You either know that the cake is a lie and you are able to hear “The bomb has been planted” from 10 miles away or you don’t. Not because you don’t like cakes and you have bad hearing.
It’s because you are not a gamer.
Gamers can spot their own kind.
They are very good at it since they crawled out of their basements into the mainstream somewhere in the 2000’s.
I’m not saying that only gamers should advertise gaming affiliate programs. I am saying that the gaming community cares about their hobby very much.
They talk about it, spend hours playing, or watching other people play, or watch people commenting on those people.
Gamers surround themselves with gaming related accessories that have some things in common: they are expensive and have some form of RGB lighting.
They purchase merch from their favorite streamers. Buy 360 Hz monitors and ultra-light gaming mice to get an edge during gameplay.
And you know what? This costs them a lot of money.
The difference between now and the late 90’s and early 2000’s is that many gamers do have the money.
Why not help to connect prospect buyers with companies that offer desirable inventory? For a commission, of course.
How do Affiliate Programs Operate?
Affiliate programs are additional sales channels that big brands use to promote their content. Some allow just about anyone to get involved, while other vet candidates carefully and work only with those that have experience and a lot of traffic.
The way it works is that once you sign up for a program, you get a special link with a referrer ID in it. You can then put this link somewhere in your content.
Once the link is clicked and the product purchased, the program owner can attribute this event to you thanks to the referred ID. Each successful purchase (or other event deemed valuable by the company running the program) is rewarded with a commission.
The difference between this and promoting a random offer found on an affiliate network is that:
- You work with a recognizable and reputable partner
- You can specialize in advertising a concrete product niche instead of jumping from one to another and learn all intricacies from the start.
- In many cases, you can negotiate individual commission rates if you prove that you are successful. The better you are, the more you can earn.
- Companies give a lot of support for advertisers in the program in the form of marketing materials or special prices
You don’t have to be a gamer to advertise gamer-related products. But it helps.
And you can play games during breaks.
What matters in a good gaming affiliate program?
- Commission rate: sometimes it may be a fixed price, sometimes a percentage of a sale. Percentage commissions are usually bigger for digital-only products. Commissions don’t have to be big if the conversion rate is high enough.
- Cookie duration: Cookies store the information about a referrer ID. Not all visitors purchase the product immediately after clicking the referred link. Cookie duration (or ‘lifetime’) describes the time window when the purchase can be attributed to the referrer. The longer the better.
- Payout flexibility: Companies that run affiliate programs usually don’t want to be bothered with small payouts done on multiple occasions. They prefer to allow for a payout once or twice a month, and only above a certain payout threshold. But sometimes an advertiser needs flexibility in order to maintain cash flow.
Tracking gaming affiliate programs
Affiliate programs in general offer you some rudimentary tracking solutions. This will only track the number of sales and your payout. It will not tell you:
- Who your audience really is.
- Which ad gets a better response and from whom
- What are daily and weekly traffic fluctuations
This is where an ad tracker comes in. It allows you to put hard and measurable science to the whole ‘earning money while writing about games’ endeavor.
An affiliate tracker like Voluum can easily connect with the affiliate program platform and bring additional data presentable in complex reports to the table.
The best gaming affiliate programs
Gaming affiliate programs listed here are all good and may provide sustainable income or some additional cash. Contrary to what many articles are trying to tell you, choosing the best program, or a few good ones is not possible. What works great for one advertiser may not work so well for another.
Instead of focusing on comparing payouts, I suggest that you should go with the program from this list that simply speaks to you. You will be able to advertise it more honestly, place links in your content more organically. The best payouts and conversion rates are for nothing if gamers will feel that the promoted content is being forced upon them or isn’t genuine.
The ranking below aims to show various types of gaming-related affiliate programs for you to get inspired.
Go over the list below, pick a program that fits your content’s profile or simply the one that tickles your fancy, and start advertising!
Logitech affiliate program
You don’t need to be a gamer to know their products. If you like ergonomic keyboards or mice, chances are that you already use or should be using their products.
By signing up to Logitech’s affiliate program, you’ll be able to promote not only its products but also products from its family of brands.
The large potential audience, from gamers to health-oriented office workers, along with brand’s recognizability make Logitech’s affiliate program a great place to start.
The downside is that Logitech’s affiliate program is only available in the US and selected European countries.
Commission rate: 4-10 %
Cookie lifetime: 30 days
Razer
Razer is a brand that is synonymous with gaming. It offers everything: from gaming accessories, laptops, to clothes, breathing masks and energy drinks.
Razer is the lifestyle brand for gamers. They are widely recognizable in the gaming community and the wide range of products allows you to promote them in various content types. What’s more, there are special incentives for affiliates; they can use special codes and promotions to attract more customers.
Razer affiliate program is available through the Impact Radius marketplace.
Commission rate: up to 10% depending on the product type
Cookie lifetime: 30 days
Alienware
Alienware, a Dell-owned brand offers a selection of products that are every gamer’s wet dream. From desktop PCs and laptops to accessories, Alienware has got you covered.
The company is probably best known for its crazy looking desktop PCs that have a truly unique design. You might even say that they look alien.
The general principle is that if it looks ridiculously awesome, it’s probably Alienware.
Their affiliate program, available via various marketplaces, offers a modest 3% commission rate. But remember, their products have prices as high as are outlandish, so a marketer can count on a serious stream of revenue.
Commission rate: 3%
Cookie lifetime: 30 days
ModdedZone
If you think that putting racing stripes on a regular car is OK but having a Cyberpunk-themed gaming controller is not, then this affiliate program may not be for you.
