety of product options
Easy acceptance into the network
Sometimes higher commission percentages than Amazon (depending on individual company terms)

CONS:

More niche specific companies included
More difficult links to learn how to place in your posts
Often less brand recognition from your readers
Less ease of order fulfillment than Amazon for many readers

You can join ShareASale’s affiliate network here. Just click on “Affiliate Sign Up.” It is also completely free to join.

3. Awin

Like ShareASale, Awin is an affiliate network that connects publishers (or bloggers) with companies that want you to promote their products. Once you join Awin you then have to apply individually with each company in their database if you want to represent them as an affiliate. Awin has a large variety of partner merchants in many categories just like ShareASale. The Awin network includes TripAdvisor, Michael Kors, and Etsy to name a few. Awin does require a $5.00 deposit fee when you join the network that is returned after you generate $5.00 worth of commission from one of the partner merchants.

Like ShareASale, I recommend searching Awin’s site before joining the network to make sure that there is at least one company listed that you would like to be an affiliate for.

PROS:

Access to many different companies/products
Easy acceptance into the program
Sometimes higher paying commission than Amazon (depending on the the company)
Easy link generator tool to create links for your posts

CONS:

$5.00 fee for joining the network (returned after $5.00 commission earned)
More niche specific companies included
Often less brand recognition from your readers
Less ease of order fulfillment than Amazon for many readers

You can join Awin’s affiliate network here. Just click on “Sign Up” in the upper right-hand corner. It does cost a $5.00 joining fee that is returnable after earning $5.00 in commissions.

Of course these are just a few of the options out there to use for affiliate marketing – the options are extensive! If there is a company that you specifically love and it would be a great fit for your blog then I recommend searching the company’s website or contacting them to find out if they have their own affiliate program. Many other bloggers also often have affiliate programs for their courses, ebooks, or other resources. You can also just do a Google search for affiliate programs in specific niches and often find some really good options.

If you aren’t yet monetizing your blog with affiliate links it is an easy and PASSIVE way to earn income from your site. The above programs are a great place to start.

Note: Just remember to make sure you place a disclosure in your posts above any affiliate links to maintain legal requirements. (You can see my disclosure at the top of this post!) Be sure to also read through the terms for each affiliate program or network since some of them also have specific legal disclosures etc. that need to be placed on your site.