Make Money Online, With These Top 5 Affiliate Networks.

Previously I wrote an article here, in which I talked about these affiliate marketing strategies for a small business. And in that particular post I provided you with information, and ideas that you can choose to follow or implement in your business to boost your online income generation.

You can take your time to read it, then try to apply those strategies to achieve success in your small enterprise.

Although note that, its not the main focus of our discussion here for today. I am just giving you a hint about it, because I want to guide you up to make up your mind and for your informed decision in-case you finally decide to create or sign-up for an affiliate program account and use that channel to monetize your blog or make money online.

NB: Disclosure, "this post contains affiliate materials, contents, banners and/or links; and if you click on any of them we will earn commissions from your actions/activities. But note that revenue earning is not the main aim of this post in any way whatsoever. Opinions expressed here are our own and DOES NOT imply or represent those of any third-party and their associates in this website".

So that aside, lets begin.

I will go straight away to let you know that there are several quality affiliate marketing networks (marketplaces), which to me I think are the best to join. So I specifically chose to write about them today.

NB: Even though they are perfect for making money online, but this is just a guide to give you an overview of what they entail and how they operate. And apart from that you also have to know that there are some vetting steps that these network's program administrators must put you through to assess your site's viability into their affiliate programs.

And one of them is the;

• Qualifications checks.

So, regarding that, I will just mention a few of the background checks (maybe one or two major ones) that you have to be put through for you to qualify and start making money from those programs.

What are the qualifications to join these affiliate marketplaces?  As I have just mentioned above you will be screened first for you to join the program(s). So the following are some of the conditions that must have to be met. While others are just an advantage that if you meet them then they will be a direct boost to enable you or your site to be approved even faster and help you make money online easily.

a) Own a website or blog.

Every would be affiliate marketer needs to have or (I would say MUST have) in other words own a blog/website. Or you must be an administrator/owner of the website that applied to participate in a particular affiliate program. The reason for this is that you must have access or authority to be able to edit the site's HTML/source codes to enable affiliate links to be added for Ads.



Owning a site or having access to its source codes is a standard (and an unwritten) pre-qualification criteria that is considered in almost all the networks out there, that every potential affiliate marketer has to meet before he can be accepted into any network.  That rule has to be strictly followed in both the marketplaces that I have listed here and all the others that I have not mentioned anywhere in this post.

b) Active and frequent site traffic.

This is another important area that a potential affiliate or publisher has to consider before applying in a any program. It is so because the logic behind it is that, affiliate marketing depends squarely on adequate traffic flow into your website per month - both organic and paid traffic. A good number of audience to start with should be around 6500 frequent site visitors every month - as a new website.

Which would translate to about 30days ÷ 6500 visitors = 216, and that's a good estimate to start with as a newbie site into the market. If you can achieve a daily traffic of 216 site-users, then I think you are at-least assured of some monthly revenue.

So the more traffic your site attracts, the higher its potential of generating income. But that also is only possible through a number of things; like your campaign strategies, marketing promotion methods and most importantly your calls to action, that will direct your blog audience to perform certain actions.

Actions which will eventually increase number of results like; page views/impressions, Ad clicks, email-marketing sign up actions from your site visitors, sale of your product or promotions etc. All of it is geared towards leading customers to your merchant's (program) sales page for a commission.

So, make up your mind and choose wisely from the affiliate marketing networks that I have listed below, for you to choose from, and try them up to make money online.

The following are the 5 best affiliate marketing networks, and I will let you know why - based on their pros and cons.

1). Amazon Associates/Affiliates.

This is one of the most widely recognized affiliate networks out there, with quite a huge list of merchants and products for you to choose from for your marketing campaigns. So, once you join them by signing up for free as one of their affiliates, you go through an approval process that takes up-to 1 day or less, depending on your sites health and SEO etc.

And once you are accepted/approved as one of the affiliates, and you are given an account, you are at liberty to choose from a wide list of merchants to partner with or select from thousands of products that range from cosmetics to toys, health care, fitness items, tech products, SEO or SEM softwares, mobile apps etc.

