8 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs For Beginners 2024

Ten years ago, as a beginner in affiliate marketing, I, like many others, felt overwhelmed by the numerous affiliate programs available. I didn’t know where to start or which affiliate program to choose.

Today, with a decade of affiliate marketing experience, I believe beginners should consider two main factors when choosing an affiliate program:

1. No need for extensive industry knowledge

2. Your area of expertise or interest

For example, in industries like finance, if you’re not already familiar with the sector, it will be challenging to successfully promote affiliate programs, even if they offer high commissions. Without a solid understanding of the field, earning money through affiliate marketing will be difficult.

Therefore, I suggest beginners should start with affiliate programs in fields they are already skilled in or choose ones that don’t require extensive industry knowledge. This approach is a smart choice for those new to affiliate marketing.

The goal for beginners isn’t to make a lot of money right away. In fact, it’s tough for beginners to earn big money initially. The focus should be on making some money first, building confidence, and then sticking with affiliate marketing. With persistence, you could eventually leave your 9-to-5 job and become a full-time affiliate marketer, earning over $10,000 per month.

Getting Started with Affiliate Marketing

If you have the ability to drive traffic online, or if you have a large following and influence, or you run a blog with substantial monthly visitors, you can help brands promote their products. Brands are willing to pay you a commission for every sale you generate through your unique affiliate link—commissions range from 1% to 100%.

Many brands across various industries have launched affiliate programs. You can apply for these programs for free through their websites or affiliate networks.

Once you become an affiliate, you’ll receive a unique affiliate link. Whenever a sale is made through your link, you’ll earn a commission from the brand.

Affiliate marketing is one of the most reliable ways to make money online. There are countless people profiting from it. For instance, Amazon’s Affiliate Program has over 1 million partners, including freelancers, influencers, bloggers, social media personalities, and many small businesses and organizations.

If you want to make money online and aim to earn $100 per day, or even $1 million a year, affiliate marketing is one of your best options.

This guide will help you understand affiliate marketing and identify the most suitable programs for beginners.

How Much Can a Beginner Make in Affiliate Marketing?

As a beginner in affiliate marketing, don’t expect to get rich overnight—it’s simply not possible.

I still remember when I first started my blog and promoted affiliate programs ten years ago. In the first month, I only made a few dozen dollars, and in the first three months, I barely made $1,000. However, after two years of growing my blog and driving traffic through Pinterest, my affiliate income grew from a few hundred dollars a month to several thousand. Now, I run over ten blogs and earn more than $50,000 per month through affiliate marketing.

This is my journey to making money with affiliate marketing. I want to tell you that earning money in affiliate marketing is a gradual process. Even if you’re only making a few hundred dollars or even just a few dozen dollars a month when you start, persistence in the industry can quickly lead to $10,000 a month, surpassing your full-time job income.

8 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs For Beginners 2024

As a beginner in affiliate marketing, choosing a program that suits your strengths or is easy to promote can help you quickly achieve success. Earning money through affiliate marketing will boost your confidence and motivate you to stick with it, eventually leading to higher income.

In this article, I recommend 8 of the best affiliate programs for beginners. I hope you find a program that suits you.

1. Dating Affiliate Programs

Dating affiliate programs are ideal for beginners because almost everyone has experience with dating, making it easy to start promoting without needing additional industry knowledge.

Most importantly, the online dating market is huge, so driving traffic to dating sites is relatively easy. Promoting these programs on any social media platform can result in good user engagement and conversions for dating services.

For beginners, dating affiliate programs are easy to promote and quickly yield affiliate income.

Typically, dating affiliate programs offer two types of commission structures: CPL (Cost Per Lead) and CPS (Cost Per Sale). Depending on the program, you can earn $1-$10 per lead when someone registers, and if that person purchases a membership, you can earn a sales commission of 5%-10% of the sale.

If you’re unsure about which industry or niche to focus on, dating affiliate programs are the best option to start earning money quickly through affiliate marketing.

Click here to learn more about the 6 Best Dating Affiliate Programs in 2024.

2. Fitness Affiliate Programs

While dating programs are easy due to general experience, many might think fitness programs require professional knowledge. However, that’s not necessarily true.

