20+ Best Craft Affiliate Programs and Networks [2024]
Humanity has managed to make things it wants and use them for an easier life with the help of crafting. Grafting does not only refer to smashing some pieces of wood together and creating something. It can go all the way from sewing and tailoring to making jewelry and writing books. There are various types of craft ink for various age ranges. Even adults nowadays do crafting and it is one of the things that help us calm down after a long day at work. So the audience base in this market is pretty big and you just have to find the right people.
To honor this old practice, we decided to talk a bit more about craft affiliate programs to see how affiliates can earn money by promoting crafting offers. In this article, we'll go through craft affiliate programs and networks, how they work, how you can choose the best one, and how you can monetize your audience and promote these offers.
What are Craft Affiliate Programs and How Do They Work
Craft affiliate programs mostly include businesses that provide people with craft supplies and kits and all sorts of products related to crafting that are looking for affiliates to promote their products in exchange for a commission. Since there are many different services and products to promote in this niche, you can expect various payout models as well.
So whenever you refer one of your audience to purchase something from these programs, you can expect to earn a commission. Your Commission depends on how much the product costs and what business you're promoting for. We will discuss this in later sections. For now, all you need to understand is what type of product would be best for your own audience space before you move on to choosing an affiliate program in this niche.
What Types of Products Can You Promote
There are various types of products you can promote in craft affiliate programs. Since there are various age ranges as well, there are various types of products suitable for various ages as well. Here is a list of all types of craft supplies you can expect to promote in these programs.
- Craft Supplies: Craft supplies encompass a wide range of materials like colorful yarn, fabric, beads, buttons, ribbons, paints, brushes, and various embellishments used in crafting projects.
- Scrapbooking Tools and Kits: Scrapbooking tools and kits include patterned papers, cutting tools, adhesive tapes, stamps, and other decorative elements for creating beautiful scrapbook layouts and memory albums.
- Sewing and Needlecraft: Sewing and needlecraft products consist of sewing machines, needles, threads, embroidery kits, cross-stitch patterns, and fabrics for sewing, embroidery, or cross-stitch projects.
- DIY Jewelry Making: DIY jewelry making involves beads, charms, chains, wire, findings, and jewelry-making tools to create personalized necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and accessories.
- Paper Crafting: Paper crafting encompasses cardstock, patterned papers, punches, die-cutting machines, templates, and embellishments used to make cards, invitations, and paper decorations.
- Painting and Drawing Supplies: Painting and drawing supplies include acrylic paints, watercolors, sketchbooks, pencils, brushes, canvases, and easels for creating artwork and illustrations.
- Craft Storage Solutions: Craft storage solutions involve organizers, storage boxes, bins, and racks designed to keep craft supplies tidy and easily accessible.
- DIY Home Decor: DIY home decor products consist of materials and kits to create decorative items like wreaths, wall art, candle holders, and personalized home accents.
- Ceramic and Pottery Supplies: Ceramic and pottery supplies include clay, pottery wheels, kilns, glazes, and tools for creating pottery, ceramics, and clay sculptures.
- Woodcraft and Woodworking Tools: Woodcraft and woodworking tools encompass saws, chisels, carving tools, woodburning kits, and sanding equipment for woodworking projects.
- DIY Candle Making: DIY candle making involves wax, wicks, fragrance oils, molds, and candle-making kits for crafting personalized candles.
- DIY Soap Making: DIY soap-making includes soap bases, molds, essential oils, colorants, and soap-making kits for creating handmade soaps and bath products.
- DIY Bath and Body Products: DIY bath and body products consist of ingredients, molds, and kits for making natural skincare products like lotions, bath bombs, and lip balms.
- Craft Workshops and Online Courses: Craft workshops and online courses provide learning opportunities for various craft techniques, including knitting, crocheting, painting, and jewelry making.
- Craft Subscription Boxes: Craft subscription boxes offer curated craft kits and projects delivered regularly, providing inspiration and materials for ongoing crafting experiences.
Payment Models in Craft Affiliate Programs
After gaining an understanding of affiliate programs and their operations, it is important to comprehend how affiliates are compensated. Typically, these programs have multiple payment models to pay their affiliates. This section will explore the payment models used by each specific program in this niche to pay its affiliates.
Revenue Share
The revenue share payment model in affiliate programs involves paying affiliates a percentage of the product's value. The commission rate is predetermined in the affiliate terms. For instance, if the product's value is $100 and the commission rate is 10%, then you will earn $10 for successfully selling the product. The more expensive the product, the greater the potential earnings. This payment model is commonly used in these programs.
