10 Top Affiliate Programs and Networks in The UK for Beginners

In this article, we reveal the 10 best affiliate programs in the UK for beginners. Affiliate marketing is one of the most lucrative side hustles for beginners in the UK. Affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services to customers and earning commission every time that you successfully make a sale. Affiliate marketing is completely free to start and can easily turn into passive income if you follow the right steps to start. To start affiliate marketing in the UK, you will need to sign up to a high-paying affiliate program through which you can find products and services to sell.

We have taken the time to search the web for affiliate programs that have easy eligibility requirements, high commissions and a good variety of products and services on offer. Here are the top 10 affiliate marketing programs that we found.

10 Best Affiliate Marketing Programs in The UK for Beginners - List

1. ClickBank: The best high ticket affiliate program for beginners with low entry requirements and high commissions for some brands.

2. eBay Partner Network: An easy affiliate program to apply for. eBay is a great option for fashion, tech, or home decor affiliates.

3. CJ Affiliate: CJ affiliate provides access to big global brands. it has higher entry requirements but you do not need to have millions of views or followers to be accepted onto the network.

4. Fiverr - Best affiliate program for small business bloggers and influencers. Promote Fiverr’s services and earn a commission for doing so.

5. Etsy affiliates: A new affiliate program that supports small businesses. The Etsy affiliate program is open to anyone and offers a clear commission structure.

6. Skimlinks: One of the highest-paying affiliate programs to consider. Work with top brands and promote products in a variety of niches.

7. Amazon associates: A popular affiliate program that is most suitable for bloggers or Pinterest affiliate marketing.

8. ShareASale: A good network to join if you’re looking to promote digital products or courses.

9. Awin: Promote some of the biggest fashion brands. Awin hosts a number of the best affiliate programs and is the best option for influencers.

10. Rakuten Advertising - Best affiliate program for travel and technology bloggers. Rakuten offers generous commissions and a fairly low entry barrier,

Also read: 20 affiliate marketing tips for beginners

Best Affiliate Networks in The UK - Reviewed

As you can see, there are many great affiliate programs for beginners to use in the UK.

Before signing up for a program, it is a good idea to conduct research into what each affiliate network offers so that you can find a program that best suits your needs. Here, we take a closer look at each affiliate marketing program to help you decide which one would be the best for your affiliate marketing business.

1. ClickBank - The overall best paying affiliate program for beginners

We have placed ClickBank at the top of our best affiliate marketing companies list because it has low eligibility requirements, a lucrative commission structure, and a variety of different products and services to choose from.

ClickBank is a marketplace of affiliate programs. Users can sign up to ClickBank and choose which products and services they promote depending on the niche of their business. Some of the most popular products available through ClickBank include online courses, supplements, fitness products, and beauty products. ClickBank is a good affiliate network for anyone who is interested in the health and fitness niche.

ClickBank takes the top spot on our list because anyone can sign up. You do not need to have a huge social media following or a successful website to create an affiliate account and start using links to earn a commission. This makes ClickBank a great program for beginners.

Average commission: $75 per sale. The exact commission and commission structure depends on the product that you choose to affiliate with.

Eligibility requirements: All affiliates must be able to provide a valid bank account and proof of ID. Affiliates must also provide a tax number.

Best for: Bloggers or sales funnels.

Also read: What is high ticket affiliate marketing

2. eBay Partner Network - One of the best affiliate marketing schemes for product reviewers

If you are a blogger or influencer who regularly reviews products online, you could consider signing up for the eBay partner network. This is a great affiliate marketing side hustle for beginners in the UK due to the variety of products available and the clear commission structure.

eBay partners receive 50% - 70% commission for each sale that they make. Affiliates can choose from a wide range of products including trending technology, beauty, and fashion products. eBay offers a transparent affiliate dashboard through which partners can track their sales and view how much revenue they have made. The platform also offers resources to help affiliates create ads and campaigns to boost their affiliate marketing success.

Anyone can sign up to be an eBay partner which makes this affiliate program a great option for beginners who are just starting out.

Average commission: 50% -70% per sale.

Eligibility requirements: UK affiliates must provide a national insurance number and proof of address.

Best for: Influencers and product reviewers.

3. CJ Affiliate - Top affiliate marketing network for big brands in the UK

CJ Affiliate is the best affiliate program in the UK for creators who want to partner with big brands. Some of the biggest brands available to partner with through the program include Hello Fresh and Verizon. Promoting big brands is a good way to increase your chances of success as an affiliate marketer because brands are able to sell themselves through reputation.

