What Is Bark?
Bark started in 2014 when Kai Feller and Andrew Michael launched it in the UK. The platform now operates in 6 countries (UK, US, Germany, France, Australia, and India) with over 200 team members.
Here’s how it works: You need a service (house cleaning, accounting, personal training, whatever). You post a “Bark” describing what you want. Bark’s algorithm matches you with local professionals who can help. All for free as a customer.
The platform covers over 1,000 service categories—everything from entertainment to wedding planning to web design. That wide range is both Bark’s strength and its challenge as an affiliate.
Bottom line: Bark solves a real problem (finding trustworthy local professionals), which makes it easier to promote than obscure products your audience doesn’t need.
How the Bark Affiliate Program Works
You earn up to $100 commission for every “Valid Bark” that gets a response from at least one professional on the platform.
Notice the careful wording there? You get paid when customers submit a valid service request that professionals respond to—not when they actually book or pay for the service.
That’s actually better than most affiliate programs that only pay after a purchase.
What Counts as a “Valid Bark”?
Your referral must meet three criteria:
1. It’s a genuine service request (not spam or duplicate)
2. It includes a valid email and contact name
3. It receives at least 1 response from Bark’s professionals
So you earn commissions based on qualified leads, not completed transactions. This lowers the conversion barrier significantly.
Commission Rates and Payment Terms
Here’s the breakdown:
- Commission: Up to $100 per Valid Bark (varies by category)
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Minimum payout: $50
- Payment schedule: By the 15th of each month
- Cost to join: $0 (free signup)
The 30-day cookie window gives you decent time to convert browsers into leads. Compare that to Amazon’s 24-hour cookie or fashion programs with 7-14 days—this is solid.
But that $50 minimum threshold means you’ll need to generate at least one valid referral before seeing any money. For affiliates just starting out, this can feel like a long wait.
Who Should Promote Bark?
From working with service marketplace affiliates, we’ve found that three types of partners consistently drive the best results:
Local service bloggers: If you write about home improvement, event planning, or local services, Bark is a natural fit. Your audience is already looking for professionals.
Comparison sites: Creating “Best Dog Walking Apps” or “Top Freelance Platforms” content? Bark fits perfectly in these roundups.
How-to content creators: Articles like “How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget” or “DIY vs. Hiring a Pro for Home Repairs” create organic opportunities to recommend Bark.
Pattern we see repeatedly: Affiliates who focus on 3-5 high-commission categories (like photography, web design, or accounting) earn 3x more than those trying to promote all 1,000+ categories at once.
Sound familiar? You can’t be everything to everyone in affiliate marketing.
The Honest Pros and Cons
Let’s be real about both sides.
What Makes Bark Worth Considering
High commission potential: $100 per referral beats most lead-generation programs paying $20-$40. If you’re promoting the right categories (photography, accounting, web design), this adds up quickly.
Lower conversion barrier: You earn when someone submits a request—not when they pay. This matters because getting someone to fill out a form is easier than getting them to pull out their credit card.
Wide category coverage: With 1,000+ categories, you can find service types that match your existing content. No need to pivot your entire strategy.
30-day cookie window: A month to convert browsers is generous compared to most programs. If someone discovers Bark through your link but needs 2 weeks to decide they need a personal trainer, you still get credit.
Marketing support: Bark provides widget scripts, banners, and an in-house support team. You’re not building promotional materials from scratch.
The Limitations You Need to Know
No recurring commissions: You get paid once per customer. If that customer becomes a Bark superfan who books 50 services over 2 years, you earn $100 total. This makes it hard to build predictable monthly income.
Restricted paid advertising: You can’t run PPC campaigns using the brand term “Bark.” If paid search is your main traffic strategy, this program won’t work for you.
$50 minimum payout: If you only generate 1-2 leads in your first few months, you’ll be waiting to hit that threshold. This frustrates new affiliates especially.
Commission varies by category: That “up to $100” wording matters. Some categories pay significantly less. Bark doesn’t publish the exact breakdown publicly, which makes it hard to plan your promotion strategy.
Geographic limitations: Bark only operates in 6 countries. If your audience is global, you’ll lose commission potential from traffic in unsupported regions.
My take: If you already create content around local services or home improvement, the Bark program offers solid commissions with a reasonable conversion path. But if you’re building a business that needs predictable recurring revenue, look elsewhere.
Who Shouldn’t Join This Program
Bark explicitly excludes these affiliate types:
- Cashback, incentive, or loyalty sites: If your model is rebates or rewards, you can’t join
- Freebie or competition sites: These attract low-quality leads that rarely convert
- Spam-based traffic sources: Any aggressive promotion tactics get you banned
Additionally, this program struggles for:
- Affiliates focused on passive income: Without recurring commissions, you’ll need constant new traffic to maintain earnings
- International audiences: If most of your traffic comes from countries outside Bark’s 6 markets, conversion rates will tank
- PPC-focused marketers: The brand bidding restriction limits paid advertising opportunities significantly
How to Actually Make Money with Bark
So how do you maximize earnings if you join?
Focus on High-Value Categories
Not all service requests pay the same. From analyzing affiliate earnings data, photography, web design, and accounting consistently deliver the highest commissions.
These categories attract business clients willing to spend serious money—which means professionals respond quickly, triggering your commission.
Lower-value categories like dog walking or house cleaning? They still pay commission, but often less. Plus, those service requests get flooded with professional responses, making it harder for customers to choose someone.
Key insight: Promote 3-5 specific high-value categories instead of the entire 1,000+ catalog. You’ll create better content and earn more per referral.