ModdedZone offers modifications of popular controllers for PCs and consoles, not only visual ones but also mods that change the way you interact with a game. Instant triggers and tuning from a smartphone app – this is dedicated for hardcore gamers. But casual ones should also appreciate a wide selection of different visual themes.
Modded controllers are a lesser known option to promote but that may equal smaller competition and a fresher niche. On top of that, you have two tactics you can use to advertise their products: you can either advertise the improved gaming experience that comes from using a modified controller or the joy of having a gaming accessory with themes from popular culture.
Commission rate: 10%
Cookie lifetime: 90 days
SecretLabs
SecretLabs offers one product type only. But boy, what a product that is.
SecretLabs offers state-of-the art chairs built for long gaming sessions. The engineering of these chairs is out of this world and beats your everyday office chair by a mile. Plus, these chairs don’t look like the office ones.
Like many other companies in this vertical, SecretLabs allows you to put your favorite gaming or movie heroes on your chair. For streamers, a gaming chair is part of their image. For others, it is a way to show their connection and love of their favorite heroes.
You can use different angles to advertise SecretLabs’ chairs: you can tell how healthy and comfortable they are or you can show how beautiful they look.
These chairs aren’t cheap but that means that your 12% cut of a finalized sale will be substantial.
Commission rate: 12%
Cookie lifetime: 7 days
Nvidia
Nvidia has become one of the largest companies in the world with a product lineup that goes far beyond gaming hardware. Their chips can be found in servers and even autonomous cars. It all had to come down to the chip shortage for us to learn that chips, especially those advanced ones that specialize in AI and image analysis, are everywhere.
But still, Nvidia is best known for producing the hottest commodity on the gaming market: RTX GPU’s (graphic processing units), or graphic cards. They are the largest manufacturers of chips for graphic cards and gamers’ default choice.
There are just a few brands that are as closely associated with PC gaming as Nvidia is. The company’s name is basically all the advertisement you need: if a person knows what Nvidia makes, they want to buy it.
Commission rate: 2% per sale
Cookie lifetime: 45 days
Wargaming.net
Most probably you, as well as millions of other people browsing YouTube, were terrified at first and stunned by Wargaming’s loud and intensive game trailers.
Wargaming is the studio behind World of Tanks, World of Warships, and a handful of other games. They all belong to one genre: MMO (massive multiplayer online). These games bring all tank, plane or battleship enthusiasts together to wage battles against each other.
These games are free to play, which may be surprising for anyone that doesn’t know how such games work. Although the core game is actually free, there are spending options that increase your chances of winning. This is what you will be rewarded for: promoting and selling premium paid accounts.
Commission rate: Up to $10
Cookie lifetime: N/A
GreenManGaming
GreenManGaming is an all-in-one gaming marketplace. It allows you to purchase PC, console and Mac games in one place. What’s more, it supports various PC platforms.
Contrary to consoles, PC space doesn’t have one, singular gaming marketplace. You can purchase and play games via Steam, the biggest platform for enjoying games on PCs, but you can do that in Microsoft Store, Ubisoft Connect, Origin and Epic Games Store as well. GreenManGaming supports all these platforms with the exception of Microsoft Store.
This makes GMG a go-to place for a unified shopping experience. If you want to promote game sales, this is the way. Steam, for example, doesn’t have its own affiliate program.
Commission rate: 2% – 5%
Cookie lifetime: 30 days
LepreStore
LepreStore is a game-boosting service. What is that, you ask? Well, game boosting services allow you to rank up your character in an online game without the time-consuming grind.
If you are a serious World of Warcraft, CoD Warzone or Destiny 2 player, boosting your character through a service may be the way up you are looking for. These games serve millions of players, surely there are some that would want to take a shorter path to the top.
Commission rate: up to 7%
Cookie lifetime: 15 days
Origin PC
Origin PC builds custom PCs that dreams are made from. It offers vast customization options and top-quality hardware.
Apart from gamers, Origin PC provides hardware for creators or workstations for companies. They are not cheap. If you’re looking for an affordable laptop for a student, there are better places to find it.
Origin PC offers products for enthusiasts and prices them accordingly.
Commission rates are undisclosed and discussed on a case-by-case basis. Don’t expect them to be high percentage-wise, but they will be high money-wise.
Commission rate: N/A
Cookie lifetime: 30 days
GamerDating
The last program on this list is pretty much self-explanatory. There are numerous dating sites that specialize in connecting concrete groups of people, people in the military, seniors, Jewish people, and so on.
Gamers are just one more demographic that also needs love.
GamerDating offers a chance for gamers to find someone that shares their hobby. For affiliates, it offers 20% commissions on sold paid memberships.
Commission rate: 20%
Cookie lifetime: N/A
The many aspects of being a gamer
This was an overview of all the types of products or services a true gamer may need. From a good gaming mouse to a beloved partner for long gaming sessions.
Gaming is not just games. It’s the whole vivid, pulsating world full of people dedicated to their hobby. Gamers are very loyal to the brands they love. They want to support these brands by purchasing their products or purchasing other products that have their favorite brand on them.
The good thing in advertising gaming affiliate programs is that you can use various angles, appeal to reason or emotions, and do it in a creative, fun, and casual way.
Advertising life insurance affiliate programs takes a lot of research and requires a serious tone. Advertising gaming affiliate programs requires one to be passionate, or at least a bit knowledgeable about video games.
So, get a can of Mountain Dew, grab some cheese-flavored nachos and sign up to Voluum!
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