Affiliate Marketing Explained: A Beginner’s Guide

Affiliate marketing: What it is and how it works

Affiliate marketing: what is it? Learn about its primary forms, how it operates, and tried-and-true strategies for generating commissions with the appropriate programs and content.

The way businesses and creators collaborate is evolving as a result of affiliate marketing. One of the most well-liked passive income strategies for online entrepreneurs is what was once a side gig. Influencers on social media, podcasters, and bloggers provide brands with access to their devoted followings. In exchange, creators receive a percentage on purchases or recommendations, giving them a reliable source of income from their work.

For creators, businesses, and anybody else with an online presence, it is now a fundamental component of internet business strategy. And it keeps getting bigger. According to research, marketers would spend 10.1% more on affiliate agreements in 2026—more than $13 billion—than they did in 2025.

Do you want to launch your own affiliate program? How to become an affiliate marketer and make money by recommending things to your audience is covered in this guide. Here’s how to find and oversee affiliates for your company.

Affiliate marketing: what is it?

As a performance marketing tactic, affiliate marketing pays affiliates commissions for recommending goods and services. Affiliates receive payment from the brand they are promoting when a customer makes a purchase via their special tracking link. Some schemes reward software downloads, free trial signups, or other worthwhile activities, but the majority pay for sales.

The operation of affiliate marketing

In exchange for a commission on each sale, affiliate programs let people or companies to market and sell another company’s goods or services. Joining the majority of affiliate programs is free.

Every time a customer uses the special affiliate link linked to their referral to make a purchase, the affiliate receives a commission.

The general operation of affiliate marketing is as follows:

An affiliate markets a link to their social network, blog followers, and website visitors.
A member of the audience clicks on the link.
The audience member buys something.
The transaction is recorded by the affiliate network.
A commission is paid to the affiliate.

The product, industry, and terms of the affiliate-brand agreement all affect the commission rates for affiliate sales.

An associate may receive 5% of every transaction from low-cost, high-volume products in specialist markets like pet food or skin care. High-priced affiliate programs in industries like software and banking can give affiliates over 20%.

In order to obtain even larger percentages, successful affiliates may bargain with strategic partners for special agreements. Rather of offering a percentage, some affiliate marketing schemes offer a fixed fee per sale or action.

Affiliate marketing and social commerce

Affiliate marketing has changed as a result of social commerce. The majority of platforms provide built-in shopping capabilities that let content producers easily include affiliate links in their work:

Affiliates on Pinterest can earn commissions on sales by tagging products in their pins.
Instagram affiliates can use integrated analytics tools to measure sales and tag products from a partner’s Instagram shop.
TikTok allows brands to collaborate with creators whose accounts are in good standing to market goods sold on TikTok Shop.
Creators with over 10,000 subscribers can tag related products in their videos using YouTube’s product tagging feature.

Users can find products and finish transactions using these connections without ever leaving their favorite social media platform, resulting in a quicker path to purchase. Higher conversion rates and increased commission opportunities are what this means for affiliates.

Nowadays, a lot of companies give social commerce top priority in their affiliate marketing plans, providing unique rewards to creators who increase sales via these linked platforms.

Integrating Affiliate Marketing Across Multiple Platforms

To profit from affiliate marketing, you need an audience that trusts your recommendations. Most content creators do this by integrating multiple channels into their affiliate marketing strategy, such as a blog, a YouTube channel, and a social media account.

What makes a cross-platform affiliate marketing strategy unique is that it reflects modern customer experiences. Imagine someone first discovering your content through a TikTok video. This prompts them to visit your YouTube channel and then read your blog for a detailed review of the affiliate product you mentioned. Each of these channels supports them throughout their shopping journey.

However, consistency is key to building an audience. Regular posts help build your reputation as a trusted content creator. Be careful not to spread your efforts too thin as you expand your affiliate marketing channels. If you’re short on time, consider using AI content creation tools to speed up your workflow.

Three Types of Affiliate Marketing

There are three categories of affiliate marketing: unrelated marketing, related marketing, and affiliate marketing.

