RachelBy now you have probably heard of the Amazon Affiliates Program, but did you know there are affiliate programs other than Amazon that you can participate in? Let’s dig into adding affiliates to your website and making some bank.
Affiliate programs are a great way to monetize your website or blog. By linking a product on an affiliate website, you can earn money from the product if a user purchases the product by clicking the link on your website. This type of marketing tactic is based on the number and timing of sales made by your readers.
How to Get Affiliates on Your Website
You may be surprised at how easy it is to be accepted into affiliate programs. While there are plenty of very selective companies who will winnow out the applicants based on audience size, domain authority and spam levels, there are still plenty that will welcome even the newest empire runner.
But, Rachel, can you tell me how to find affiliates for my website ?
Why yes, yes I can. A great place to start is one of the big affiliate platforms, Commission Junction or ShareASale. Both platforms offer a search function to narrow down the products you would like to be considered for affiliating with. Don’t go overboard with this! You don’t want to end up with a spammy site with hundreds of unrelated product recommendations.
Let’s start small, though. If you want to become an affiliate but are curious about programs other than Amazon, check out these five affiliate program alternatives to Amazon. And stay tuned for a future post providing a mega list of websites with affiliate programs for your empire.
1. Wal-Mart Affiliates Program
Wal-Mart is the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the United States, so becoming a Wal-Mart affiliate can easily help monetize your website. Wal-Mart stores are on nearly every corner, so customers can easily place an order online through your Wal-Mart affiliate link and choose the free ship-to-store option to avoid shipping costs.
The referral period for the Wal-Mart product link is three days. This means when a reader clicks the Wal-Mart affiliate link for the product, they have three days to purchase the item for you to get credit. (This is opposed to the 24-hour referral period for Amazon.)
The Fee Referral Schedule is below:
| Department | Baseline Offer |
| Baby | 4% |
| Beauty | 4% |
| Books | 1% |
| Business & Personal Checks | 18% |
| Clothing | 4% |
| Contact Lenses | 10% |
| Electronics | 1% |
| Gifts & Registry | 4% |
| Health | 4% |
| Home | 4% |
| Jewelry | 4% |
| Movies | 1% |
| Music | 1% |
| Patio & Garden | 4% |
| Photo | 1% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 4% |
| Toys | 4% |
| Video Games | 1% |
| All Others* | 4% |
Commissions are paid monthly and the minimum threshold you must have in your account is $50.00.
2. eBay Partner Network
While eBay has been around the block a time or two, they have remained at the forefront of online shopping, and now they have an affiliate program to join, too!
The eBay Partner Network commission schedule is much different than Wal-Mart or Amazon. Instead of receiving a percentage payout on the sale of the product, you receive a percentage of what eBay makes on the auction fees.
| PROGRAM REVENUE SHARE BY CATEGORY (EFFECTIVE MARCH 1, 2017) |
| PARTS & ACCESSORIES | 70% |
| FASHION | 70% |
| HOME & GARDEN | 60% |
| LIFESTYLE | 60% |
| COLLECTIBLES | 50% |
| ELECTRONICS | 50% |
| BUSINESS & INDUSTRIAL | 50% |
| MEDIA | 50% |
| VEHICLES | 50% |
| ALL OTHER | 50% |
| NEW OR REACTIVATED BUYER BONUS (as % of Baseline Earnings) | +100% |
Commissions are paid every month with a minimum threshold of $10.00 in your earnings account.
3. Target Affiliates Program
If your website covers a fairly common niche, then the Target Affiliates Program is worth looking into. While the Target Affiliates Program is limited on the types of products they offer (think about what you see in the stores), there is typically something you can promote on your website, as long as your website doesn’t focus on a rare niche.
One of the benefits of the Target Affiliates Program is the length of cookies. (Cookies are the length of time the company allows you to make a qualified sale in order to receive a commission. It is also known as the referral period.) While Amazon cookies are 24-hours and Wal-Mart cookies are 3 days, Target cookies are 7 days!
There are some exclusions to the program, too.
The commission fee is found below, as well as a list of the exclusions.
| Monthly Net Orders* | Apparel & Accessories | Home & Outdoor | Baby Gear & Furniture | Health & Beauty |
| 0 | 10 | 5.00% | 5.00% | 3.00% | 1.00% |
| 11 | 50 | 6.00% | 6.00% | 3.50% | 1.00% |
| 51 | 300 | 6.50% | 6.50% | 3.75% | 1.00% |
| 301 | 1,000 | 7.00% | 7.00% | 4.00% | 1.00% |
| 1,001 | 2,000 | 7.25% | 7.25% | 4.25% | 1.00% |
| 2,001 | 4,000 | 7.50% | 7.50% | 4.50% | 1.00% |
| 4,001 | 10,000 | 7.75% | 7.75% | 4.75% | 1.00% |
| 10,001+ | 8.00% | 8.00% | 5.00% | 1.00% |
Excluded: Grocery, household commodities and essentials, baby care items (diapers, wipes, food, and toiletries), pets, electronics, toys, sporting goods, movies, video games and consoles, Target Pharmacy and OTC, Target Photo, Target Optical, Target Café, prepaid and gift cards, music, books, SweetJOJO, contract mobile
Commissions are paid at the end of every month and applied to your account.
4. ClickBank Affiliates Program
ClickBank offers products in just about every niche you can think of.
Once you find a product you want to promote, you will create a custom link to post to your website or blog using HopLinks. This link will connect the customer to the product vendor’s website, and the cookies for your link lasts for 60 days.
How much and how often you get paid is determined by the pay schedule you set up. You can choose weekly or bi-weekly payments, and the method of getting paid will default as a paper check until you change your preference. The minimum amount you must have in your account to be paid is $10.00, but you can increase this amount at anytime.
The commissions schedule is different than other affiliates because the commission rate is set by the vendor of the product you are promoting. This means you can earn anywhere from 1% to 75%, so it is important to know your vendor’s commission schedule before you decide to promote their product.
5. Specialized Niche Affiliates
We wanted to include this section for those who specialize in a particular niche. There are many companies you may not realize that offer affiliate programs, and we feel they are worth mentioning.
Healthy Living Niche
- Bodybuilding.com
- GNC
- Fitbit
- Garmin
- Nike
- Under Armour
Sports and Outdoors Niche
- Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s
- Camping World
- YETI
- Eastbay
- Adidas
Electronics/Gadgets/Software Niche
- Microsoft
- Samsung
- Belkin
- H & R Block
- TigerDirect
Share the Affiliate Love
Affiliate programs are a great way to monetize your blog or website, and you aren’t limited to the Amazon Associates Program. You can become an affiliate for a broad range of products through ClickBank, or you can be an affiliate of a company that relates to your website niche.
Know your audience and associate with affiliate networks and marketing programs that make sense for you and your site. Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn passive income if you develop and market your brand appropriately.