Welcome to my long-overdue Shopify Affiliate program review.
I say long overdue because I’ve been planning on doing this for quite some time now but I was actually waiting to see some Shopify affiliate success of my own before I create this “tell-all” guide for you today.
Thanks to my “dropshipping guide” going pretty much viral this past year, I have come to know the Shopify Affiliate program pretty damn well and I want to share with you my findings of it in this review.
Here’s what I will be covering in this review:
- What the Shopify affiliate program is
- How does it work
- Shopify’s Affiliate commissions (which are incredible)
- How to become a Shopify affiliate
- How to promote it
- Things to keep in mind and
- A few things which I think you should know about (i.e some pros and cons).
If you’ve been looking for a great affiliate program that you can promote, Shopify is one of the best ones there is (I might as well call it now) but – as with any other affiliate program – you’ll only be able to make this venture successful if you know what you’re doing and if you have the right traffic for Shopify.
(If not, don’t worry; I also have a great guide for you to down below which you can use to learn how to build a high-converting audience which you can then monetize with Shopify).
Let’s get started…
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce store builder that is just unmatched. It’s seen as the leading standard for many ecom-preneurs and even though there are plenty of alternatives, if you want to do ecom well, you are going to have to use Shopify (it’d be unwise not to).
Since starting my own dropshipping store in late 2016, I’ve come to love this platform (even creating my own Shopify review here) so if that’s what you’re here for, you’ll be better off checking that guide instead.
But, today we’re talking about the Shopify affiliate program, which as I said already is one of the best affiliate programs in general that are currently available and as an affiliate, you’d do well in checking it out.
Why is The Shopify Affiliate Program So Great?
I will give you a list of 5 more reasons why I think Shopify has a great affiliate program down below, but I’ll just give you what I think makes it great and that is their affiliate commission payout structure.
As a Shopify affiliate, you can earn 200% off all their pricing plans, which are as follows:
- Shopify Basic for $29 per month.
- Shopify (as simple) for $79 per month.
- Advanced Shopify plan for $299 per month.
The first 100% is paid on the first month a user opens up a store and becomes a member, and the second 100% is paid on the second month – of course; what a user spends on his third month and beyond will earn you nothing.
So let’s just run the numbers and assume you refer one customer to Shopify:
They can join and create their store for free (which is great for conversions) and when they decide to go live, they can opt for the basic package, which is the Shopify Basic.
When they do, you will get the full $29 as a commission (the first 100%) and if they decide to opt-in for another month, you will yet again receive a $29 payout for their second month.
Pretty damn good right? I only know one other affiliate program which offers this type of commissions to affiliates.
NB: If you’re new to affiliate programs, you may want to check out my guide on how to join affiliate programs and also take a look at my recommended beginner-friendly affiliate programs.
So what makes the Shopify affiliate program so great (and so popular)?
Their affiliate commissions.
But that’s not all…
5 (More) Reasons Why The Shopify Affiliate Program Is One Of The Best
It’s A Huge Brand
As I said, Shopify is a huge brand and it’s the go-to place for many people running their online ecom business.
Even the biggest brands and celebrities trust Shopify with their business so if it’s good enough for Kyle Jenner (which built a billion dollar business with Shopify) it’s good enough for you to use (and promote).
Available Support
As a registered affiliate, in the backed of the Shopify affiliate program, you will find a chat feature that can assist you with your marketing.
Any problems you have, any links you need and anything else that you need help with can be easily solved by reaching out to Shopify affiliate support team.
Fast Payouts For Affiliates
Do you know what makes an affiliate program a clear winner in my book?
Fast & easy payouts.
Shopify pays out every two weeks and you can get paid via PayPal when you reach your threshold (which you can set up yourself).
Unlike other affiliate programs who just pay out on a monthly basis, getting paid every two weeks is a god sent for many affiliates.
You Can Send Traffic To Any Shopify Page
With their deep linking capabilities, you can also set up campaigns for everything that is available on Shopify.
For example; my Oberlo guide (which is a dropshipping tool which was recently bought out by Shopify) gets a decent number of visitors so I send them to the Oberlo landing page on Shopify.
This still converts well and everything is tracked through the Shopify affiliate program backend with deep links and tracking capabilities making it easy for me to keep track of where my clicks, conversions and sales are coming from.
Lifetime Cookie
How does a lifetime cookie sound?
With a small caveat, if a user joins Shopify on a free trial (not just visits the platform once without taking any action), anytime he goes premium after that time, you will earn a commission.
That could be one day later, one week later or one month later and beyond; you will still get your 200% commission rate!
How To Sign Up To The Shopify Affiliate Program
Interested in becoming a Shopify affiliate?
