There are thousands of plugins for Wix and Affiliate Marketing isn’t one of them! This makes it difficult for you to find a good plugin for Word Press. The good news is I’ve already done all the hard work for you.
Affiliate marketing is the relationship between an advertiser and a publisher where the latter, who is usually a website owner, gets paid for every visitor or customer directed to the former’s site via links or promotional material, usually found on their website. This has been highly beneficial for website owners by providing them with a passive income stream. However, one major drawback to affiliate marketing has always been that when you build your site using WIX, you are cut off from certain tracking technologies used by paid traffic networks. That’s why I’ve created this AMP plugin for WIX…
Ten months ago I decided to undertake the challenge of building a successful affiliate website with Wix. I had been in the affiliate marketing world for over a year but had yet to see any success with my campaigns. Could Wix change this? And if so, how difficult would it be? Well, all I can say is that I’m happy with the results and it turned out easier than I thought.
Affiliate Marketing Plugin For Wix
If you have a blog or a big following on social media, then you have a great opportunity to make money… through affiliate marketing. Take a look at what’s involved and the pros and cons of the best affiliate programs you can join if you’re based in the UK.
The best affiliate programs in the UK
Some of the articles on this blog contain affiliate links. If you click on them, it may mean that I earn a small commission to help cover my running costs. As an Amazon Associate, I will earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect my reviews.
The best affiliate programs in the UK:
Awin
Panthera Network
Skimlinks
FlexOffers
Rakuten Advertising
CJ Affiliate
Amazon Associates
eBay Partner Network
I recently wrote a post about how much money you can make from blogging and thought it would only be fair to share some of my favourite affiliate programs (also known as networks) too.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing involves you promoting products and services to your followers or website visitors. If a visitor clicks on one of your links or uses a code you share before they make a purchase, you receive a commission. This can be a certain percentage of the sale or a fixed fee.
Advertisers are keen to work with you because it increases their sales. Yes, they do have to pay you a small amount for your efforts but it still makes them money.
How much can an affiliate marketer make?
How long is a piece of string? There aren’t any real limits to how much you can make from affiliate marketing. The more traffic you have visiting your site from search engines and social media, the increased likelihood is that they will make purchases of products you recommend.
How much you make partly depends on what you’re recommending too. Your most popular page may generate £1,000 worth of sales from Amazon each day, but that will earn you just £20. There are far more lucrative services out there that will pay you £100 for just one recommendation. That means generating 7 sales per month would earn you more than £30,000 of sales at Amazon!
In the early days of blogging, expect to earn anything up to £100 every month. As you develop, there’s no reason why you can’t be making £1,000’s. The best bloggers can make £10,000’s every month.
Publisher vs advertiser
If you’ve joined affiliate networks before, then I’m sure you’ll know the answer. If not, I think it’s important that you are clear on the difference between the two before you sign up. Otherwise, it could create more work.
As a blogger, you are a publisher (ie you publish the content). The companies that you will be publishing for are the advertisers. When you sign up to affiliate networks, you will be asked if you’re a publisher or advertiser.
Which are the best affiliate marketing networks to join?
Below, is a list of some of the best networks that UK bloggers can join.
Awin
Awin affiliate
Awin is one of the largest affiliate networks out there, with well over 1,000 companies on their books including Tesco, Groupon, Boots, Very and Currys. And that’s just for UK users.
It comes with a handy marketplace feature that allows you to let prospective companies know what kind of services you offer. Then, companies will get in contact if they want to work with you.
Awin has a whole host of ready-made banners you can you to promote your affiliates, or you can just put simple links in if you choose.
Awin pros
The sheer number of advertisers means that this is a site affiliate marketers must join. Awin pays its publishers (ie you) twice per month, with a minimum amount needed of just £20. You can opt for once per month if you prefer.
Awin also tells you how good an advertiser is too. There is a section for each company that tells you how long they take to pay and if their account is in good order. If you have 2 possible advertisers to choose from, this is a useful indicator.
Awin cons
To join Awin, you need to pay a £5 deposit. Apparently, this ‘ensures’ the quality of the publisher. You will receive this money back when you reach your first payment threshold.
