Whatever type of content you create, affiliate marketing can turn your influence into income. By partnering with brands and promoting products through unique affiliate links, you can earn a commission on every sale.
The US affiliate marketing industry has been rapidly growing in recent years, and is set to exceed $13.81 billion in 2026. This comes as Impact’s report found 59% of brands plan to allocate at least one-quarter of their affiliate budgets to creator partnerships this year.
Whether you’re looking to grow your earnings or get better at content creation, this guide covers 16 affiliate marketing tips to consider.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by recommending products or services. Instead of creating your own product, you partner with a company and earn a commission every time someone buys through your unique link.
Beginner affiliate marketers can start with little to no budget. Your job is to share useful recommendations with your audience, whether through a blog, social media, or email—most of which are free to use. You also don’t need to handle inventory, customer support, or logistics, like you would if you were to launch an ecommerce business.
Choose a focused niche before you do anything else. Affiliate Booster’s 2026 study found software-as-a-service (SaaS) and software niches (like the Shopify Affiliate Program) bring the highest monthly income, followed by personal finance and online courses.
16 affiliate marketing tips to make more money
- Launch your affiliate site with existing content
- Diversify your affiliate partners
- Create social and video content
- Own the relationship with your audience
- Become an affiliate for audience-recommended products
- Know the ins and outs of the products you’re recommending
- Disclose affiliate links
- Share discount codes
- Write product reviews and tutorials
- Try comparative formats
- Add on-page summaries, roundups, and landing pages
- Match affiliate content to search intent
- Keep an eye on trending topics
- Link to localized landing pages
- Run ads during peak shopping times
- Report on affiliate link conversions
Learn how to pick an affiliate program, serve your target audience, and maximize affiliate income potential with these tips from experts:
1. Launch your affiliate site with existing content
While affiliate marketing is a good avenue to start making money online, you need a portfolio of existing content. If you don’t have a library of content on your site already, prep at least a dozen articles before you launch your affiliate marketing platform and seek brand partnerships.
Experiment with different blog formats as part your content strategy, such as:
- Listicles
- Reviews
- Comparison articles
- Round-up posts
Affiliate marketer Stacey MacNaught says her best-performing sites in recent years have been those for which her team “created 20-plus pieces of content before putting a website live.”
“My personal golden rule is to have a whole list of content pieces researched in advance, and a good number written up, so the site is launching with content,” Stacey says.
2. Diversify your affiliate partners
Relying on just one affiliate partner exposes you to risk. The company may choose to close down its affiliate program, deny payouts, or slash commission rates.
Take the Amazon Associates program, for example, which notably cut commissions in April 2020 across numerous product categories. Affiliates promoting home improvement items had their commissions cut from 8% to 3% with just a week’s notice.
Amazon also has a 24-hour cookie window (extended to 90 days if a customer adds a product to their cart). This gives a small window of opportunity for customers to click your link and buy in order for you to earn commission. And when you do earn money, commissions are paid approximately 60 days after the month earned.
Diversify your partners so that if one cuts rates or shutters its affiliate marketing program, your affiliate strategy doesn’t sustain a significant financial hit. It’s easier to replace half of your revenue than all of it.
3. Create social and video content
Not all affiliates need a website to start making money. Social media platforms like Instagram are another useful channel for building an audience. In a 2026 Salsify survey of shoppers in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., 52% used social media for online product and brand discovery.
Conduct audience research to find out which social media platforms your audience uses. That might be:
Build an audience by sharing the kind of content your key demographic is most likely to engage with. For instance, Bazaarvoice’s 2025 research found social media video content that influenced purchases varied by age group: 36% of 18- to 34-year-old customers favored before-and-after results, while 49% of shoppers 55 preferred testimonials.
As you draw more shoppers to engage with your content, direct them toward affiliate links in your captions, video descriptions, or social media bios.
For example, Amanda Rach Lee uses a link aggregator in her Instagram bio to direct followers to an Amazon affiliate link. They can also visit her stationery store, Shop Arl, which Amanda launched after building a community around her bullet journaling videos.
4. Own the relationship with your audience
Socialinsider reports that in 2026, the average engagement rate on Instagram is just 0.48%, down 24% year-over-year (YoY). Declining organic reach on the platform is a likely cause. However, when you build an email list, you can control how and when your content is delivered.
