3 Super Easy Ways to Find Affiliate Programs

How to Find the Best Affiliate Programs

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Ready to find the best affiliate programs for your blog?

Maybe you've been hesitant to try affiliate marketing because you thought in order to be successful online, you have to create and sell your own products.

Well, I'm a huge proponent of diversifying your income. Why?

Because as an entrepreneur, putting all your eggs in one basket (or all your income potential in one source) is a recipe for disaster!

If that one income source were to suddenly disappear, your financial situation could take a turn for the worse overnight.

I currently make $500-$1000 per month using affiliate marketing.

It's a form of passive income that I too stayed away from for a long time because I thought I needed to create my own products in order to make money online.

But I now realize that in my niche, it's important for me to share helpful resources with other creative entrepreneurs who are trying to figure out a path for their online biz.

So, sharing affiliate products has become a way for me to help them learn about the tools they need while getting paid to promote a product that I love and use.

If you are brand new to affiliate marketing, make sure you check out my step by step guide on how to start affiliate marketing as a beginner.

In this post,  I'm going to help you do a little risk management by showing you how to begin diversifying your income by finding affiliate products/services to promote.

A Brief Overview

In case you are not familiar with the terminology, affiliate products/services are offerings by other companies or business owners that you promote to your own audience in order to earn a commission on the sale.

You can promote these products and services to your email list, to your Facebook followers, Instagram or Pinterest followers, and so on.

Joining affiliate programs can be a really great option for someone who does not yet have their own product to promote.

It’s a way to generate immediate income without having to wait the weeks or months that it may take you to create your own product to sell.

As a part of my business model, I create and sell information products like ebooks and online courses, rather than physical products.

But another source of income for me is from selling affiliate products. Here's the secret…

Promote Affiliate Products You Already Love!

In my opinion, this is key!

I choose to only join affiliate programs for products and services that I have used myself…and love.

Occasionally, I will promote affiliate products that I have not used, but that are from a brand that I follow and trust.

But again, 99% of the time, anything I promote with affiliate links I will have already tried myself.

It’s important for me to protect my readers and my integrity, so I keep this as my general rule of thumb.

If I have personal experience with the product, I can better serve my audience, showing you how I have personally used the particular product and how it can help you and your business.

I encourage you to consider doing the same as you aim to add affiliate products as an income stream.

There are several different ways to go about finding affiliate programs to monetize your blog. Here are the 3 ways I most frequently use.

Related Article: 5 Reasons Affiliate Marketing for Mom Bloggers is Awesome

How to Find Affiliate Programs

Ready to monetize your blog? Selling affiliate products is a great option with less hassle! Here are 3 ways to find affiliate programs and start earning.

#1 – Join Affiliate Networks

There are many different online affiliate marketplaces/networks that offer access to a wide variety of affiliate programs from different companies.

You can pretty much become an affiliate for anything you can think of these days!

Below are a few different affiliate networks that you can look into. I have personal experience with the ones listed in blue!

Awin

Clickbank

Ultimate Bundles

Shareasale (owned by Awin)

CJ Affiliate

Rakuten

Some of these options, including Awin, will require you to first complete a free application process before you can access their affiliate partners.

For Ultimate Bundles, they actually gather together products from multiple creators and offers them at one affordable “bundled” cost.  Yout get a 40% commission on each bundle you sell.

For Clickbank and Shareasale, I scan the list of merchants looking for products or company names that are familiar to me.

I often find products that I have actually used. If I previously had a good experience with that product, I note that listing as a potential product to promote.

Note: On Shareasale you must complete a brief application for any products you are interested in promoting. About 80% of the time, I've been approved as an affiliate for products I apply for.

However, I've also been denied on some for various reasons. Don’t let it discourage you! There are plenty of good products out there for you to promote.

Related Article: Affiliate Marketing Success Story Example

#2 – Research the Company Websites of Products You Use

Another way to quickly search for affiliate programs is to start with products you are currently using.

Search the websites of those products/services. Try looking in the footer area of the homepage for a link that says “affiliate” or “partner program”. Many companies provide information on how to become an affiliate.

Here is an example of Restored 316 Designs (the company I often use for WordPress themes).

The snapshot shows the footer of the company's website and I've circled the “Become an Affiliate” link.

How to find affiliate programs from your favorite companies.

This way of finding affiliate programs is amazing because you already know the products. You bring your personal experience to the table and it makes for a better understanding of why someone else should follow your lead and use the product.

#3 – Google Search for Affiliate Programs

If you can’t find partner program information on a company’s website, another thing you can try is doing a Google search to see if that company has an affiliate program.

For instance, if you were interested in seeing if Bluehost offered an affiliate program, you would type the following into the Google search bar: “Affiliate + Bluehost”. Don’t type the quotation marks. Just use the name of the company + affiliate.

How to find affiliate programs in Google search

 

If you can’t seem to find any info at all on a company’s affiliate program, then email their customer service and politely ask if they offer an affiliate program.

Tell them you are a current user and would love to begin promoting the product to your readers.

Next Steps?

If you are really interested in learning the ropes of affiliate marketing, I suggest starting with the Affiliate Marketing Income Planner for beginners.

Even if you already know a little something about affiliate marketing, you might find tremendous value in this affiliate marketing course for beginners.

Did you enjoy learning to find affiliate programs? Keep learning:

5 Reasons Affiliate Marketing for Mom Bloggers is Awesome

How to Start Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing Success Story Example

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2 thoughts on “3 Super Easy Ways to Find Affiliate Programs”

  1. I’m a cofounder of a natural hair community business and we are just on social media(i.e. Instagram, Facebook). We are trying to decide if we need a website and/or a blog. Until then, would affiliate programs be a good idea for us to explore?

    1. Hi Charice! First, that’s amazing that you’re a co-founder of a natural hair business–LOVE IT! I think becoming an affiliate for products that you, your team, and your audience/community really LOVE is a great way to monetize your brand. As long as you are disclosing that the links you post on your FB and IG pages are “affiliate links” or “referral links” you can create images and link directly to those product pages. Now, clearly I haven’t seen exactly what your business is all about, my first thoughts are that having your own website/blog will be a great way to write blog posts/reviews that include links to affiliate products you endorse. But again, you can totally sign-up for affiliate programs and start promoting those via your social media pages. Hope that helps 🙂

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