I find that some of the advertisers are very hard to contact through Awin. I have had pending applications to join advertisers for over a year, with Awin not being very keen on chasing them up.
And with the network being so large and lots of publishers to choose from, you’ll find that advertisers are quite picky. Expect to be rejected now and again.
Visit Awin<<<
Panthera Network
Panthera Network
Although this is a US-based company, there are plenty of offers available for UK users. Some of the companies that work with Panthera include Gillette, Experian and gohenry. When you join, you’ll be assigned an account manager who will regularly be in contact. Although I found the more that I earn, the more they are in contact!
Panthera pros
Purchases through links on your website track and update to your account almost immediately. You can tell very quickly if changes to your site are working well or not.
There are also lots of options on your dashboard so you can see how you are performing and the links to companies that are converting best for you.
The majority of companies on Panthera will automatically accept you if you apply. Some will need to be run past your account manager on Panthera, but you will usually get a yes or no within 24 hours.
Panthera cons
Because this is a US site, there aren’t as many opportunities for UK users. Payment is made in $US, so you need to factor in conversion fees. You can use PayPal, but the exchange rate isn’t great. For better value, it would be best to use a transfer company like Wise.
There are a couple of advertisers listed that are a little ‘sketchy’ at best. They claim to offer product testing opportunities or the chance to win £500 gift cards. However, I know that some of these sites are just after personal details.
Although there are banners you can use on your site, there aren’t as many compared to the likes of Awin
Visit Panthera Network<<<
Skimlinks
skimlinks review
Skimlinks is one of the biggest networks out there, with over 48,000 merchants and sales of £1.9m per day. It’s also one of the easiest affiliate networks to deal with. Once you have joined, you’ll have full access to every company listed on their site. So, no need to apply for each advertiser individually.
You see, Skimlinks acts as a middleman between you and networks like Awin and Rakuten. That makes your life far easier. But it’s important to note that Skimlinks does take a cut for its involvement.
Skimlinks pros
A large number of advertisers to work with.
If you have been rejected entry into an affiliate scheme through another network, you can join through Skimlinks without issue (as long as it’s listed).
Easy to use reporting tools.
Skimlinks cons
Skimlinks takes a 25% fee from your earnings. If you can apply for an advertiser through another affiliate network, it’s worth doing.
Takes 3 months for payment to reach your bank account.
Visit Skimlinks<<<
FlexOffers
Although a US-based affiliate company, FlexOffers also works with plenty of UK advertisers. These include H&M, Harvey Nichols and Reebok. In total, they represent over 12,000 companies. When you join, some of these will already be pre-approved, whilst others you will have to apply to.
FlexOffers pros
Easy joining process.
Low payment threshold of $25.
FlexOffers cons
There are fees if you receive your money by international transfer. As with Panthera, it would be worth opening a Wise account.
Customer support can be a little hit and miss.
Join FlexOffers<<<
Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten Advertising
Although Rakuten mainly operates from the US, they have dedicated support for many other countries, including the UK. There are some big advertisers listed such as Jack Wills, Toolstation, McAfee and Microsoft. In fact, there are over 2,000 to choose from. You can even receive private offers to work with companies that think you’ll be a good fit.
If there are companies you would like to work with, you’ll need to put in a separate application for each one.
Rakuten pros
Your account updates every day and there is a quick view option that allows you to see see how many sales you have generated and how much commission you have earned.
Rakuten makes 4 payments per month (must be a minimum of £50).
Rakuten cons
The private offers that you receive into your account don’t seem to be tailored specifically to your site. They look more like they are sent out as part of a blanket approach, which is a bit of a waste of time.
The dashboard isn’t the easiest to work with. The quick view only allows you to look at commissions up to the last 30 days. Any longer and you need to create a separate report.
There aren’t many banners available compared to some other affiliate networks.
Visit Rakuten Advertising<<<
CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate
Another affiliate company created in the US, CJ affiliate now has 14 offices across the world. There are several hundred programmes UK users can apply for, including Argos, Domino’s, boohoo and Sainsbury’s.
CJ Affiliate pros
The site comes with a ‘Guide Me’ button. If you get stuck on any page, this button will help guide you on your next step.
