How To Pick The Right Affiliate Network 101 (And the 3 Best Networks Right Now!)

There are a ton of top affiliate networks out there so if you’re asking how to pick the right affiliate network, you’re not alone! It’s easy to get lost in the confusion. It just so happens we know all about how affiliate networks work, but even more importantly we know how they should work! So, let’s talk about which ones (aside from our own) you’ll probably find the best success with. Let us help you in choosing one of the highest paying affiliate programs.

Firstly A Few Details about Affiliate Networks

We have to cover some quick points that you’ll want to keep in mind when considering a new affiliate network to work with. The very first of which is your own willingness to test them, accept a win or loss, followed by your decision to stay with them or write them off and move on. Not every network is going to be a perfect fit for every affiliate regardless of if that network is legit or not.

They need to have great usability and easy access to their offers and you always want access to a dashboard that’s updated in regular intervals so you can track your progress such as clicks and conversions.

You want to be sure that the offers you’ll be promoting are mostly mobile friendly. It’s fine if not every single offer is equipped with a mobile-capable page but you want the vast majority to be as you’ll be getting a ton of mobile traffic to those offers. Gone are the days when you could count on traffic coming from a computer and here are the days of roughly 90% of traffic coming from a smartphone.

What’s the reputation of that network like? Take some time and do some research to be absolutely certain you’re not about to join forces with a total waste of time and resources. There are a lot of pop-up networks that are just sticking around to grab as much cash as they can until they’re forced to close down shop.

A Quick Comment on Commissions

Let’s keep it real here a moment. Getting paid is basically the point for all affiliates. You need to be sure that the network you join is going to pay you and that they’ll do it in a timely fashion with minimal interference.

Nobody likes combing through terms and conditions text. It’s an absolute chore but it’s also very necessary to do so. Get yourself a beverage, probably a nice big cup of coffee or tea and get yourself familiar with the payment terms for any network you’re looking to join. You have to make sure you understand their structure, how often they pay, why they might not pay you, what they consider to be a valid conversion and etc, it’s all laid out in those terms and conditions so read them! It’s essential, it’s absolutely necessary.

Take a look for anything which might refer to commission bonuses as those are always a nice perk. Sometimes you might even find certain networks will offer up to a twice-current-commission bonus, which is awesome. You will usually have to work your behind off in order to meet the requirements for such a bonus but just imagine getting twice what you’d normally earn if you meet them!

Payment methods matter, your commissions mean nothing if you can’t actually get the money into your bank account. Be sure to find out which payment processors these networks work with and which ones they don’t.

And Now For The Networks!

We’re going to start this list off with a classic, you’ve no doubt heard about it if you’re not brand new to affiliate marketing and if you are then allow us to introduce you to the following…

Clickbank

Clickbank is a worldwide network which partners with a lot of digital marketers and product vendors with a customer count totalling upwards of 200 million… that’s a whole lot of people making purchases from their network.

How to pick the right affiliate network

They offer up to 75% commissions which are set by the vendor/product owner, so keep that in mind. Here are some of the key features of the Clickbank network itself:

  • They cover many different niches with a ton of different products, all being constantly updated and added to.
  • They offer subscription models with products that are set up for it and you will earn commission for those during the whole lifetime of that customer.
  • Commissions can reach as high as $150 per sale depending on the product and the commission structure set out by the vendor.
  • The website is quite easy to use once you become familiar with it.
  • There are no registration fees as an affiliate.
  • They have a very low min payment threshold of only $10!

Amazon Associates

Here’s another major contender in the affiliate marketing game. They are very picky with their rules and who they’ll accept into their network but if you make the cut then you could add them into rotation for some of your blogs or whatever you might use to promote offers.

Amazon Associates

Their terms and conditions are always evolving so you will need to review them and keep updated on their requirements very regularly. Luckily they offer a few easy points of access to those details inside their backend so keep yourself in the loop.

  • You can be an affiliate for just about every product they have on sale.
  • Creating an account is pretty easy and it is free.
  • Commissions were slashed in 2020, so if you were expecting up to 12%, you’re now looking at 3%.
  • They are extremely well known and already have brand recognition.
  • They pay affiliates on NET-60 terms and it’s safe to say are guaranteed in most cases.
  • They do offer some affiliate tools and their terms and conditions are pretty clear.

ShareASale

This network is a bit of a mix between Clickbank and Amazon in terms of the products they offer and the vendors they work with.

ShareASale affiliate network

They are very easy to get set up with and once you’re in the door you’ll find there are plenty of options for you as an affiliate to begin promoting.

  • They pay on the 20th of each month for the previous month’s commissions.
  • They have a min payment threshold of $50, which isn’t too bad.
  • They offer quite a few payment methods including check through mail and bank transfer.
  • They have many of niches to choose from which opens plenty of options for you.
  • The website itself is very easy to use and navigate.
  • Their dashboard and reporting features are accurate and updated regularly.

There are a TON of networks out there, they offer different niche and market options, different product types and are constantly evolving with the times. It’s a matter of taking the time to hunt them down, try them out and see what works best for you.

Here at Powerhouse Affiliate, we’re always looking out for our members and testing things in order to be sure we share what’s positive and on the forefront of our industry. Check us out over at the main site to see how you can get started learning our fast-track affiliate marketing system. Signup is free and you get instant access to our first course for absolutely free which will teach you the basics and more just for checking us out!

Powerhouse Affiliate

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