1. Unrelated Affiliate Marketing

Unrelated affiliate marketing refers to a marketer who is a general advertiser or promoter. The marketer is not associated with a particular brand, product, industry, or niche and may promote a wide range of affiliate products to multiple audiences.

Unrelated affiliates often use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns to reach customers on social media platforms and search engine results pages.

2. Associated Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting products or services relevant to an existing audience. The affiliate in this category has invested resources to build an audience through blogging, YouTube, TikTok, or other types of content marketing.

Associated affiliates may be influential, making them a reliable source for product recommendations.

3. Co-Affiliate Marketing

Co-Affiliate marketing refers to creating content that features an affiliated product or service. This could be a product review, a detailed explanation, or other content that showcases its benefits.

Many affiliates are known for providing reliable and unbiased product recommendations. Gaining the trust of their audience is a sustainable way for beginners to build a successful affiliate marketing business.

How Affiliate Marketers Make Money (and How Much It’s Worth)

As you explore high-paying affiliate programs in 2025, you’ll encounter a variety of compensation models. Understanding these payment structures helps you choose programs that align with your content strategy and target audience.

Affiliate Marketing Payment Models

Affiliate programs use different incentives to determine when and how much they pay their partners:
Revenue Share (Commission Per Sale): The most common model, where you receive a percentage of each completed purchase. Commissions typically range from 5% to 50%, depending on the industry.
Cost Per Action/Lead (CPA/L): You receive payment when users complete specific actions, such as signing up for a newsletter, filling out a form, or requesting a quote. This model works well for lead generation in service industries.
Cost Per Install (CPI): Popular among app developers and software companies, this model pays for each successful app installation through your referral link.
Cost-per-click (CPC): More common among publishers, CPC programs pay for clicks to their websites from your domain. Subscription commissions: An increasingly popular model, you can receive recurring payments as long as referred customers maintain their subscriptions. This is ideal for software-as-a-service (SaaS) and membership sites.
Hybrid models: Many programs now combine multiple payment types, such as a flat fee per lead plus a percentage of sales. This often provides a more stable income stream for affiliates.
Tiered commissions: Programs reward high-performing affiliates by increasing commission rates upon reaching certain performance levels.

Most affiliate programs still use last-click attribution, meaning the affiliate who made the last click before the purchase receives the full reward. However, multi-touch attribution models are gaining popularity because they identify the different affiliates who influenced the purchase decision.

How much will affiliate marketers earn in 2026?

While entry-level affiliates can earn as little as a few hundred dollars per month with the right strategy, seasoned affiliate marketers earn much more:

Beginners (0-1 year): $500-$2,000 per month
Intermediate (1-3 years): $2,000-$10,000 per month
Experienced (3+ years): $10,000-$50,000 or more per month

According to compensation software company Payscale, the average annual salary for an affiliate marketer is approximately $56,000 as of early 2025, based on more than 8,016 salary profiles. However, this figure does not include top earners who far exceed this average. The highest earners average an annual income of approximately $77,000.

Your potential for profit from affiliate marketing depends on several factors:

Audience size and engagement: While a larger audience typically leads to higher conversion rates, a smaller, more engaged audience can generate significant income.
Niche selection: High-commission industries, such as finance and software, typically offer better profit opportunities than retail and fashion.
Content quality: Detailed reviews, tutorials, and comparison content typically generate higher conversion rates than basic promotions.
Promotion strategy: Multi-channel marketing approaches (combining a website, email list, and social media) typically outperform single-channel strategies.

The most successful affiliate marketers focus on building trust with their audience rather than maximizing short-term commissions. This approach leads to higher conversion rates and more sustainable income over time. Credibility is key.

Diversifying Your Affiliate Marketing Income Streams

Despite the advantages of starting an affiliate marketing business, its drawbacks can make it a risky business model. You’re at the mercy of the affiliate network’s rules.

For example, when Amazon’s affiliate program cut commissions on certain product categories by up to 60%, content creators saw their revenues drop dramatically without warning.

