Features, Pros, Cons & Alternatives

ShareASale is one of the most popular affiliate marketing platforms, connecting over 30,000 merchants and 1 million affiliates.

Brian Littleton founded ShareASale in 2000. In 2017, Awin acquired ShareASale, expanding Awin’s global reach and growing its position in the US market.

Whether you’re a business looking to generate passive income or an affiliate looking for ways to earn extra income, ShareASale is the perfect platform. 

It has 17 offices and over 1400 employees, connecting thousands of merchants to over 1 million publishers across retail, telecommunications, travel, and finance. In the last financial year, the Awin group generated $19 billion for advertisers and $1.4 billion for publishers globally.

What is ShareASale?

ShareASale is a major affiliate marketing network that connects merchants (businesses) with affiliates (website owners) to promote products or services in exchange for commissions. 

ShareASale offers various offer types, including;

• Pay-per-sale
• Pay-per-lead
• Pay-per-click

ShareASale has a vast database of brands to partner with from over 39 consumer categories like fashion, tech, home goods, and more, making it suitable for affiliates in almost any niche.

Detail	Information
Founded In	2000
Founder	Brian Littleton
Acquired By	Awin Group in 2017
Offer Types	Pay-per-Sale, Pay-per-Lead, etc.
Payment Methods	Direct Deposit, Check, Payoneer
Users	30,000 merchants and 1 million publishers

---

How Does ShareASale Work?

ShareASale is an affiliate marketing platform that acts as an intermediary between merchants and affiliates. 

On ShareASale;

• Merchants offer products and set commission rates.
• Affiliates promote these products using unique links.

When someone clicks on an affiliate’s link and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.

For example, if you have a blog about “digital marketing” and join ShareASale, you can promote digital marketing products such as web hosting, SEO tools, WordPress, etc. You earn a commission when your readers click on your affiliate link and purchase a product.

ShareASale tracks affiliate product sales, calculates commissions, and pays its affiliates. It also provides tools to help affiliates manage their campaigns and monitor their earnings. 

In a nutshell,

• Merchants register, provide product details, set commission rates and cookie durations.
• Affiliates sign up for ShareASale, get approved, and choose programs or brands that suit their audience.

---

How Do You Earn Money with ShareASale As an Affiliate?

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to earn money with ShareASale as an affiliate.

Signing Up

The first step is to create an account with ShareASale. Here’s a detailed step-by-step guide for signing up for the ShareASale platform.

Visit this link to create a free account for ShareASale as an affiliate. You’ll be taken to their affiliate account creation page, which looks like this;

Enter a username, password, and your country to continue to the next step.

In this next step, you’ll be asked to enter basic information, which includes;

• Primary website
• Website information
• Website content
• Your website’s promotional strategies

Then, enter your email address;

In the next step, you’ll be asked to provide payment details, including;

• Contact information, including name, address, etc
• Program description
• Domain ownership

In the final step, enter your preferred mode of payment that includes;

• Direct bank deposit
• Check via postal serve
• Check via federal express

Click on the “Complete Sign Up” button to finish creating your affiliate account.

Next, you’ll receive a confirmation email from ShareASale to the provided address. Follow the instructions in the email to complete your application. Once you’re done, they will review it (usually takes 7 to 10 days).

Once your account is approved, you can start promoting ShareASale’s products.

You can access your ShareASale account by logging in using the link to the ShareASale affiliate login with the email address and password you used during signup.

Select a Brand To Promote

Selecting the right brands to promote on ShareASale is extremely important for generating more affiliate sales. Here are some tips on choosing brands relevant to your niche.

Identify your target audience: The first step is to define your target audience. Identify their demographics, problems, wants, and needs. Only then will you be able to identify the products or services your audience is interested in.

Pick high-quality products: Only select brands with a solid reputation and a track record of offering quality products. Make sure to check online reviews, testimonials, etc to evaluate any brand’s reputation.

Product demand and popularity: Check for the brand’s demand and popularity. You can use free tools like Google Trends to identify the search trends for the brand or product category. This will give you an idea of how often people search for the brand.

Promote your products

Promotion is extremely important when it comes to making money from ShareASale.

Promote products on ShareASale using affiliate links and marketing materials, such as banner ads, text links, etc.

Here are some of the best tips to promote your products;

• Create helpful content around the products you promote. Optimize your content by targeting relevant keywords, offering discounts and promos, etc. Focus on creating valuable product reviews and tutorials.
• Engage followers on social media platforms by creating powerful ad copies, sharing appealing visuals, and promoting special promo codes. Also, create Instagram reels or stories promoting the product.
• Build an email list and send personalized email recommendations featuring relevant affiliate products with strong calls to action.

---

How to become a merchant on ShareASale?

Here’s a simple tutorial on becoming a merchant on ShareASale.

Visit ShareASale’s merchant page and click Merchant Sign Up on the top right.

You’ll then be redirected to the “Merchant Account Creation” page, where you need to enter basic information like;

• Contact name
• Company name
• Address and more

Then, click on Setup Wizard to begin setting up your Merchant account.