CJ Affiliate offers both digital and physical products for you to promote. The commission that you receive will vary depending on the products and brands that you choose to affiliate with. The program provides new users with a detailed onboarding process that will provide you with all the tools that you need to get started as a CJ affiliate and find the best brands for your niche. The platform also offers good customer support services that are available to answer any queries that you may have.

Influencers can access affiliate marketing opportunities as well as sponsored campaign opportunities through the CJ Affiliate program. Sponsored campaigns often provide higher commission rates and a more stable income for influencers.

Average commission: 10%

Eligibility requirements: CJ Affiliates looks for influencers or bloggers who have already built up an audience. The program will evaluate each application and accept or deny applicants based on the following or reach that they have.

Best for: Established influencers and bloggers

4. Fiverr - Best affiliate program for small business bloggers and influencers

The three affiliate programs that we have discussed so far are all networks that offer a variety of affiliate products and services. Fiverr is a slightly different type of affiliate program to consider.

The Fiverr affiliate program allows affiliates to earn commission by referring users to the Fiverr platform. Fiverr is a freelancer marketplace through which businesses can hire freelancers to complete jobs and freelancers can earn money from their skills. The platform is one of the biggest freelance marketplaces and is used by millions of businesses worldwide.

Fiverr affiliates earn commission every time that someone signs up to the platform through their link. Affiliates can earn between $15 and $150 for every referral depending on the service that the new referral chooses to purchase.

Fiverr takes a top spot on our list because it is a very simple affiliate program to use as a beginner in the UK. Simply promote Fiverr to your audience, direct them to the platform through your link, and earn money every time that a new user purchases a service. This is a good affiliate program for bloggers who could place banner ads on their website to promote Fiverr to their readers.

Average commission: Around $50 CPA or $10 CPA plus a 10% rev share.

Eligibility requirements: You must provide a link to your website or social media page upon signing up.

Best for: Bloggers.

5. Etsy affiliates - Best UK affiliate network that supports small businesses

If you’re just getting started with affiliate marketing, the Etsy affiliate program is an excellent option to consider. Etsy is an online marketplace for small businesses through which sellers can sell handmade items, digital products, and craft supplies. The affiliates program allows influencers to promote products that are sold by Etsy sellers and earn a commission every time that products are purchased through their affiliate link.

Becoming an Etsy affiliate is a great way to earn passive income while supporting small business owners.

Anyone can sign up to the Etsy affiliate program and it is very easy to use. The only drawback to the Etsy affiliate program for beginners is that the commission is fairly low (between 2% and 4%). However, the platform has a wide variety of products that you could promote and is very beginner-friendly.

Average commission: 4%.

Eligibility requirements: You must own a website or blog with a URL that is approved by Etsy. Your website must generate a sizeable amount of traffic (this is determined upon application).

Best for: Bloggers.

6. Skimlinks - High-paying affiliate platform in the UK

SkimLinks is considered to be one of the highest-paying affiliate programs in the UK with commissions of up to 75% for some brands. Skimlinks is a network of brands and businesses that offer affiliate services to influencers, website owners, and advertisers. The program provides thousands of different affiliate opportunities from the UK and around the globe. The platform makes it easy to earn money from affiliate marketing by automating your affiliate strategy so that you can focus on producing high-quality content.

The platform is free and easy to use. Anyone can sign up to Skimlinks as an affiliate and start earning commissions by promoting brands. Once you are signed up to SkimLinks, you will need to apply to each brand separately. This means that brands can pick and choose which affiliates are associated with them. This could make it tricky to secure an affiliate partnership if you don’t have a big following or huge website traffic.

Nevertheless, for those who do have an established audience, Skimlinks makes it very easy to start earning affiliate commissions. Some of the biggest brands that you can access through the network include Sephora, Target and Microsoft.

Average commission: 10% - 15%

Etsy affiliate program requirements: You must have an established audience. You must not promote any sensitive or illegal content on your website.

Best for: Website owners

7. Amazon associates - Easiest affiliate program to start in the UK

If you’re looking for one of the easiest affiliate programs in the UK, Amazon Associates could be a good option to consider. This is one of the best affiliate programs for Pinterest affiliate marketing which is a great side hustle to earn extra cash.

Amazon Associates makes it possible to earn money by promoting Amazon products. Affiliates can promote anything from technology to fashion and earn a 10% share of every sale that they make. This is an excellent affiliate program for product reviewers or social media influencers who can showcase different products to their audience.

