The Top Three Affiliate Programs I Recommend

It’s funny because if you were to ask me just a year ago if I would be a part of any affiliate program, I would say “NO WAY, JOSE!” In all honesty, I just hated the sound of affiliate and ambassador programs. They sounded too sales-y, too pitch-y, and way too inauthentic. Just…bleah.

My negative viewpoint on affiliate and ambassador programs gradually changed the more that I studied influencer marketing and the more that I connected with audience via Instagram DMs. Over time, I learned that I genuinely enjoyed sharing product reviews with my followers when these reviews came from a sense of purpose and fulfillment. In other words, I was looking at affiliate programs in all the wrong ways. I always viewed these types of programs as an annoyance, like one of those fruit flies who keep circling around your damn ear. Like, UGH just go away! However, if you learn to utilize affiliate programs in a natural and effortless way, I’ll admit that they can actually work VERY WELL in your favor when you play your cards right ;)

In fact, I always joked with my friends about the power of affiliate links, or entrepreneurism in general. For example, my guy friend would laugh “Oh, I just made a good $10,000 as I was showering. Oh, I just woke up from a nap and made $200. Trololol.” Honestly, affiliate links truly work in your favor if you know how to use them to your fullest advantage.

Thus, I wanted to share my top three favorite affiliate programs with you guys if you are looking to earn some additional pocket money (especially if you are an influencer or blogger)! However, I do want to point out one thing - PLEASE do not join an affiliate program for the sake of earning money. If you do not wholeheartedly love the brand or product that you are promoting, then what are the odds that your audience will? Odds are, they won’t.

So, be selective with the affiliate programs that you do end up joining. From there, promote to your heart’s content in a fun and authentic (AND NOT PUSHY) way! Also, please keep in mind that you do have to sign up and be approved for these affiliate programs before you can start selling, but you’re more than likely to be accepted - especially if you are an influencer or blogger. If you have a YouTube channel or a blog, don’t underestimate the power of affiliate links. If you receive constant traction to your social media platforms, you will continue to attract an engaging audience (as well as a new audience) if your blog post or YouTube video become highly ranked on popular search engines. In other words, more traction leads to more money. And who doesn’t like more money? ;)

So without further ado, let’s make some moolah!

Amazon Affiliate Program

One of the most popular and easiest affiliate programs to sign up for is Amazon’s affiliate program. The best part? You don’t have to be an influencer or blogger to join this program!

Another perk of being an Amazon affiliate is the fact that EVERYBODY pretty much shops on Amazon (shoutout to my Amazon Prime homies!). However, I will admit that the payout is pretty damn small. In other words, you can earn anywhere from $0.10 to $1.00 (or more) per sale. If you don’t have a large social media audience or you don’t think you would be a very persuasive salesperson, then I will be honest that this program is probably not a good match for you. I wouldn’t advise wasting your time on making pennies unless you are confident in your network and marketing skills.

“How do you make money through Amazon Affiliate Program, Michelle?”, you ask. Well, I love being able to include my Amazon Affiliate Links in casual Instastories or TikTok videos whenever I’m talking about books or home decor,. Or, I just send specific links to my family members when they need to buy a certain item on Amazon.

Although I may not have the largest audience on Instagram, I am confident that my followers trust my product reviews because I only buy and promote what I wholeheartedly believe in. Thus, this gained trust and honesty leads to an increase in sales and I can see this through my tracked sales report on Amazon. Since I just signed up for this program not too long ago, I have not received my first Amazon paycheck yet, but I will say that I am fairly close! As soon as you reach $10 through the Amazon Affiliate Program, you can cash out via PayPal. As simple as that!

P.S. Please be a TRUSTWORTHY affiliate when selling Amazon products, or any products for the matter. There is no point in putting your heart and soul into being an affiliate if you don’t like the product yourself. If the product is returned by the customer, you also lose your affiliate commission. That’s why it’s important to promote products that you genuinely love so that there are less chances for a customer to return an item that you are truly happy with :)

Sign up for the Amazon Affiliate Program here.

RewardStyle

As we all know, the Like To Know It girls all congregate to this one platform…but you don’t have to be a passionate LTKT girl to be a part of RewardStyle. To be honest, I have a love-hate relationship with this particular affiliate program and I’ve included the pros and cons of joining RewardStyle below.

RewardStyle Pros:

Some products offer a generous payout - anywhere between $3.00 - $10.00. The payout on RewardStyle is much bigger than Amazon.
Popular brands such as Target, Walmart, Nordstrom, and more use RewardStyle.
RewardStyle is connected to a program called LikeToKnowIt where people can shop for products directly from your Instagram posts.
The website is overall user-friendly and affiliate links are easy to generate through the RewardStyle mobile app or website.

Rewardstyle Cons:

Not a huge selection of products to promote.
Only select brands use RewardStyle.
You can only cash out when you reach $100.00 in commission credits.
Looks a bit spammy if you are constantly promoting

All in all, it doesn’t hurt to join RewardStyle because it is a FREE platform for solely bloggers and influencers, but I will say that it is pretty damn hard to receive a payout unless you sell specific products with a high commission rate or have an engaging audience who LOVES to shop from your links.

Sign up for RewardStyle here.

*Note: You must be accepted into the program by the RewardStyle team before you can use it).

Sdara Skin Affiliate Program

Normally, I am a huge NO when it comes to joining any brand’s affiliate programs. First off, there are way too damn many brand affiliate and ambassador programs out there to the point where I would feel completely overwhelmed if I had to dig through a different brand’s affiliate link every time I talked about their products. Not to mention, a majority of brand’s affiliate programs don’t pay out very well.

However, Sdara Skin provides you with a whopping 25% COMMISSION whenever you help them make a sale on their website. This is one GENEROUS commission model alright! Plus, I never encountered any other brand affiliate program who gave a 25% commission to their affiliates. This huge commission model is definitely what caught my attention and I ended up loving their affiliate program as soon as I tested it out for the very first time!

To be completely transparent, I already made two sales (three actually - one was on Amazon, but I earned a few measly cents from it LOL) and earned $10.00 already from selling a product that is only $23. To me, this $10.00 payout is actually a lot of money just from selling two products with my affiliate link, as most affiliate programs do not pay out this generously. Since I am absolutely infatuated with the Sdara Skin face oil and use this product two times per day, promoting this oil is a piece of cake ;) In fact, I just earned this $10.00 today and was surprisingly delighted when I received $10.00 sent straight to my PayPal account automatically. Cha-ching, baby!

Fun Fact - I believe Sdara Skin’s Affiliate Program is the only brand affiliate program that I regularly promote and am a part of. That’s when you know it’s worth looking into ;)