Balance the risks by diversifying your affiliate marketing revenue with other income streams. Common income streams suitable for affiliate marketers include:

Selling Products: Dropshipping and print-on-demand (POD) are popular business models for content creators, as they don’t require warehousing or inventory. Open an online store, connect a dropshipping or print-on-demand partner, and start promoting products to your audience.
Selling Digital Products: Online courses, workshops, and eBooks are great passive income sources for affiliate marketers. Invest in your skills and knowledge, then package them into a digital product you can create once and sell forever.
Sponsored Content: This is similar to organic content on your blog or social media account, but it’s a type of paid advertising where brands pay publishers to promote their products.
User-Generated Content (UGC): If you don’t have a large audience but have a knack for creating great content, sell content creation services. Brands pay for user-generated content—including short videos and product images—that looks like it was created by a customer, so they can repost it on their personal accounts.
Display Ads: Networks like Google AdSense display dynamic ads on your website. Your income per 1,000 views depends on your industry and the location of the majority of your website visitors.

Pros and Cons of Affiliate Marketing

Experts predict that affiliate marketing spending will reach $35 billion globally by 2033. For content creators, it’s a low-cost way to start a business, and almost anyone can try it.

Before diving into the field, consider the pros and cons of affiliate marketing.

Pros of Affiliate Marketing

Ease of Implementation

With affiliate marketing, the primary goal is clear: referring customers to the partner retailer. Affiliates can focus their efforts on marketing and leave the other hard tasks, such as product development and order fulfillment, to the retailer.

“When my business adopted affiliate marketing as its primary source of revenue, finding partners was a breeze,” says Michael Keenan, co-founder of Peak Freelance. “We signed up for a service, discovered trusted brands that resonated with our audience, and added links to them across our blog and email campaigns. Other than selecting the right brands, there was little manual effort on our part.”

Low Investment and Risk

Joining an affiliate marketing program typically costs nothing. Once a niche audience is built, affiliates can start making money by promoting a product without any additional investment. This can lead to (relatively) passive income through affiliate marketing.

Michael adds, “This was a big draw for us at Peak Freelance. Before committing to affiliate marketing, we created a variety of digital products such as brochures and template packs. There was an upfront investment in design and development that cost a few thousand dollars with no guarantee of a sale.

With affiliate marketing, the only investment you make is the time to write or record a product review. A single piece of content can start generating revenue within a week, regardless of the size of your audience.”

Scalability

When affiliate marketing is successful, it can increase sales without the need for additional staff or resources. Affiliates can introduce new products to their audience, negotiate higher commissions, or reinvest profits to expand their reach. Business Insider reported that in 2024, content creators and affiliate marketers contributed 20% of US e-commerce revenue during Cyber Monday, a 7% increase year-over-year.

Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing

It Takes Time

Contrary to some online comments, affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick pyramid scheme. Building an audience and gaining influence takes time and dedication. It can take several years of consistent content creation before you earn a regular income from affiliate marketing.

Limited Control

Affiliates must follow the rules set by the affiliate marketing program. This may include restrictions on how a product can be promoted.

Another limitation of affiliate marketing is its commission-based marketing and revenue model, which means affiliates only earn a small portion of each sale.

If you successfully refer customers to a particular company, you can negotiate better commissions and rewards, as well as access to more impactful marketing content (such as promotions) for your audience.

Dealing with Privacy Regulations

Affiliate marketing relies on cookies to attribute sales to a particular publisher. When a user clicks on a link, a cookie is stored on their device. Any sales generated during the program’s cookie period (such as 30 days) are credited to the affiliate’s account.

However, as industry reports have pointed out, the problem is that data privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), are a major limitation on the market. These laws, along with browsers that block third-party cookies, can complicate tracking and lead to lost commissions.

In response, the industry is shifting toward first-party data, information collected directly and voluntarily from customers, to build more personalized and privacy-compliant campaigns.

Who is affiliate marketing suitable for?

For startups, affiliate marketing is a way to make money with low operating costs. For established creators, it’s an opportunity to generate additional income from their existing audience or through a content portfolio.