Here’s what you need to do…
Step 01: Visit the Shopify Affiliate Program page.
Here you will find a few things you need to know about Shopify, their structure, their tools and also a few words of praise from fellow Shopify affiliates.
Step 02: Apply To Become An Affiliate
You would then need to click the “Apply” button at the bottom and fill out your details.
If this is not your first time applying to affiliate programs, then you know the drill. If not; you can see my “how to apply to affiliate programs” guide.
Step 03: Read The Terms & Conditions (Semi-Optional)
Since Shopify is a huge power brand that takes their affiliate program very seriously (as they should) you may also want to check out their terms and conditions and terms of use to keep in line with their best practices.
They’re not some complicated legal jargon and it will give you the right structure to work with.
One thing that’s clear is that you can not use the “Shopify” keywords in any paid search campaigns – be sure to know this stuff before you go through all the effort to promote Shopify only to get banned because you did not follow their rules and guidelines.
Step 04: Start Earning 200% Commissions With Shopify
Last but not least, you then need to get to work on promoting your Shopify affiliate links and making some of those juicy 200% commissions which I’ve been telling you about.
Now I know affiliate marketing may sound like a good deal, and yes it is; but it’s not as easy as one may make it out to be.
In order to be making a living at this, you’re going to need to know and do a few things, and you’re going to need to do them well.
Before I close off this Shopify affiliate program review and guide, I also want to give you a few tips and ideas on how to best promote (i.e get traffic) the Shopify affiliate program.
If you’re a “seasoned pro” with traffic and you do not need any more traffic then you currently have, then you can skip to the very bottom where I pitch you my affiliate marketing course. 😉
How To Promote Shopify (& Earn Recurring Commissions)
There are many people trying to promote Shopify.
As I said it’s one of the best affiliate programs currently available – if not the best – and you need to make sure you have something to offer to stand out from the rest.
This is how I do it…
Blogging / SEO
My method for making money with affiliate marketing has always been good old SEO (with a little bit of Pinterest marketing)
But when it comes to promoting Shopify, blogging (i.e content creation) and YouTube (which I’ll talk about next) are the best ways forward.
Now if like me, you’re not good on camera; then blogging is the way to go.
You need to have a blog (you can get one from here if you don’t have one already) and you need to start publishing guides on Shopify.
Now there are plenty of ways you can write content about Shopify (and ecommerce in general) but one thing I suggest you do is to take a look at some keywords which people type into Google when they look for information about Shopify.
Two of the places where I do keyword research are:
Ahrefs:
This is a paid too, but this will give you a nearly unlimited list of keywords related Shopify, some of which you can see here:
AnswerThePublic.com
You can also use Answer the public as a free alternative.
I have recommended this tool for many years as a great free keyword tool to use, and even though it does not give you the exact date on the keywords (i,.e search volume, competition, etc), you can still find plenty of untapped keywords.
Just take a look at all the questions people ask about Shopify on Google on a daily basis:
YouTube
Last but not least, you have YouTube; the second biggest search engine on the planet and arguably one of the most used platforms by Shopify affiliates.
If you’re into ecommerce or dropshipping as an online business model, then you already know YouTube is filled with pimpled faced teenagers giving you tips, selling your courses and pitching you “free Shopify stores”.
If you’re good on camera, have a YouTube personality and have something of value to say, then you too can join in the YouTube efforts and create your own YouTube channel.
You can use keywords that I’ve shared with you above and then create videos answering those questions.
Any Other Ecom Affiliate Programs Worth Checking Out?
If you’re in the ecom world and have an audience already, then you may want to know what other affiliate programs are out there for you.
While I am sure you’d be pressed to find a better-paying affiliate program than Shopify, there are a few alternatives all delivering a different product so there’s definitely room to add more in your arsenal.
Take a look at my roundup guide of the 12 best e-commerce affiliate programs here and see if something pops up, I’m sure the list will at least get your imagination kicking.
How To Make Money With Shopify & Affiliate Marketing
Last but not least, I also want to offer you a free training course that will show you exactly how to make money with Shopify and affiliate marketing.
That course is called Wealthy Affiliate and it’s the reason why I sit here today writing this message for you.
Thanks to the lessons I learned within Wealthy Affiliate, I now run my full business full time and have been doing so for the past 6 years.
I promise you, once you read my review – you’ll know why I am strongly suggesting you take this course – it could quite literally change your life.
Shopify Affiliate Program Review: Final Words
Thank you for reading my Shopify affiliate program review and guide.
I hope this has shed some light on why you will most definitely be hearing about Shopify for years to come and also;
gave you some tips, ideas and inspiration on how you can start earning 200% commission rates and making money as a Shopify affiliate.
I’ll leave you to it.
