Hi, I'm Jen! I'm a personal finance expert and money coach aiming to help you take control of your money. I went from being broke to a six-figure net worth and am now on track to be financially independent at age 40. Discover Jen's story
In this post, you’ll learn about my favourite high-paying affiliate programs. Affiliate marketing is a great passive income source. If you’re not using it as a blogger or influencer, you’re missing out on great profit.
I started blogging in April 2019 and have joined several affiliate programs since then. Some of them had useless products; others didn’t pay well. But there were also some that I liked. Now, I earn about £400 monthly from affiliate commissions. You can find the best-paying affiliate programs listed below.
💡 Quick Answer: Best Affiliate Programs UK
The best affiliate networks include:
- Awin
- Impact
- ShareASale
- Clickwork7
- CJ Affiliate
- Skimlinks
- Amazon
- eBay
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is online marketing. You promote products from a company to generate sales. You earn a commission for each successful sale or customer you bring via your affiliate link.
To start, select a niche that interests you and suits your audience. Then, create a website, blog, or social media account to share your product knowledge. Your platform should provide quality content to attract a loyal audience.
Once you’ve built your online presence, you can join an affiliate network. These networks offer programs from different companies. You can choose the products and services you want to promote.
You get an affiliate link to include in your content or marketing materials. When users click on this link and make a purchase, you’ll receive a commission.
Best Affiliate Networks in the UK
Affiliate networks are websites that offer affiliate programs for many merchants. They make affiliate marketing convenient as you only have to sign up once.
1. ShareASale
- 🥳 Founded: 2000
- 🏭 Brands: Over 28,000
- 🧑🤝🧑 Affiliate marketers: Over 270,000
- ⭐ Trustpilot score: 1.5/5.0
ShareASale is the most well-known affiliate network in the UK. Recently, many merchants have moved from ShareASale to Impact. However, ShareASale is still worth signing up to.
ShareASale has a great variety of merchants, and it is easy to apply to them. On the downside, it is hard to get accepted into ShareASale. It took me three applications to get in.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Many brands recently left the network | Outdated site design Hard to get accepted as a publisher |
2. Awin
- 🥳 Founded: 2000
- 🏭 Brands: Over 25,000
- 🧑🤝🧑 Affiliate marketers: Over 1 million
- ⭐ Trustpilot score: 2.8/5.0
Awin is one of the largest affiliate marketing networks. Awin is part of the same group as ShareASale but is a different network. Awin has a lot of merchants, which means it is a must-have for most bloggers.
On the downside, signing up to Awin is not free. You have to pay a fee of £5, which you get back when you get your first payout. Applying to merchants within Awin is also challenging. Many brands do not respond to applications, so it may take months to get in.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Well-established platform Many brands | Sign-up fee Hard to get accepted by brands |
3. Impact
- 🥳 Founded: 2008
- 🏭 Brands: Over 1000
- 🧑🤝🧑 Affiliate marketers: –
- ⭐ Trustpilot score: 2.2/5.0
Impact, formerly known as Impact Radius, has many big brands as affiliate partners. Examples include Adidas, Starling Bank, and Tailwind. Impact is a great affiliate network for filtering and analysing earnings. However, the platform is hard to navigate and confusing for new users.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Many big brands Good reporting and analyses tools | Difficult to use and confusing platform The commission doesn’t always track |
4. Clickwork7
- 🥳 Founded: 2011
- 🏭 Brands: Unknown
- 🧑🤝🧑 Affiliate marketers: –
- ⭐ Trustpilot score: –
Clickwork7 is an affiliate network specialising in surveys and reward sites. You can find some of the best GPT sites on the site. This affiliate network has a high minimum payout threshold (£100).
You may not see your earnings for a while, given that most surveys offer low incentives. Plus, you have to send a manual invoice to get your money. However, if you want to earn commission from survey and reward sites, Clickwork7 is a must-join.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great for surveys and GPT sites Responsive support team | Difficult-to-use affiliate portal Need to invoice manually High minimum payout |
5. CJ Affiliate Network
- 🥳 Founded: 1998
- 🏭 Brands: Over 3,800
- 🧑🤝🧑 Affiliate marketers: Over 167,000
- ⭐ Trustpilot score: 2.4/5.0
CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction) is one of the oldest affiliate networks. However, I do not recommend it to beginner affiliate marketers. The platform closes your account if you don’t make a sale within 12 months. If you have a website, CJ Affiliate is great because you can also sell space on your website to advertisers.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Well-established platform | Accounts are frequently closed Users report difficulties with receiving payouts |
6. Skimlinks
- 🥳 Founded: 2007
- 🏭 Brands: Over 48,500
- 🧑🤝🧑 Affiliate marketers: Over 60,000
- ⭐ Trustpilot score: 3.8/5.0
Skimlinks is a leading content monetisation platform. With Skimlinks, you can monetise your website by converting links to affiliate links. It’s a scalable, easy-to-use solution that works across various platforms.
By partnering with Skimlinks, you can benefit from many affiliate networks. You get access to over 20,000 merchants. Being a part of Skimlinks means you won’t need to manage individual affiliations.
Skimlink works through a simple JavaScript snippet that you add to your website. This snippet turns product links in your content into affiliate links. Skimlinks offers useful tools, such as the Skimlinks Editor. This browser extension helps you access merchant information and optimises your link strategy.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to use Helpful browser extension Most variety of affiliate programs Well-liked on Trustpilot | Slow customer support |
7. Amazon Associates
Amazon’s affiliate program does not pay well. You only earn 1%-10% commission per sale. However, getting sales is easy, so you can compensate for the low rates through volume. Most people have an Amazon account, and you earn for everything they buy after clicking your link.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can promote all Amazon products Links convert easily Earn commission for any purchase | Limited to products on Amazon Low commission rates Strict rules Easy to get banned SiteStripe images no longer work |
8. eBay Partner Network
eBay Partner Network (EPN) is a platform helping you collaborate with eBay. By becoming a partner, you can make money by promoting and driving traffic to eBay.
