One of the most effective ways of making money online is not necessarily by selling products, but by marketing them. Affiliate marketing has quickly become a popular side hustle, with brands sacrificing a slice of their profit to those who redirect audiences toward their products.
Affiliate marketing entails inserting links or discount codes into online content, with affiliate marketers being paid commissions per sale or sometimes per click. Done well, this can be a highly lucrative source of income.
Join us as we take a closer look at affiliate marketing and the sites that make it easy - in particular, FlexOffers.
What is FlexOffers?
FlexOffers is an affiliate platform that offers you access to over 12,000 affiliate marketing programs. It aims to keep all your affiliate programs under one roof, so you don’t have to chase around multiple sites to collect your payments.
Considering its competition in the form of ecommerce giants Amazon and eBay, FlexOffers’ rise has been impressive. Having been founded in 2008, the site now boasts over 75,000 users making the most of its features.
Its simplicity and ease of use has made it a go-to for many looking to get into affiliate marketing.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a revenue scheme where a person or business markets another business’ product for a slice of commission. It’s essentially selling things by word of mouth, using links and descriptions within content to direct an audience toward a product.
Here are the different types of affiliate marketing:
1. Product reviews
The most common form of affiliate marketing is product reviews and lists. These will often be found on specialist sites and blogs, for example, a music website discussing the top 10 guitar amps.
Affiliate links will be attached to each of the products in the list, with the website taking a commission if readers click on them and buy the product.
2. Content creators
Online content creators and social media influencers are also affiliate marketers, often taking a commission on products they advertise on Instagram and TikTok. These deals can be structured in different ways, with smaller influencers often given a product for free and larger influencers paid a fee.
More often than not, these content creators and influencers will give their viewers a discount code to apply at checkout, resulting in a commission.
3. Coupons
Some sites specifically offer coupons to those who sign up. These sites will receive a commission for the purchases made using these coupons, with businesses happy to concede a slice of profit for exposure.
What do you get from affiliate marketing?
There is a lot to gain from affiliate marketing if you have any sort of online audience consuming your content. While there is no guarantee of making a fortune from it, it is risk-free and easy to implement.
Here are some of the benefits of affiliate marketing:
- Easy source of income: By inserting affiliate links into your online content or website, you can generate an easy source of income for very little effort. All it takes is to insert a relevant affiliate link and you’ve got yourself a money-maker with no risks attached.
- Passive income: Once the affiliate link has been placed in your content, you won’t have to perform any further action or maintenance on it. It will theoretically earn you money while you sleep as your audience clicks on and buys the product.
- Fully scalable: There’s no limit to the number of affiliate links you can use in your content, as long as what you’re producing remains worthwhile. Most people will start with a core selection of products, but nothing is stopping you from adding to it and generating more money.
- No responsibility: Unlike if you were selling your own products, you won’t have to deal with any backlash should there be an issue with the item. With affiliate links, you are merely directing your audience toward a product; the seller will have to deal with the admin.
So, affiliate marketing seems beneficial for those using the links, but what do the businesses get from it?
What do businesses get from affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing may appear slanted in the favor of the marketers rather than businesses, but it can be profitable for both. This is despite the fact that businesses will lose a small chunk of their profits every time they make a sale through the links.
Here’s how affiliate marketing helps businesses:
- Cheaper than traditional marketing: It costs considerably less for a company to generate affiliate marketing links than it does to roll out a traditional marketing campaign. Once the links start to spread around on different digital publications, people’s awareness of the product will naturally increase.
- Reaching a demographic: Affiliate links are, more often than not, likely to appear on sites browsed by the demographic a business is trying to market their product to. Whether it be on a specialized blog, news outlet, or listicle website, the product will be more likely to reach its target audience.
- Low-risk sales: As businesses don’t have to pay a huge advertising fee to release affiliate links, very little risk is involved. While they might concede a fraction of the profit, the increase in sales is likely to make up the numbers.
Who is FlexOffers For?
While FlexOffers is suitable for anyone in the world of affiliate marketing, it is a great tool for beginners.