It doesn't matter which niche your blog is in or what kind of audience you target. You will get a product to promote, that best fits your content's context, niche and market campaign target groups.

Their commission rates.

With commission rates ranging from (1% - 10%) depending on the type of products/services that you promote for a successful lead conversion or sale from your referrals.

It offers up-to a period of 60 days for benefits payment, if the customer(s) led from your site does the actual purchase of any product that you promote from Amazon affiliate programs landing (sales) page, up to the end of that period. If they (clients/customers) do repeat buying then you get paid even more.

NB: Look.., you don't have to worry about fraud. Don't be afraid that you won't be paid honestly, NO. They (Amazon Associates) have cookies that are planted onto the customer's browser/computer to track their (referrals) real purchase practices or history. With strict adherence and consideration of cookie policies, be assured of fairness.

So, there is no fraud at all, you earn what you deserve based on the products packages and your ultimate promotion efforts.

Payment schedules and modes.

Amazon Associates cash transfer or payment methods are effected (after you reach a minimum commission threshold of $10) via the following methods;

• Direct deposit; also known as EFT(Electronic Funds Transfer), you get paid direct into your bank account. You only provide Amazon with your bank details for that to be done when payment is due.
• Check payment; you will receive a check, once you reach a payment threshold of at-least $10 if you are within USA, with a processing fees of $15. NB: But check processing for affiliates based internationally (i.e., outside USA) is free. Although you have to reach at-least $100 to get check payment.
• Gift certificate; you can also receive payments through a gift card which you can then redeem at any account. You are not charged any processing fees here too.

Commission payment schedules/due dates.

Payments are made to the affiliates after the end of every 60 days. What this means is that, for instance you achieve your minimum target threshold of $10 by the end of January 2019, then that means you get paid at the end of March 2019.

NB: But the remittance is done at the end month i.e. (after 60 days), NOT in the middle/in the course of it.

The Pros.

• Free ($15 processing fee waiver) check processing for Affiliates based outside USA.
• Direct commission/fees deposit into your bank account. Fewer delays than other two methods.
• You can set the threshold for your check payments, but minimum is $100 (Go to Account Settings >> Change Payment Method >> Select Check, then set the threshold amount you want).
• Simple user interface, that adds to better user experience (UX).
• Returns of goods is quick and no delays on customer refunds, in cases of order cancellation.
• There is a wide range of products to market and also to buy, that means there is a great demand and supply.
• Effective support to your affiliate leads, to finalize a purchase from Amazon. So the process is very quick to  seal a deal faster.

NB: Amazon being an international brand and a well renowned affiliate network, it recently embraced online funds remittance, and they partnered with one of the most preferred cash transfer platforms worldwide i.e., Payoneer. Where Associates who are outside USA can use to receive and withdraw their money after direct deposit via EFT has been effected.

The Cons.

• Low commission rates, at between (1% - 10%), which means your success here depends on the number of your leads, product choice and sales volume.
• You can't change the direct deposit and Gift certificate payment modes.
• If you don't meet your own set threshold then it will be carried forward to the next (60 days) payment due date.
• Longer commission payment schedule (60 day period) to most Associates.
• Your leads to Amazon has a 24 hour window to make a purchase. If they don't buy within that time after it lapses, then it means you don't earn any commission.

So you can sign up with Amazon Associates Affiliates and make money online.

2). ShareASale.

It's actually one of my favorites, because of the manner at which they are efficient. This is because, once you meet your revenue/commission pay-out minimum of $50 then you are paid as quickly as your patience can handle.

They don't have delays in payment of your dues, and they use or accept the following cash transfer services or payment methods to wire/pay you up your commission.

Payment methods.

With ShareAsale you get paid through through the these methods below;

• Direct deposit.
• Check payment.
• PayPal among other international payment platforms.

 The Pros.

• Regular monthly revenue payment - every 20th; once you reach $50 in your account.
• They offer a combination of pay per sale and pay per leads.
• Minimum amount of commission to receive is $50, which is attainable.
• Effective affiliate support.
• They provide you with tools and ability to customize your affiliate ads to suit and aid your promotion needs.

The Cons.

