Top 11 Best Affiliate Programs for Youtubers in 2024

According to the latest statistics, YouTube has over 2 billion logged-in monthly users, accounting for about a third of all internet users. With its significant growth, this platform is a wise option for any blogger, content writer, or influencer looking to get started with affiliate marketing.

The big question is: Which program will you promote to earn benefit from it?

While there are hundreds of affiliate programs for YouTubers out there, we’ve made a list of the eleven most potential ones to help you narrow down your choice.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

11 Best Affiliate Programs for Youtubers

Amazon Associates

Here’s the deal: You have spent thousands of dollars on Amazon. Now it’s time to take it back!

It’s no wonder that Amazon Associates comes to the top of the list when talking about worldwide affiliate programs for YouTube. Why? This one of the world’s largest online retailers has over 350 million products on its platform, with about 220 million users worldwide.

Since it offers an incredibly diverse range of products, you can find those that align with your content and target audience, increasing the chances of successful promotions.

For example, if you’re a fitness blogger, you can film videos of product reviews or unboxing, then attach relevant affiliate links in the video description or comment sections. You’ll get a commission once the viewers purchase the products via the link. Sounds simple, right?

But what we’re discussing next is more noticeable.

Let’s talk about the commission rate.

The Amazon affiliate program typically offers a low commission rate, lying between 1% and 5% for most categories. If you want to earn more, tap into luxury beauty items or Amazon games, where you’ll get a higher rate of about 10% to 20%.

The standard Amazon Associates cookie duration is 24 hours, which is relatively short. This means you’ll earn a commission only when someone buys an Amazon product through your affiliate link within 24 hours.

Being an Amazon affiliate is not a challenge if you have an active YouTube account (of at least 500 subscribers).

Commission Junction

Now, let’s move to another popular platform that’ll help you earn extra money.

Among comprehensive affiliate programs, Commission Junction (also known as CJ Affiliate) stands out as a potential network, connecting advertisers and publishers worldwide.

Unlike the Amazon Associates program, which only offers affiliate links to products from Amazon.com, CJ provides a wide variety of offers from different merchants’ websites.

As an affiliate publisher, you can earn commissions by promoting these merchants’ products and services on your channel. From finance to electronics to software categories, there are diverse options that you might consider to make referrals.

Typically, CJ offers a 5% to 10% commission rate. But you can also stand a chance to get up to 50% from some specific merchants. What a big deal!

Here’s an interesting fact: CJ Affiliate offers cookieless tracking due to the difference between apps and browsers. It will track user interactions and attribute them to affiliates without relying solely on browser cookies.

How about the conditions to join CJ Affiliate? Well, they vary depending on the advertisers. Since some merchants may have specific requirements (minimum traffic threshold or specific niche), it’s essential to carefully read their terms if you’re interested in promoting their products.

eBay Partner Network

It’s time to jump into another potential candidate in this exploration of affiliate programs for YouTube. Yes, we’re talking about one of the oldest marketplaces on the internet – eBay.

This platform offers the eBay Partner Network (ePN), allowing you to promote any product from its extensive categories.

Have you owned a channel yet? Then, joining this network is not challenging at all. Ensure that your content is of good quality and relevant to the products you intend to promote through the ePN.

However, that’s just the good part of the story.

You might see a similar opportunity to promote diverse products via ePN and Amazon Associates. There’s more!

Noticeably, the ePN also offers a relatively low commission rate, with a maximum of 4% for some categories such as high-fashion products and accessories.

Moreover, eBay typically has as short a cookie duration as Amazon, within 24 hours.

Thus, earning as much as you desire is hard unless you have a large audience on your YouTube channel.

LTK

Here’s another affiliate network that aims to connect influencers with brands, monetizing their digital content through YouTube affiliate marketing.

RewardStyle (now known as LTK) has become one of the leading platforms in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries.

If you want to join LTK, you need to have an engaging channel with high-quality videos shared regularly.

Let’s dig a little deeper!

This network provides influencers with a platform to create and share shoppable content. When the followers click on an affiliate link, they are taken to the retailer’s website to make a purchase. The influencer then earns a commission on the sale.

Like other affiliate programs, the commission rate of LTK can vary widely depending on the brand and product category.

But here’s the good news: It’s willing to pay influencers 7% to 20% commission on each sale they generate. Sounds better than Amazon or eBay, right?

Furthermore, its cookie duration lasts up to 30 to 60 days. Another plus point for this program!