Anyone can sign up to the Amazon Associates network and use the dashboard to create links for products that they want to promote. You can track how much money you make within the associates’ dashboard and cash out earnings whenever you like.

Average commission: 10%

Eligibility requirements: You must provide a URL to your website or social media page as well as a valid tax number.

Best for: Pinterest affiliate marketing, bloggers and sales funnels.

8. ShareASale - Best UK affiliate network for bloggers

ShareASale is a popular UK affiliate network that helps affiliates to partner with reputable brands. The platform works similarly to SkimLinks and CJ Affiliate but is easier to join and provides a simpler way of generating affiliate links to promote products. Anyone can create an account with ShareASale and start posting links on their blog or social media page.

ShareASale is pretty simple in the services that it offers but is rated highly by millions of affiliates. You can pick and choose between over 2,500 different merchants that are part of the platform and promote products that will appeal to your audience. It is possible to track your earnings in the ShareASale dashboard and get paid monthly for your affiliate marketing efforts.

Average commission: 7% - 8%.

Eligibility requirements: You must be able to prove you ID and have a UK national insurance number.

Best for: Bloggers and website owners.

9. Awin - Best affiliate network for fashion influencers

AWIN is the parent company of ShareASale and one of the best affiliate programs for fashion influencers. In fact, you can sign up to Awin through Instagram which makes the affiliate program ideal for social media influencers who want to earn from their content.

To connect your Instagram account to the Awin affiliate platform, you must have a creator or business account that is connected to a Facebook page. It is also possible to sign up with your email address if you own a website or alternative promotional channel that you wish to use.

Anyone can sign up to Awin, even if you are a complete newbie. The only requirement that the program has is that you own an active social media account or website. This makes it an idea program for beginner affiliate marketers.

Average commission: 15%

Eligibility requirements: Affiliates must have an active social media page or website url.

Best for: Instagram influencers.

10. Rakuten Advertising - Best affiliate program for travel and technology bloggers

A popular side hustle for students and anyone who has an interest in traveling the world is travel blogging. You can make money from a travel blog by partnering with affiliate programs that pay you to promote hotels, flights, holiday packages, and more. Rakuten is a great program to consider that can connect affiliates with a number of travel brands. The program is also a good option for influencers in the technology, fitness, and beauty niches.

The affiliate program is connected with some of the biggest brands in the world including Hilton Hotels, Lancome, and All Saints. To use the program, you need to have an active website with monthly visitors. The platform evaluates all new affiliates before verifying new accounts and granting access to the affiliate network.

Rakuten is one of the more difficult affiliate programs to sign up to but delivers excellent results. This is a great affiliate program to consider if you have an established website that attracts a good number of visitors each month.

The platform offers advanced affiliate marketing technology that you can use to optimize your campaigns and increase revenue. Rakuten is considered to be on of the top affiliate marketing networks for high-authority websites and blogs.

Average commission: The commission paid by Rakuten varies between each brand.

Eligibility requirements: You must have a website with high monthly traffic.

Best for: Website owners and bloggers.

What Is The Best Affiliate Marketing Program For Beginner’s In The UK?

From our list of the top 10 affiliate marketing programs in the UK, it is clear that Amazon Associates and ClickBank are the best affiliate programs for beginners in the UK. Both of these programs have low eligibility requirements and provide affiliates with a wide variety of products and services that they can promote.

Furthermore, both Amazon Associates and ClickBank have easy-to-use dashboards through which affiliates can create links in minutes. This is ideal for newbies who may find more advanced platforms confusing to use.

Out of the two affiliate marketing programs, ClickBank offers higher commissions with some products paying up to $300 per sale. Therefore, ClickBank is a great platform to sign up to if you are looking to make money from affiliate marketing as a beginner in the UK.

Best Affiliate Programs in the UK - Compared

How to Use ClickBank For Affiliate Marketing In The UK

ClickBank is one of the best affiliate programs in the UK for beginners with high commissions and low eligibility requirements. So, how do you get started?

Here, we will walk you through the process of signing up to ClickBank as an affiliate and how to use ClickBank for affiliate marketing. Before you start, you will need an email address and phone number to hand that can be used to verify your account. It is also good to use a reliable internet connection because you will be asked to provide personal information and payment details.

Step 1: Sign up to affiliate courses with your email

To learn about affiliate marketing with ClickBank, head to the ‘getting started’ page and enter your email address. You will then be directed to the learning section which provides various lessons that guide you through getting started with the platform.

The lessons cover how to create an account, how to choose a product, how to use the affiliate marketplace and how to drive traffic to your affiliate links. It is important that you watch each lesson and take notes that could help you to optimize your affiliate marketing campaign.

