7 Awesome Affiliate Marketing Programs for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, you probably have a list of things you want to improve in your business but need capital. However, there are many opportunities to get more money in your business. You can apply for funding like grants, establish another income stream, or combine these opportunities. One stream of income we suggest is affiliate marketing. We’re excited to tell you about affiliate marketing and recommend some affiliate marketing programs you can join right now. 

This blog post may contain affiliate links which means we get commissions for purchases made through links in this post at no extra cost to you.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

According to Investopedia, affiliate marketing is “marketing scheme in which a company compensates partners for business created from the affiliate’s marketing tactics.”

In other words, as an affiliate you make money when you promote another company’s product to your audience and they make a purchase. 

There are many entrepreneurs (primarily men) who make a lot of money by using affiliate marketing. For example, Pat Flynn makes 80% of his income through affiliate marketing. Zac Johnson is able to make $100,000 every month on just affiliate marketing alone. 

Countless others are able to use affiliate marketing to generate significant income, and so can you.

If you’re wondering why so many entrepreneurs turn to affiliate marketing, it’s because:

• You can make money without creating another product
• It’s relatively easy to join affiliate programs and they’re free
• It’s possible to earn money from affiliate marketing passively

Are you convinced that affiliate marketing can be a gamechanger for your business? Let’s get into some tips and programs you may want to join. 

Affiliate Marketing Programs for Small Business Owners

While it may seem counterproductive to promote another company, it can provide important income for your business or your brand. When picking an affiliate marketing program, make sure you:

• Avoid promoting competitors
• Look for the affiliate programs offered by companies that provide the products and services you already use and love 
• Know your audience and what they are interested in
• Find relevant products and services

When you’re promoting your affiliate link, remember to disclose your relation with them per the  Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements. In addition to that, most affiliate programs require you to be already a customer. 

Here are some affiliate marketing programs we recommend. 

1. She Boss Talk 

Did you know that we have an affiliate program? 

We have hundreds of affiliates who promote our products to their network. When someone buys a product using one of our affiliates’ links, we pay them. In addition, we send out a weekly affiliate email where we give tips to our affiliates to help them earn more money. 

Our affiliates promote the products from our Payhip store. In our Payhip store we have products related to:

• Taxes
• Grants
• Marketing
• Business growth

All we’re looking for are go-getters and She Bosses. If our program sounds like a good fit, you can sign up here.  

2. Canva 

Canva is an all-in-one tool that allows anyone to create stunning designs. You can create social media posts, resumes, invoices, YouTube thumbnails, flyers and so much more. 

 Many small business owners rely on Canva to design graphics for their businesses, and they absolutely love it. However, many small business owners haven’t signed up for Canva’s affiliate program. 

Canva has an outstanding affiliate program; we can confidently recommend it because we’re affiliates. You can earn a lot, especially if you have an engaged audience that needs Canva.

According to Canva, the features of their affiliate program are:

• Free to join
• No minimum sales
• Regular and flexible payment options
• The ability to earn up to $36 for each new Canva Pro subscriber that signs up with your affiliate link 
• Resources to help you promote 

Wondering if you’ll be a good fit for you? Canva says they’re looking for a:

• Design influencer
• Design educator
• People with a large audience 

If you’re not a Canva user but want to check them out, you can sign up with our affiliate link. 

3. MailerLite 

Business owners need to have an email marketing system. There is no doubt about that. We use and recommend MailerLite for our emails. We also recommend their affiliate program. 

With MailerLite’s affiliate program, you’re able to:

• Earn a 30% lifetime commission for every sale 
• Use promotional assets to market your affiliate link
• Receive support from their friendly partner team
• Track your earnings and get relevant analytics

Want to know if MailerLite is right for you? They’re looking for:

• Marketers and agencies
• Bloggers and experts
• Business owners

If that sounds like you, apply for their affiliate program and start earning. 

4. QuickBooks

Quickbooks is an accounting software beloved by small business owners both for its software and affiliate program. 

If you use Quickbooks for your business, you’re able to join their affiliate program and start earning. 

Some characteristics of their affiliate program are:

• Provision of marketing content and templates
• Ability to track your referrals and link clicks
• Information to get started

When you apply to be an affiliate, they will get back to you within 7-10 business days. They provide much more information about their program when you get accepted to their program. 

5. Fiverr

If you’re a Fiverr user, you can join their affiliate program and start earning. Small business owners often work with freelancers instead of and in addition to salaried staff. That’s why Fiverr is a beloved platform for entrepreneurs. Therefore, you can promote it to other entrepreneurs looking for freelancers and when they complete a transaction, you get paid.

Some of the characteristics of their affiliate program are:

• The ability to promote various Fiverr companies such as Fiverr Workplace and Fiverr Learn
• Free to join
• Access to marketing material, tools, and others resources
• Earn immediately when the traffic you sent converts

6. Amazon

Amazon has a robust affiliate program used by entrepreneurs, influencers, creators, and others. If you use Amazon and have an audience, you can benefit from the Amazon Associates programs. We’re confident in recommending this program because we use it too!

They’re affiliate program allows you to share products and services with your audience and earn a 10% commission on purchases. 

If you’re a publisher, blogger or content creator you can qualify for this program if you have a qualifying website or a mobile app. On the other hand, if you’re an influencer with an established following, you can sign up with their Amazon Influencer Program.

7. Payhip

Did you know that you can become a Payhip affiliate? If you enjoy using Payhip, you can encourage other creators to host their products there and earn a 50% lifetime commission. You can be a Payhip affiliate even if you’re not a customer of the platform. 

 Other characteristics of their affiliate program are:

• Dashboard with reporting tools
• Monthly payouts in PayPal (if you get to $50)
• Access to marketing material
• Marketing creatively 

Next Steps

No, affiliate marketing isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. However, it’s worth understanding and utilizing your business to create another income stream. The best part is that you can learn how to be an affiliate marketer, no matter your niche. 

We believe you can make an excellent affiliate marketer, so we’re hosting a workshop so you can hone your skills.

With our Affiliate Marketing Masterclass, you’ll be able to learn key marketing strategies industry leaders use to make millions, as well as how to:

• Make money without creating another product or service
• Earn more sales with less effort
• Find which affiliate marketing programs are a good fit for you and pick the right ones
• Create your affiliate programs so you can recruit people to sell your stuff
• Drive traffic to your affiliate products

Access the masterclass here and start learning today.

In addition to downloading our masterclass, you can check out 5 Ways to Promote Affiliate Products to Earn More Money.

Last updated: January 20, 2023, at 9:56pm EST