Does your business target other businesses (B2B)? You’ll be happy to hear you can diversify your revenue sources with affiliate marketing and give your bottom line a healthy boost. With experts predicting Affiliate Marketing Will Grow to $39,805.4 Million US by 2031, there’s plenty of pie to go around. In my experience (25 years), business-to-business affiliate marketing is the most profitable kind.
The primary reason business-to-business affiliate programs are so profitable, is they often pay higher commissions than your average business-to-consumer (B2C) retailer. If you carefully select B2B affiliate partners that are reputable and relevant to your target market, there’s an opportunity to generate more revenue with your website.
For example, information products often pay high commissions and there’s at least one for every target market. If you’re selling marketing software you could find an affiliate program for a related martech course or ebook.
If you’re just getting started, please read How to Start Affiliate Marketing in Canada for further guidance.
How to Select the Best B2B Affiliate Programs
To begin, go back to your ideal customer profile (persona or avatar). What are they looking for that you don’t offer? What pain points can you address for them with an affiliate product? Promote affiliate programs that appeal to your ideal target market without directly competing against you. You can easily find many affiliate programs that compliment your business.
A great way to start (and practice) is to promote products you use for your business, such as your website host or marketing & business administration tools. Or flip that idea to recommend a partner that your product integrates with, or is associated with your business in another way. It’s easier to sell products or services you’re familiar with and can confidently recommend. You’ll also find it’s easier to come up with content when you’re promoting something you know from a customer’s perspective.
Head to their website and look for a link to their affiliate program, or do a search for the business or product name plus the words “affiliate program”. You’ll find most of them will be happy to partner with you. Do check out their reputation before recommending them though, because your credibility is at stake.
How Can I Find B2B Affiliate Programs?
[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]
All of the major affiliate networks have B2B affiliate programs for affiliate marketers to join and promote. The great thing about affiliate networks is they usually have tools to help evaluate potential partnerships, such as affiliate sales data. This data can easily be compared to narrow down your choices and to increase your odds of success.
Most of our B2B partnerships go through:
- Share-a-Sale
- PartnerStack (specializes in B2B)
- CJ
- Rakuten Advertising
Some companies are on multiple networks. We also promote numerous partners with in-house affiliate programs.
Top-Earning B2B Affiliate Programs
Commission rates are subject to change and not every affiliate partner is offered the same rate. Therefore, we based the earning potential of the following partner programs on commission rate, high-ticket items, and sales conversion potential (in our experience).
Bonus: If you’re Canadian, you’ll receive a significant bonus when you’re paid in US dollars. All of the following affiliate programs pay commissions in USD.
1. ShipBob (Network: Impact) ShipBob is a global omni-fulfillment solution that ships orders from everywhere customers shop. They’re currently offering $750/sale.
2. Shopify (Network: Impact) is a Canadian ecommerce platform with global popularity among those who sell products online, synced seamlessly with offline sales if necessary. Earn $25.00-$150.00/sale.
3. Squarespace (Network: Impact) facilitates website creation and ecommerce with easy-to-edit website templates (no coding), and marketing features. They offer $100.00-$200.00/sale.
4. GreenGeeks (in-house) is the only website hosting service we use and recommend. They offer up to $100 per sale, but they’ll often increase commissions for top sales performance.
5. Semrush (Network: Impact) has an all-in-one tool suite for improving online visibility and discovering marketing insights. Do SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC & social media marketing in one place. They currently pay up to $200/purchase, $10/trial, and $0.01 per registration.
6. WP Rocket (Network: ShareASale) is a premium WordPress plugin that helps websites load fast, in only a few clicks. We started using it to improve SEO and user experience (UX) and it made a huge difference in load time. It’s recognized as the most powerful caching plugin by WordPress experts, and also the best-rated premium caching plugin. They offer 20%/sale.
7. WP Engine & Genesis Pro (Network: ShareASale) offers managed WordPress hosting and premium optimization. Commissions are $200 per referral or 100% of the customer’s first month payment (whichever is higher). You’ll also earn 35% per StudioPress theme sold.
8. JungleScout (Network: PartnerStack) tools give you critical insights for ecommerce success, from product research to powerful market intelligence. Earn 25% recurring commission for new customers.
9. OptinMonster (Network: ShareASale) is a top lead generation software for marketing agencies, bloggers, ecommerce websites, and small businesses. It helps grow your email list, improve website conversions, and reduce cart abandonment. It works with all major website & ecommerce platforms and integrates with more email marketing services than their competitors. You’ll earn 20%/sale.
10. Fiverr® (Networks: CJ & Rakuten Advertising) is the world’s largest marketplace for freelance online services. They pay $15-$150 CPA.
TIP: Steer clear of networks that are so rigid they’re rendered dysfunctional (or simply not worth the effort) for affiliate marketers. Impact’s random, OTT security measures come to mind. If you really want to work with a merchant who is on a network you’d rather avoid, send them an email to find out if they’re also on another network.
Success!
Once you’ve made sales and know which programs are converting for you, consider producing content written around that particular affiliate. Make it relatable to your business as well as theirs and watch your traffic & sales conversions grow. We’ve also found success by adding our more popular affiliate partners to our sales funnels through upselling and cross-selling.
Please share your B2B marketing successes and lessons learned in the comments below, or join us in the Online Business Canada Facebook group.
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Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
Melody has worked with many businesses & brands in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.
Great post! Very informative and well-written. Looking forward to more content from this blog!Thank you