• Strict conditions for nonperforming affiliate accounts i.e., if your account balance is less than $25 then you are penalized where $25 is deducted till it's shut down.
• Closure of inactive affiliate accounts (if its not operated for the last 6months).

You can try this affiliate network and see if it fits your affiliate marketing needs.

3). CJ Affiliate by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction).

Since 1998, its been on the market for quite a longtime, just like the others mentioned in this post. So here you get paid based on your strategies and efforts that you make in letting your visitors to perform an action. What it means is that your site visitors who turn into merchant leads has to signup, or buy a product/service for you to earn a commission.

There are great numbers of products in this marketplace, in-fact in thousands for you to select. I don't think you will miss even one product of your liking to promote. To find affiliates you just need to click on the Advertiser link to review and apply for that program.

Commission Payment Methods, Threshold and Schedule.

With CJ, they have set a minimum publisher commission target for the affiliates to reach before they can get paid, which is set at $50. So you have to achieve that target to be paid.

Publishers are paid through the following methods;

• Via Check.
• Direct deposit.
• Via Payoneer (a third party payment platform).

Now let's look at their pros and cons as you approach making up your mind whether CJ is your affiliate network of choice or not. So, here are the pros and cons.

The Pros.

• As you can see above they pay you up through the methods indicated above and with a minimum of $50 commission payout threshold, which is easily achievable.
• Not strict with specific traffic qualification number for you to apply as an affiliate. Though you need at least a stable traffic flow into your website.
• Advantage of being one of the largest affiliate networks. So it has the benefit of a wide range of merchants and programs to choose from.
• Advantage of integrated performance tracking tools.

The Cons.

• Poor affiliate communication support program.
• Indefinite affiliate account deactivation without reasonable grounds and/or explanations.
• There is an individual application into each affiliate program, as opposed to other networks.
• Customer service or support not that quite efficient.
• Direct deposit of affiliate commissions into your account, which is a bit efficient though, and cheap compared to check payment method. Although that payment method is only applicable and/or accessible in some countries, not all.

That's all I had for you about CJ Affiliate by Conversant. So, you can sign up to be one of their publishers and start earning commission, once you review and understand their terms of use and you are fully satisfied about them.

4). Shopify.

This an e-Commerce/Online store builder and a Marketplace all in one. For 13 years now, it's been on the market for such a reasonably longtime. And just like Amazon, they has a wide range of affiliate programs with so many merchants and product/service(s); ranging from IT to fitness products, finance, health, nutrition among so many others for your choice. But what you choose here to market also depends on your niche.

Tip: Market products that fall within your niche, to bring an impact to the user-experience and relevance.

So you can just sign up, select a program to join, then pick the product/service(s) of your choice and you are good to go with your promotion. If you prefer to go the product review way; the blog or even direct promotion way, that's up-to you.

The most important thing here is your marketing strategy, to convince and bring in more customers for a purchase of what you are marketing, through the Shopify's affiliate program that you are approved on. Depending on Shopify's plans you can get paid an average of $58 for every user that your site lead to the Shopify sales/landing page, to sign up for a paid plan through your special affiliate link. And more interesting and enticing in this program is that you gain a further $2000 pay for each of your Plus referrals.

Payment (methods) schedule.

With Shopify, as an e-commerce marketplace, they will pay you up your commission/fee every end of 60 days, as long as your traffic leads/customers make purchases (and your revenue accrues to a certain minimum limit) which propels you up to reach the stipulated cash out threshold of $50.

Through this platform, you will be paid via;

• PayPal.
• Shopify payment.
• Skrill.

Among all payment methods. So select the most effective and efficient payment mode or system that suits your business, through which you will be receiving your deserving income.

Affiliate support plan.

There is a support plan for you as an affiliate, you can get a special Shopify Partner support 24/7 via phone, e-mail or live chat. In this plan you get a dedicated Affiliate Manager to guide you up, an access to partner education, special discounts on tools to help you grow your business.





So, you don't have to worry. You will get necessary support in-case you are stuck at any stage of your marketing efforts, and content creation for your audience in terms of video tutorials, webinars, several business metric tools among other important guidance on this platform.

The Pros.