To become an eBay partner, visit the EPN website and apply. Once approved, you can access a user-friendly portal and dashboard. There, you can find resources such as API endpoints and promotional tools.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can promote all eBay products User-friendly affiliate dashboard | Limited to products on eBay Low commission |
Highest-paying Affiliate Programs
These are programs I’ve had great success promoting. I use or have used all listed sites/services myself as a customer/user. This is why they work for me. Your results might differ from mine, depending on your audience.
1. Outplayed/OddsMonkey
Matched betting is a way to make money from sports betting without gambling. In short, you place sports bets that cancel each other out. Then, you make a profit from an associated promotion.
Matched betting affiliate programs work well because matched betting websites hugely benefit users. With Outplayed and OddsMonkey, Matched bettors can make up to £1000 per month.
Both sites pay a recurring commission, and you earn 42% of each sale you make. The minimum payout is £50.
2. Teachable
Teachable is one of the top-paying affiliate programs in the UK. Teachable is an online teaching platform that allows people to sell online courses. Online courses are a great source of passive income.
People pay monthly to host their course on Teachable. As an affiliate, you can earn a recurrent commission from it. The average monthly commission you make per sale is $20.70. Most people want their courses to be available long term, meaning you get a long-term income.
3. Fiverr
Fiverr enables people to offer their services to Fiverr users. For example, if you need someone to proofread your CV, you can find someone on Fiverr who will do it for a fee. People on Fiverr often offer better rates than businesses. Fiverr is a great affiliate program as it has strong marketing tools. Read more in my Fiverr review.
4. Bluehost Affiliate Program
Bluehost is a web hosting company that people use to host their websites. Most web hosting companies offer affiliate schemes.
Bluehost isn’t the best web host. It is great for beginners due to its low rates. Yet, I recommend bloggers move away once their subscriptions are due for renewal. For advanced bloggers, Bluehost will likely be too slow.
Bluehost’s affiliate scheme is one of the top-paying affiliate programs. It is generous, paying $75-100 per sale.
5. NordVPN
A virtual private network (VPN) creates a private network from a public connection. The purpose of this is to maintain your privacy and keep you safe.
You can also use VPNs to change your location, e.g. pretend you are in the UK when you are abroad. VPNs are great to use as they protect your privacy and keep your data safe. This is why a reliable VPN such as NordVPN is worth paying for. NordVPN is the VPN I use when connecting from a public network.
NordVPN’s affiliate scheme is among the highest paying in the VPN market. You can make between 30%-100% of the sale price as commission, depending on the plan you sell.
6. Wise (Transferwise)
Transferwise is a money transfer service to transfer money abroad. It is one of the cheapest ways to send money abroad. I have used them for years to transfer money between the UK and my home country. Wise’s affiliate scheme pays £10 per sale, but you can upgrade to £20 depending on your performance.
7. Shopify
The Shopify Affiliate Program allows you to earn a flat commission. As a Shopify affiliate, you can use your unique referral links to promote Shopify.
Shopify’s affiliate program pays for your referrals via PayPal. The payout threshold and recurring commissions can vary depending on your partnership details. You’ll need an active PayPal account to receive your commissions.
8. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email marketing platform. You can use it to send newsletters or automated email sequences. CovertKit also offers a great affiliate program. Affiliate marketers can earn a 30% recurring commission for up to 24 months.
Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?
Affiliate marketing is worth it. The affiliate marketing industry has continuously increased and is now worth $12 million. It has unlimited earning potential if you build your affiliate marketing business.
Affiliate marketing is a profitable way to connect buyers with relevant brands. Once set up, an affiliate marketer’s commission is passive income. Thus, everyone involved in the process benefits from affiliate marketing.
How Much Can Affiliate Marketers Make?
There is no limit to how much you can make from affiliate marketing programs. Affiliate programs and networks pay different commission rates. As a beginner, you likely won’t get paid much. However, making six figures is no dream once you have become established.
Choose program offers with solid commission structures so you can work your way up. Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. However, it is more profitable than other money-making methods, such as the Body Shop at Home MLM.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Companies Do Affiliate Marketing?
Many companies that sell online offer an affiliate program. To find out if a company you want to work for has an affiliate scheme, search for “company name affiliate program”. The results will show their affiliate program sign-up page or affiliate network.
Is Affiliate Marketing Legal in the UK?
Affiliate marketing is legal in the UK. However, you must adhere to the Advertising Standard Authority’s (ASA) code. You must tell people when you share an affiliate link. The content also cannot “mislead materially or cause serious or widespread offence”.
Which Is the Best Affiliate Program in the UK?
There is no single best affiliate program in the UK. The best scheme for you depends on your audience. As a personal finance blogger, I use affiliate programs for finance-related products. Cooking-related affiliate links, for example, wouldn’t work well for me.
Top Affiliate Marketing Programs and Networks in the UK Summary
There are many affiliate programs, but not all are worth joining. Any affiliate program you consider should:
- Be legit
- Pay without problems
- Offer high payments
- Have a product that offers value to its users
Top-paying affiliate networks I have been using include:
- Awin
- Impact
- ShareASale
- Clickwork7
- CJ Affiliate
- Skimlinks
- Amazon
- eBay
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