69% of consumers rely on recommendations from friends, family, and trusted content creators when choosing what products to buy. With consumers relying on word of mouth over brand advertising, growing businesses continue to invest in powerful affiliate marketing programs, and the numbers are only growing. The global affiliate marketing industry is expected to grow to $27.78 billion by 2027.
If your business hasn’t yet invested in an affiliate marketing program, consider getting started now to boost your sales. Read on to find out about some top-rated apps to get your affiliate marketing program up and running for your ecommerce store.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a strategy in which companies compensate affiliates (customers, influencers, or content creators) for promoting their products. Content creators share affiliate links in their social media posts or blogs, driving traffic to the company’s website. From there, the affiliates earn money or other rewards based on sales they generate from shoppers who click on the link.
Affiliate programs are mutually beneficial: businesses can reach a larger target audience, and content creators can monetize their online presence.
Find influencers to boost sales with Shopify Collabs
Shopify Collabs makes it easy to partner with creators, promote your products, reach new customers, grow your sales, and track your affiliate performance, all from your Shopify admin.
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Affiliate Marketing and Customer Referrals
Affiliate marketing and customer referral programs are similar in that they encourage word-of-mouth promotion of your products. They work differently: customer referral programs usually offer discounts or store credits, while affiliate programs pay out cash commissions. Many businesses use both affiliate marketing and customer referrals, and some even manage both within the same app.
The Best Affiliate Marketing Apps for Shopify Stores
UpPromote Referral Candy Refersion LeadDyno GOAFFPRO Affiliate BixGrow Snowball
The best affiliate programs provide access to affiliate networks and management tools, streamlining affiliate onboarding, tracking, and commissioning. Affiliate marketing apps automate many tedious tasks and provide valuable performance analytics. Here are 8 highly rated apps for Shopify store owners to consider.
1. Uppromote
With over 3,000 5-star reviews, UpPromote Affiliate Marketing is the highest-rated app on our list. Its user-friendly interface allows businesses to onboard, manage, and reward affiliate partners all in one place. Key features include affiliate link and coupon code generation, real-time tracking and analytics, and automatic commission payments.
UpPromote offers a free plan that allows up to 200 referrals per month. Paid plans allow for more referrals and range from $29.99 to $199.99 per month.
2. Introduction Candy
Referral Candy is a great tool to support your affiliate marketing efforts with custom affiliate links and in-depth analytics. Offer cash, store credit, discounts, and other rewards to loyal brand advocates. Your referral program affiliate site can be easily customized with your business’s images, colors, and logo. Your affiliate program is quick to set up and requires little effort to maintain.
Referral Candy’s plans start at $59 per month. The basic plan includes unlimited customers, emails, offers, marketing campaigns, and fraud protection. The platform takes a 3.5% commission on successful referral sales. The comprehensive plan costs $299 per month and comes with a dedicated account manager, quarterly campaign reviews, and only a 1.5% commission.
3. References
Refersion specializes in affiliate and influencer marketing. Refersion Marketplace is an affiliate network where you can find content creators whose target demographic matches yours. Other key features include affiliate link generation, customizable commission structures, multiple payment methods, and a customized dashboard for each affiliate partner.
The Refersion plan starts at $119 per month for up to 50 affiliate conversions per month. For 200 affiliate conversions per month, you’ll need to pay $299 per month. The most comprehensive plan allows for unlimited conversions for $599 per month.
4. Lead Dyno
LeadDyno offers a wide range of recruiting features, including affiliate links, real-time reporting, automated affiliate payments, and one-click invites for new users. It also includes tools to help you communicate with your affiliates more efficiently. You can set up automated emails to keep your affiliates updated on new leads and purchases they generate, and share marketing materials like copy, images, and platform-specific guidelines to help affiliates promote your brand.
Plans start at $49 per month for up to 50 affiliates, all the way up to $749 per month for unlimited affiliates.
5. GoafPro
GOAFFPRO provides affiliates with a branded portal to receive affiliate links and display referrals, including a mobile app.
GOAFFPRO is more affordable than the other high-performance options on this list. The free plan includes unlimited affiliates and basic analytics. The premium plan, which costs $29 per month, also gives you a website affiliate portal, bulk emails, advanced analytics, and customization options.
6. Affiliates
Affiliatly is a great choice for small businesses getting started in affiliate marketing. It’s easy to set up and has all the key features you need to run a successful affiliate marketing program, including multiple tracking methods, various compensation structures, and automatic payments.
Affiliatly offers a 90-day free trial and has plans starting at just $16 per month for up to 50 active affiliates. Paid plans range from $24 per month for 200 affiliates, $59 per month for 1,000 affiliates, and $129 per month for unlimited affiliates.
7. Bigglow
BixGrow is easy to use and allows businesses to manage both affiliate and referral programs in one place. Key features include simplified onboarding, detailed analytics, and multiple automated payment methods.
BixGrow offers a free plan for up to 30 affiliates, or you can get unlimited affiliates and customized links for $9 per month, or get even more features like commission tiers, store credits, PayPay integration, and more for $15 per month.
8. Snowball
Snowball is a great option for affiliate marketers who want to scale their affiliate marketing programs. It automates the entire affiliate marketing process, from recruiting to tracking to payments. One of its features is its seamless integration with social media platforms, allowing content creators to easily promote their products. It can also be used to create a tiered referral structure to run separate programs for high-performing influencers.
Snowball’s basic plan costs $199 per month with a 2% commission, allows for up to two programs and unlimited affiliate and customer referrals, and the high-end plan costs $499 per month and includes affiliate dashboard customization options, up to 10 separate affiliate programs, and no commission.
Affiliate Marketing App FAQs
What apps are used for affiliate marketing?
There are various marketing tools and apps that businesses can use to run their affiliate marketing programs, and Shopify’s app store is where you can find the best ones.
What are the highest paying affiliate programs?
Some of the best affiliate marketing programs that pay high commission rates include Shopify, WP Engine, and Liquid Web.
Which is the best platform for affiliate marketing for beginners?
If you’re a small business looking to get into affiliate marketing, consider platforms that offer the core features you need at an affordable price. GOAFFPRO, UpPromote, and BixGRow all offer free plans to help you get started. When you’re ready to scale your program, you can switch to a paid plan as needed.