Here are four signs that affiliate marketing might be the right choice for you:

1. Reach Your Audience

If you’ve built an engaged following, you may be ideally positioned to leverage affiliate marketing. This could be a large general audience or a smaller community of dedicated hobbyists and enthusiasts.

For example, a health podcast could partner with products that appeal to their audience’s interests, such as vitamin supplements, meditation apps, or luxury mattresses.

Fortunately, you don’t need a large following to get started as an affiliate marketer. Micro-influencers with small but highly engaged communities often achieve better conversion rates because their audience deeply trusts them. A 2025 analysis found that brands are also collaborating with micro-influencers 33% more annually.

2. You’re a Content Skill

If you’re adept at content marketing, navigating platform algorithms, and reaching a large number of users, affiliate marketing may be a suitable business model.

Many affiliate marketers generate referrals by optimizing websites for high search engine rankings. Others are adept at creating viral content for short videos on Instagram or YouTube.

3. You’re a Trusted Expert

If you’re an expert in a niche product, you can leverage your knowledge to achieve success in affiliate marketing. Creating educational content is an effective way to persuade customers to click through to affiliate marketing partners’ sites. Furthermore, in a world where content is increasingly being generated by artificial intelligence, audiences value authentic, direct experiences.

4. You run a newsletter or podcast

Newsletter creators and podcasters have unique opportunities in affiliate marketing. By directly reaching engaged subscribers, these creators can incorporate relevant product recommendations that feel like natural extensions of their content.

The intimate nature of these formats helps build stronger trust with audiences, often leading to higher conversion rates than traditional social media platforms.

How to Start Affiliate Marketing in 4 Steps

Affiliate marketing is a great business opportunity, and you can start without any capital.

Here’s an e-commerce business plan you can follow to start your affiliate marketing venture:

1. Choose a Marketing Channel and Format

The first step to becoming an affiliate marketer is choosing a marketing channel to reach your audience and the type of content you’ll create for that channel.

Popular affiliate marketing channels include:

Web and blogs
Mobile apps
Social media (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok)
Podcasts

Popular content formats include:

Product reviews
“Best of” lists
Selected product recommendations
Product comparisons
Lifestyle content

When choosing a marketing channel and format, consider the platforms you use most and the format you understand best. Starting with a familiar marketing channel can pave the way for producing high-quality content, leading to a more engaged audience.

Regardless of which path you choose, authenticity is key to affiliate marketing. Without a genuine connection with your audience, converting them into affiliate sales can be difficult.

2. Determine Your Niche

When choosing your niche, affiliate marketers typically take one of two paths:

They choose a niche they’re passionate about.
They choose a niche based on audience analysis.

Choosing a niche you have prior knowledge of helps you appear trustworthy and reliable to potential customers. It also helps you evaluate which products and brands to promote.

Let’s say you’ve adopted a dog and started a blog to document your experience as a new pet owner. In this case, it’s wise to choose a niche in pet care. This allows you to promote products relevant to your content and audience.

On the other hand, choosing a niche in affiliate marketing based on audience analysis can lead to discovering less competitive and potentially more profitable niches. This approach can help you establish your presence in untapped sectors before others discover the opportunity.

However, this approach means you’ll be competing with content created by people who are likely more knowledgeable about the topic than you. To succeed, you’ll need to use affiliate marketing tools like social media listening, website analytics, and social media insights to understand your audience’s preferences.

3. Find an Affiliate Program

To generate revenue as an affiliate marketer, the products you promote must be relevant to your audience. Taking this approach correctly improves your credibility and chances of success.

If you’re unsure where to find products or brands to partner with, browse affiliate networks, which host hundreds of programs.

Popular affiliate networks include:

Impact
CJ
ClickBank
FlexOffers
LinkConnector
Awin

Another option is to visit companies’ websites to see if they work with affiliate programs. Many companies offer affiliate programs, such as Shopify’s affiliate program.

A more direct approach is to contact the owner of a product you find attractive and ask if they have an affiliate program. If they don’t, they may be open to arrangements, such as providing a special coupon code to share with your followers.

Remember that affiliate programs have terms of service that you must follow, so always read the terms and conditions. For example, your affiliate link usually has a cookie with a set timeframe, and some programs don’t allow pay-per-click ads that use the product or company name.