Cost per Lead (CPL)
The cost per lead model pays out a commission when someone becomes a potential customer for a business by completing a certain action, such as starting a free trial or signing up for a program. The meaning of a lead may vary between programs, so it's important to understand what action is required for a potential customer to be considered a lead. The commission for a lead can range from $1 to $100, with an average of $10.
Cost per Sale (CPS)
The cost per sale payout model is similar to revenue share, but instead of a percentage of the product value, you receive a flat commission whenever someone buys a product. It doesn't matter if the product is worth $500 or $2000, you will always receive the same commission. This model is commonly used in programs with one or two types of products or services.
Cost per Action (CPA)
The cost per action model offers a commission whenever someone performs a specific action on the program's website, with the action being defined by the program's terms and conditions. Examples of actions include signing up for a website, registering for a product, downloading an application, or receiving a free product. A reasonable cost-per-action model payout ranges from $1 to $10, although this may vary depending on the program.
What to Consider When Choosing a Craft Affiliate Program
When choosing an affiliate program, it's important to be selective and focus on those that are likely to offer a good return on your investment of time. To make the best choice, consider factors such as your familiarity with the product, commission rate, brand recognition, cookie duration, payment frequency, minimum payout, affiliate trackers, marketing assets and resources, affiliate support, application process time, performance-based bonuses, and promotions and discount codes. By taking all of these factors into account, you can increase your chances of success with your chosen affiliate program.
Your Familiarity with the Products
It is important to have some familiarity with a product before promoting it. If you lack experience with a product or a similar one, you should consider researching it through online reviews or videos. Promoting a product without any knowledge of it can lead to losing your audience's trust, which is not ideal for an affiliate.
Commission Rate
When selecting an affiliate program, the Commission rate is important, but it's not the only factor to consider. While a higher Commission rate can mean more earnings, it's important to also consider the average order value. A high Commission rate on a low order value won't result in significant earnings, while a lower Commission rate on a high order value can still lead to substantial earnings. Therefore, it's important to choose a program with a high average order value in addition to a competitive Commission rate.
Brand Recognition
It is important to work with a credible brand that has good reviews and leaves a positive impression on customers. If customers are satisfied with the brand's quality, they are less likely to blame you for any issues with their purchase. To assess the credibility of a brand, you can look up its reviews on unbiased websites or ask on forums like Quora or Reddit. You can also ask peers on affiliate forums about their experiences with the program. By doing this research, you can make an informed decision about working with the brand.
Cookie Duration
Cookie duration is an important factor in promoting an offer. It tracks a visitor's activity on a website and refers to the time when the program tracks the activity of a specific user. This allows the program to count any purchases made by that visitor during the cookie tracking activation time, even if it's not their first time visiting the website. The longer the cookie duration, the higher the chances of earning a commission. Most affiliate programs nowadays have a cookie duration of 30 days, but it can be longer, like 365 days or even a lifetime, or shorter like a week or one day.
Payment Frequency
No one wants to have to wait three months to receive their commission from an affiliate program, particularly if they rely on affiliate marketing as their primary source of income. The majority of affiliate programs payout on a monthly basis, but there are some that have different payout terms. While some might pay every two or three months, others might only pay every six months. Generally speaking, the longer the payout period, the less ideal the program is. This is often due to the program's policies regarding product returns, as they may not want to pay out commissions before the warranty period expires.
Minimum Payout
In addition to payout frequency, certain affiliate programs may have a minimum balance requirement that must be met before payment is issued. This balance can vary depending on the program, but many require affiliates to earn at least $50 before being able to cash out their earnings. However, some programs do not have a minimum payout threshold, allowing affiliates to immediately receive payment.
Affiliate Trackers
Affiliate trackers are web-based software provided by affiliate programs that offer you data and statistics on how your visitors are performing on the program. If the program is networked, they may automatically provide you with an affiliate tracker on your dashboard where you can view all the information about clicks, signups, commissions, sales, bonuses, and more. This benefit can provide you with greater insight into your marketing efforts and allow you to optimize your campaigns as needed.
Marketing Assets and Resources
Affiliate programs nowadays offer a variety of assets and resources, including logos, banner ads, text links, pre-written content, visuals, imagery, icons, and even ready-made landing pages and websites. These can help both the affiliate and the program earn more money. While most programs offer some resources, there may be some that don't provide any or only give a link, so it's important to choose a program that offers a range of imagery and content, especially if the products are visual. If the program is very visual, the affiliate may not have access to the product images, so it would be reasonable for the program to provide them.