• You get a two weeks i.e., (14 days) free trial, to test it up and understand it first before you set your store up and pay any amount, with its paid plans.
• Great premium blog/website themes, plug-ins and functionalities.
• Offers discount codes for its customers through affiliates special links.
• Simple and easy to navigate user-interface.
• Integrated with other social media platforms like Facebook and also marketplaces like Amazon, eBay etc.
• Dedicated user support.
• Generates performance reports to help you up with better strategies on your marketing campaigns and product promotion efforts.

The Cons.

• It doesn't provide free account unlike other networks or platforms.
• Setting up an online or e-commerce store is quite expensive - based on its paid plans like;

Shopify Lite $9/m,
Shopify Basic $29/m,
Shopify $79/m,
Shopify Advanced $299/m and Shopify Plus $2000/m; especially to the new-comers on budget and trying up on blogging/online business on marketplaces.

• You need to have a bit of coding knowledge to be able to tweak some of its inbuilt functionalities to suit your needs.
• Payment methods/structure only suit other countries e.g USA, EU etc but not worldwide. So you pay extra fees for that service.

If you like it, based on whichever plan you prefer and/or pros and cons above, then you can sign up and setup an online store/shop with them.

5). ClickBank.

ClickBank is one among the most popular and world renowned affiliate marketplaces, of all times. So, here we have ClickBank, which has the affiliate sign up process that is quite simple and straight forward. You will need to provide your Personal, banking and Account details as required.

In those stages that you go through, you will be required to complete the Tax information for your account to be fully set up, verified and activated before you can start receiving commission payments of your marketing efforts from ClickBank into your account.

You can just follow the step by step directions to create your account for free. Once you are done with your registration you will just look around the site for the best affiliate products that interests you, then add a link provided and when your site visitors click on them then you earn a commission.

Commission payment mode.

Your commission earnings will be sent to you through the following methods;

• Check payment.
• Direct deposit.

But note that the two above methods can only be relevant to affiliates whose countries are accepted in the ClickBanks list of countries. Although you can access your commission via a third party cash transfer agents like payoneer after you register and open a US bank account through them.

So if it suits you, but and most importantly, if your country is accepted with ClickBank, then go ahead and start making money through your product promotion strategies with ClickBank.

The Pros.

• Wide range of product/services to promote.
• It has higher commission rates of up-to 75% depending on thousands of product or services that you can choose from to market.
• Timely commission payment.
• Earning benefit of recurring subscription from customer purchases.
• Product purchase and tracking system.
• You can set how often you get paid, whether weekly, monthly or otherwise.
• Affiliates benefit of advanced Analytics and reporting to guide you up.

The Cons.

• Its not open to some countries; that means if your country does not appear on the drop down bar list of countries, then you are not eligible to join their affiliate programs. Quite unfortunate.
• You have to make a sale via your affiliate link for you to earn a commission.
• You compete with so many other affiliates in a program. Among other considerations.

So try ClickBank and find out if it fits your goals.

Finally, by selecting the above 5 (five) affiliate marketing networks it doesn't mean that the rest are useless, no. I have done that because of their efficient processes, both customer and affiliate support plans and a very wide range of products to promote.

Disclaimer: I have done a lot of research, tested and even used the above affiliate networks, but before joining fully, do your due diligence and understand them better. But most important here is for you to carefully read, review and accept all the terms of service of whichever network that you choose to join.

Conclusion.

I prefer the above networks since I have done my research and I know that they have some of the best service packages and/or leads conversion offers that they provide to their affiliates (including yourself and I) once they join their programs. So, if you haven't joined any, some or even all of the above networks; or just any other affiliate network that you may know out there, then you don't know that you are missing a lot of benefits. Affiliate marketing is the way to go in making money online, as long as you know the most appropriate affiliate marketing niche that you want to target within your industry.

Well, I think I am done. But hey.., I might have forgotten others which may be among the top industry affiliate-market authorities or leaders. If so, then let me know in the comments below.

Thanks a lot for taking your time to read this post, I do appreciate it.

My last request before you go, don't forget to share this post with your friends and colleagues - far and wide - if it helped answer your questions or solved any of your problems.

Goodbye for now.