When it comes to choosing an affiliate network, newbie affiliates immediately face problems. There are simply too many of them and each network describes itself with the same typical sales language. I’m not going to hold that against them, after all, they are businesses.
However, what a newbie affiliate really needs is a list of the most popular networks with the basic information about them.
Choosing the right affiliate network
Signing up to a random affiliate network is a waste of time. Before you even consider applying for a network, you should have a general idea about what kind of offers you want to run, from which vertical or niche, and with what traffic source.
An affiliate network will most likely ask you about all this. They expect you to have a plan. Many networks like to vet their potential affiliates. Frantic sign-ups won’t bring you closer to running a campaign.
Therefore, before you read any further, I highly recommend getting familiar with articles linked above, so you will have an idea of what kind of offer you wish to run. Or keep reading if you are just browsing through the menu.
The Affiliate Networks List
What comes below is the list of affiliate networks with some basic review. The networks listed here were selected based on their popularity.
Important note is that this is not any kind of ranking. It is impossible to pick a winner – it all depends on a variety of factors, some of which include your affiliate marketing skills.
Hence the affiliate networks listed here are in an alphabetical order.
If this overview was like a travel guide, it would be titled something like “Interesting places to visit in Europe”, not “The best and only place to visit in Europe and forget the rest”.
Data Collection
Data was pulled from publicly available resources (company websites, LinkedIn profiles), as well as from investigating their dashboards.
Here’s the fun part: platforms’ friendliness towards newbies was tested by John Krasicki himself.
Don’t know who that is?
He’s my good alter ego.
John is a complete newbie. He had never run any campaign but is eager to start out. He wants to run education offers in some Tier 2 countries. So, he had applied for all the platforms listed below to see which one would accept him without requiring prior experience, phone or Skype interview (John is very shy), or his company’s website.
If he got accepted to a network without providing the above, the network is considered to be newbie friendly.
Remember that not being newbie friendly isn’t something bad. Those platforms have simply adopted different business models. Networks that gather only experienced affiliates can often offer higher payouts for conversions.
If you are unfamiliar with shortcuts and abbreviations used here, I highly recommend you to read the affiliate marketing glossary article.
Without further ado, here’s the list of the most popular affiliate networks.
AdCombo
AdCombo is a network that focuses on providing campaign funnels in lower competition GEOs localized in over 40 languages. Majority of offers are in-house. For them, AdCombo also provides landing pages created specially by the AdCombo design team. Payouts occur as often as twice a week.
AdCombo specializes in offers that are usually bought on impulse. It can deal with all sorts of traffic.
- Verticals: Nutra, Subscriptions, Adult, Muscle, Sweepstakes, Mobile, BizOp
- GEO: Tier 2
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA, CPI, CPL, CPS
- Number of offers: 750
- Conversion flow: cash on delivery
- Minimum payout: 50 USD
- Newbie friendliness: Yes (although requires email contact)
- Voluum documentation link: AdCombo and Voluum
Big Bang Ads
Big Bang Ads is a private affiliate network with leadgen offers. They tend to be very picky when it comes to choosing affiliates, so you have to already earn some decent money before you can get accepted by them.
- Verticals: Sweepstakes
- GEO: 24 countries (mainly European)
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA
- Number of offers: N/A
- Conversion flow: SOI
- Minimum payout: 500 EUR
- Newbie friendliness: No (experience and significant earnings required)
- Voluum documentation link: Big Bang Ads and Voluum
Clickbank
One of the oldest and most recognizable networks that’s been around since the dark ages of the Internet. They offer a lot of life-style products, mainly digital, but as a supplement, there are some physical products as well.
Clickbank allows its vendors (offer owners) to set the percentage commission value that will be paid to an affiliate after a conversion. As with most digital products, the commission rates are usually high and oscillate around 40%.
- Verticals: Arts & Entertainment, Gambling, Finance, Education, Games, Nutra, Travel, Sport, Lifestyle
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Desktop and mobile
- Cost models: Revshare
- Number of offers: N/A
- Conversion flow: Purchase
- Minimum payout: 100 USD
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: Clickbank Integration
Clickdealer
Clickdealer is an affiliate network that hosts a variety of in-house or third-party offers. You can direct your visitors to them via regular links or smartlinks. If you cannot find an offer you want, you can always request one via the special form.
- Verticals: Dating, E-commerce, Sweepstakes, Nutra, Mobile Subscriptions, Gambling, Download
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Desktop and mobile
- Cost models: CPA, CPL, CPS, CPI, Revshare
- Number of offers: N/A
- Conversion flow: SOI, DOI, Revshare, PIN submit, SMS billing
- Minimum payout: 500 USD
- Newbie friendliness: No (interview required)
- Voluum documentation link: Clickdealer and Voluum
Everad
Everad focuses on nutra offers, with many of them being in-house ones. Everad uses a cash-on-delivery conversion flow for their offers, which means that a user has to submit a contact form and confirm the purchase when a call center reaches them back.
Everad provides you with landing pages and handles all the billing.
- Verticals: Nutra
- GEO: Selected Tier 2 countries
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA
- Number of offers: 150
- Conversion flow: COD
- Minimum payout: 50 USD
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: Everad and Voluum
Leadbit
Leadbit is a globally-operating CPA network that specializes in nutra offers but hosts offers from many other verticals. Leadbit puts emphasis on localized content and they even allow you to request translations of text from within the platform.