Add a pop-up box to your website that offers people something in return for opting into email marketing or subscribing to your newsletter, like a free checklist or discount code. Some 71% of people subscribe to marketing messages to be notified of sales or promotions.
Nurture your email subscribers with regular campaigns. Send automated email sequences, such as welcome emails and weekly newsletters, to build a relationship with your audience.
“Serving before you sell—if I could tattoo that on my forehead, it is like my biggest business mantra,” says Tori Dunlap, founder and CEO of Her First 100K, in a Shopify Masters interview.
“You see this in our posts; you’re always going to learn something; you’re going to take something away; you’re going to think differently; you’re going to know how to better manage your money or save it or invest it.”
5. Become an affiliate for audience-recommended products
Align your content with your audience by becoming an affiliate for products that your audience recommends. This can include physical or digital products such as software and online courses.
Monitor email responses, comments, and direct messages to spot:
- Problems your audience is having
- Products they already love and recommend
- Products they’ve tried, don’t like, and are looking for alternatives for
Michael Keenan, co-founder of Peak Freelance, did this with his freelance writing community. He recognized members were looking for a new customer relationship management tool, so he tested a bunch of popular options and joined the affiliate marketing program of the most impressive tool.
“Keeping your ear to the ground is especially important as an affiliate marketer,” Michael says. “Host natural conversations with your audience. Then, sign up to the best affiliate program and get paid to help your audience succeed.”
6. Know the ins and outs of the products you’re recommending
Demonstrate deep knowledge of the products you’re recommending as an affiliate.
eBike Generation founder John Murphy was able to successfully leverage affiliate marketing for his ebike dropshipping business because he knew his products and the customers he served.
“Because I was writing all of my product descriptions, I was getting very familiar with all the types of components, what they do and how they perform, the different types of bikes,” John says. This knowledge proved key in effectively reaching his specific niche audience and providing them with genuinely helpful content.
Be wary of two things if you’re using artificial intelligence (AI) to scale content:
- Thin content. Google says good affiliate pages add value with meaningful content or features, something you won’t get with AI-generated copy. Focus on sharing first-hand experiences of using the product and avoid re-using the same content across multiple affiliate websites.
- AI-generated reviews. The FTC prohibits fake reviews, including AI-generated fake reviews and those contributed by people with no experience with the business or its products and services.
7. Disclose affiliate links
If you don’t disclose that you’re earning commission for mentioning a product and customers discover this fact elsewhere, you risk alienating your audience and losing brand loyalty.
“When your audience believes you have their best interests at heart and trusts your recommendations, then everyone in the affiliate marketing relationship ultimately benefits,” says affiliate marketer Pat Flynn.
The FTC also has strict rules on product endorsements that prevent affiliate marketers from misleading customers. You need to disclose any relationships you have with a retailer—including products you’re incentivized to sell. Speak to a lawyer to make sure you’re compliant.
8. Share discount codes
Ask your brand partners if they offer affiliate coupon codes that are redeemable for the products you’re promoting. SimplyCode’s 2026 study found the average influencer discount is 15%, which is a meaningful amount to offer your audience, and may entice them to give the product a try. In fact, some 62% of shoppers think flash sales and limited-time discounts are a top driver to complete an online purchase.
Once you have a discount code to share with your audience, ensure you’re clear on your program’s terms and permitted promotional channels. Check whether you can spread the word by:
- Sharing it on social media with direct affiliate links to shop
- Sending an email to your audience that directs them toward the sale
- Updating any affiliate-related website content to reference the discount code
- Adding “discount” to the meta description of your review pages
9. Write product reviews and tutorials
Writing reviews for affiliate products that are optimized for search engines lets you target people already in the purchasing process for the item. Salsify’s 2026 Consumer Trends report found 57% of consumers think these types of customer reviews, ratings, and user-generated content are important when completing a purchase.
Detailed product reviews also give you an opportunity to appear in the AI chatbots 19% of customers use to discover new products. This ChatGPT query, for example, pulls data from RunRepeat’s blog post that compares the best running shoes for plantar fasciitis.
10. Try comparative formats
Comparison pages pit two options against each other and help a shopper determine which one best fits their needs. Optimize yours for comparison keywords and push people through your links by guiding them in their purchase decision.
