The 15 Best Affiliate Programs in the Software & Online Business Sector

As a basis for affiliate marketing you should know the following: There are publishers who create posts on social media, run a blog, optimize a website with SEO or generally distribute content via YouTube and other channels. And it is precisely this content that can be used by companies as an advertising placement. The advertising companies are called advertisers, as they pay commissions for successful events, such as referrals of new customers. What you need to pay attention to in this type of cooperation and which affiliate programs are worthwhile, our guest author Jan Siebert explains in this article.

Small hint:Are you thematically not so far yet? Then you can read up on how to start with affiliate marketing in our ContentHub.

What are affiliate programs?

Affiliate programs are partnerships with companies (called advertisers or merchants) in which the company markets a product or service and the affiliate (publisher) receives a commission for each customer they refer to the company.

Often in the German-speaking area, instead of the term "affiliate program", "partner program" is also used. Registration for such a partner program is generally free of charge, but the providers check whether you as a publisher also fit the company and its advertising purposes.

So if you have a website and thus reach for the topic dogs, an application for an affiliate offer from a software company might be rejected. An online shop for pet food, on the other hand, would be a perfect match for an affiliate cooperation.

Compensation models in affiliate marketing

If you are accepted as a publisher in an affiliate program, a commission contract is automatically concluded. The amount of commission can of course vary from provider to provider. There are also several variations for the type of commission. As a rule, the following types are offered to you:

CPO (Cost-per-Order)

With the CPO, you are paid for actually generated sales. Often the advertiser reserves the right to cancel sales within a certain period of time if the customer has not converted.

Lifetime commission (Recurring Commission)

The lifetime commission is a special form of CPO. Here too, it is about mediated customers. This type of commission is often used by software companies, where you as a publisher participate in the turnover. And as long as the referred user remains a customer.

CPL (Cost-per-Lead)

With the CPL payment, the lead is at the center. It is paid for prospective customers contacting a company and thus the sales can continue to work with them. CPLs are usually fixed amounts.

CPC (Cost-per-Click)

A rather rare monetization in affiliate is the CPC model, which many of you know from Google Ads and where you are paid per click. Here, pure traffic, which is interested in a product or service, is paid for.

How does an affiliate cooperation work?

You should be searching for suitable partner programs in a thematically oriented manner. Then you have promising chances of being accepted. After confirmation, you gain access to the affiliate dashboard of the advertiser with his advertising materials. These can be the following:

• Text links
• Display banners
• animated ads
• Logos
• Landing pages
• Generators or calculators
• Product data feeds
• Creatives for actions

The affiliate tracking link, which a user can use to assign you as a publisher, is hidden behind these materials. You can use the materials, integrate them into your website or share them with your followers.

You can see the commission through mediated sales and leads centrally in your affiliate account in a usually structured reporting.

Serious affiliate partner programs-what to look out for?

Basically, affiliate marketing is a serious business model. It is largely about trust, which your followers and readers have to build with you. Only then can you recommend an affiliate product.

You should never have to pay anything to apply for a partner program. This would be a sign that the provider is not quite trustworthy and it is rather a pyramid scheme instead of a real partner model.

In addition, affiliate marketing is not a system for getting rich quick. It is an online marketing discipline that you can learn and perfect. Anything else that is sold to you on YouTube and blogs is often a scam.

The best affiliate products

With which partners you enter into an affiliate cooperation depends entirely on your own business. As a content creator, influencer, blogger, YouTuber, corporate influencer or website operator, you have a reach to a thematic audience. The choice of an affiliate product should match this target group as best as possible, since you want to recommend to your followers something that they then buy. The better the match here, the higher the conversion rate and therefore the commission for you.

There are affiliate partner programs for just about anything. For example:

• physical products
• digital products
• Services
• Tickets
• Accommodations
• etc.

So the best affiliate product can be something completely different for everyone. It depends on your target group that you reach.

What makes successful affiliate sites?

In the end, there's no big secret and the pages can be analyzed in depth with the right SEO tools. Affiliate marketing can not only be operated with a website. E-mail lists, social media profiles or YouTube channels are also great assets to operate successful affiliate marketing.

Affiliate network or single program?

For companies, there are basically two different models how they can set up and offer a partner program. On the one hand, this can be done via so-called affiliate networks, on the other hand, there are specialized affiliate software for individual programs.

Affiliate networks are, so to speak, the link between you as a publisher and the advertisers. In such a network, many advertisers from one industry are often looked after. As an affiliate, you then have an easy time, as you can apply directly to all partners via the network and invoicing and tracking run uniformly via the network.

However, some partner programs are set up via their own tool. This has the advantage for companies that they save the fees for a network and are therefore more independent in the support.

For you, networks are usually more comfortable for the application and billing, but sometimes the conditions in individually hosted partner programs are higher.

An overview of affiliate networks

To give you a first overview, we briefly introduce you to the most important affiliate networks.

