Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners

If you're venturing into the world of affiliate marketing for the first time, you'll be happy to find out that there are many great affiliate marketing programs for beginners. When you're just dipping your toes into the cold water of online marketing, it's best to start with programs that are easy to work with and easy to get accepted into. Once you have some experience under your belt, you will be able to capitalize on more diverse and potentially lucrative programs.

Here's a list of some of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners:

Commission Junction

Commission Junction is great for beginning affiliate marketers because it's easy to get involved and there is a wide range of programs you can sign up with. Commission Junction is basically a marketplace or warehouse with thousands of different companies who have their own affiliate programs.

Once you're a member with Commission Junction, you then have to apply to each individual affiliate program that you're interested in. Some programs are harder to get into than others, but the good news is there is a huge selection to choose from to ensure you can always find something that matches your website or your interests.

Amazon.com Associates

The Amazon.com program is also great for beginners because once again it's not difficult to get started. An additional bonus is that when you promote a product coming from Amazon, you have that great brand name recognition to stand behind, which makes it easier to sell a product.

The downside to the Amazon program is that their tracking cookie only lasts for 24 hours, which means when somebody clicks through from your site if they don't make a purchase in the next day you won't receive any commission. As a result, it's usually best with reasonably cheap products that people would buy without much hesitation.

eBay Partner Network

eBay Partner Network, or EPN, is one of the most talked about affiliate marketing programs that's out there today. That's because the potential for revenue generation is so great, and there are so many products at your disposal. In the last year or so, EPN has gotten much stricter with their regulations and their standards. Before applying to eBay Partner Network, you should first setup a website to prove that you understand how to create quality websites with unique content.

Once you're accepted into the program, you can use a tool such as Build a Niche Store which will allow you to instantly create a website based around particular eBay categories that you can then build up with your own content and information.

Clickbank

Clickbank has long been one of the torch bearers for affiliate marketing programs. Some beginners however struggle to get used to the system. That's because the products sold on Clickbank are primarily eBooks, software programs or online services. Therefore you have to promote things a bit differently than you would for physical products such as merchandise from eBay or Amazon. On the upside, you can instantly register for Clickbank and begin promoting any of the products of your choosing.

Google Adsense

Google Adsense isn't really an affiliate marketing program, however it's another tool that you have to help monetize a website or a blog that you create. Additionally, since the ads are generated based on the content of your website (as long as you opt out of the new system which shows ads based on individual visitor browsing histories) then you are in a sense dictating what kinds of products or services you want to advertise. If you can pick a niche market with a high cost per click you will be able to build some income over time.

Popshops

Popshops isn't an affiliate program in and of itself, it's actually a tool that you can use to help make the most of some of your other affiliate marketing programs. Basically Popshops is a service that will allow you to display individual products and product feeds from advertisers that you're already enrolled with through other services.

They are connected to Commission Junction and a handful of other large affiliate programs such as LinkShare, Share-a-Sale and the Google Affiliate Program. The huge benefit is that instead of relying on pre-made banners or text links, you can show specific product images and details to help boost conversion rates.

These are just a few of the major affiliate programs and tools that a beginner can use to start learning the ropes of affiliate marketing and online marketing as a whole. What rings true for all of these different products is that you need to be able to build a steady stream of traffic to your websites in order to see success.

You'll need to become familiar with everything from keyword research to basic search engine optimization and link building strategies such as article marketing. If you're ready to start creating an income for yourself through online business, then these are some of the best affiliate marketing programs for beginners to work with.