Some affiliate programs also provide samples of their products to test and review. This can have a significant impact on the audience. These samples can help the affiliate understand the product and create content that is more engaging and informative. A review or video of the product can also help the audience make a more informed decision when considering the product, leading to more sales for the program and potentially more commission for the affiliate.
Affiliate Support
For new affiliates who are looking for more support or just want to know that it's available, it's important to ensure that the affiliate program provides active and accessible support via chat or email. Many of the programs on our list have excellent affiliate support, but it's always a good idea to check with your peers on an affiliate forum. Some programs offer the assistance of a dedicated affiliate manager who sends regular emails and provides tips on how to increase your income. Others may send regular newsletters to keep you informed of the latest promotions and products available to promote, including occasional promotions and seasonal event notifications. If you're looking for more support or just want to make sure it's available, do your research and choose a program that offers the level of assistance you need.
Application Process Time
If you're eager to start with an affiliate program, you should consider programs that have a short application processing time. Some programs take weeks to review your application, while others give you immediate access to the affiliate area. To avoid wasting time filling out a form for a program that may not be suitable for you, pay attention to their processing time. Look for programs that immediately give you access to their affiliate area to get started right away and avoid those that take too long to process your application and potentially reject it.
Performance-Based Bonuses
Affiliate programs often offer rewards and incentives to their top-performing affiliates, who bring in a significant amount of sales. These rewards may include higher commissions or bonuses when certain sales milestones are reached. Our list identifies which affiliate programs offer performance-based bonuses, so if you're interested, be sure to keep an eye out for them.
Promotions and Discount Codes
If you are an affiliate who wants to provide a promotion or discount code to your audience to encourage them, you should search for affiliate programs that allow you to create your own custom discount code. Many programs offer this opportunity and guide you in creating a discount code for your audience. Some programs give their affiliates a discount code for seasonal events and promotions, while others do not have any policies regarding discount codes and will not provide one. If you want to give your audience promotional deals or a discount code, make sure to filter out the programs that do not offer this opportunity. It is important to choose the right program to ensure that you are able to provide your audience with the best incentives.
Top Traffic Sources for Craft Offers
After selecting a program in this field, it is important to understand how to generate traffic to promote the offers. Let's explore the primary sources of traffic for promoting these offers.
Social Media
Nowadays, there are various social media pages working in the category of crafting, and they simply get their audience by sharing simple crafts. People in various age ranges can be interested in crafts. Stay-at-home moms, kids, and even dads can be interested in crafts of different categories. Maybe you're talking about crafts for kids, and in that case, visual content is the best way to promote your offers. If you are targeting moms and dads, then you can benefit from both social media and a website. For now, let's talk about social media.
There are various platforms you can consider. YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are just a few of these platforms. Depending on where your audience is, you can post a different type of content. Remember to make your content relatable, teach people how you do crafts, introduce the tools, answer people's comments about what tools you use publicly by directly referring to the affiliate program, etc.
While you're using social media, it's important to be honest with people and keep your communication ongoing at all times. Once you have a lot of audience and you want to refer them to your affiliate program, one of the best ways is to refer them to your affiliate website or your link tree page where your audience can find all the links to your affiliate programs right in one place.
Website Content
Speaking of websites, Every affiliate should have an affiliate blog or website where they'll get to share content in the format of text. Of course, you would want to get an audience that comes from social media as well. That is exactly why it's important to write content about certain categories or keywords people might be interested in just so you can let those content be there for the long term. Quality content can always pay you and there is no doubt about that.
On your affiliate website, you want to include articles about crafting, guides, and also product reviews, and articles listing great businesses related to a certain category. For example, you might want to write an article about the bestselling kits. In that case, you can list a couple of sewing kits and write about each of them in the format of short product reviews. This is a great way to show that you know about those products and you've had some sort of first-hand experience with them. The way to write a killer product review is available in the later sections. But for now, let's focus on your website structure.
On your website, you can use popups and pre-landing pages to redirect people to the latest promotions and deals from your affiliate program. Websites are also a great way to hook the audience coming from social media. If you don't want to buy a hosting or a domain and host your own website, you can always push your content on a content-sharing platform like medium.com.
Forums and Communities
If you're looking for other ways to increase your website's traffic, you may consider joining forums and communities related to crafting. These platforms can help you build your reputation by providing useful answers to other members' questions. As you become more active in the community, you can gradually include links to your own articles on the topic or your affiliate links. However, make sure to do it in a way that doesn't come across as spam. It's important to be patient and follow the forum's rules to be successful in this method. Building a reputation and establishing trust with the community takes time, but it can be a valuable source of traffic if done right.
