Shopify Affiliate Program: A Complete Beginners Guide[2021]

Shopify affiliate program is one of the partnership programs which affiliates who want to promote ecommerce platforms can join.

Some beginner affiliate marketers who want to join this partnership program don’t know how to go about it.

As an affiliate with Shopify, I have been promoting this platform to my audience through different means. That’s why I’m here to help you as a beginner who wants to sign up for Shopify affiliate program.

What you will learn from this piece.

• How to sign up for Shopify affiliate program
• Shopify affiliate commission rate
• Payment threshold
• Cookie duration
• Payout options
• Affiliate tools
• Shopify affiliate terms
• How to promote your affiliate links
• Pros and Cons
• Alternatives to Shopify affiliate program

Let’s begin with the basics.

What is Shopify affiliate program?

This is simply a partnership program between Shopify and affiliate marketers who promote this ecommerce software to their target audience.

These affiliate marketers earn an agreed commission for any sale they refer to Shopify.

Who can be a Shopify affiliate marketer?

This is one question many people who want to join ask to be sure they can’t be rejected. Shopify affiliate program is open to anyone who wants to make money online through affiliate marketing.

You can sign up for this affiliate program if you have a target audience who you can promote it to. Ordinarily, YouTubers, Social Media Influencers, Bloggers, Podcasters, Content Marketers, and other creators mainly promote this tool.

Let’s dive in.

How to sign up for Shopify affiliate program

Signing up isn’t difficult. It’s something you can do yourself without anyone assisting you. Go to the homepage of Shopify at Shopify.com.

Scroll down to the end of the page. Look out for affiliate program at the right corner of the bottom of the page. Once you locate it, click on it and you will be taken to a new page.

Scroll down on that new page to locate “ become an affiliate” click on apply now and you will see a create account box.

Enter your first and last name, active email address, password and confirm it. Then hit the create button.

You will be directed to a new page where you will fill in your account information and describe yourself.

After filling it, tick the box to agree to the terms and click on view dashboard. That will take you a page where you will apply for the program.

Click on apply today and you will be taken to a page where you will fill in your details.

Be sure to fill in your details properly. In the end, hit the apply button. It can take more than 2 weeks for Shopify to approve your account as an affiliate. You will be notified via email. Once your account is approved, congrats. Login to your affiliate dashboard and explore it. Grab your affiliate link and start promoting it. Here is the message I got from Shopify stating that I have been approved as an affiliate.

Shopify affiliate commission rate

As a giant in the ecommerce space, Shopify pays a high commission to its affiliate. On average, you can earn $58 for any merchant that signs up to any of its pricing plans via your affiliate link.

Take for instance, for Basic Shopify which costs $29/month, you will receive 100% full payment as commission for the first and second month as commission. i.e ( $29 × 2 = $58).

This percentage applies to sales referred to all the Shopify pricing plans except Shopify Plus which is the highest and customizable plan on Shopify. There is no cap on the amount you can earn on Shopify as an affiliate.

Its commission is both recurring and non-recurring. It all depends on the effort you put in and the affiliate marketing strategy you adopt.

But it looks like a fellow ecommerce platform, Bigcommerce pays more as commission. Apart from the $200 bounty you receive per referral, you can earn $1500 when you refer a merchant to its enterprise plan.

Plus the more merchants you refer to them, the higher your commission rate can go.

Payment Threshold

As a beginner affiliate marketer, you may be wondering what payment threshold is. It is simply the minimum amount you must earn in commission before can be paid.

While some affiliate programs have it, a few don’t. Shopify has a payment threshold of $25. This simply means that your commission must amount to $25 or more before you can be paid.

Otherwise, your earnings will be rolled over to the next pay disbursement. However, ConvertKit affiliate program doesn’t operate this policy with its affiliates. Once you earn a commission and it’s approved, you can withdraw it.

Cookie duration

When people click on your affiliate link. There is always a duration for them to make a purchase through it for the commission to accrue to you.

For some affiliate programs, the durations are 30, 60, 90, even 120 days. However, Shopify has a cookie duration of 30 days.

This isn’t the best as another affiliate program in the ecommerce niche, Bigcommerce has a cookie duration of 90 days.

Lengthy cookie duration is good for any affiliate program. It gives your target audience enough opportunity to convert to sales via your affiliate links.

Payout options

As you plan to sign up for Shopify affiliate program, be sure that you check out the available methods through which you can be paid your commission.

Nothing hurts than to realize that you can’t withdraw the commission you’ve earned because the payment options of an affiliate program aren’t supported in your location. PayPal is the only payment method available on Shopify.

So if you live in locations where PayPal isn’t functional, joining this affiliate program will be a waste of time. This is because you can’t receive your commission or use someone else’s PayPal address to receive it. Bigcommerce is better here.

It pays through ACH. At least it is available globally. This is why  I like about GetResponse affiliate program.

It has flexible payment methods. It accommodates almost everyone no matter your country. You can be paid via ACH, Euro transfer, or even the method you agreed with them.

