Affiliate marketing has been huge for me over the years.
The success I’ve seen with my golf site, Breaking Eighty, has been amazing. And I’ve been able to check some serious items off my bucket list over the years, thanks in no small part to the affiliate marketing I’ve been able to do on that site.
So let’s just say I’m a true believer.
If you want to learn how to start affiliate marketing, read the post or check out this video:
And in 2023, no affiliate marketing is not dead — in fact, there are more opportunities out there than ever. But you need to choose wisely. There are some affiliate products that are better than others for beginners.
And that’s what I want to cover here.
Once I published that video, I got a lot of questions in my inbox about the best affiliate products for beginners who are just getting started.
Luckily, I’d already planned to answer that question in another video, so here we are, ta-da!
In this video, I break down a couple of the types of products that I’ve seen a lot of success with and think are perfect products for beginners to start with affiliate marketing.
Affiliate Marketing Products for Beginners
One of the easiest for beginners is the Amazon affiliate program. So, if you’re just starting as an aspiring affiliate marketer, this is the first place to look.
Anyone can sign up for it, and it’s free.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s all amazing there. Yes, Amazon offers a ton of products, so you can get links to just about anything. But, over the years, they’ve started to slash their payouts — you won’t get the bang for your buck in 2023 on a lot of products like you might have in 2017.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t avoid Amazon. I still link to a ton of products through the affiliate program on Amazon. It’s just something to keep in mind.
Ok, that being said, let’s dig into the best affiliate products to look for as a beginner (in my opinion).
Expensive Products
This should feel like a no-brainer, but a lot of new affiliate marketers ignore high-ticket items.
You can make the same amount of commission selling one $500 product as 100 $5 products. And that’s the approach I take with my golf site.
I could review $7 golf towels, but I’d rather review $250-600 range finders, write a great review, and make a much better commission. Instead, I review a lot of expensive consumer products on there and use the Amazon affiliate program for most of them because it’s so easy.
You can do the same.
So as you start building a niche site and reviewing your options, try to find some more expensive items to review. Most niches have at least a few products you can sell for upwards of $100.
To get started with this, use the gear you use. I’d guess in your niche or hobby site, you have at least a few things that are on the higher end of the scale.
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Software Products
The second affiliate product I’d look at is a software product, and even better if it has some sort of monthly or revenue, something customers pay for every month.
Why?
Because it’s a great way to build up passive income. And who doesn’t like that?
A good example is
Another example is SEMRush, the tool I use for all my SEO research. Check out my SEMRush review here.
Both of these tools charge monthly.
And with tools like these, people generally buy them and stick with them month after month. So, the longer someone stays, the more potential there is for you to keep making some passive income off it.
Plus, a lot of software is pricey. As you get into a growing a business, you may have to drop hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year on different tools to help run things.
Now, the hard part. It can be difficult to get people to invest in these sort of recurring revenue programs.
The solution for that is to get better.
Do really amazing in-depth product reviews. Go through the products, document everything with screenshots and videos, and really show your audience exactly how they can use this software and how it’s going to benefit them.
Use your review to make it a no-brainer for them to say yes.
Information Products
An information product is a product someone creates and sells online. Location Rebel Academy is one example, but there are plenty of others:
- Book
- ebook
- Course
- Membership or private communities
- Templates
- Software tools
- Webinars
- Case studies
- Swipe files
- Paid newsletters
The very first affiliate dollar I ever made was with an infoproduct, and I have to tell you, the feeling was pretty awesome — especially since I was in Thailand at the time and had to flee my house. Curious about that story? Check it out here.
Info products are another great way to make higher commissions per sale. A course that sells for $500 may offer up a $125 commission. So if you sell just one a week, you’ve got $500 bucks in your pocket every month, a really great start.
Generally, these pay the highest commissions — anywhere from 20-50%. That blows the 2-5% you may see on Amazon out of the water.
With info products, look for people who are good at marketing (and offer good products, of course).
So, what I try to look for are info products related to the niche I’m in that are higher priced and have good commission percentages.
Land in that sweet spot? Well, that’s the epitome of a win-win-win.
The hard part is you need some sort of audience to start. So, work on building your audience and then keep an eye out for information products that are complementary to your niche and what you offer.
Stay Focused at the Start
Of course, these aren’t the only programs you should think about.
But if you’re just getting started, I think focusing on these types of products is going to help make a big difference in your income.
At the start, it’s all about strategy.
Once you’ve got a steady stream of traffic to your site, then it’s a good time to really think about diving into more advanced affiliate marketing tactics.
And one way to be strategic is to consider how much you’re going to make on each sale.
- Unless you have tons and tons of traffic, selling something that’s $10 isn’t going to make that much of a dent — you’re only going to get a buck or two (if that).
- But, if you’re selling a product that costs $500 and you get 10-20% commissions, that starts to add up.
- Now, add in products that offer recurring revenue, things like software that charge people every month, then you’ve got another way to consistently make money.
- Take it to another level with high-quality and expensive info products, and you can start approaching four figures a month in sales.
Not too shabby, right?
There is plenty you can do as you get deeper into affiliate marketing because there are so many ways to take it.
And, if you want to learn more about affiliate marketing in general, right here is the perfect place to start.
This article was updated in April 2023 for accuracy.
Sean Ogle
Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.Join over 40,000 people who have taken our 6 part freelance writing course. Sign up below and let’s do this together.
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