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One of the most frequent questions I get about blogging is how I make money. This is completely understandable since blogging can seem foreign to those who are not in this industry. One of the ways I make money through my blog is through affiliate programs. Keep reading to see the best affiliate programs to monetize your blog.
What is an affiliate program?
An affiliate program is when a blogger (or webmaster) receives a referral fee from sales when a customer has clicked the affiliate link to get to the merchant’s website. For example, when you are on my blog and I have referred you to a brand’s website, I may receive a small compensation from the brand for referring you to that website.
Which affiliate programs do I use on my blog?
ShopStyle Collective
This affiliate program is great for any blog post that contains clothes, makeup products, shoes, and accessories. Plus I am able to make widgets and looks instead of text-based links. In regards to ShopStyle Collective, I may receive a small compensation if you click on the affiliate link or purchase the item I have recommended. The ShopStyle community is really supportive of bloggers and influencers. To get ideas for blog posts, I like to search their blog for the best sales of the week.
Ebates
I am kicking myself for not signing up for Ebates sooner. Well, to be honest, I signed up in 2014 and never logged in again.ย But what makes Ebates so great is its Chrome plugin. So whenever I am on a website that works with Ebates, it will alert me to use the link and start earning cash back on my purchase. If you sign up using my affiliate link with Ebates, you will get $10!
Shareasale
This program has access to tons of merchants in categories like food, drink, clothing, automotive, homeย & garden, and more that use their platform to organize affiliates. Through Shareasale, I can access banners, text links, and even videos from the programs that I have joined. For example, I worked with Mintedย during the holidays to share their Christmas cards. I can stay organized through Shareasale’s platform with Minted to see their holiday banners to place on my blog. The minimum payment is $50, so it’s even faster to receive your cash out!
Linqia
For a lot of my sponsored blog posts, I have worked with a company called Linqia. With Linqia, I have been able to work with some amazing brands like Tile, Yoplait, Kleenex, Nestle Tollhouse, and Uniqlo to create unique branded content. But I also am a part of their affiliate program to share Linqia with my readers! If you have 2,500+ social followers or unique monthly page views on your blog, I highly recommend applying for Linqia!
How to use affiliate links on your blog
- Place sidebar or in-post advertisements
- Writing sponsored posts with brands
- Selling products like books, programs, and e-courses
- Sharing product links through your social media channels
Do you share affiliate links on your blog? If you haven’t used some of these programs, I would love to hear your favorites in the comments!
37 responses
I’ve used all of these besides Linqia. Shareasale has been my best one but I’ve been trying to get more into the Shopstyle. That one you seem to need more of a blogging follows.
I use Shopstyle widgets in my blog posts and their text-based links on my social media channels. I don’t have a huge following, but it definitely drives traffic and income for me!
I have been blogging 3 years and cant seem to monetize much from affliates or sponsored posts…the techy stuff sometimes gets me bogged down. I am going to check out Linqua..I thought you had to have way more followers than what you mention. I have over 17k on all my channels and blogs..so going to sign up..thank you!
Hi Valerie,
What is it about the tech side of affiliate links can I help you with? I would love to assist!
Hi Lauren, awe that is so kind of you!! Grabbing banners from sharesale sites and installing them and also I know you have to write for SEO so people will want to click on the links to purchase…I struggle with that too. I have a shopstyle page set up on my blog …for looks to be shopped from Instagram. I don’t make much. I think if you don’t have massive followers…shopstyle or “like to know it” not so effective. It just seems like so much work for nothing :/ I know I have a lot to still learn about it tho
I would suggest using a WordPress plugin like Yoast SEO to help you with that side of the blog writing. It can help you make sure that all categories of SEO (title, headlines, and post content) are good to go! I don’t believe you have to have a massive following to be successful, success is subjective and personal to you.
I use all of these except for Ebates, gonna have to check that one out! xo, Brittany | http://www.theblistblog.com
I even got my husband using Ebates!
These are all great! I love them all basically haha.
Thanks Jenny, glad you love these!
I always explore the idea of doing affiliate posts, but I don’t want it to come off as ingenuine. You actually listed some options that I want to look into.
My rule of thumb is to always promote products that I genuinely love and use!
Love these tips! I’m always looking for new ideas on how to monetize and appreciate posts like this!
Thanks Jos!
I currently use Shareasale and FlexOffers. I have no complaints so far. They are so much better than Adsense.
Google Adsense is great to run advertisements on your blog but not for affiliate links. I have a post on how I made my first $100 on Google Adsense: https://pinkonthecheek.com/made-first-100-google-adsense/
Shopstyle has been killing the game lately! Love how much of a community they’ve brought together, definitely feels very inclusive and collaborative.
I haven’t be able to compare it to Like to Know It, but I am a big fan of how they are constantly helping their community!
Thanks for this list. I’m going to try shopstyle collective and shareasale. I’ve tried the affiliate thing before and I haven’t been that successful. Maybe I’ll give it another try.
Shopstyle Collective is great because you can also be paid when someone clicks through to the product!
[…] make money through your blog without an email list! You can monetize through affiliate programs (the best affiliate programs to monetize your blog), write sponsored content (I love Linqia for this), or run advertisements (how I made my first $100 […]
Affiliate posts are marvelous for mommy bloggers and lifestyle bloggers! I love their honest input on products too.
Yes, affiliate marketing has come a long way for bloggers!
The only one I’d heard of is ebates. I’m definitely going to have to look into these for my own blog!
Let me know if you found them successful!
I love Shareasale and Linqia! But I haven’t checked out the other two yet so I’ll have to bookmark those.
I have made over $75 on EBATES since January! I can’t believe I wasn’t using it sooner! If you use my EBATES link, you can get $10 for signing up!
thanks for these! I’ve heard of all of them except linqia! Signing up now!
Hi Kristen! If you try Linqia, I would love it if you used my referral link!
Great post! Thanks for the tips
These are all great! I really need to remember to utilize affiliate programs more often!
Good tips. I have used ebates for years, but hadn’t thought to use their affiliate program on my blog!
Great ideas! I only use Enates and I love it!! Need to look I to linqia though sounds fantastic!
These are all great affiliate programs! Definitely top ones for bloggers that I’d recommend myself!
-Jennifer
https://maunelegacy.com
Amazing tips! Love it and definitely need it at this time.
I’ve heard of ebates but not the other two. I’ll have to check them out, thanks for sharing!
I need to add a few of these!!!! Thanks for the info.
xoxo,
Angelle
http://www.dashingdarlin.com