Getting Started With FlexOffers
Although getting started with FlexOffers is fairly simple, you will be asked a handful of questions during the signup process. These revolve around what sort of affiliate business you want to run and what platforms you will choose to run it on. Let’s take a deeper look into the setup process.
Signing up
The first decision you make when signing up for FlexOffers is the simplest; choosing whether you’re a publisher or an advertiser. Once you navigate this section, you’ll be redirected to the respective area. In this case, we’re going to be signing up as a publisher/affiliate.
Supplying contact details
After filling out the customary signup form, you’ll be redirected to the information form. While there is very little to say about it, it’s important to note that FlexOffers can be used almost anywhere in the world. The platform has affiliate programs located in Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and, of course, North America.
Choosing your traffic source
This is where things get a bit more technical. Choosing your traffic source is important, as it lets FlexOffers know how you’re going to use its links and adverts. There are seven options on offer:
- My Website
- Ads That I Buy
- My Software Application
- My Email Lists
- My Own Network
- Social Media
- Another Source
Depending on which option you select, you’ll receive a further form full of questions on budgets, audience size, and more. This is the meatiest section of the signup process and is likely to be a bit more difficult for new affiliate marketers.
Thankfully, FlexOffers have a solid support network on hand for those struggling with signing up.
Finishing up
Once you have waded through the traffic source section, the finishing up process will feel like a welcome relief. All that will be standing in your way is the two-factor authentication process.
Overall, the signup process won’t be a challenge for most, unless you’re still undecided on your marketing methods. The platform makes signing up as simple as possible while ensuring the process is secure.
Accessing Affiliate Programs on FlexOffers
With so many affiliate programs available to choose from on FlexOffers, trying to find the right one for you may seem daunting. However, the platform has an intuitive search system.
You can search by category or by using keywords, whittling the options down to a manageable amount.
You can also search by payout type; the platform will display options that pay depending on the actions of the customers you refer. These options are:
- Pay per click
- Pay per lead
- Pay per sale
- Pay per install
Once you have found the program for you, you have to apply to access the link. Each program must be applied for individually, with each application taking two to three days to be approved or denied.
Accessing links
Accessing affiliate links once an application is approved is simple with FlexOffers. The ‘Access Links’ buttons are clearly marked next to the program, with an option in place to receive shortened versions of these links.
The ease-of-use once you have signed up to FlexOffers is one of the platform’s biggest plus points. It also affirms why FlexOffers should be strongly considered if you are just starting out in affiliate marketing.
Let’s take a look at the sort of affiliate programs you can expect to find on FlexOffers.
What Categories Does FlexOffers Include?
One of FlexOffers’ major strengths is the variety of affiliate programs it has to offer. The categories within its 12,000+ programs include:
- Automotive
- Business
- Clothing
- Digital products
- Health
- Entertainment
- Sports
- Travel
This is merely a handful of the 25 categories on offer with FlexOffers. This variety will ensure you can easily find relevant programs to slot into your content. Without this one-stop-shop approach, the likelihood is that you’d have to search around multiple affiliate sites to find an adequate number of links.
What Brands Does FlexOffers Have Access To?
FlexOffers isn’t limited to partnered brands, allowing you access to marketing programs from over 12,000 companies. However, the platform does stress that the number of ‘premium’ brands it has partnered with is around 500.
Regardless, compared to most affiliate platforms, this number is undoubtedly impressive.
Here are some of the premium brands made accessible to you by FlexOffers:
- Best Western
- AT&T
- adidas
- Calvin Klein
- Lenovo
It’s an impressive roster, with options to suit you whether you run a travel blog, tech website, or if you’re a fashion influencer. Marketing popular, reputable brands will only increase your chances of gaining an income from affiliate marketing, especially if you’re highlighting expensive items.
Getting Paid With FlexOffers
Now for the most important part of your affiliate marketing journey, getting paid. FlexOffers offers four payment methods, with each one requiring a minimum threshold and commanding different transaction fees. These are:
| Payment type | Minimum threshold | Transaction fee |
|---|---|---|
| Direct bank transfer | $25 | $1 |
| Wire transfer | $1,000 | $15 |
| Check | $25 | $3 |
| PayPal | $25 | 2% + $1-2 |
When does FlexOffers pay you?