Include the following in your comparison articles:
- Who each product is for
- The tradeoffs
- Pricing or eligibility caveats
- Why the reader might choose one option over another
YouTuber Hot & Flashy, for example, produces topical review content that appeals to her target audience. In this YouTube video, she compares several budget-friendly skin care brands with affiliate links in the description.
Affiliate marketer Ryan Robinson also takes this approach to writing affiliate content. He notes that, while comparison articles may attract fewer readers than more popular topics, readers are “primed to make a purchase decision right after they get the answer they’re looking for.”
Comparison articles let the affiliate earn commission on both (or all) the options featured in content—even if the audience picks a product that isn’t recommended. “I have the opportunity to generate a sale even if a reader resonates with something about the company I’m less ecstatic about,” Ryan says.
11. Add on-page summaries, roundups, and landing pages
While a product review can be extensive—running thousands of words—there are ways to quickly capture your reader’s attention. Do this by first including a product summary, advises Monica Lent, founder of Affilimate.
“You can optimize your click-through rate by including a summary of the product early in the post for the skimmers,” Monica writes.
Along with an affiliate link, she recommends that summaries contain three pieces of information:
- Your personal opinion of the product
- Who the product is for
- The product price
Expand on this with a dedicated landing page for favorite or high-converting affiliate products. Her First $100K, for example, has a landing page to round up their favorite money tools.
12. Match affiliate content to search intent
Keyword research informs topics to write about on your affiliate website. It also tells you how to format it.
Jake Thomas, founder of affiliate website Golden Hearts, had Google’s auto-suggest do the legwork on finding new content ideas by typing “best _ for golden retrievers” into the search bar. At the time, the term “best brushes for golden retrievers” came up as the first suggestion.
“After looking at which posts ranked on the first page of Google, I saw that they were all list posts, so I made a list post, as well,” Jake says. “To make my article more helpful, and therefore rank higher, I thought about what question the reader would have next.”
With this approach, his post covering best brushes for golden retrievers shot to the top spot on Google.
Alongside monthly search volume and keyword competition, consider the search intent of the user (a.k.a. their reason for making a query on a search engine). They could be looking for information, to buy something, or to find something.
Even within the “looking to buy” category, there are varying degrees—someone could just be starting their search for a product, or they could be ready to buy it now. Your job as an affiliate marketer is to align your content with their intent.
Search marketing specialist Ted French of Content Plans explains how to put this into practice. If a user has found a page by searching for “best TVs,” it’s safe to assume they’re close to making a purchase. In these cases, he expects users to be receptive to “offers and recommendations,” so he recommends being “super aggressive with your affiliate links.”
Once you’ve found the keyword and content format, follow blog search engine optimization (SEO) best practices to optimize your content:
- Include the keyword in your title, headings, and meta descriptions
- Internally link to other relevant articles on your affiliate site
- Add original multimedia content, such as YouTube video embeds or images
- Fix technical SEO issues to improve page load speed
- Regularly update old content for freshness
13. Keep an eye on trending topics
Keyword research tools can help you keep current by showing you emerging trends in search activity. Subscribing to relevant newsletters and reading industry resources can alert you about trending products to promote as an affiliate.
The following tools can also highlight what’s trending in your specific industry or affiliate niche:
Just note, trends should inform content planning, not override audience fit or product knowledge.
Amanda Rach Lee, for example, leaned into the Cyanotype trend, which has risen in popularity over the past year. The topic directly links to Amanda’s expertise, so she referenced it in a ”journal with me” video that contains Amazon affiliate links in the description.
14. Link to localized landing pages
The beauty of running a successful affiliate marketing business is that you can reach customers all over the world, so long as the partners you’re working with distribute inventory there. The chances of this are high, especially if you’re partnering with Shopify stores. Roughly one-third of all Shopify traffic comes from international visitors.
Provide country-specific content by linking to localized landing pages. British fitness influencer Zoe Rae, for example, links to the UK version of Gymshark’s website from her social media bios.
15. Run ads during peak shopping times
While your affiliate marketing business doesn’t work by selling your own products directly to the consumer, you’re still an online business. You make commission on another retailer’s products and the end goal is the same: generate revenue.