4. Choose Your First Product

When considering products or browsing affiliate marketing platforms, the most important criterion is that the products you promote align with your audience or the audience you want to build.

Ask yourself:

Is this product something of value to my target audience?
Does it fit with my area of expertise? My brand?

Also, make sure the product or service you’re promoting is a good fit for the platform you’re using. For example, home decor and clothing may perform well on image-based platforms like Instagram. However, for more complex purchases, such as software, conversion rates may be higher on platforms that allow for more in-depth content, such as blogs or YouTube.

How to Join the Shopify Affiliate Program

The Shopify Affiliate Program is available to educators, influencers, and content creators from all over the world. The Shopify Affiliate Program inspires people to start their entrepreneurial journey with Shopify or shows existing merchants the benefits of moving their business to Shopify.

Joining the Shopify Affiliate Program is free. Once accepted into the program, you’ll earn a commission every time a Shopify merchant completes a free trial, commits to a full-price plan, or refers customers to Shopify POS Pro.

Here’s what you need to know about joining the Shopify Affiliate Program.

Eligibility Criteria for Joining the Shopify Affiliate Program

To qualify for the Shopify Affiliate Program, you must:

Own and manage a website
Have a defined audience
Create original content, such as online courses, articles, and videos
Have experience with Shopify or other e-commerce platforms

As an affiliate, you will also need to follow Shopify’s brand guidelines for proper use of branded assets.

Application Process

To join the Shopify Affiliate Program, please fill out this application form. It takes about five minutes to complete.

As part of the application process, you’ll need to accept Shopify’s contract terms, which include payment amounts for referrals based on location. The terms also outline how you’ll receive payments.

Tell Shopify how you’ll refer merchants, for example, by creating review content, offering courses, or speaking to your existing audience. Then, you can connect your promotional channels to your app. Add your website, social media accounts, podcast, newsletter, or any other ways to reach potential customers.

Unless you’re using Impact (Shopify’s third-party affiliate marketing management platform), you’ll also need to create an account. You can do this through the application form.

Impact

Shopify uses Impact, a third-party affiliate marketing software, to manage its affiliate marketing program. Affiliates can create and manage referral links through Impact.

Within Impact, you’ll find thousands of ready-made referral URLs and creative assets uploaded by Shopify’s design team. They’ve tested each asset to ensure conversions.

You can also attach affiliate links to your assets and add affiliate tracking codes to see which links perform well. Shopify affiliate link tracking cookies have a 30-day lifespan.

Once you submit your application,

Shopify will review your application and notify you of the outcome, typically within three to five days.

If your application is approved, you’ll receive an email confirming your application, along with links to some tools to help you get started.

Check out these help documents for more information about the Shopify affiliate program, including how affiliates get paid and tips for building your affiliate marketing strategy.

Success Strategies for Shopify Affiliate Marketers

Here’s how to maximize your potential earnings as an affiliate marketer on Shopify:

Create your own Shopify store: What better way to showcase Shopify’s capabilities to your audience than by building a store using the e-commerce platform? For example, if you’re boosting your affiliate income with digital products that teach people how to build an online store, you can use Shopify to sell your online course.
Personalize Your Recommendations: Shopify offers a range of products that suit almost all entrepreneurs. Get to know your audience and use AI to highlight the features they’re most likely to use. For example, corporate brands might be interested in point-of-sale software, while new entrepreneurs might need an easy-to-use website builder.
Create Instructional Videos: Sometimes, the best way to generate sales through affiliate marketing is to show, not tell. Show your audience how to use Shopify’s features, using your affiliate links to earn a commission when someone signs up.

Affiliate Marketing Trends for 2026

The affiliate marketing industry is rapidly evolving. Here are the top affiliate marketing trends shaping the industry.

AI and Automation in Affiliate Marketing

AI is radically transforming how affiliate marketers create content, analyze performance, and optimize campaigns.

