Almost always, affiliate programs are
the most profitable way to monetize
a site. While PPC
ads can bring you money, it's affiliate ads that can bring you
real money. However, it matters a lot which affiliate networks you
choose. There are thousands of affiliate networks but needless to
say, not all of them are equal. If you pick a bad affiliate network,
you are simply wasting your time. This is why we compiled a list of
the best affiliate programs for you to start with.
1 Hotel Tonight
HotelTonight is hands down the best service for a last minute traveler.Every day at noon the HotelTonight app (available for iPhone & Android) shows a list of discounted quality hotels for growing list of cities. Referee gets $25 of free hotel credit, Referrer also gets $25 of free hotel credit.
2 Commission Junction
Commission
Junction is one of the first affiliate networks, but it still is
going more than well. It has a huge selection of offers, including
numerous exclusive offers you won't find anywhere else. Most of the
brands that have an affiliate program can be found on CJ but the
problem is that for popular brands you need to be approved by the
advertiser. Very often when the advertiser isn't accepting new
affiliates, you get rejected even if your site and promotion skills
are out of this world but still there are many other brands to try on
CJ. The commission rates there aren't the highest in the industry but
still it is possible to find products that pay 50% or more in
commissions.
3 ShareASale
ShareASale
is another huge affiliate network with offers in many niches. It has
both leads, sales, and even clicks, so the choice is really
overwhelming. As a whole, the commissions there are generous, though
this certainly depends on the advertiser and the product. SAS has a
huge pool of advertisers and thousands of products to choose from.
The downside is that many sites are rejected, so if your site isn't a
good one, it is quite possible you won't be admitted at all.
4 Amazon
Amazon
is another very well known affiliate network. In terms of choice of
offers it beats every other network - you are free to promote almost
any product sold on Amazon. The commissions aren't very generous but
you can use it to monetize almost any niche. Amazon is one of the
best choices for books and CDs but it also converts well for health
products, household appliances and other stuff, food, etc.
5 eBay
EBay
is also a great choice for almost any niche, though its selection of
offers isn't as huge as Amazon's. Admission to the program itself
could be a problem because they have many affiliates and are very
picky when new affiliates want to join. In terms of commissions, this
isn't the highest paying network but if you can reach good sales
volumes, you can make decent money with it.
6 ClickBank
Clickbank
is the best choice for eBooks and other digital products. Its user
interface and logic isn't the best you can find and very often you
will miss great products simply because you can't find them but as a
whole, this is one of the best networks with really generous
commissions. Due to their payment terms, Clickbank is kind of hard
for a beginner because if you don't make sales you are charged for
this but nevertheless, it is still very worthy, especially if you
have lots of traffic to your site and are serious in your affiliate
efforts.
7 Max Bounty
Max
Bounty doesn't have the thousands of offers the bigger networks
have but it is a really good network. It has many leads and many
exclusive offers. It also has some of the easiest type of offers ‐
email submits, which don't pay much but convert much more easily than
sales and other types of leads. Many offers allow search traffic, so
you can start promoting them right away, even without the need to
create a landing page for them.
8 Peer Fly
Peer
Fly is similar to Max Bounty but they offer more products to
promote. They also have many leads and many exclusive offers, as well
as a good selection of email submits, so if you are looking for some
easy affiliate products to start with, give it a try.
9 LinkShare
LinkShare
is somehow similar to CJ and Amazon because they offer products in
many niches, though the selection is certainly not that huge. One of
the best things about them is that if you are from the US, the $1
payout makes it easy to get your money soon, rather than have to wait
till you reach $100, as the threshold for most other networks is. One
of the biggest advertisers here is Buy.com, where you can find
products in many niches. Their commissions are kind of low but still
there are products that pay 50% or more. The offers are mainly sales
- leads, if any, are very rare, so if you are looking for leads, this
isn't you network.
10 Never Blue Ads
Compared to the others, Never
Blue Ads isn't the best network but if you didn't have success
with the other networks on the list, give them a try. They are picky
about the affiliates they accept but it isn't that difficult to join
them. They do have exclusive offers, so it won't hurt, if you try
them.
11 PepperJam
PepperJam
is also a good affiliate network, though it isn't as big as the
others on the list. It has good retail offers, so if you are looking
for an Amazon-like site to promote, it is possible to find it on
PepperJam.
12 More Niche
More
Niche is last on the list not because it is worse than the others
but because it is a niche network that won't be of interest to the
majority of Web masters, who don't have sites in the niches it
covers. More Niche is great for weight loss, health and beauty,
especially if you have UK traffic because all its advertisers are in
these niches and there are many top UK brands. Of course, you can
sell these products to a global audience but for UK they are the best
fit. Their commissions are very generous and they offer tons of
affiliate materials, not only the standard banners and text ads.
There is a lot of money in affiliate
ads. It is true that while you learn the ropes you might be making
next to nothing but this isn't a reason to give up. If you have good,
targeted traffic, affiliate offers are your best bet. Join the
networks on the list, find suitable offers, start promoting them, and
chances are you will make decent money with this.