People buy from people they trust.

That’s pretty much a universal truth.

Just think about it.

Whose opinion would you trust when you’re buying a new web hosting service or purchasing a new online coaching program - a total stranger or a seasoned pro who doesn’t promote any product without testing it himself?

For affiliate marketers, a big part of that trust comes from promoting only the best products that are relevant to the needs of their audience.

Joining a reliable affiliate network is the easiest way to find such products and offers.

According to a combined study by Forrester and Rakuten Marketing, 83% brands and product owners prefer to recruit affiliates for their products using affiliate networks.

What You’ll Learn In This Post

• How to find the ideal products to promote to your audience

• How to find high paying affiliate programs even if you're a newbie

• How to take advantage of millions of products listed on affiliate marketplaces

• How to find niche specific affiliate platforms

General Retail eCommerce Affiliate Programs

• In this category, I’ll share giant internet retail websites and eCommerce stores that run their own affiliate programs. You can earn commissions as an affiliate of these stores by promoting any products of their listed products.
  
  

1. Amazon Associates

 

Niche	General
Product Type	Physical and Digital
Average Commission Rate	Between 3% to 10%
Cookie Duration	24 hours
Sign-Up	Amazon Associates
Who is it for	Beginner to Advanced level affiliates

 Amazon is not only the world’s largest eCommerce website but also runs Amazon Associates, the biggest and the most popular affiliate program in the world with more than 1 million registered affiliates.

Amazon is the first choice of most affiliates because it sells everything under the sun. No matter what niche you’re in, you’ll find relevant products on Amazon.

However, since most digital products available on Amazon are fairly low priced, it’s safe to say that affiliates turn to it mainly because of its physical products.

But what makes Amazon truly amazing is its ability to engage its visitors and convert them into repeat buyers.

People trust Amazon which is why studies suggest that Amazon’s average conversion rate for its Prime members is a whopping 74% (there are more than 90 million Prime members). For visitors outside Prime, the conversion rate is around 14% which is still good.

Which means if you refer 100 visitors to Amazon, at least 14 will turn into buyers. And a few of those 100 visitors are likely to be Prime members, since there are so many of them in the US, so the conversion rate is likely to be higher.

Now you do your maths, but that sounds pretty good to me especially if I can scale my traffic numbers.

Examples of Successful Amazon Affiliates

There are just too many because almost every successful blogger and niche marketer makes money from Amazon Associates.

But here are a few examples.

• Darren Rowse – Digital Photography School

Darren, the owner of ProBlogger, also owns this hugely successful niche site that uses Amazon Associates as its primary source of affiliate income.

• Eric Yang – Gear Patrol

Gear Patrol is another hugely successful site using Amazon Associates as its primary monetization method.

2. eBay Partner Network

Niche	General
Product Type	Physical and Digital
Average Commission Rate	Up to 70% of the auction fee charged by eBay
Cookie Duration	24 hours for “But It Now’ products, 10 days for auctions
Sign-Up	eBay Partners Network
Who is it for	Beginner to Advanced level affiliates

eBay is among the world’s biggest and most popular eCommerce websites. However, unlike traditional eCommerce sites where you can simply buy products, the products on eBay are sold through auction.

eBay has a hugely successful affiliate program called eBay Partner Network. It is quite popular among bloggers and marketers but it is different from the usual affiliate programs where you’re paid a percentage of the product’s sale price as commission.

Instead, you get a percentage of the transaction fee that eBay charges on every product sale. The transaction fee rises with the product price which means you make higher commissions on expensive products (yes, they call me captain obvious).

Here’s a snapshot of their commission rates for different product categories.

As an additional incentive, new affiliates get double commissions for the first 3 months.

Like Amazon, eBay is also a trusted site especially in the US which is why people prefer buying from them. Its conversion rate is almost good as Amazon, so your job really is just to promote eBay products that are most relevant to your audience.

You can choose from a huge list of product categories.

Examples of Successful eBay Partners Network (EPN) Affiliates

• Shannon Mahoney - PurseBlog

PurseBlog publishes fashion-related content and uses EPN as one of its main affiliate networks

• Mary Kincaid - Zuburia

Zuburia publishes roundup posts of vintage products on eBay and makes an annual income of more than 6-figures from affiliate sales.

3. Jet

Niche	General
Product Type	Physical
Average Commission Rate	2.5%
Cookie Duration	7 days
Sign-Up	Jet Affiliates
Who is it for	Bloggers looking for an Amazon alternative

Jet is a relatively new eCommerce site that went live in 2015 but quickly gained momentum because of its surprisingly low prices and a product range that’s easily comparable to Amazon.

However, since their USP is a real-time pricing algorithm which ensures that consumers get the cheapest prices on every product, it’s not the most attractive platform for affiliates.

On top of that, their standard commission rate for all product categories is 2.5% which is lower than most product categories on Amazon other than video games, video game consoles, PCs and PC components, and DVD and Blue Ray.

So if you’re in those niches or simply want to diversify your income sources and reduce reliance on Amazon, I don’t see why you should become a Jet affiliate.