Here are some common uses of AI in affiliate marketing:

Content Creation: Generative AI tools, such as Shopify Magic, Jasper, and ChatGPT, help you generate written content at scale. This includes product descriptions, blog content, and social media captions to promote affiliate marketing products.
Content Repurposing: Instead of creating new content for each platform, use AI tools to repurpose what you already have. For example, use AI video generators like Descript to turn YouTube videos into blog posts or TikTok Shorts.
Audience Analysis: AI can analyze massive data sets to understand your audience. Use these insights to personalize the customer experience, such as recommendations based on the pages they visited.
Conversion Optimization: Artificial intelligence can analyze massive amounts of performance data to discover patterns and behaviors that humans overlook. Take advantage of these opportunities to improve your affiliate marketing strategies and increase conversions.

Mobile-Focused Affiliate Marketing Strategies

As mobile e-commerce continues to dominate, successful affiliate marketers focus on mobile-optimized content and experiences. This includes fast loading times, easy checkouts, and content formats designed for mobile use.

Affiliates who neglect mobile optimization are seeing lower conversion rates, as consumers increasingly complete purchases on smartphones and tablets rather than desktop computers. According to Statista 2025, smartphones accounted for approximately 80% of visits to retail websites worldwide. These visits generated between 66% and 68% of all online shopping orders.

Video and Short-Form Content

Video content has become a staple for affiliate marketers. Popular short-form video platforms include TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. These formats deliver higher engagement rates and allow for more realistic product demonstrations.

Successful affiliate marketers create “shoppable” video content. With shoppable content, viewers click on the products featured in the video and purchase them directly from within the app, simplifying the purchasing process.

Optimizing Voice Search for Affiliates

As voice-activated devices become more prevalent, forward-thinking affiliate marketers are optimizing their content for voice search.

Optimizing for voice search requires understanding how people speak differently than they write, with longer, more natural language queries becoming increasingly important in the discovery process. This means:

Use conversational keywords in your content, such as “What are the best trail running shoes?” in a list of the best trail running shoes.
Design your website content to capture featured snippets using schema markup.
Optimize for local voice search queries, such as “Best place to buy hiking gear in Denver.”
Add an FAQ section at the bottom of your article to answer “people also ask” questions.

Privacy-Focused Marketing Tactics

Consumers are more concerned about protecting their privacy than ever before. According to the Cisco 2024 Consumer Privacy Survey, two-thirds of respondents reviewed their privacy settings and enabled multi-factor authentication (MFA) in the past 12 months. Some (36%) have exercised their data access rights, while 75% reported they would not purchase from companies they did not trust with their data.

As an affiliate marketer, you need to consider these concerns—not only to strengthen your relationships with your audience, but also to comply with data protection laws.

Here’s what a privacy-focused approach looks like:

Collect First-Party Data: With many website visitors opting out of tracking cookies, first-party data sources are the best way to gain insight into your audience. Use quizzes, site searches, and surveys to learn who your audience is. Analyze the data to promote affiliate products they are most likely to purchase.
Be transparent about disclosing affiliate marketing data: Online shoppers are increasingly wary of recommendations in which the creator has a financial investment. This relates to previous trust and credibility. Address these concerns by explaining how you analyze which products to promote. For example, “I test every product I recommend and only promote it if my audience finds it truly useful.” You can also share stories of how you rejected sponsored posts or affiliate marketing offers that didn’t appeal to your audience.
Ensure data compliance: Most countries now have privacy laws. From the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, your affiliate marketing site must comply with these regulations.

Advanced Attribution Models

Read a blog post, click an affiliate link, purchase a product—if only the customer journey was always this simple.

In reality, online shoppers typically navigate multiple channels in a single purchase decision. They might discover a product on your blog, then compare prices in a marketplace, visit a retailer’s store, and finally complete their transaction on the brand’s website. This makes attribution complicated: How is the affiliate credited for the sale?

Most affiliate programs have shifted from last-click attribution models (where credit is given to the last touchpoint in the sales process) to a multi-pronged marketing attribution model. If you introduce someone to a product but don’t immediately close the sale, you still earn a commission using a multi-pronged attribution model.

