Anyone run a channel in a high affiliate commission vertical?

KiddieToysReview

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I came across several channels talking about bitcoins, bitcoin trading and cryptocurrency mining, that sort of stuff. Their descriptions are heavy in affiliate links, so are the comments. Some seem to have a community where they use each others' affiliate links, and help each other build income. Based on analysis of their channels, Adwords income is fairly small, but affiliate commissions are much higher.

Us being a kids channel, I've tried some affiliate stuff with amazon, but it's zero sales. I did not really expect kids to purchase toys via affiliate links in descriptions anyways, but wanted to give it a try.

My question is, does anyone here operate a channel in an affiliate niche, and what are your experiences with it? What interesting affiliate niches are currently out there, that generate enough interest and traffic and conversions to make it worthwhile doing it? I think cryptocurrencies look look promising, but anything else?
 
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Amazon's affiliate program and similar programs aren't really worth it IMHO. Since they are for physical goods that Amazon buys and then sells, Amazon's margins are quite small. Consequently, the amount of money they are willing to pay affiliates is also small. I believe it's around 7% of sales price that goes to the affiliate. Let's assume you're promoting a $20 toy. You're only getting $1.40 for a sale. Bear in mind, you're sending traffic away from your brand / channel / website, I'm not sure it's worth it.

The real money in affiliate marketing is elsewhere. Digital goods have a much bigger margin for the merchant (no production, stock or shipping costs) and therefore they often give affiliates a much bigger part of the pie. Commission rates for digital goods and services are often 50%. So now a $20 sale of an ebook or some downloadable software is going to earn $10. Things like ebooks, online training, hosting, software are way more lucrative than Amazon. Some of the best hosting affiliate programs offer a $50 flat fee for every new customer.

The best of the best are programs that offer lifetime recurring commission. Every time a customer you refer once makes a repeat purchase, you get a commission. Vendors of Saas products often offer that. Customers subscribe to use some software and pay $30 per month until they cancel and the affiliate will earn a percentage of that every single month. That's where the big money is.

Having said all that, commission percentage isn't the only thing to look at. It's no good having a high commission if the program doesn't convert. That is something that goes in Amazon's favour. Everyone knows and trusts Amazon and they are very good at converting targeted traffic into sales. But due to the low commission, you need a TON of traffic to make it worthwhile.
 

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I did not even know about this possibility exists. Thank you for information I will look to it.[DOUBLEPOST=1502677866,1502677654][/DOUBLEPOST]
Amazon's affiliate program and similar programs aren't really worth it IMHO. Since they are for physical goods that Amazon buys and then sells, Amazon's margins are quite small. Consequently, the amount of money they are willing to pay affiliates is also small. I believe it's around 7% of sales price that goes to the affiliate. Let's assume you're promoting a $20 toy. You're only getting $1.40 for a sale. Bear in mind, you're sending traffic away from your brand / channel / website, I'm not sure it's worth it.

The real money in affiliate marketing is elsewhere. Digital goods have a much bigger margin for the merchant (no production, stock or shipping costs) and therefore they often give affiliates a much bigger part of the pie. Commission rates for digital goods and services are often 50%. So now a $20 sale of an ebook or some downloadable software is going to earn $10. Things like ebooks, online training, hosting, software are way more lucrative than Amazon. Some of the best hosting affiliate programs offer a $50 flat fee for every new customer.

The best of the best are programs that offer lifetime recurring commission. Every time a customer you refer once makes a repeat purchase, you get a commission. Vendors of Saas products often offer that. Customers subscribe to use some software and pay $30 per month until they cancel and the affiliate will earn a percentage of that every single month. That's where the big money is.

Having said all that, commission percentage isn't the only thing to look at. It's no good having a high commission if the program doesn't convert. That is something that goes in Amazon's favour. Everyone knows and trusts Amazon and they are very good at converting targeted traffic into sales. But due to the low commission, you need a TON of traffic to make it worthwhile.
But how to get in to this affiliated marketing ? Where to go in what to do?
 