There is a widget option that allows you to promote multiple products from a slideshow or collage.
There is an option for you to sell ad space on your site directly to publishers.
CJ Affiliate cons
You need to make sure that you use your account. If you don’t CJ may mark it as dormant.
You need to apply to each advertiser separately. And if you are declined, you won’t get a reason why.
Contacting CJ isn’t the easiest of processes. You need to get through their support centre first before you are given an email.
Visit CJ Affiliate<<<
Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates
This is a programme that any blogger serious about making money should join. With sales reaching $386 billion, you can see how trusted and popular Amazon is. And it’s an easy way to make money.
Just place links on your website to products that you think are suitable for readers. And if they make a purchase, you’ll receive a commission. But even better news… it doesn’t have to be the product you linked to. If somebody buys anything off Amazon up to 24 hours after clicking your link, you’ll make money.
You can also earn bounties. This happens if somebody signs up for a service like Audible or Amazon Prime and will earn you quite a hefty reward.
Amazon Associates pros
Plenty of products to choose from. If a product is available to the public, there’s a good chance it’s on Amazon.
The vast majority of users trust Amazon and already have an account. That means it’s a simple process to make purchases through your links.
You can easily track your Associates’ performance. A graph will show you how many clicks have been made and how much you have earned. You can even see what people have bought.
Amazon Associates cons
Low commission of 2% compared to other affiliate networks.
The 24-hour cookie is quite short. Many publishers offer up to 30 days.
You need to make sure that your site is Amazon compliant. That means making it clear to readers that you’re a member of their Associate scheme.
You can lose commission. If people return their items, Amazon will withdraw the money they have paid you. And that could be quite some time afterwards.
Visit Amazon Associates<<<
eBay Partner Network
eBay Partner Network
The eBay Network operates in a very similar fashion to Amazon’s. With so many products on offer, you can create plenty of links to eBay from your blog. You have the ability to create your own custom banners or use the standard ones provided by eBay.
There are lots of affiliate marketing tools are available such as Smart Share, a Chrome extension that allows you to create affiliate links as you browse eBay. And Smart Links ensures all your eBay links contain affiliate tracking information.
eBay Partner Network pros
Another site with almost limitless products you can link to.
An exclusive programme available to partners that send high amounts of traffic.
A low payout threshold of £10.
eBay Partner Network cons
The tracking cookie lasts for only 24 hours.
There is a cap on how much commission you can earn on one transaction, which is unusual in the affiliate world.
The commission rates are fairly small – between 1 and 5%.
Visit eBay Partner Network<<<
Other affiliate networks to consider
So, the above affiliate networks should certainly be top of your list if you’re keen to make money. But there are some other companies to consider joining too. These don’t have as many advertisers but are worth looking at if there’s a specific programme you want to join.
TradeTracker
Tradedoubler
Webgains
Partnerize
Monetise
Clickbank
Which is the best affiliate program?
This is a difficult question as it does depend on what you’re after. There’s no point in joining a network if there are no companies you actually want to work with.
But if I had to choose, I would opt for Awin, based mainly on the number of advertisers they have. Skimlinks is also a decent option for newer publishers.
A few tips when working with affiliate networks
The networks you apply to generally all work in similar ways, although they will also have some slight differences. Here are a few tips that may help you through the application process.
Have a good profile
A lot of the networks require you to apply to each advertiser individually. To help them decide if you are suitable or not, they will need to see your profile and possibly a message from you. Make sure you keep all your details up-to-date and if you have an opportunity to send a message, make sure you let them know the benefits you can offer. This can be the difference between a yes and a no.
Technical know-how
A lot of affiliate companies need you to confirm that your site is actually yours before they agree to work with you. This helps to prevent fraud. You may need to add some code to your site – either by placing it in the header or via a widget. Don’t be concerned, this is perfectly normal. Most sites will give you a guide on how to proceed.
Form W-8BEN
As you can see, many of the affiliate networks are based in America. If they’re going to work with you, they need to confirm that you are not liable to pay tax in the US. This is done by filling out the form W-8BEN. It’s quite simple to do and should only take a few moments.