Advanced affiliate tracking tools feature advanced attribution models that enable creators to monetize their long-term influence on their audience, rather than simply optimizing for last-click conversions. For example, the “Influence” model (used to power Shopify’s affiliate program) tracks a customer’s purchase across desktop and mobile devices, including multiple channels, to attribute sales to affiliated creators.

As a partner, this means more credit for your influence and, ultimately, more potential for making money. Additionally, knowing how your content fits into the customer lifecycle gives you greater freedom to negotiate better terms based on the impact of the entire conversion funnel.

Examples of Affiliate Programs

Check out the best affiliate programs for 2025 to understand the different payment models and the products and services you can promote.

Shopify

The Shopify Affiliate Program is a community of entrepreneurs, educators, influencers, and creatives who refer customers to Shopify. Joining the program is free—all you have to do is apply.

Once approved, affiliates receive a unique link to share with their audience. Each time someone signs up using this link, the affiliate earns income.

On average, Shopify affiliates earn $58 for each user who signs up for a paid Shopify plan. The earning potential is unlimited and depends entirely on the success of your marketing strategy.

Ezra Firestone, of Smart Marketer, considers the Shopify Affiliate Program one of the most intuitive he’s encountered in over a decade of digital marketing. He says, “Shopify has made it easy for me to promote its products, earn money, and provide value to my community.”

Many Shopify marketers use social media platforms to promote their affiliate links, creating engaging YouTube videos explaining how to use Shopify or short TikTok videos showcasing the successes of Shopify merchants. Others produce in-depth educational content, such as online courses that help entrepreneurs from their first business idea to their first sale and beyond.

Healthish

Healthish, a bottled water company, has used affiliate marketing to build a multi-million dollar brand. It partnered with affiliate partners on Instagram to raise awareness for the launch of its flagship product, the WB-1 Bottle.

Healthish’s affiliate program continues to work with influencer accounts with 100,000 or more followers. The program partners with approximately 300 creators per month to expand content creation, marketing, and sales.

Amazon Associates

The Amazon Associates program is one of the largest affiliate programs in the world, allowing third-party publishers to monetize Amazon’s vast catalog of products. Commissions vary by product category, typically ranging from 1% to 10%.

Thanks to Amazon’s global reach and strong brand reputation, Amazon affiliates often enjoy higher-than-average conversion rates for their promoted links.

Juice Beauty

Juice Beauty is a California-based skincare brand that offers an affiliate program through Rakuten. Commission rates start at 6% on all sales, and partners receive special offers and discounts. Juice Beauty does not charge any order or membership fees to its partners.

EcoFlow

EcoFlow is a brand specializing in smart solar energy solutions. It manufactures products including portable air conditioners and generators. The company works with two different affiliate partners and offers a 5% commission on each sale. Please note that the average order value is $1,000, which translates to a $50 commission for your marketing efforts.

Manduka

Manduka, a yoga brand, offers several referral and affiliate programs for yoga teachers, influencers, and affiliate publishers. The versatility of this affiliate marketing strategy allows Manduka to connect the right partners with a program tailored to their channels or audiences.

Good2Go

Good2Go, a camping food brand, offers an affiliate program with a 10% commission and other benefits. Given its niche market, Good2Go partners with social media influencers in the outdoor living space to launch affiliate marketing campaigns targeting its target audience: campers and backpackers.

Affiliate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these common mistakes that can hinder your affiliate marketing efforts.

Selling More Than Helping

No matter your platform—whether it’s a blog, YouTube channel, or Instagram—your content should aim to help rather than sell.

For example, if you’re promoting a meal subscription service, a blogger might write a detailed review discussing how the service meets specific dietary needs. Or, a YouTube creator might collaborate with an experienced chef to get expert feedback on recipes.

This approach provides real value and builds trust with your audience, increasing the likelihood that they’ll consider purchasing.

Low-Quality Content

It’s essential to align the quality, tone, topics, and presentation style of your content with what’s working in your niche.

Observe the best content in your niche: What formats do they use? What topics do they cover? How do they engage with their audience?

For example, if top tech reviewers on YouTube produce engaging, detailed product demo videos, consider using similar elements to connect and engage with this audience.