The fitness industry is vast, and people have varied fitness needs. Some may seek professional guidance from a trainer, while others are simply looking to maintain their health through basic exercises without paying for a gym membership.

If you have even a little expertise in any fitness area, you can do well with fitness affiliate programs. For example, if you enjoy running and know the best ways to achieve fitness through running, you can promote treadmills, running gear, and nutrition products.

Fitness, like dating, is a basic human need. The market is large, and even beginners can quickly profit from fitness affiliate programs without needing extensive industry knowledge or experience.

Click here to learn more about the 30 Best Fitness Affiliate Marketing Programs in 2024.

3. Personal Loan Affiliate Programs

Personal loans are a significant need for many people, covering long-term, mortgage, vehicle, short-term, and payday loans.

Personal loan affiliate programs typically offer high commissions, with brands paying $50-$100 per potential sale.

While you might think the personal loan industry requires in-depth knowledge, you only need to understand the basics, such as loan terms, amounts, collateral requirements, and the approval process.

The key is helping loan applicants find the right lender for their needs, and you can effectively promote personal loan affiliate programs and earn high commissions without any financial industry background.

Click here to learn more about the 7 Best Personal Loan Affiliate Programs in 2024.

4. Credit Repair Affiliate Programs

Credit repair is a large market, with many people needing to fix their credit to secure loans for homes, cars, and more.

Credit repair is a popular field in affiliate marketing, offering high commissions, and is also a great niche for beginners.

From my experience, credit repair companies mainly sell credit software and services. Beginners don’t need to be experts in credit repair—just understand the services offered by different companies and recommend the best options to those in need.

Typically, credit repair companies provide a free credit report and then offer various repair plans based on the report’s findings.

Some companies sell credit repair software, usually priced at a few dozen dollars per month. With basic knowledge of credit repair, you can effectively promote these programs.

Click here to learn more about the 9 Best Credit Repair Affiliate Programs in 2024.

5. Pet Affiliate Programs

Nearly every household has some experience with pet care, making pet affiliate programs easy for beginners to promote. The pet market is vast, with products including pet food, supplies, cleaning products, toys, and beds.

Given the market size, beginners can start with a niche they’re familiar with. For example, if you have a dog, focus on products for dogs. Your content will be more authentic if you write about something you know, improving your chances of conversion.

If you’re unfamiliar with other pets, like cats, it’s harder to recommend products effectively. Users can tell if you lack expertise, making it difficult to earn commissions.

6. Online Education Affiliate Programs

I run two blogs in the online education niche, including this one.

I recommend online education affiliate programs to beginners for two reasons:

1. Online education covers a wide range of industries, so you can find a program that aligns with your expertise.
2. Online education affiliate programs typically offer very high commissions—sometimes as much as 100%.

All you need to do is select a niche you’re comfortable with, find an online education company, and apply to their affiliate program.

7. Web Hosting Affiliate Programs

Many beginners are hesitant to create a website to promote affiliate programs due to the perceived cost and technical expertise required.

A decade ago, building a website might have been challenging without coding knowledge, but today, technology has advanced significantly. You can create a personal blog quickly with just a little learning, and the cost is minimal—around $50 per year for domain and hosting.

Investing in a personal blog can help you earn more from affiliate marketing because a blog showcases your expertise, increasing conversion rates for affiliate products.

Additionally, driving traffic to your blog via social media helps retain users, unlike directly linking to a brand’s product page.

Creating a blog and promoting web hosting affiliate programs can also be lucrative. For example, popular hosting providers like Bluehost offer $65 in commissions for each new customer you refer.

8. Insurance Affiliate Programs

Insurance affiliate programs are also a great fit for beginners because the market is vast, covering auto, home, personal, and family insurance. Insurance companies are willing to pay high commissions to affiliate marketers.

However, the key point is that everyone needs insurance, so you likely already have some understanding of the industry. You don’t need to learn anything new to start promoting insurance affiliate programs.

Because the insurance market is broad, you can start with a niche you’re familiar with. For instance, if you’ve purchased home insurance and know it well, start by promoting home insurance affiliate programs.

As with the other programs mentioned, understanding different insurance products and policies from various companies allows you to match customers with the best options for their needs.