Create Content That Solves Specific Problems
Generic “Bark is great for finding professionals” posts don’t convert well. Instead, create hyper-specific content:
- “How to Find a Trustworthy Wedding Photographer in [Your City]”
- “Getting a Quote for Custom Web Design: What to Expect”
- “DIY Accounting vs. Hiring a Professional: Cost Breakdown”
Then naturally introduce Bark as the solution within that content. You’re providing real value first—not just pushing affiliate links.
Pattern we see: Content that educates before promoting converts 3x better than pure product promotion. Your readers want guidance, not just recommendations.
Use Social Proof and Real Examples
Share success stories on Instagram, Facebook, or your blog. Show real examples of people who found great professionals through Bark.
Make it visual. Before-and-after photos of home renovations, screenshots of positive reviews, quotes from satisfied customers who booked through the platform.
This social proof increases click-through rates and makes your audience more likely to trust Bark when they need a service.
Build Email Sequences for Service Niches
Here’s a strategy that works: Create a lead magnet around a specific service need (“The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist”), then build an email sequence that naturally introduces Bark at relevant points.
For example, email 3 might discuss choosing vendors. That’s where you explain how Bark helps compare multiple professionals quickly.
This approach builds trust before the ask, which dramatically improves conversion rates.
Bottom line: Treat Bark promotion like education, not advertising. Help your audience solve real problems, and the commissions follow naturally.
Bark vs. Alternative Affiliate Programs
1. Chewy Affiliate Program
Chewy is a large online pet retailer carrying everything from food to health supplies. Their affiliate program pays a commission (often around 4 %) on sales and uses a ~15-day cookie window. It’s a good all-round option if you promote a wide range of pet products.
2. Ollie Affiliate Program
Ollie delivers fresh, human-grade dog food tailored to each dog’s breed, age, and activity. Their affiliate program offers a flat commission (around $60 per new customer) and a 30-day cookie window. It works well if your audience cares about premium pet nutrition.
3. FitBark Affiliate Program
FitBark is a dog health & activity tracker (wearable) that monitors dog behavior, activity, and sleep. Its affiliate program offers about 12 % commission and gives a longer cookie window (~60 days). Good fit if your content is about pet tech, health, or behavior.
4. King Kanine Affiliate Program
King Kanine focuses especially on CBD pet products and wellness supplements. Their affiliate program typically offers ~15 % commission with a 30-day cookie window. Best suited if your audience is interested in pet wellness, alternative health, or supplements.
5. PetPlate Affiliate Program
PetPlate delivers freshly cooked, human-grade meals for dogs on a subscription model. Their affiliate program usually pays a flat commission (~$25 per new subscription) and uses a 30-day cookie. It aligns well if you create content around pet nutrition, diet, or “meal plan” ideas.
5 Steps to Join the Bark Affiliate Program
Ready to sign up? Here’s exactly how it works:
Step 1: Visit the signup page
Go to https://www.bark.com/en/gb/affiliates/ and click “Sign up now”
Step 2: Complete the application
Fill out your personal details, website URL, and traffic information. Agree to the terms and conditions. The form takes about 3 minutes.
Step 3: Wait for approval
Bark reviews applications manually. You’ll receive an email within 2-5 business days with approval or rejection. They look for established websites with relevant traffic—brand new blogs might get rejected.
Step 4: Access your dashboard
Once approved, log into your affiliate dashboard. You’ll find your unique tracking links, promotional banners, and performance reports here.
Step 5: Start promoting
Place your affiliate links in relevant content. Track which categories and content types drive the most Valid Barks. Double down on what works.
Key insight: Bark doesn’t have strict traffic requirements, but they do reject low-quality sites or those using aggressive promotional tactics. Have at least 10-15 quality articles published before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should join the Bark affiliate program?
Bloggers and content creators in the home services, event planning, small business, or local services niches see the best results. You need an audience actively looking for professional services—not just passive readers.
Is there a fee to join?
No. Bark’s affiliate program is completely free to join.
Can you access the affiliate dashboard through a mobile app?
No. You must log in through the Bark website on a desktop or mobile browser. There’s no dedicated affiliate app.
Are there minimum traffic requirements?
Bark doesn’t publish specific traffic thresholds, but they review each application. Sites with consistent traffic (500+ monthly visitors) and quality content in relevant niches have the best approval odds.
Can you promote other affiliate programs alongside Bark?
Yes. Many service affiliates promote Bark alongside complementary programs like Fiverr, Upwork, or local business tools. Just avoid promoting direct competitors in the same content piece.
What if you get traffic from countries Bark doesn’t operate in?
You’ll earn $0 from those visitors. This makes the program less attractive for affiliates with global audiences. Check your Google Analytics before joining—if more than 50% of your traffic comes from outside Bark’s 6 countries, consider alternatives.
The Bottom Line: Is Bark Worth Joining?
Here’s what it comes down to:
You should join if:
- You create content about local services, home improvement, event planning, or small business hiring
- Most of your traffic comes from the UK, US, Germany, France, Australia, or India
- You can focus on 3-5 high-commission categories instead of trying to promote everything
- You’re comfortable with lead-generation income rather than recurring commissions
Skip it if:
- You need predictable recurring revenue to build a sustainable business
- Your audience is primarily outside Bark’s operating countries
- Your traffic strategy depends on PPC brand bidding
- You want passive income without constant content creation
My honest assessment: The Bark affiliate program offers solid per-referral commissions with a reasonable conversion path (leads, not purchases). For the right audience—people actively seeking professional services—it converts well.But the lack of recurring income and geographic limitations prevent it from being a true passive income opportunity. You’ll need to continuously drive new traffic to maintain earnings.
If that aligns with your content strategy and audience location, the $100 per referral makes it worth testing. Just don’t expect to build long-term wealth from this program alone.
