7 Of The Best Affiliate Programs For Beauty Bloggers

When you start blogging making money isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind. I know it wasn’t for me. When I started my blog making any money from it never even occurred to me. That’s probably because the bloggers I followed at the time didn’t talk about making money and I didn’t do a ton of research on the world of blogging outside of getting one up and running.

Fast forward about a year and I found out that I could make some money doing this. How much would depend on me and some other factors but something is better than nothing.

There are many ways to earn money from blogging. The four most popular are

• Selling your own products or services
• Doing sponsored posts
• Putting display ads on your blog
• Participating in an affiliate program

In this post, I’ll be focusing on six affiliate programs, specifically ones that are a good fit for beauty bloggers.

(This post includes affiliate links. Should you click an affiliate link and make a purchase I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

So before we jump into the affiliate programs let me break down what an affiliate program is and how it can make you money.

What affiliate marketing is

In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is making money by recommending a product or service. While that sounds simple it’s not. There is a bit more involved. You don’t need to have a blog to do affiliate marketing. You can also do it on your social media channels.

You don’t need to have a huge following to get your first sale and can start using affiliate links from day one of your blog. But from what I’ve seen the more successful bloggers have a decent-sized following and have built up some level of trust with their followers.

Related read: How To Start A Beauty Blog That Stands Out

Here’s how affiliate marketing works

1. Sign up for an affiliate program - Keep reading this post to see which ones are perfect for beauty bloggers

2. Create content - Those who are successful and make some decent money with affiliate marketing write detailed product reviews that show how the product or service is beneficial or helpful. The key is to not be salsey but to be more like a friend recommending something to a friend.

3. Add your affiliate links - Be strategic about it. An entire post full of affiliate links is a turnoff and looks spammy. Also, make sure you disclose your affiliate links.

4. Reader clicks the link - When a reader clicks on your affiliate link they get “cookied.” This is how the company knows about this person and can give you credit for the sale. One thing to keep in mind is that the cookies only last for a set amount of time. For some programs it can last 24 hours for others it may last days or even weeks. So if the reader makes a purchase before the cookie expires you get credit for the sale.

Beauty blogger affiliate programs

Now that you know what affiliate marketing is and how it works, here are the seven affiliate programs that beauty bloggers should be using.

Related read: 7 Of The Best Places To Promote A Beauty Blog

1. FlexOffers

FlexOffers is an affiliate network because you can sign up for multiple affiliate programs from multiple brands across multiple categories. The programs may be pay-per-click, pay-per-lead, or pay-per-sale. This means that the commission you can earn from these programs varies because each has its own earning structure.

There are several beauty brands that I signed up for under FlexOffers. Kohl's, Pixi, Carol's Daughter, and Black Opal are just a few of them and there are multiple beauty brands that have affiliate programs on FlexOffers.

2. Target

Target is a great place to buy products so it’s a great affiliate program if you’re a beauty blogger. To sign up go to affiliate.target.com. If someone clicks one of your target links and makes a purchase you can earn up to an 8% commission.

3. Walmart

Walmart is a place where so many people shop, so it makes sense for it to be an affiliate program that beauty bloggers join.

To sign up you’ll need to fill out this application form. Commissions range from 1 to 4% depending on the product purchased.

4. LTK

Previously known as the LTK App this is a popular affiliate network for beauty, fashion, and home bloggers because they have relationships with upwards of 1 million brands across more than 100 countries. The great thing about LTK is you sign up for the platform and you don't have to apply to individual retailers. Once you're accepted to the platform you can just use their link creator and create an affiliate link to just about any shopping site.

There are a few requirements to be accepted though. You can apply and find out more about the LTK platform here.

5. Honey

This is a browser extension that helps shoppers easily find and apply coupon codes when they are shopping online. This is a helpful tool to provide to your readers as it can help them to save some money on their beauty purchases. Another feature that Honey has is cashback on purchases that are given in the site's currency of Honey Gold and can then be redeemed in the form of gift cards.

You can sign up for the program here.

6. Rakuten

Rakuten is a cashback site so when you shop online or physically in some stores you can earn some cash back. This can be helpful for your readers to bring down the cost of their beauty purchases. Plus, with Rakuten, you can earn for every person who signs up using your referral link.

7. Tailwind

I’ve talked about Tailwind several times. It’s a tool that helps you to pin on Pinterest with little effort. There are so many bloggers who use it and would be interested in using it. The Tailwind affiliate program is offered on the Impact affiliate network.

If you’re just starting out with affiliate marketing start small. Pick one or two programs that are relevant to your blog niche and audience. As you grow your readers and following you can start adding on more relevant programs.

What affiliate programs do you recommend?