Step 2: Create your ClickBank account

After watching the tutorials and learning how to use the ClickBank program, head to the main affiliates page to create your ClickBank account.

Here, you will be asked a few questions to help the platform personalize your experience. The questions cover topics such as which platforms you plan to use for affiliate marketing and your level of affiliate marketing experience.

If you are a complete beginner with zero traffic or followers and no experience, you will be directed to a short video that will teach you how to use ClickBank to make your first $2000 in affiliate commission. The video will also be sent to your inbox so that you can watch it in your free time.

Step 3: Sign up to Spark

Spark is ClickBank’s affiliate marketing course. You must sign up to Spark to access the ClickBank program and use the platform to earn an affiliate commission.

The course costs $47 (£37) per month and the website claims that it is risk-free. Spark will teach you everything you need to know to start making £2000 per month from affiliate marketing and the platform offers a 90-day money-back guarantee if you do not see the results that were promised.

To sign up to Spark, you will need to enter your payment details and personal information. It is important to do your own research into the platform before making a decision. Spark has great reviews and success stories however; profits aren’t guaranteed and users must be prepared to put in hours of work to see results from the Spark by ClickBank affiliate marketing program.

Step 4: Complete the Spark course

The next step is to go through the Spark course and complete each step of the process that will land you your first £2000 in affiliate commissions.

The amount of time that this takes will depend on how many hours you can work each day. Some people can complete the course in 2 weeks whereas others may need up to 3 months. At the end of the course, you should have made your first income from affiliate marketing.

Step 5: Use the ClickBank affiliate marketplace

Upon completing the Spark course, you will be provided with access to the ClickBank affiliate marketplace. Here, you will be able to browse through products and services and generate your own links for the products that you would like to promote.

You can track your links and revenue through the ClickBank dashboard and choose when you get paid. ClickBank also provides helpful resources such as sales funnel templates, banner ads and email marketing templates that could help you to increase your affiliate marketing income.

Can you join multiple affiliate networks in the UK?

Yes, you can join as many affiliate networks as you like in the UK. However, using multiple networks at one time can make it tricky to track your earnings and to optimize your marketing campaign. If you are a beginner, it is a good idea to start with one affiliate network that allows you to promote multiple products or services in the same platform. This will make it easier to track your links.

The best affiliate networks that offer a variety of products and services include ClickBank, Awin, SkimLinks, CJ Affiliate and ShareASale. These networks all offer numerous affiliate opportunities and are partnered with some of the biggest global brands.

To be successful with affiliate marketing, we recommend choosing just one product and perfecting your marketing before moving on to others. It is also worth noting that effective affiliate marketing relies on trust and authenticity. The most successful affiliates choose to promote products that they genuinely love and even use themselves and will promote these products over and over again to generate sales.

Is affiliate marketing profitable in the UK?

It is possible to make profits from affiliate marketing in the UK if you have enough time to build an audience and create high-quality content. With the right steps, affiliate marketing can become passive income and there is no limit to how much money you can make. Affiliate marketers can earn anything from £50 per month to £50,000 per month depending on the type of products that they promote and the commission rates that are paid by the affiliate program that they use.

Also read: Can you really make money from affiliate marketing?

Top tips for making money with affiliate marketing in the UK 2023:

1. Be genuine: Consumers can tell when an ad is stretching the truth and tend to avoid spending money on products that seem too good to be true. To successfully promote affiliate products, create content that is reliable, transparent, and genuine. Only promote products that you actually like and never make false promises to your audience.

2. Be consistent: You won’t make money overnight with affiliate marketing in the UK. Instead, most affiliate marketers work on their business for weeks (or even months) before seeing any profits. To be successful, you will need to stay consistent and stick to your strategy even when you aren’t earning any money.

3. Keep things simple: The best way to create an effective affiliate marketing campaign is to pick one or two products and create high-quality, regular content to promote each one. Avoid promoting too many products or using too many different strategies. Simple is always more effective.

Conclusion

In this article, we have taken a look at the 10 best affiliate programs for beginners in the UK. Each of the programs that we have discussed offers a variety of products that you could promote. We recommend choosing a program that best suits your niche and affiliate strategy. If you are a website owner or blogger, ClickBank, ShareASale, and SkimLinks are good programs to consider. If you plan on using social media to share affiliate links, Awin, Etsy affiliates, Amazon Associates, and CJ Affiliates are good options.

It is a good idea to conduct your own research into each affiliate program before deciding which one to use.

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