AFFILIATE MARKETING
Best affiliate marketing tools for beginners and pros 2023
Brands can create reliable revenue streams with the right affiliate marketing tools. Whether you’re a merchant or publisher, affiliate marketing is an excellent way to find success online.
Best affiliate marketing tools for beginners and pros 2023
1. Post Affiliate Pro
Best overall affiliate marketing tool
Post Affiliate Pro
Pros: Excellent integrations, Powerful tracking tools, Loaded with features
Cons: High learning curve, No social sharing, Expensive
Features: Advanced tracking links, affiliate management, integrated payments, marketing asset management
Cost: Plans starting at $129/mo
In Banner Manager, affiliate campaign assets are easily shared with publishers on the platform and banners come in all shapes and sizes. Empowering affiliates is one step and rewarding them is next. In Post Affiliate Pro merchants can award affiliates for all sorts of behaviors beyond just sales. Things like newsletter signups, registrations, and web traffic can all be monetized. There are also options for recurring commissions and split commissions between affiliates.
2. Affiliate Corner
Best affiliate marketing tool for beginners
Affiliate Corner
Pros: Database of affiliate programs, Advanced filtering, Search by earning potential, One-time access fee
Cons: No commission tracking features,
Features: Thousands of affiliate programs, SEO support, Trend data,
Cost: Starting at $149 for lifetime access
Affiliate Corner is not just another affiliate program database, but you’ll appreciate the search features to sift through 3000+ programs and 115+ niches. While it’s not the largest affiliate database, the pricing makes this option a winner. Pro users can unlock insights about how what makes each affiliate program unique, and you can easily filter by earning potential, average order value, and profession. You can also get access to trend data and SEO keyword research to give you a simple path to start promoting content and making sales. If you need additional support, you can make a one-time purchase to access their video course.
3. Affilimate
Best affiliate marketing tool for commission tracking
Affilimate
Pros: Easy-to-use, Intuitive, Concierge onboarding experience
Cons: Price
Features: Heatmaps, Integrates with top affiliate networks, Aggregates all affiliate link data in one platform
Cost: Plans starting at $82/mo
The tool integrates with 100+ affiliate networks to help affiliates visualize a complete overview of their campaign metrics. Eliminating this step in the program management process frees you up to focus on things that convert sales like digital marketing, content optimization, page SEO, and lead generation. The tool is packed with other features like content analytics, affiliate link management, revenue attribution, and revision monitoring.
4. Ahrefs
Best affiliate marketing tool for SEO
Ahrefs
Pros: Large keyword and backlink database, Data filtering, User-friendly
Cons: Expensive, Plan limits with overage fees
Features: Keyword research, Site auditing, Backlink analysis, Rank monitoring
Cost: Plans start at $83/mo
Every website needs an SEO strategy in 2023, and affiliate sites are no exception. Ahrefs is a digital marketing and SEO tool that helps you rank higher and get more traffic. There is no free trial but the company offers a free Webmaster Tools account for website owners. The tool offers ranking monitoring, keyword tools, link building, and a backlink checker.
5. Awin
Best affiliate network
Awin
Pros: Large affiliate and advertiser network, Advanced filtering, Easy-to-use dashboard
Cons: High learning curve, Long implementation, Sign-up fee
Features: Campaign management, Email marketing, Analytics, Social promotion
Cost: $50 per month
6. ThirstyAffiliates
Best affiliate plug-in
ThirstyAffiliates
Pros: Easy link management, Automations, Amazon compliance tools
Cons: WordPress plug-in only
Features: Link cloaking, Auto-link keywords, Geolocation links,
Cost: Plans start at $199.50 per year
Not only do cloaked links look pretty, but they are also more trustworthy to customers and have higher conversion rates. International audiences have a great experience with links due to automatic geolocation links serving up shoppable pages. Hello, geo-targeting! Links can also be easily uncloaked to comply with Amazon’s affiliate program rules. All in all, it’s an affordable tool that is great for WordPress websites looking to monetize their content.
7. Unbounce
Best affiliate marketing tool for landing pages
Unbounce
Pros: Variety of eCommerce integrations, 100+ templates, clean interface, AI features
Cons: Costly, Limited control of page design, Difficult to manage multiple landing pages
Features: AI landing page builder, Integrations, A/B testing, Brand style guide
Cost: Plans start at $74/mo
Websites and landing pages have two key differences. Websites are designed for open exploration while landing pages give customers a compelling focus. Focus is especially important for affiliate marketing when you are driving traffic for a specific product or service.
8. AnyTrack
Best affiliate marketing tool for tracking ads, referrals, and affiliates
AnyTrack
Pros: Track conversion across platforms, One-click integrations, No coding skills required
Cons: Learning curve, Price
Features: ROAS tracking, One tag for all your conversions, Google Analytics and Facebook API
Cost: From $50 monthly
Slogging through a sea of data to drill down on your affiliate link campaigns is time-consuming and tedious. If you need a simpler option, no further than AnyTrack! This all-in-one conversion tracking platform is excellent at attribution and helps users make sense of marketing metrics.
What are the benefits of using affiliate marketing tools?
The affiliate marketing world is constantly growing. Upskilling and refreshing your toolset is a must if you want to stay ahead of the competition. The right tools can help automate and streamline many of the tedious and time-consuming tasks involved in managing an affiliate marketing program, freeing up time to focus on more strategic initiatives such as launching new marketing campaigns and finding new partners.