- Verticals: Crypto, Dating, Finance, Gambling, Gaming, Nutra, Sweepstakes
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA, CPL, CPS
- Number of offers: 700
- Conversion flow: SOI, purchase, PIN submit, install, lead
- Minimum payout: 30 USD
- Newbie friendliness: No (Skype interview)
- Voluum documentation link: Leadbit and Voluum
Lemonads
Lemonads is an affiliate network with many exclusive offers, which are either in-house or from direct advertisers.
For beginner affiliates, lemonads offers smart links powered by AI-based technology.
- Verticals: Lifestyle, Ecommerce, Nutra, Sweepstakes, Dating, Adult Dating, Games, Gambling, Sports, Software
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA, CPL, CPS, CPI
- Number of offers: 1,800
- Conversion flow: SOI, DOI, CC submit, SMS billing, install, 1-click flow, 2-click flow
- Minimum payout: $ 100
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: Lemonads and Voluum
MaxBounty
MaxBounty is a well-known affiliate network with an established reputation of being welcoming towards beginner affiliates. They support weekly payments, which is important if you are struggling with a cash flow.
- Verticals: Gambling, Finance, Education, Games, Nutra, Travel, Sport, Lifestyle, Sweepstakes, Ecommerce
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Desktop and mobile
- Cost models: CPA, CPL, CPS and CPI
- Number of offers: 2,000
- Conversion flow: SOI, CC submit, signup, purchase
- Minimum payout: 100 USD
- Newbie friendliness: No (phone interview)
- Voluum documentation link: MaxBounty and Voluum
Mobidea
Mobidea is a mobile-focused affiliate network that allows you to drive traffic to its offers directly or via smartlinks. It has a lot of built-in features that may help you along the way, such as opportunities stats or spy tools.
- Verticals: Mobile, Sweepstakes, Adult mobile content, Mainstream, Streaming, Desktop, Push
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mainly mobile
- Cost models: CPA, CPL
- Number of offers: 2,000
- Conversion flow: Direct billing, SOI, SMS billing, signup, PIN submit
- Minimum payout: 50 EUR
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: Mobidea and Voluum
Mobipium
Mobipium is a mobile-first affiliate network with over 1,000 advertisers and agencies. It is focused on Carrier Billing, Dating and Push Notifications offers.
Mobipium also gives you dedicated account managers, 24/7 support, and a built-in auto-optimization algorithm is optional.
- Verticals: Dating, Ecommerce, Gambling, Sweepstakes, Push, Live Cams
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mobile
- Cost models: CPA, CPL, CPS
- Number of offers: 5,000
- Conversion flow: SOI, DOI, 1-click flow, 2-click flow, 3-click flow, PIN submit
- Minimum payout: 50 USD
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: Mobipium and Voluum
MyLead
MyLeads hosts over 1,600 offers and affiliate programs that can be reached directly or via smartlinks. It offers several useful tools for both newbie and veteran affiliates, such as deeplink products feeds or API access.
- Verticals: Nutra, Adult, Finance, Ecommerce, Sweepstakes, Entertainment, Downloads, Travel
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPL, CPS, CPA, PPI
- Number of offers: 1,600
- Conversion flow: deposit payment, DOI, signup
- Minimum payout: 20 USD
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: MyLead and Voluum
Olimob
Olimob is a CPA-network with both third party and in-house offers. It supports direct linking, as well as smartlinks.
- Verticals: Mobile, Dating, Gambling, Install, Sweepstakes, Crypto, Betting, Nutra
- GEO:
- Device types: Mainly mobile
- Cost models: CPA
- Number of offers: 2,000
- Conversion flow: SOI, DOI, Click2call, PIN submit, SMS billing, other
- Minimum payout: 300 USD
- Newbie friendliness: Yes
- Voluum documentation link: Olimob and Voluum
PWN Games
PWN Games is an affiliate network focused on gaming offers. This focus allows PWN Games to understand the market and get a lot of insights that can be shared with their customers by account managers.
- Verticals: Gaming, Antivirus, Lifestyle, Software, Nutra, Adult, Sweepstakes, Entertainment
- GEO: 120+ countries
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA, CPS, CPC, Revshare
- Number of offers: N/A
- Conversion flow: SOI, signup, install,
- Minimum payout: 500 USD
- Newbie friendliness: No (website required)
- Voluum documentation link: PWN Games
Yep Ads
Yep Ads is a performance network focused on mobile offers of both digital and physical products.
- Verticals: Leadgen, Gaming, Mobile, Sweepstakes, Gambling, Finance
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mobile
- Cost models: CPA
- Number of offers: N/A
- Conversion flow: DOI, CC submit, install
- Minimum payout: 100 USD
- Newbie friendliness: No (website required)
- Voluum documentation link: Yep Ads and Voluum
Ytz
YTZ monetizes redirect and remnant traffic by driving visitors to them directly or via a global smartlink. YTZ works with all traffic types.
- Verticals: Adult, Installs, BizOp, Gambling, Dating, Nutra, Mobile, CC submit
- GEO: Global
- Device types: Mobile and desktop
- Cost models: CPA, CPL
- Number of offers: N/A
- Conversion flow: Signup, CC submit, email submit, SOI
- Minimum payout: 50 USD
- Newbie friendliness: No
- Voluum documentation link: YTZ and Voluum
Enough Networks For All
Affiliate networks differ vastly in not only offers they have, but also in business models or their approach to beginners. Remember, they have their objectives too, don’t be offended by questions they ask or by a rejection.
John Krasicki had learnt about this the hard way.
In the end, the world is full of affiliate networks, and most of them are full of promising offers. If you look hard enough, you will find the one that suits you best.
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2 comments
Thank you for publishing this detailed article.
Hii Michał !
Good read! This is very helpful and informative! Thanks for sharing!