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KiddieToysReview

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Amazon's affiliate program and similar programs aren't really worth it IMHO. Since they are for physical goods that Amazon buys and then sells, Amazon's margins are quite small. Consequently, the amount of money they are willing to pay affiliates is also small. I believe it's around 7% of sales price that goes to the affiliate. Let's assume you're promoting a $20 toy. You're only getting $1.40 for a sale. Bear in mind, you're sending traffic away from your brand / channel / website, I'm not sure it's worth it.

The real money in affiliate marketing is elsewhere. Digital goods have a much bigger margin for the merchant (no production, stock or shipping costs) and therefore they often give affiliates a much bigger part of the pie. Commission rates for digital goods and services are often 50%. So now a $20 sale of an ebook or some downloadable software is going to earn $10. Things like ebooks, online training, hosting, software are way more lucrative than Amazon. Some of the best hosting affiliate programs offer a $50 flat fee for every new customer.

The best of the best are programs that offer lifetime recurring commission. Every time a customer you refer once makes a repeat purchase, you get a commission. Vendors of Saas products often offer that. Customers subscribe to use some software and pay $30 per month until they cancel and the affiliate will earn a percentage of that every single month. That's where the big money is.

Having said all that, commission percentage isn't the only thing to look at. It's no good having a high commission if the program doesn't convert. That is something that goes in Amazon's favour. Everyone knows and trusts Amazon and they are very good at converting targeted traffic into sales. But due to the low commission, you need a TON of traffic to make it worthwhile.
Agreed about Amazon. I had some success years ago with niche sites, but our Youtube channel does not convert at all. Amazon only works with high ticket items or high traffic conversion to sales as you say. Niche sites are out with organic search engine placements as well, it's all about massive authority sites.

I think hosting was very lucrative, Pat Flynn from smartpassiveincome.com has built a sizeable fortune from Bluehost referrals and the associate brand equity he built from it. I'm interested in what can be a fairly high traffic youtube channel and also convert to high commissions. I can't see hosting tutorials getting many views on Yt these days, nor the 'build a blog' vertical. Too old already. Forex trading can give high commissions too, but that is fairly saturated in Yt and also has a fairly high spam barrier to entry.

So the only vertical I found so far is bitcoins and other crypto currencies. There are 2 players who seem to be making very high commissions with the tiered affiliate structures available: UCWZbtMeOAb_qpEVUl551l7w & UCPWHmSfAsAiaKhMxNoIoByg . While their views are on the low end (compared to say kids channels), and they make hardly any adsense, they make decent affiliate commissions. It's a highly targeted audience who also partake in the bitcoin trading, so everyone shares everyone's affiliate links. This of course helps to build an tiered pyramid.

So I'm wondering if anyone on here has experience in bitcoins and associated affiliate programs. I think it's critical to diversify now. My confidence in Yt stable income is at a very low level.[DOUBLEPOST=1502679382,1502679001][/DOUBLEPOST]
I did not even know about this possibility exists. Thank you for information I will look to it.[DOUBLEPOST=1502677866,1502677654][/DOUBLEPOST]

But how to get in to this affiliated marketing ? Where to go in what to do?
Check the merchants you are interested in. At the bottom of the web page, there is usually an affiliate link.
amazon: affiliate-program.amazon.com/
hosting: bluehost.com/affiliates

There are also marketplaces like commissionfactory.com that you create an account, and can join various programs without signing up directly with those merchants. Saves lots of processing.
 

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I've not done much on affiliate side over the years but you can imagine the YT channels that will make bank here are those that inform or review a product and convert through the link.

As for bitcoin it's making me weep a little as I got involved in 2013 with mining and speculating on it and didn't stick with it. I'd be doing very nicely now if I did.

I think the difference with bitcoin is now the man on the street is paying attention so you'd have a much larger audience for your vids and a much higher chance to convert as people want to learn about it now and start dabbling.