MaxBounty

If you’re still looking for popular affiliate programs for YouTube with a large number of advertisers and competitive commissions, MaxBounty is a wise option.

Founded in 2004, it now reaches over 30,000 affiliates and over 3000 active campaigns. On this platform, you might spot popular brands like Microsoft, McAfee, Apple, and GoDaddy.

Like LTK, MaxBounty is an intermediary between advertisers and affiliate marketers. However, it focuses on technology products and services rather than the fashion and lifestyle industries, as LTK does.

What’s so special about this affiliate marketing program?

You might realize that most platforms offer cost-per-sale (CPS) affiliate programs.

MaxBounty, on the other hand, provides extra cost-per-action (CPA) programs. Simply put, this performance-based network will benefit affiliate marketers if the visitor takes the desired action (sign up for a free trial or download an app).

Note that advertisers on MaxBounty offer different commission rates. Some pay a flat rate commission, while others pay a percentage of the sale. You also have a chance to get a huge commission of 50% (per sale or lead).

So now, if you’ve already had a channel with a certain amount of viewers, sign up for MaxBounty. Remember: Don’t try to sell your MaxBounty account, or you’ll be banned.

Shopify

Are you reaching out to the audiences of the e-commerce world? If so, Shopify’s affiliate program might open the door to your passive income.

With over 4.3 million live websites as users, Shopify is currently a leading e-commerce platform in empowering businesses to create, manage, and grow their online stores.

Desire to use Shopify as one of the prominent affiliate programs to monetize your channel? High-quality content that is relevant to Shopify merchants is the key. This could include tutorial videos about marketing a Shopify store or Shopify’s software reviews (apps, themes, or plugins).

You might be wondering: How much can you earn from this platform?

Well, $150 is a fixed amount that Shopify will pay you for each successful referral. It means that if an audience clicks the affiliate link you’ve attached in your video’s description and subscribes to a priced Shopify plan (Basic or Advanced), you’ll get that $150.

Further notice: This action should be generated within 30 days to help you earn a commission.

ClickBank

ClickBank is one of the oldest affiliate marketing networks, primarily facilitating the sale of digital products. But now, it covers a broader range of topics, including physical ones such as health and fitness, home and garden, etc.

This is crazy: Some products at ClickBank are offered a commission of as high as 75% of their price.

However, this excellent affiliate marketing potential for earning needs to be addressed. It’s worth noting that not all products listed on the platform are of high quality. If influencers promote those that do not deliver the value promised, it’ll raise a lousy reputation for both affiliates and the platform itself.

So once you’ve decided to join the ClickBank affiliate network, it’s crucial to do your research and carefully choose high-quality products that your audience can benefit from.

The ClickBank affiliate network also provides a tracking system for affiliate sales and commissions. So if you’re promoting their quality products correctly, you deserve the high commission rate they offer.

ShareASale

Along with ClickBank and CJ, ShareASale was one of the most reputable affiliate marketing programs back in the day.

With 25,000 merchants and 200 million sales in 2022, this is a robust and reliable platform for YouTubers or influencers to earn commissions. It has an extensive network of merchants in the retail niche so you can find products relevant to your YouTube audience.

Here’s another exciting part: Like MaxBounty, ShareASale affiliate network offers several other ways (besides the CPS) to earn job replacement income. That is the pay-per-click and pay-per-lead program. Consider this advantage carefully since it might be a crucial factor that impacts your decision. Who knows?

Wondering about the commissions? Again, ShareASale’s commission rate varies among different merchants and products. But you might expect a range from 5% to 30%. Plus, note that the cookie duration lasts for 30 days.

ShopStyle

Besides LTK, ShopStyle is a striking star among fashion-based affiliate programs that you’re looking for.

This massive shopping platform offers the Collective Voice (formerly ShopStyle Collective) program for YouTubers that allows them to promote products from various retailers.

There’s one thing that might make you choose ShopStyle over LTK. That is, its affiliates can promote the same kinds of stores that LTK does without signing up with various networks.

But in return, it requires a bit harder eligibility requirements: You must have YouTube channels, Instagram profiles, Snapchat profiles, or any social media account of at least 10,000 people.

Similar to other programs, this platform pays different levels of commission rates (ranging from 5% to 20%). However, its cookie duration is extended to 60 or 90 days, benefiting the affiliate marketers.

Etsy

We could not round up this list of top affiliate programs for YouTube without mentioning Etsy.

