With the rapid growth of eCommerce, affiliate marketing has emerged as a money-making tool for individuals who want to generate additional income. With competitive commission rates and a robust support roadmap, the Shopify affiliate program offers a unique appeal compared to the plethora of affiliate programs available. Earning $1000 monthly from the Shopify affiliate program is not difficult if you make efforts and have a reasonable strategy.
What is Shopify Affiliate Program?
Shopify Affiliate Program is a marketing strategy in which creators, entrepreneurs, and influencers earn commissions by referring products or services to new Shopify merchants. This program is available globally. Affiliates can receive commissions from product referrals that lead to sales, website clicks, free trials, app downloads, etc.
According to Affiliate Marketing Statistics For 2024 (Data & Latest Trends) of Demandsage, affiliate marketing is growing at a rapid pace, with a market value of 27.8 USD in 2023. Up to now, approximately 80% of brands have registered for affiliate programs and this sector accounts for 16% of eCommerce revenue worldwide. Therefore, Shopify has placed a lot of emphasis on this strategy to promote their products.
Depending on expertise, affiliates can reach customers to showcase Shopify products and services in many direct and indirect ways. Here are some ways affiliates use them:
- Affiliates will directly introduce Shopify’s platform and tools, encouraging new users to sign up for paid plans.
- Invest in paid advertising like Facebook, Google, etc to drive traffic to Shopify with their affiliate links.
- Social media influencers write posts and record videos or stories to promote Shopify.
- Affiliates introduce Shopify offers and discounts to attract potential customers.
- Create content such as videos, and blogs about the features and benefits of Shopify and how Shopify helps businesses grow. They will then insert links in their content.
- Build websites that review and compare different eCommerce platforms, including Shopify.
- Utilize email campaigns written about Shopify to send targeted content to their subscriber list.
Shopify Affiliate Program Eligibility
To become a Shopify affiliate, you need to meet the following conditions:
- Own and operate an active Shopify website.
- Create quality content such as blogs, videos, online courses, etc.
- You have a built-in audience.
- Experience with Shopify or other eCommerce platforms.
- Agree to the Shopify Partner Program Agreement.
Normally, Shopify will review and approve your application within 5 days. They will send you a confirmation email once your application is approved.
Pros and Cons of Shopify Affiliate Program
Pros
High commission rate
Shopify is the platform with the most competitive and highest commission paying affiliate marketing program compared to other eCommerce platforms. Specifically, affiliates will receive an average of 58 USD for each referral that converts to a paid plan. With this attractive commission fee, Shopify has attracted many affiliates.
Recurring commission
When referred customers of affiliates continue to use Shopify’s services, affiliates still receive commissions from Shopify. This ensures a stable income for affiliates as long as the referred customers remain active.
Strong brand reputation
Shopify is one of the world-famous eCommerce platforms that is widely used and trusted. With this strong and reputable brand, affiliates can promote and convert potential customers more easily.
Cons
Competitive
With the attractiveness of commission fees, many individuals and groups have registered for Shopify affiliate program. This leads to high competition in referring and attracting customers among Shopify affiliates.
Strict approval process by Shopify
Those who apply for the Shopify affiliate program must comply with Shopify’s guidelines and standards. They have to undergo a stringent approval process before they can start their journey as affiliates.
Dependency on Shopify Policies
The terms and policies of Shopify may change over time, and affiliates must adhere to these terms. This dependency can affect affiliates’ income and marketing strategies.
Limited to eCommerce Niche
Shopify’s affiliate program focuses entirely on eCommerce. Therefore, it can be challenging for affiliates specializing in other fields to integrate Shopify promotion into their existing content strategies.
Meet Shopify’s Affiliate
Adrian Morrison, a content creator and course partner, is also the founder of Ecom Success Academy. He is one of the most famous Shopify Experts in the world, having joined the Shopify affiliate program in 2015. Tens of thousands of people worldwide have learned how to start a dropshipping business from his training.
