5 Top Affiliate Programs for Bloggers

Affiliate marketing is a great way for bloggers to earn money through their blog or website. It's great for bloggers because it requires no cost on the affiliate part, only a place to promote the merchants products. The merchant handles all the logistics involved in the selling of the products including customer service, shipping, payment transactions from the customer and payment transactions to you the affiliate.



A few things to remember before you begin.

1. Keep in mind what your goal is. Do you plan to do this short term, long term? Are you using affiliate marketing to supplement your income or do you plan to make this a full-time job?
2. Describe the product you are promoting. Don't just add a photo or link haphazardly. Make it purposeful.
3. Promote what you use. Doing so will lend credibility, instill integrity in your endorsement and increase your sales.
4. Share how the product impacts you, give examples and share your experience.
5. Put content before promotion. No one wants to see a page full of ads. Your readers still need to get something meaningful from your blog.

Top 5 Affiliate Programs
According to The Online Advertising Blue Book, here are some of the top rated Affiliated Programs.

• Linkshare: The largest affiliate network with over 10 million affiliate partnerships. You can manage your own affiliate channel or have them manage it for you.

• Commission Junction: The largest in North America. Offer self management or company managed option, in addition to a pay per action program.

• ShareASale: Number three for top 20 affiliate networks with over 2,500 merchant programs. Rate high in customer service and ease of use in retrieving payment.

• Amazon Associates: The most popular program for bloggers because it's easy to use and can be integrated easily into blogs using plug-ins.

• Google Affiliate Network: This is a pay-per action program that pays its affiliates for sales and leads. Requires a Google AdSense account to post ads to your blog. 

Do you use an Affiliate Program? If so, which one do you recommend for bloggers?