Draw inspiration from successful ecommerce marketing strategies and tie in your affiliate promotions with peak shopping seasons such as:
- Valentine’s Day
- Mother’s and Father’s Day
- 4th of July
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- Christmas and New Year’s
If you have cash to spare and tracking discipline to monitor the impact of paid campaigns, put some money behind social media and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. While customer acquisition costs shoot up during competitive periods, it can help build an audience—and your email list—at a time when shoppers are actively looking for products to buy.
Test organic content, email, and partner-approved discount codes first, then use paid promotion when you can measure click cost, conversion rate, and commission margin.
16. Report on affiliate link conversions
Set regular reminders to review your most important affiliate metrics:
- Clicks. The number of times a customer clicks on a product link.
- Conversion rate. The percentage of people who clicked your affiliate link and purchased something.
- Earned income. The amount of money you’ve earned by promoting a product.
Use social media analytics tools or Google Analytics to adjust your affiliate marketing strategy. Find out which pages and placements drive outbound clicks. Combine this with using the affiliate tracking dashboard from your partner or network to confirm conversions, earned income, payout structures, and top-performing products.
The goal with affiliate reporting is to uncover the most popular and profitable products so you can continue promoting them—and deprioritize those your audience isn’t purchasing.
Identify your most popular product and ask the brand for a higher commission. Show them how valuable you are as an affiliate. Promise to continue doing great work—and drive more revenue—if they can give your audience a special discount code.
Essential affiliate marketing tools
Here’s an affiliate marketing toolstack to grow your business:
- Link shorteners. ThirstyAffiliates (for WordPress) and Pretty Links let you shorten and organize affiliate links into clean, branded links (like yourwebsite.com/tool). These also double as legal compliance tools, by letting you attach mandatory disclosures and disclaimers directly to your affiliate links. By using this tactic, customers will see a compliance page or banner before being redirected to the product.
- Keyword research tools. Semrush and Ahrefs help you find keywords, track performance in organic search, and see what’s working for competitors.
- Analytics. Google Analytics gives you insight into which content is driving affiliate sales, so you can do more of what works. If Google Analytics feels overwhelming, something like Plausible offers simple, privacy-focused website analytics.
- Email marketing platform. Kit and MailerLite help you create automated email sequences, so you can nurture audience members without constantly sending manual emails.
- Design tools. Canva’s AI design tool lets you create graphics, Pinterest pins, and social media posts to promote your affiliate links.
- Internal linking tools. LinkWhisper suggests internal links as you write, helping you connect relevant content and keep people on your affiliate website longer.
Make more revenue as a Shopify affiliate
The Shopify Affiliate Program helps affiliate marketers make money by recommending Shopify to new entrepreneurs and existing businesses. Best suited to educators and influencers, Shopify affiliates earn generous commission on any paid customer they drive to Shopify’s suite of commerce products.
Read more
- How to Start a Dropshipping Business- A Complete Playbook for 2024
- Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: Your Startup Guide (2024)
- What is Shopify and How Does it Work?
- How To Start Affiliate Marketing With No Money
- 29 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners
- How To Source Products To Sell Online
- Amazon Affiliate Program: How To Join and Earn More
- The Best 16 High Ticket Affiliate Programs to Promote
- The Marketing Research Process in 6 Steps
- The 13 Most Powerful Shopify Discount Apps To Use
Affiliate marketing tips FAQ
Does affiliate marketing work?
Affiliate marketing does work—content creators use it to build a passive income stream. Elementor found that 59% of affiliates make more than $1,000 per month, while 9% earn over $50,000.
How do you start affiliate marketing with no money?
To start affiliate marketing with no money, choose a niche you’re interested in. Create accounts on free social media platforms used by your target demographics, then post content related to your niche to grow your audience. Monetize that audience by joining different affiliate programs or affiliate networks.
How can I increase my affiliate marketing conversions?
To maximize your money-making potential as an affiliate, use clear calls to action, test different placements for your links, and build a content marketing strategy that covers in-depth reviews, comparisons, or tutorials.
What are the requirements for affiliate marketing?
Requirements for affiliate marketing depend on the program or network you’re applying to join. Most require a social media audience or website with regular traffic. Some brands also consider engagement rate and your content niche when choosing which affiliates to accept into their program.