Adrian Morrison shares that the Shopify affiliate program has given him countless opportunities to enhance his brand and become more authoritative in commerce. Many merchants are looking for an educator they can trust to learn how to start their own Shopify store and optimize their Shopify store. When they saw that Adrian Morrison was a Shopify partner, they went to him and asked for help, then became his followers.
He also said, “What I love most about being a Shopify Affiliate is working directly with the Shopify Team.” The Shopify team was incredibly supportive and continually reached out to him asking questions like: How can we help your students? What types of webinars and programs can we organize? What kind of resources can we provide?
In addition to earning commissions, becoming a Shopify affiliate has helped Adrian enhance his brand, bringing him significant credibility, and most importantly, it has allowed him to better serve his community. Adrian believes that the best move he has made in his business in the past 9 years is to become a Shopify affiliate.
7 Steps Earning $1000 per Month from Shopify Affiliate Program
Step 1: Join the Shopify Affiliate Program
To sign up for the Shopify affiliate program, you can follow these steps:
- First, visit the Shopify affiliate program page and register by clicking the Apply Now button.
- Read and check Shopify terms after logging in on Impact.
- Agree to the terms and complete registration.
Step 2: Determine Marketing Channels and Formats
After registering your affiliate marketing program and getting it approved by Shopify, Shopify will provide third-party affiliate software where affiliates can create and manage their referral links. Then, determine the marketing channels you want to focus on and the content formats you have experience with.
You should choose the marketing channels you use frequently. Or if you are an influencer, select channels where you have a large audience. These marketing channels can be social networks (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram), YouTube, Email, and more.
Regarding content format, you can prioritize topics such as comparisons, reviews, recommending the best products, etc. When creating content about Shopify, remember always to include your affiliate referral links. Shopify’s tracking cookie duration is 30 days.
Step 3: Choose Your Niche and Research Your Audience
Focus on specific niches where you have expertise or can provide value. You can determine the right niche in two ways, by choosing the field you are passionate about and by electing a niche that fits your target audience. For example, if you are a professional video editor and proficient in using Shopify software, you can create instructional videos on how to use Shopify. For the second method, you can find out the target audience, what needs and problems they have, and then generate related content.
Step 4: Create High-quality Content
A quality article that demonstrates your expertise will build trust with readers. Make sure that you are knowledgeable about Shopify through your posts. You can create video tutorials, product reviews, or customer feedback, or write blog posts that are detailed and contain a lot of information related to Shopify, such as tutorials, success stories, research, etc. On social media, share tips, tricks, and benefits of using Shopify in your stories.
Step 5: Use Shopify Resources
With marketing materials provided by Shopify, such as logos, banners, or instructions, affiliates can incorporate these into their content. Furthermore, you can utilize Shopify’s free training resources and receive support from their remote affiliate management team.
Step 6: Promote Your Content
There are many ways to help your content reach a wide audience. One of the effective strategies is SEO optimization. You can research and search for relevant keywords, optimize content through titles, meta descriptions, or build backlinks from reputable websites to ensure your articles appear on the first pages of Google.
Social media marketing is also an effective plan. Share content and interact with your audience regularly through posts, messages, comments, or livestreams.
Additionally, you can adopt more invested marketing strategies like email marketing to send regular newsletters and promotions. Or invest in paid advertising on multiple platforms like YouTube, Google, Facebook, etc.
Step 7:Track and Analyze Performance
After posting your affiliate content for a week or month, track performance through tools like Google Analytics and the Shopify Affiliate Dashboard to know whether your marketing strategy is actually working or not. Based on this data, you can adjust the appropriate strategy to improve performance.
In Conclusion
In summary, earning more than $1000 per month from the Shopify Affiliate Program is not difficult if you apply the right strategies and make consistent efforts. By following the steps outlined above, you can attract and convert potential customers effectively. Start your journey to financial independence by becoming a Shopify affiliate today.