Affiliate tools

For you to succeed in this program, you need affiliate tools from Shopify. These tools will make it easy to convince your target audience to sign up for the Shopify 14-day free trial and then upgrade to any of the paid plans.

Examples of these tools are your affiliate link which is basic. Banners of different sizes and other tools will help you.

You can find these on your affiliate dashboard when you login to your Affiliate account. It is important you take your time to check out each and every one of them to know how they work and how to implement them.

Shopify affiliate term

You shouldn’t overlook this. Some affiliate marketers end up having their accounts terminated because they didn’t abide by what this term stipulates. These are does and don’t of Shopify affiliate program.

I suggest you take the time to read it to understand what is expected of you. Even though it can be lengthy. If you find it ambiguous, involve the service of a legal expert who will interpret it for you.

How to promote your Shopify affiliate link

The next thing that comes to mind after your affiliate account has been approved is how to promote your affiliate link. This is the first step to you earning commission with this program.

It involves the strategies through which you convince your target audience to subscribe to the paid plans of Shopify using your affiliate link. Below are popular ways through which you can promote your affiliate link as a beginner.

1.Facebook Group

Facebook groups are fast and direct ways to promote your affiliate link. Some people who want to start ecommerce business join different ecommerce Facebook groups. They want to connect with people of like minds.

These groups are either private or public. The idea is to identify and join one with thousands of active members.

When members ask questions relating to ecommerce platforms, you can provide valuable answers to them and at the end add your affiliate link. It’s important that you don’t spam your affiliate link in these groups.

Only add your affiliate links when it is necessary after you have offered a helpful answer. The consequence of spamming your affiliate link is that Facebook can ban you from posting links on those groups.

Even the group admin of such Facebook groups can remove you for violating the rule of the group.

2.Blog Post

You can also start a blog in the ecommerce niche and publish quality content on Shopify. Then add your affiliate links where your audience can find them helpful and also engage with them.

This is one of the popular methods many affiliates use including me. Here is a detailed article I did on how Shopify works. You can find my Shopify affiliate link inside it.

3.YouTube

People consume video content more these days. Some Shopify affiliates promote their affiliate links via their YouTube videos. You can do a review video of Shopify and upload it on your channel.

Then ask your viewers and subscribers to check out your affiliate link in the video description. It isn’t only review videos. You can compare Shopify to other ecommerce platforms.

Some people who are not sure of which ecommerce platform to use come to YouTube to search for videos where such comparisons were made.

If you are wondering what a comparison of Shopify to other ecommerce platforms looks like, here is an article where I compared Bigcommerce to Shopify.

Another kind of video that works is tutorials. You can teach your audience how to use a feature in their Shopify store.

4.Email List

Email marketing is one method that is cheap and effective. The hard work only lies in you getting the right subscribers to your list.

Once you have them in your inner circle, you can start building relationships with them. This is important for them to trust you.

Then you can promote your affiliate links to them. You don’t a website to do this. Also, you can automate your emails with email marketing tools like GetResponse or Activecampaign.

Pros

• The commission rate is high.
• Its affiliate dashboard is advanced.
• Signing up is easy and simple.
• No cap on the amount you can earn in commission.
• The payment threshold isn’t high.

Cons

• PayPal is the payment method.
• Cookie duration is short.

Alternatives to Shopify affiliate program

With all these said about Shopify, you can easily decide if it’s the affiliate program you would want to join or not.

However, if you think this program isn’t for you, there are alternatives to it that you can turn to.

After all, Shopify isn’t the only ecommerce platform with an affiliate program. There are others which we will look at below.

1.Bigcommerce affiliate program

This is a close alternative to Shopify and a strong competitor as well. You earn 200% of the first monthly payment of the customer you referred to. If the customer happens to subscribe to the enterprise plan, you earn $1500.

There is no limit to the amount you can earn. In fact, the more customers you refer, the higher your commission tier can go. Its cookie duration is 90 days while it pays out commission via ACH.

ACH is available in almost all countries and it could be an option for you if you live in countries where PayPal isn’t supported.

2.Wix affiliate program

Wix is another ecommerce platform with an affiliate program. You earn $100 in commission for any customer you referred to the premium plans via your affiliate link. There is no cap on the amount you can earn in commission.

The higher the customers you refer, the more commission you earn. However, it has a payment threshold of $300.

You can’t compare it with Shopify that has a payment threshold of $25. Also, its cookie duration is 30 days. Plus you must submit an invoice stating your payment details for you to get paid.

3.Weebly affiliate program

If the 30-day cookie duration of Shopify is a turn-off for you, here is a perfect alternative in that aspect. Weebly has a cookie duration of 120 days.

You earn a 30% commission for any sale you refer to them and there is no limit to the amount you can earn. Payout is via Payoneer, direct deposit, and check.

Conclusion

That’s it with Shopify affiliate program. I trust you now know how to sign up for this program. I also discussed with you some of the key factors that matter.

Plus showed you how to promote your affiliate link and alternatives to it. It’s now up to you to join this affiliate program, grab your affiliate link and start promoting it.