Awin

Webgains

TradeTracker

financeAds

ADCELL

Digistore24

The best 15 affiliate partner programs for German publishers in the software and online business area

Finally, let's come to our tips which partner programs you should definitely take a look at in the software and online business area. The programs of course differ depending on the commission in dependency, what kind of product is sold. But also the cookie lifetime is a distinguishing feature. This value tells, in which period after the click a user referred by you is still counted as a lead or sale for you.

neuroflash

The tool neuroflash is an AI text generator. This allows texts to be created completely automatically. The tariffs cost between 29 € and 199 € per month - more about the prices from Neuroflash and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:35%

Type: CPO (Lifetime Commission)

Network:own tool (Firstpromoter)

Cookie Lifetime:60 days

Hubspot

You advertise inHubSpot CRM one of the most famous CRM systems, the different product rates for marketing, sales, customer service, CMS or operations. The prices start at 23 € per month and go up to several hundred euros - more about the prices from HubSpot CRM and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:100% of the first monthly payment or 15% monthly

Type:CPO - One-time payment or recurring payment

Network: Impact

Cookie Lifetime:90 days

monday.com

monday.com deals with a project management software. The pricing includes four paid for tariffs and is paid per user. If you advertise large companies, this can mean a respectable commission. Info on the prices from monday.com and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:100% contribution for the first year

Type: CPO

Network: PartnerStack

Cookie Lifetime:90 Days

Moss

The Fintech Moss offers small and medium-sized companies a complete solution for corporate expenses. The tariffs are based on the number of corporate credit cards issued - more about the prices from Moss and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:20 € or 200 €

Type:CPL or CPO

Network: financeAds

Cookie Lifetime: 90 Days

GetResponse

The e-mail marketing tool GetResponse can be used for the entire marketing automation. Prices start at 11 € per month, but can also rise to over 400 € per month depending on the number of e-mail contacts - more about the prices from GetResponse and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:33% or 100 €

Type: CPO recurring or one-time

Network: own program

Cookie Lifetime:120 days term

ClickFunnels

The American online selling platform ClickFunnels can be advertised and you will receive provision on the monthly and annual tariffs. Prices range from $147 to $297 per month - more about the prices from ClickFunnels and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:up to 40%

Type:CPO

Network: own program

Cookie Lifetime: 30 Days

Perspective Funnels

The tool of Perspective Funnels is a mobile funnel builder. With this, you can specifically collect leads. Provision is paid on the annual or monthly plan - more about the prices from Perspective Funnels and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:10% or 30%

Type: recurring commission, annually or monthly

Network: PartnerStack

Cookie Lifetime: 90 Days

Digistore24

The affiliate program Digistore24 is about new customers for the products sold through the payment provider Digistore24. The check-out is quick and easy, which positively influences conversion. Info about the prices from Digistore24 and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:up to 70%

Type:CPO

Network: Digistore24

Cookie Lifetime:180 Days

Dirk Kreuter - Sales Coach

Dirk Kreuter is a well-known figure in the online business sector. As a sales coach, he trains thousands of people with his courses every year. Of course, you can also advertise these as an affiliate.

Commission:up to 80 %

Type:CPO + second-level commission

Network: CopeCart

Cookie Lifetime:180 Days

Tip: A second-level commission means that if you advertise another affiliate, you will also receive a commission for their sales.

SEMrush

The SEO tool Semrush offers extensive features for analyzing keywords, websites and backlinks. For the tariffs, at least $120 per month is paid - more about the prices from Semrush and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:10$ and 200$

Type:CPL and CPO

Network: Impact

Cookie Lifetime:120 Days

Amazon Partnernet

The Amazon partner program is almost a must-have for every product-side niche website. Amazon practically has the right products for every topic and the conversion rate is optimal due to the familiarity.

Also read about affiliate marketing with Amazon can work for you.

Commission:up to 12%

Type: CPO

Network: own program

Cookie Lifetime: 24 Hours

sevDesk

The invoice and accounting program of sevDesk is popular with self-employed people and small companies. This is also reflected in the affiliate offer. Info on prices from sevDesk and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:up to 90 €

Type:per lead

Network: Awin

Cookie Lifetime:60 Days

ActiveCampaign

The e-mail marketing and automation tool ActiveCampaign gets you involved directly in the revenue of your recruited customers. Depending on the partner level, there are staggered commissions. Info on the prices from ActiveCampaign and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission:20 - 30 %

Type: recurring commission

Network:own program

Cookie Lifetime:90 Days

FINOM

The Fintech business account of FINOM is suitable for self-employed and companies. Accordingly, you have a broad target group for your promotion.

Commission:60,00 €

Type:Pay per Sale

Network: financeAds and Awin

Cookie Lifetime:30 Days

raidboxes®

Web hosting is at the beginning of every business. WordPress is the most famous CMS in the world. The products of raidboxes® are therefore good to recommend. Info about the prices from raidboxes® and the associated user reviews can be found on OMR Reviews.

Commission: 15 %

Type: Lifetime commission per new customer

Network: own

Cookie Lifetime: 60 Days

Conclusion to our affiliate program comparison

Especially in the software and online business area, there are some exciting affiliate programs. The list we presented here is only an extract from numerous great cooperation possibilities. You have everything from recurring commissions, high-priced sales remuneration to quick lead remuneration.

The key messages you should take from this article if you want to make money with affiliate are the following:

1. Build up a thematic reach. The more qualified your followers or readers are for a topic, the better it fits with the affiliate partner program.

2. Choose affiliate programs not for the commission, but for relevance. High commissions are tempting. However, this makes no difference if none of your followers and blog readers buy in the end.

3. Affiliate networks offer more comfort in managing many programs. Above that, create a structure with which you can keep an eye on all partner programs.

Nothing stands in the way of your successful affiliate business.