Whether it’s tracking and analyzing data, managing relationships with affiliates, or optimizing ad campaigns, there are a plethora of tools available on Product Hunt that can help marketers do their jobs more effectively. From comprehensive analytics platforms to powerful automation tools, the right affiliate marketing tools can help you save time, reduce costs, and ultimately drive more revenue for your business.
AFFILIATE MARKETING
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AFFILIATE MARKETING
Best US Cities to Start a Business, Entrepreneurship: Report
What city is best for starting your business? While several factors should play into a decision, a new report from fintech company SumUp has identified the top 10 for entrepreneurship based on tax data, the number of millionaires in the city, and even Google searches.
New York topped the list because of the opportunities it offers across industries, from tech to fashion, and its 4% sales tax, which was the lowest of the group. New Yorkers also frequently Google “how to get rich” and “how to make it in business,” the study found. The city also offers access to over 30 WeWork coworking locations, the most of all the cities in the report, which theoretically could help startup employees collaborate.
Related: Worried About AI Stealing Your Job? A New Report Calls These 10 Careers ‘AI-Proof’
Chicago came in at No. 2, with SumUp researchers highlighting its 120,500 millionaires and high interest in entrepreneurship through tracked Google searches. They also found that Chicago stood out for finance startups.
Rounding out the top three was Miami, “where the weather is warm and taxes are low,” according to the study. Travel, tourism, and commerce startups thrive in this city, which has 0% personal income and capital gains tax.
Related: These Are the Top 15 Jobs With the Highest Entry-Level Pay
Here’s a complete list of the top ten cities for entrepreneurship, according to the report.
1. New York
Number of millionaires: 349,500
Personal income tax – highest income: 10.90%
Sales tax: 4.00%
2. Chicago
Number of millionaires: 120,500
Personal income tax – highest income: 4.95%
Sales tax: 6.25%
3. Miami
Number of millionaires: 35,300
Personal income tax – highest income: 0.00%
Sales tax: 6.00%
4. Los Angeles
Number of millionaires: 212,100
Personal income tax – highest income: 13.30%
Sales tax: 9.50%
5. Dallas
Number of millionaires: 68,600
Personal income tax – highest income: 0.00%
Sales tax: 6.25%
6. Austin
Number of millionaires: 32,700
Personal income tax – highest income: 0.00%
Sales tax: 6.25%
7. Houston
Number of millionaires: 90,900
Personal income tax – highest income: 0.00%
Sales tax: 6.25%
8. Seattle
Number of millionaires: 54,200
Personal income tax – highest income: 0.00%
Sales tax: 6.50%
9. Washington
Number of millionaires: 28,300
Personal income tax – highest income: 10.75%
Sales tax: 6.00%
10. Boston
Number of millionaires: 42,900
Personal income tax – highest income: 9.00%
Sales tax: 6.25%
AFFILIATE MARKETING
What Is Founder Mode and Why Is It Better Than Manager Mode?
Paul Graham, the founder of famed startup accelerator Y Combinator, coined a new term this week that has taken over social media: founder mode.
In an article released on September 1 and publicized on X over Labor Day weekend, Graham separates “founder mode” from the traditional “manager mode” route by noting key differences in management styles and organizational structure. Graham’s X post has over 21 million views at press time.
Related: How to Start a Multi-Million Dollar Company, According to an IBM Engineer Turned Founder
Founder mode means that the CEO interacts with employees across the organization, not just their direct reports. The startup, even as it grows into a large company, is less hierarchical; the CEO could do “skip-level” meetings with employees, for example. Graham gave the real-world example of Steve Jobs running an annual retreat for who he thought were the 100 most important people at Apple — regardless of where they were on the corporate ladder.
Manager mode, meanwhile, is less hands-on and involves more delegation to other people. Founders can grow companies and run them effectively without switching to manager mode, Graham stated.
“Hire good people and give them room to do their jobs,” Graham wrote. “Sounds great when it’s described that way, doesn’t it? Except in practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground.”
Related: How to Start Your Dream Business This Weekend, According to a Tech CEO Worth $36 Million
Graham gave the example of Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who tried to follow conventional “manager mode” wisdom to hire good people and let them do their jobs.
“The results were disastrous,” Graham wrote.
Chesky had to pivot to a different “founder mode” style of management and explained in an interview last year that founders have multiple advantages over managers: They have owned every part of the process of building a company, from start to finish; They have built the company up, so they can rebuild it; and they have permission to rebrand the company or make major changes.
This is it: @bchesky on founder mode.
Three reasons why founders differ from managers:
1. Being the biological parent
2. Full permission to make change
3. Knowing how to rebuild the company pic.twitter.com/VhuQ70B8FK— Yana Welinder (@yanatweets) September 2, 2024
In the past few days since Graham released his essay, the social media world has begun exploring what it means in humorous and insightful ways. One post drew a comparison between micromanaging and founder mode.
founder mode pic.twitter.com/LWOlaFq4UJ
— ST (@seyitaylor) September 2, 2024
Other posts from women founders addressed the question: Can women be in founder mode too?
Chesky wrote on X earlier this week that women founders had been reaching out to him since Graham released the essay about how they can’t run their companies in founder mode the same way men can.
“This needs to change,” he wrote.
Remember when the female founders did founder mode and all got cancelled for it?
— Sara Mauskopf (@sm) September 3, 2024
It happened to me first — headlines portraying me as a “toxic leader” when I had to make the same, often unpopular, decisions that my male peers did without critique.
For them, it’s called Founder Mode, and it’s celebrated (a proper noun! With its own merch! And trademarks… https://t.co/rF0IM1huy3
— Sophia Amoruso 3.0 (@sophiaamoruso) September 5, 2024
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