This strategy ensures your content meets the expectations and preferences of your target audience, making it easier for you to increase credibility and engagement.

Poor Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Effective SEO isn’t just about keywords; it requires an understanding of platform algorithms and content optimization.

Learn the ins and outs of each platform’s algorithm and design your own SEO checklist to maximize reach and impact. For example:

On YouTube, this might mean focusing on video engagement metrics (such as watch time, likes, and comments) along with appropriate hashtags and descriptions.
For bloggers, SEO includes keywords, as well as a mobile-friendly, fast-loading site.
Instagram influencers should engage with followers through comments and Stories to increase post visibility.

Focus on the desktop experience over the mobile experience.

It’s easy to get carried away with the earning potential of affiliate marketing and fall into bad habits, such as promoting products you don’t really care about and overloading your affiliate site with ads or calls-to-action (CTAs).

You may have landed on a page with too many ads or pop-ups, making it difficult to find or read the content. A poor website experience drives away visitors and leads to lost commissions.

While you may be designing your affiliate website on a desktop computer, don’t neglect increasing mobile traffic. Ensure your site looks and performs just as well on a smartphone by auditing your UX design and mobile SEO:

Your website design should be responsive and automatically adapt to the user’s screen.
Pages should load quickly (preferably within three seconds).
Text should be large and easy to read on small screens.
Call-to-action buttons should be large and easy to use.
Pop-ups shouldn’t be annoying or disruptive to the user experience.

Non-compliance with privacy changes

Ignoring privacy regulations can significantly hamper your ability to earn money from affiliate marketing. It risks your relationship with your audience (which affects their likelihood of purchasing through your affiliate links), and you may face issues with data regulators. For example, fines for non-compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could reach millions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Affiliate Marketing

What is Affiliate Marketing?

In affiliate marketing, registered affiliates earn a commission by promoting a company’s product or service using an affiliate link. The affiliate earns a commission for delivering a specific result to a merchant or advertiser. The reward can be a sale, a lead, a download, a sign-up, or any other valuable behavior. The affiliate’s income can be a percentage or a cash amount for each referral.

How do I start affiliate marketing?

Start affiliate marketing by following these steps:

Define a niche.
Choose your platform.
Research relevant affiliate marketing programs.
Create valuable content.
Build an audience.
Follow FTC guidelines and privacy guidelines.

How do beginners get into affiliate marketing?

Beginners can get started with affiliate marketing by first learning the basics of the strategy. Next, they need to choose a specific area of interest and research the best fit within their chosen niche. Based on their research, affiliate marketers should choose a platform popular with their target audience (such as a blog or social media platform) to share content. After joining relevant affiliate programs, they can create and publish content that includes their affiliate links. To increase website traffic and maximize potential earnings, beginners should focus on search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and email campaigns.

Is affiliate marketing worth it?

The affiliate marketing industry is expected to reach $13 billion by 2026. Affiliate marketing is inexpensive to start and involves low risk compared to other online business models.

What are the best affiliate marketing networks?

The best affiliate marketing networks include:

Affiliate Future
AvantLink
CJ
ClickBank
FlexOffers
LinkConnector
Impact
Awin

What is an example of affiliate marketing?

Shopify offers an affiliate program where affiliates can refer merchants to the platform. Signing up is free. After an affiliate applies and is approved for the affiliate program, they receive a referral link. When a merchant signs up for a paid Shopify plan through the link, the affiliate earns a commission.

Is affiliate marketing legitimate?

Affiliate marketing is a legitimate way to make money online, but the ease of entry means some scammers join in the hope of making a quick buck. Eliminate this exploitation by building a strong relationship with your audience and only promoting products that interest them.

Is affiliate marketing really profitable?

The amount of money you can make from affiliate marketing depends on your niche, the size of your audience, and the products you promote. The average affiliate earns $56,000 per year.

Can you make $100 per day with affiliate marketing?

It is possible to make $100 per day with affiliate marketing. Build a loyal fan base, promote high-quality products, and diversify your content formats to increase your chances of generating significant income through affiliate marketing.