The holiday shopping season is once again upon us, and for website operators, that means there's a traffic spike that's bound to come. As an affiliate marketer, you depend on revenue from visits, and that traffic could be a boon to your bottom line. You need to make sure you are prepared. This means partnering with some of the best affiliate marketing programs out there.
Applying and being accepted takes some time, so it is best to do this promptly so that you are ready before peak shopping times. The following are some platforms you can consider.
Awin
One platform you can consider for this holiday season is Awin. This is one of the largest affiliate marketing platforms out there. Those who want to see an impact on their site should try to work with Awin this time around.
At the moment, the platform is working with a number of companies. You should know that partnering with Awin does not mean you automatically gain access to the brands on this platform. The brands still have a lot of power and decide who they want to work with, but this at least gets you through the door.
A lot of companies work with Awin that you may have access to, like Etsy, HP, and Pretty Little Thing, just to name a few. You are going to have to visit those sites to see if you are a good fit.
CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate is another affiliate marketing platform that follows a similar model to Awin. First, you need to make sure you sign up for the platform. CJ Affiliate is going to evaluate your site, content, and whether or not you'll be a good partner.
Once you are in, you are going to have access to a lot of vendors who are picky. At this point, you need to find brands that fit with your content well enough. Remember, stay as neutral as you can on your site to reduce the chances of being judged unfairly.
Try to study each brand as much as you can before you even apply so that you don't waste your time nor theirs. This step is going to take some time, so make sure you try to sign up to this site as soon as possible. CJ Affiliate works with Office Depot, JCrew, and GoPro, just to name a few companies.
Travelpayouts
Travelpayouts is another option you have if you are focused on travel industry. The network has partnered with thousands of brands that you may have access to, such as Hotels.com, Rentalcars.com, Booking.com, and Viator.com.
The company just hosted a webinar The ultimate winter guide to high affiliate profits about how to increase profits.
With holiday travel more of a necessity than a luxury for so many, your odds of making a profit are far greater now than at any other time. You can also receive a discount on some of their listings - 40 percent off hotels through Booking.com or 30 percent off of Rentalcars.com.
This might help you to attract more visitors to your website and increase your conversion rates.
Amazon Associates
There is a lot of good when it comes to Amazon Associates. For one, it is pretty easy to join, so you do not have to worry about this company being too invasive regarding your content. Sure, there are some rules to follow, but the previous sites are more controlling. Another good thing is that you have access to an array of products that simply cannot be found on other sites.
Amazon is home to almost anything you can think of, so the likelihood that you find something you can advertise on your site is pretty high. Those who are just starting out or have been rejected by other platforms may find Amazon Associates to be a good fit.
You should know that everything is not roses here; that should be pointed out because this company also changes its terms quite often, and it is your job to keep up with that. You should also remember that Amazon takes a chunk of your potential earnings. Still, you may be able to make some money this holiday season, and it could be more than the other sites mentioned here simply because the size and reach of Amazon is so much greater than any other kind of affiliate program.
ClickBank
ClickBank is one of the biggest affiliate marketing companies you can hope for, but this is another specific affiliate marketing platform that mostly deals with digital eBooks. Of course, the variety of books and publishers the company works with is vast and covers nearly every single category you can think of.
Those who have avid readers or visitors who want to learn are definitely going to see the value in ClickBank. There is a lot of good to point out, like how it's free to sign up and fairly straightforward. Another good thing about this particular affiliate marketing platform is that the commission rate is one of the highest out there, so it's going to be Christmas every day for online businesses that join ClickBank through the end of the year.
Of course, there are some drawbacks, like how a good chunk of this platform's books come from first-time writers or writers who have not been established. This is not to say that you can't find good content because you can, but it'll require some work. Take your time with this platform because if you do come out with something good, you'll likely be happy in the end.
These are just some of the platforms you can use to capitalize on the traffic spike that you should be seeing on your web properties in the next few weeks. They all have positives and negatives, so decide which works best for you though there are a few more out there to choose from; just hunt them down.