One of FlexOffers’ major downsides is its net 60 payment schedule. This means that you will receive your payments 60 days after you submit your invoice. While this won’t necessarily affect you once you are in full swing, it’s frustrating when you’re first starting out.
Net 60 isn’t uncommon with affiliate marketing platforms, with other major sites like Amazon Associates also utilizing it.
If you start making serious money from FlexOffers, you’ll be upgraded to net 7, meaning you’ll be paid your earnings every seven days.
Pros and Cons of FlexOffers
Let's dive deeper into the benefits and drawbacks.
Pros 👍
- Multiple brands to choose from: FlexOffers has a very impressive list of partnered brands, with options to suit almost every marketing niche. Not only are the options broad, but there is also a wide selection of high-end, popular brands to be found.
- Risk-free: FlexOffers is safe, secure, and free to join, making it a risk-free business venture. It also doesn’t require any monthly payments to keep your account running.
- Flexible payments: Unlike a vast number of affiliate platforms, FlexOffers gives you multiple options for receiving payment. You can be paid directly into your bank, by a wire transfer, by check, or by PayPal.
- Easy to track programs: Having all of your affiliate programs within the same site makes it easy to keep track of reports. You won’t find yourself having to log in to multiple sites to gather your data.
- Ideal for beginners: FlexOffers doesn’t require you to be an already established page to set up an account. You will likely be approved even if you’re at the very beginning of your affiliate marketing journey.
Cons 👎
- Payments aren’t instant: Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a while to receive your first FlexOffers payment, as the platform works on a net 60 basis. This means that you’ll receive your payment a whole 60 days after your invoice.
- FlexOffers takes 6% of earnings: While you don’t have to pay anything to sign up, FlexOffers will take 6% of your overall earnings. There’s also the added matter of each payment method requiring a transaction fee, meaning you’ll lose even more profit.
- Minimum payment thresholds: The minimum threshold to receive payments on FlexOffers is higher than many similar sites. If you’re wanting to receive payment directly, you’ll have to earn at least $25. If you want to be paid via a wire transfer, you’ll have to earn at least $1,000.
FlexOffers should absolutely be taken seriously as competition to the more well-known affiliate marketing platforms. However, it does have its flaws, such as its unavoidable transaction fees.
Let’s have a look at some alternatives.
Alternatives to FlexOffers
Let’s have a look at some alternatives.
Amazon Associates
Due to the size of its parent company, Amazon Associates is one of the most well-known affiliate programs out there. The program offers a good number of perks too. You’ll receive a commission on the product purchased using your link but also on everything the customer buys within the same shopping session.
The one clear flaw with Amazon Associates is that you can only provide links to products sold on Amazon. Thankfully, the variety of products sold on the website is almost endless.
CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate, formerly known as Commission Junction, is one of the longest-standing affiliate sites on the internet. It works in a similar manner to FlexOffers, although the pool of brands is smaller, with 4,000 to choose from.
CJ Affiliate pays out faster than FlexOffers, with payments generally made on the 20th of each month. If you fail to make a sale in your first six months of using the program, your account will be deactivated.
Awin
Awin is another affiliate program boasting a number of high-end brands, such as Nike, Myprotein, and Sephora. With over 25,000 programs made available to its users, you’ll never run out of options.
However, one of its major downsides is its requirement for users to have a live website. Running a website isn’t cheap, especially if you’re just starting out.
Affiliate Marketing With Whop 🙌
If none of the options above appeal to you, there’s no need to worry; Whop has you covered. The Whop affiliate program offers you money for referring people to products hosted on the Whop marketplace. There’s plenty to choose from too, as Whop hosts an array of digital products, from courses to sports betting tips.
Not only is there a wide variety of products to refer to, but the platform is easy to use and statistics are readily available. You can even earn recurring payments for your referrals.
So, why wait? Become a Whop affiliate today and start earning an easy, risk-free side income directly from your digital device.
