The Comparison of Affiliate Programs for Fashion Blogging

Many of my friends are fashion bloggers, one topic we always chat about is affiliate earnings. As brand sponsorship comes only from time to time, which can not be depended on, the more sustainable way to generate income is through affiliate programs. There are a few existing. What I want to discuss today are Rewardstyle, Shopstyle Collective (ShopSense earlier) and LiveTrends.

Rewardstyle is a commission based program. You can earn money when someone purchase item from your links without return. The rates are differed by merchants, you can see from their site how much you can earn potentially by selling. The payment threshold is $100, meaning only when your commission reaches this amount, the check will be sent to you. Rewardstyle has quite high threshold in choosing bloggers to work with. Some of my friends applied a few times but all got rejected.

ShopStyle Collective is based on pay-per-click (PPC) method, you can earn from people clicking the links on your blog. (the rate will be different depends on how ShopStyle rate the quality of your site as well as the different scheme between merchants.) The payment threshold is also $100. You can get accepted into the program easily, however, there are quite some stories floating around that bloggers got kicked out because of the low conversion rate.

LiveTrends is a new commission based platform. It worked on most platforms and really easy to set up. All fashion bloggers are welcomed to the program and they offer generous commission split if your site make any sales. The unique point of LiveTrends is based on your query, the system will generate the best selling products at the time, the ranking may change depends on products popularity through the calculation of the algorithm by scanning across the entire web. With the best selling products or a shop created on page, meaning better conversation rate. The payment threshold is $50 through paypal, which means quicker time to get real money in hand.

Famous bloggers who have a lot of loyal following can benefit from all programs, as readers tend to trust their opinion and many times want exact same things of what they wear or recommend, which contributes to both clicks and sales. For less popular bloggers, maybe PPC program sounds better as readers just want some inspiration for clothing or else, but not necessarily end up with the purchase. However, with best selling products on your blog, might help you make more sales than expected.

Apparently, it is a great idea to understand the strength of your website and your audience. Is your style unique and popular or your idea of fashion/style more appreciated? Does your audience like to click without buying or more than 20% of clicks will turn into purchase? These facts will determine which affiliate program is more beneficial for yourself.

Of course, there is no rule that you are limited to choose only one affiliate program. You can incorporate them all on your site, try and see which works better, for which post and why. Learn, then improve.

P.S.: apart from discussed three affiliate programs in the article, there are others out there with various rules and payment structures, you can explore them in your own time and see if you like them or not.

Disclosure: I am a friend with co-founder of LiveTrends, as they are a new startup, welcoming fashion bloggers to try the platform and give feedback, you can have a talented technical team ready to help 24/7 when you have any questions. They will make sure to assist you and give you the tips to make it work. Contact olivia@violanto.com for more info. or sign up at getlivetrends.com