My Top 2 Affiliate Marketing Programs

As an affiliate marketer, it's important to have programs you can rely on to bring in a steady income. PPC affiliate marketing is one of the top ways to make money online these days.

However, figuring out which affiliate programs are profitable can be a difficult and money-losing investment. Many CPA (cost-per-acquisition) affiliate marketers, such as myself, often lose a boatload of money on a bunch of different affiliate programs before finding one that “strikes gold”.

Luckily for you, I've already spent a bunch of money on different programs and want to share with you my top two affiliate marketing programs – Clickfunnels and Livechat.

 

What Makes These Programs So Great?

When evaluating affiliate programs, there are a ton of criteria to look into. Good affiliate programs do not need to meet all of these criteria but great ones will meet most if not all of them.

For example, is it better to have a program that pays recurring revenue or a one-time payment?

Would you rather work with a program that offers high commissions or one that offers a decent product?

Oftentimes, programs will have trade-offs (like super high commissions but most free trials cancel). Or, they might offer low commissions but high traffic (Amazon).

The reason Clickfunnels and Livechat are so great is that they provide a ton of positives with little downside.

 

#1 – High Commissions

One of the most important factors when choosing an affiliate program – the commissions! Affiliate program commissions can vary widely – from as low as 1% on Amazon Associates to as high as 200% with Shopify.

However, the best programs typically have commissions of about 20% to 45%. Once you start going much lower than that, you'll be spending too much on advertising for too little ROI. And programs that offer more than that tend to do so because they're having trouble retaining customers. This is NOT a good sign, as it usually means you'll be promoting a sub-par product.

Clickfunnels offers a whopping 40% commission.  This means you'll earn $38.80 per month on their standard $97 monthly plan.

Livechat's affiliate program is a bit lower at 20% commission. However, this is still a good rate, as their plan sizes vary widely. With Livechat, you can expect to see about $15 to $30 per month per referral.

Another key factor is…

#1.5 – Recurring Commissions

Another factor to consider when looking at commissions is whether they are recurring or one-time. Some programs may offer high, one-time commissions while other may offer lower commissions in return for recurring revenue.

Typically, recurring commissions are better, as you can continue to earn for months and years at a time. The lower the software's churn (as in most people stick with it), the better recurring commissions become.

In the case of Livechat and Clickfunnels, those commission rate are recurring. In addition to being high, especially for Clickfunnels, you'll see recurring revenue month after month.

High, recurring commissions are not the only reasons I recommend these top 2 affiliate marketing programs…

 

#2 – Lots of Sign-Ups

Another huge benefit of both these programs is the high sign-up rate. About 1 in 25 clicks convert to a trial for each program.

Of those trials, about 1 in 4 convert to a paid subscription. That means about 1 in 100 clicks will result in recurring revenue!

I know 1% doesn't sound incredibly high, but once you scale up and are getting 20+ clicks a day, you'll have a new paid sign up at least once a week.

Give each of these programs a few months and soon you'll have reliable, recurring revenue. 

 

#3 – The Products Themselves

Part of what makes affiliates successful is the products themselves. If you're promoting a trash product, people will quit after the free trial and you won't get any commissions!

One of the keys to affiliate marketing is to promote products that actually offer decent value.

Luckily, in the case of these top 2 affiliate marketing programs, we've struck gold! Both Livechat and Clickfunnels offer excellent products.

In Livechat's case, customers gain access to premium live chat software for their business or store. You've probably seen this technology when visiting e-commerce websites or businesses. A chat box often pops up with a prompt asking you something like “Hi! Thanks for visiting our store/business. Is there anything I can assist you with?”

If you respond to this automated prompt, a real, live human being behind the software will begin talking with you. This chat software helps businesses and stores boost sales and customer satisfaction.

Therefore, as an affiliate marketer, it's incredibly easy to promote Livechat, as there are a ton of customers out there looking for this service.

For Clickfunnels, customers also gain access to a premium products. With Clickfunnels, users can build websites that are made to SELL. 

Clickfunnels-made sites are incredibly effective and are often used to promote online courses, webinars, petitions, and much more. Anyone who needs a well-designed one pager that's easy to share and promote can benefit from Clickfunnels.

Bloggers, charities, teachers, and businesses all use Clickfunnels to promote their products. The potential customer base for Clickfunnels is immense and makes it very worthwhile to promote.

 

The Drawbacks

Anyone who says you're guaranteed to make money with CPA Affiliate Marketing probably has a bridge to sell you too.

Livechat and Clickfunnels are top affiliate programs, but even with them, there's some caution needed.

For example, if your advertising budget is higher than what you can afford, you will likely hit that budget and need to scramble to pay off your account. Otherwise, you risk losing your advertising account.

Another things to keep in mind are the start-up costs. As your work out the kinks and issues, you'll find your groove and start generating that sweet recurring revenue.

Until then, I recommend only spending money that you're willing to lose. Otherwise, you will get emotional and likely back away from the whole venture. Then you'll be in the hole with no recurring revenue to console you.

And even when you're experienced, you'll still be hit with random high CPCs from random countries. Or your ad may be randomly unapproved (despite there being super similar ads on Google!).

The important thing is to keep a level head and make your moves deliberately and patiently.

And another thing to remember… you're not alone.

 

Training Available

Luckily, there is training available. Getting training and being able to ask questions to a knowledgeable community is key to successful affiliate marketing.

The good news is that there are a ton of resources out there. The bad news? There's too much to choose from.

Fret not, however, for I have already found great training out there for you!

Interested in learning about Clickfunnels specifically? Click here for free Clickfunnels affiliate training. This is top-notch training that will teach you a ton about promoting Clickfunnels. And, it's completely free. Sign-up and if you decide it's not for you, that's fine too!

While Livechat does not have specific affiliate training, the best place to get overall affiliate marketing training is at Wealthy Affiliate.

With Wealthy Affiliate, you gain access to a community of experienced affiliate marketers. The community is incredibly helpful and typically answers questions within minutes.

Plus, you gain access to a whole host of training sessions and webinars included in your subscription.

On top of that, you can design and host up to 25 websites of your own, complete with premium tools and support. At only $29 a month, it is an incredible value that pays for itself even if you only use a few of its features.

For a free, unlimited time trial, click the banner below.

Additionally, if you have any other questions about either program or affiliate marketing in general, comment below! I'll answer any questions you have.

Interested in Promoting Livechat?

Click here to sign up as a Livechat affiliate!

Interested in Promoting Clickfunnels?

Click here to sign up as a Clickfunnels affiliate and gain access to free training!

Thanks for checking out my write-up of the top 2 affiliate marketing programs. Got any questions? Interested in a 1-on-1 coaching call?

Comment below and I'll respond promptly.