Paid Ads
If you're looking to quickly drive traffic to your website, using ad networks and platforms like Google ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads, TikTok ads, and Instagram ads can be effective. Each platform serves a unique purpose, so it's important to choose the right one for your needs. For example, if you're promoting a visually-oriented product, TikTok ads, YouTube ads, or Facebook ads may be best. However, if you're writing an article or directing people to your affiliate website, Google ads are most effective. This platform enables you to target specific keywords that you're trying to sell, driving more people to your affiliate website where they can see your affiliate links. By carefully selecting the right ad platform and targeting your keywords effectively, you can quickly and easily drive traffic to your site and boost your affiliate sales.
Tips to Promote Craft Affiliate Offers Successfully
After learning about various ways to promote affiliate programs, let's take a closer look at some tips and techniques to boost website traffic and sales.
Find Effective Platforms
To reach the right audience, it's important to identify the platforms where they are most active. If you're not finding enough engagement on one platform, consider exploring others. The same goes for your website - if it's not generating enough traffic, focus on creating valuable content on other media platforms. For this specific niche, the audience can be found on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, so it's important to tailor your content accordingly to drive traffic.
Keyword Targeting
If you're planning to build a website in your industry, it's crucial to conduct thorough keyword research and ensure that the keywords are properly integrated into your content.
Here are some possible target long-tail keywords in the craft niche:
- DIY craft ideas for home decor
- How to make paper flowers
- Best glue for scrapbooking
- Craft ideas for kids’ birthday parties
- How to make a dreamcatcher
- Craft supplies for card making
- DIY jewelry-making tutorials
- How to make a wreath for Christmas
- Craft ideas using recycled materials
- How to make candles at home
Using these keywords has the advantage of placing your website at the top of search engine results when users search for them. You can expand your research to identify which long-tail keywords have the highest search volume in your field.
Trends
As a marketer, it is crucial for you to pay attention to trends. Similar to seasonal deals or promotions, promoting products that are currently trendy is an effective strategy to attract customers. By creating content about the latest trend, you can easily capture the attention of potential customers who are already interested in the topic. Especially on social media, it is important to keep up with hashtags and trends in your target area. There are multiple online tools, such as AnswerThePublic, ExplodingTopics, Google Trends, or other private tools, that can help you keep track of trending topics and hashtags.
Review Products
To ensure that your audience trusts your product reviews, it is important to follow some guidelines. There are several key factors that you need to pay attention to when introducing products to your audience.
The first and foremost priority is to make your content unique. People do not want to read or hear about the same old things that they can find on the manufacturer's website. You need to provide them with something more than that. You must offer them your own firsthand experience or expert opinions. If you do not have any firsthand experience with the product you are promoting, you can learn from YouTube videos and other commentaries to understand more about the product you are promoting. After all, honesty and uniqueness are important parts of affiliate marketing. Therefore, ensure that your reviews are honest and unique.
Secondly, you should provide some pros and cons of the product so that customers can easily compare them with other products. Obvious details about the product may be easy to see, but highlighting the product's advantages and disadvantages is important.
Thirdly, visuals and imagery, especially in content written on your website, are very important. Even if you are making video content, you should use your own footage of the product instead of using stock footage because anyone else can do that as well.
Lastly, it is important that the audience understands that you are promoting a product that you have tried before. Be sure to communicate that message clearly to them. Additionally, do not forget to include links to your affiliate website if you are reviewing them on your social media. Links to the affiliate website should be included below every product in the review article.
It is crucial to follow these guidelines to ensure that your audience trusts your product reviews. By providing unique content, highlighting the pros and cons of the product, using visuals and imagery, and communicating that you have tried the product before, you can build a strong relationship with your audience and become a reliable source of information and recommendations for them.
Focus on SEO
To drive traffic to your website, search engine optimization is essential. Even if your site has high-quality content, it may not reach an audience without SEO. Hence, it is crucial to use your chosen keywords consistently in your text, titles, image descriptions, and other elements of your website to improve its visibility on search engines.
Engage with Your Community
To be successful in this industry, it is crucial to interact with your audience and seek their feedback on what they want. Consistently keep your audience informed and avoid promoting anything that won't interest them.
Conclusion
Now that you know what craft affiliate programs are, you can go on to check out some other affiliate programs and affiliate networks for any offer that might be interesting to your audience. Remember to use the tips mentioned in this article to get the traffic you need as fast as possible without wasting any time. Remember to be honest with your audience and engage with them to become successful day by day.