Click here to learn more about the 7 Best Insurance Affiliate Marketing Programs in 2024.

Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms for Beginners

There are many affiliate marketing platforms available, with some of the most well-known being CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, and Awin.

As long as you choose a reputable and reliable platform, you shouldn’t face any issues, regardless of whether you’re new to affiliate marketing. However, some platforms have higher barriers to entry. For example, FlexOffers might be difficult to join if you don’t have a website or traffic yet.

For beginners, CJ Affiliate or the Amazon Associates program are good options. These platforms have lower entry requirements and don’t demand immediate traffic or impose strict performance quotas, making them beginner-friendly.

Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest for Beginners

Promoting affiliate products on Pinterest is an ideal choice for beginners.

Compared to creating a YouTube channel and producing videos, Pinterest is a visual platform that allows you to generate traffic with well-designed pins and compelling descriptions. Creating content for Pinterest is simpler because designing images and writing short descriptions is easier than producing and editing videos. Therefore, many beginners choose Pinterest to kickstart their affiliate marketing efforts.

However, despite its simplicity, some marketers struggle to generate significant traffic on Pinterest because they don’t understand Pinterest marketing strategies or how to optimize their content for Pinterest SEO.

If you’re familiar with my blog, you know that at least half of the traffic to my various niche blogs comes from Pinterest. Over the years, many affiliate marketers have asked me how to succeed on Pinterest. To help them, I spent several months writing the “Pinterest Traffic Masterclass,” an ebook I update annually. Over 1,000 students have used this guide to generate significant traffic on Pinterest.

If you want to drive massive traffic on Pinterest like I do, don’t miss out on my ebook today.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is one of the most reliable ways to make money online. It’s a significant income source for freelancers, content creators, and bloggers.

However, many beginners make poor decisions when selecting an affiliate program, often focusing solely on commission rates without considering whether they have the skills to promote the products effectively.

Some industries require extensive experience and knowledge to succeed because their customers rely on experts for guidance.

Therefore, beginners should choose affiliate programs in areas they are comfortable with or skilled in, as this is the best way to achieve success in affiliate marketing.

I hope today’s article helps you make informed decisions when choosing an affiliate program. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below—I look forward to your feedback.

FAQ

Is Affiliate Marketing a Scam?

No, it’s not a scam. Many freelancers, content creators, influencers, bloggers, podcasters, and other online personalities earn money through affiliate marketing. The Amazon Associates program alone has over 1 million partners.

In 2023, affiliate marketing spending in the U.S. exceeded $10 billion. If you’re looking for a side hustle, part-time income, or want to become a freelancer, affiliate marketing is a great option.

Are Affiliate Marketing Programs Free?

Yes, affiliate marketing programs and networks are free to join. If someone asks you to pay to become an affiliate marketer, it might be a scam.

However, keep in mind that affiliate platforms or brands may not approve your application unless you can demonstrate that you have a way to generate traffic and drive sales for their products.

Can Beginners Make Money With Affiliate Marketing?

Yes, beginners can make money with affiliate marketing, though they may struggle to generate traffic initially due to a lack of experience and techniques. As a result, beginners may earn less, usually around a few hundred dollars per month during the first few months.

How to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing For Beginners

The easiest way for beginners to start making money with affiliate marketing is by applying for the Amazon Associates program. Once approved, you can start promoting Amazon products across social media platforms to earn commissions.

The Amazon Associates program is easy to join and doesn’t require immediate traffic or impose strict requirements, making it accessible even for beginners.

High Ticket Affiliate Marketing for Beginners

While high-ticket affiliate marketing programs offer large commissions, they are generally not recommended for beginners. In my experience, high-commission products tend to be harder to promote, and the competition is intense, making it difficult for beginners to succeed.

I recommend starting with affiliate programs in areas you’re familiar with, where you’re more likely to achieve success.

Affiliate Marketing Niches for Beginners

If you’re new to affiliate marketing, I recommend choosing niches that don’t require extensive industry knowledge to promote effectively.

For example, DIY and crafts, kitchen and cooking, online learning and education, everyday life hacks, and eco-friendly living are great niches for beginners. These areas are easy to get started with and don’t require a deep understanding of the industry.