Focusing on unique, handmade, and vintage items, Etsy has become a giant platform for affiliate marketing beginners to earn additional income beyond selling products.

Remember: Since the Etsy Affiliate Program only applies to unique items, you cannot promote mass-produced products through the program. Mark this unique feature to ensure your video content reaches the target audience.

Etsy’s affiliate marketing platform is open to anyone with a YouTube channel, a website, or other online presence meeting specific requirements.

Affiliates who refer customers to purchase anything on Etsy through their links (within 30 days since they clicked the link) receive a 4% commission.

YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program

Good news to all US-based YouTubers: You don’t need to search everywhere for an affiliate program since YouTube has just launched their own platform – the YouTube Shopping affiliate program.

Do you know this program has an advantage you can not find elsewhere? Well, it lets you tag products from your own channel’s store or brands in your YouTube videos, shorts, and even live stream.

In other words, instead of using links as traditional, YouTube will display a “View Products” section in your video. This lets your viewers see several product details while enjoying your content.

So how to become an affiliate of this program? While their eligibility requirements vary, there are basic criteria, such as you need to be a member of the YouTube Partner Program and have at least 20k subscribers.

When you successfully join it, you’ll earn different commission rates based on each product and retailer.

How to Promote Affiliate Products on Youtube?

Choose the right niche for your content

This is the first and foremost step, whether you plan to promote affiliate products on YouTube or build an affiliate website.

Start questioning yourself:

• What am I passionate about?
• What type of content do I know best to share with others?
• Are people actively searching for videos related to this niche?

Once you’ve identified a suitable and potential niche, it’ll become much easier for you to create authentic and engaging content about the products you’re promoting in the future.

Select your YouTube affiliate program

We’ve just provided you with the top eleven affiliate programs for YouTube. You might stick to our list to research further and find the ones that align with your niche.

Here’s the hint: Look for programs that offer high commissions, quality products, and a solid tracking and recording system.

For example, if fashion is your YouTube channel’s niche, affiliate programs offering a wide range of fashion products are a good fit. Some popular options include ShopStyle, LTK, CJ, or Amazon Associates.

Create high-quality content that your audience will find valuable

Not only do your videos have to be informative and engaging but they should also provide value to your audience. Plus, when you’re promoting any affiliate product, be sure to analyze it and talk about how it benefits your viewers.

Back to the previous example about fashion, you might create videos related to clothing trends, styling tips, fashion hauls, and more.

Use clear and concise affiliate links

Here’s the truth:

Effectively integrating affiliate links is crucial for generating clicks and conversions.

The tips?

• Make sure the links are relevant to your video content
• Keep the links short and sweet
• Place the links clearly in your video description or comments
• Remember to disclose your affiliate status to your viewers naturally

Track your results and optimize your campaigns

Finally, tracking your affiliating results is essential since it helps you know what’s effective and what’s not. From that, you might refine and optimize your campaigns over time.

Use tracking tools from programs that you’ve chosen to gather insights. Important data includes the click-through rate via your affiliate links, the number of sales, the average order value, and more.

FAQs

Q: How many subscribers do I need to become a YouTube affiliate?

If you want to make money through YouTube affiliate marketing, your channel needs a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. Besides, it must have at least 4,000 watch hours in the past year.

Besides these, there are more eligibility requirements that you need to meet to join the YouTube Partner Program. Check them carefully!

Q: Does YouTube ban affiliate links?

No, this streaming platform doesn’t explicitly ban affiliate links. However, it has some guidelines that require YouTubers to follow. This is to ensure a safe and healthy affiliate program as well as to prevent any unexpected issues of your channel being suspended.

Q: Can you post affiliate links in YouTube comments?

The answer is yes. Links from affiliate programs for YouTubers can be posted in the comment section. However, make sure that the links are relevant and natural. Don’t spam them in the comments.

Q: Is it possible to promote affiliate links on YouTube shorts?

Fortunately, YouTube Shorts also offer an opportunity for YouTubers to earn money through affiliate marketing.

However, mark that new streaming platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, or Facebook Reels differ from the original long-form videos. So ensure you understand its features and policy to make your affiliate strategy eligible and successful.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, affiliate marketing presents a unique opportunity for YouTubers to share valuable content with their audience and generate an extra stream of income through promoting relevant products.

Choosing suitable affiliate programs for YouTube plays a vital role in becoming a successful affiliate marketer.

By joining the right networks, you can easily search and promote products or services that are relevant to your content and beneficial to your audience, raising the chance of generating commissions.