Could be a good call. Just for heavens sake please don't get sucked into the idea of mining for it now, that ship has sailed. If you want to do that, then mine for the alternative currencies and convert to bitcoin when they grow in value :)
 

KiddieToysReview

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I've not done much on affiliate side over the years but you can imagine the YT channels that will make bank here are those that inform or review a product and convert through the link.

As for bitcoin it's making me weep a little as I got involved in 2013 with mining and speculating on it and didn't stick with it. I'd be doing very nicely now if I did.

I think the difference with bitcoin is now the man on the street is paying attention so you'd have a much larger audience for your vids and a much higher chance to convert as people want to learn about it now and start dabbling.

Could be a good call. Just for heavens sake please don't get sucked into the idea of mining for it now, that ship has sailed. If you want to do that, then mine for the alternative currencies and convert to bitcoin when they grow in value :)
Thanks for the feedback. You're right, 2013 was the perfect time to get in! I'm still trying to get my head around the mining a digital asset thing. The channels I mention above they cover everything related to it across the board, that way they build authority in the whole field and chace commissions from whichever companies offer them. They do mention that mining is not profitable now in most cases, but they do it in order to get commissions from all those who become affiliates. From my previous experience in affiliate marketing, the way to build credibility is to use the products you recommend and review. That 16 year old is executing the strategy perfectly and banking serious cash.
 
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Gamayun

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Agreed about Amazon. I had some success years ago with niche sites, but our Youtube channel does not convert at all. Amazon only works with high ticket items or high traffic conversion to sales as you say. Niche sites are out with organic search engine placements as well, it's all about massive authority sites.

I think hosting was very lucrative, Pat Flynn from smartpassiveincome.com has built a sizeable fortune from Bluehost referrals and the associate brand equity he built from it. I'm interested in what can be a fairly high traffic youtube channel and also convert to high commissions. I can't see hosting tutorials getting many views on Yt these days, nor the 'build a blog' vertical. Too old already. Forex trading can give high commissions too, but that is fairly saturated in Yt and also has a fairly high spam barrier to entry.

So the only vertical I found so far is bitcoins and other crypto currencies. There are 2 players who seem to be making very high commissions with the tiered affiliate structures available: UCWZbtMeOAb_qpEVUl551l7w & UCPWHmSfAsAiaKhMxNoIoByg . While their views are on the low end (compared to say kids channels), and they make hardly any adsense, they make decent affiliate commissions. It's a highly targeted audience who also partake in the bitcoin trading, so everyone shares everyone's affiliate links. This of course helps to build an tiered pyramid.

So I'm wondering if anyone on here has experience in bitcoins and associated affiliate programs. I think it's critical to diversify now. My confidence in Yt stable income is at a very low level.[DOUBLEPOST=1502679382,1502679001][/DOUBLEPOST]

Check the merchants you are interested in. At the bottom of the web page, there is usually an affiliate link.
amazon: affiliate-program.amazon.com/
hosting: bluehost.com/affiliates

There are also marketplaces like commissionfactory.com that you create an account, and can join various programs without signing up directly with those merchants. Saves lots of processing.
How are you going to connect bitcoin subject with kids activities? Unless buying presents for mom video. Trying to wrap my brain around bitcoins and my channel and it hurts :)
 

KiddieToysReview

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How are you going to connect bitcoin subject with kids activities? Unless buying presents for mom video. Trying to wrap my brain around bitcoins and my channel and it hurts :)
Not related at all - completely separate channel and branding.
 
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Gamayun

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Not related at all - completely separate channel and branding.
How do you see how much this two v-logers made in affiliate commissions. I look at them on social blade page and did not find much on commission earnings.
 

KiddieToysReview

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How do you see how much this two v-logers made in affiliate commissions. I look at them on social blade page and did not find much on commission earnings.
Socialblade will only show commissions if you affiliate for Socialblade and send them signups. Those 2 dudes do affiliates with a number of crypto related websites. In their videos they show their commissions. Nothing to do with Socialblade and crypto.
 
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