ShareASale offers two programs: one for sales and another for leads. Choose the program that best fits your business, or choose both to maximize your affiliate marketing strategy. When you choose a program, you’ll be asked to set commission rates and per-lead commissions on ShareASale.

Finish the next few steps, including adding a bio, keywords, PPC rules, etc.

Once you’ve filled in all the details, you’ll need to install a tracking code. Choose your shopping cart (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento) on ShareASale and follow the instructions to install the tracking pixel.

That’s it, you’re done!

ShareASale’s complete pricing & fees for Merchants:

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Merchant fee and pricing on ShareASale;

• Joining fee: $625 (non-refundable)
• Deposit amount: $125 minimum
• Tracking fee: 20% of commission
• Monthly platform fee: $35

---

Features of ShareASale

Let’s now discuss some of the unique features of the ShareASale platform. We’ll also give each feature a score based on its performance.

Excellent reporting: ShareASale offers detailed tracking and reporting tools that help you easily optimize your ads. With ShareASale’s robust reporting, you can:

• Identify top-performing merchants
• Easily find and fix broken links
• Gain actionable insights to optimize your affiliate strategy
• Track key metrics like clicks, conversions, and earnings

Here’s the merchant summary report, which includes the total number of transactions, commissions, clicks, etc.

Our score: 9/10

Robust tools: The platform also offers many promotional tools, including product links, banners, and text ads, to effectively promote affiliate products and drive sales.

As you can see above, you’ll get access to other tools such as;

• API Reporting
• Video
• PPC violation reports
• Product showcases
• RSS notifications and more

Our score: 8/10

Timely and Reliable Payments: One of the primary reasons over 1 million affiliate publishers use the ShareASale platform is that it offers timely and reliable payments. The platform has excellent tracking tools for payment processing, ensuring affiliates receive their earnings on time.

With ShareASale, you’ll receive timely payments via direct deposit or ACH. Your affiliate dashboard allows you to view real-time account balances.  

Our score: 10/10

Support team: ShareASale gives you access to a dedicated affiliate support team for expert guidance and timely assistance. Their affiliate team has the experts to answer all your affiliate product questions and solve your problems.

They also have many free resources, including FAQs, tutorials, and webinars, that can help boost your affiliate product sales.

Our score: 9/10

Invalid Links Report: ShareASale’s Invalid Links Report helps you identify and fix broken affiliate links. It shows you the merchant, banner ID, reason for invalidity, and referring page, allowing you to identify all your broken links in one place.

Here’s what the invalid links report looks like;

Our score: 10/10

Reversal report: ShareASale provides a reversal report that shows you which sales were cancelled or refunded. This helps you understand why you lost commissions and find ways to prevent future cancellations. 

For example, if many orders from a specific product are being returned, you should avoid promoting that product in the future.

Here’s what it looks like;

As you can see above, the reversal report in ShareASale lists voided or refunded transactions, including the date, currency, sale amount, commission, and reason for the reversal. 

Our score: 10/10

---

Pros And Cons of ShareASale

Here are some pros and cons of using ShareASale for affiliate income. 

Pros of ShareASale

• It is one of the popular networks for affiliates and is known for its timely payouts. Last year, over $200 million in sales were generated through their platform.
• Automate the process of sending personalized welcome messages and timely email communications to partners.
• Offers simple integrations with leading eCommerce plugins like Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, Magneto, etc.
• Provides a wide range of products and services across various niches
• Their interface is relatively easy to navigate, even for beginners.
• It gives you detailed analytics and tracking to monitor your affiliate product performance.
• ShareASale offers over 31,000 merchants across 39 categories, making it easy to find all kinds of products that fit your niche.
• They provide browser extension tools that allow you to quickly and easily generate product deeplinks.
• Access to the affiliate managers so you can build stronger relationships and collaborate with them on exclusive promotions.

Cons of ShareASale

• ShareASale charges a 20% commission fee on all affiliate sales. In addition to the 20% commission on sales, ShareASale charges a recurring $35 monthly fee for using its affiliate network. Merchants are required to pay this.
• Limited customization options compared to other affiliate networks
• Their website’s design is outdated!

---

ShareASale Payment Details

ShareASale offers payout options in multiple ways;

• Check
• ACH direct deposit or wire transfer
• Payoneer

The minimum payment threshold is $50, but affiliates can increase this amount within their account settings under the payment settings tab.

All your ShareASale payments are issued on the 20th of each month for the commissions earned in the previous month. For instance, commissions earned in January will be paid on February 20th.

---

ShareASale Product Category Details

There are currently 39 categories available in ShareASale that you can choose from to promote different products. Here’s a table showing various product categories available on ShareASale;

Category Name	Description
Accessories	Clothing, shoes, jewellery, and more
Beauty & Health	Cosmetics, skincare, haircare, and wellness products
Software & Services	Software, SEO tools, web hosting, and other digital services.
Travel	Hotels, flights, car rentals, and travel experiences
Automotive	Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and auto parts
Clothing	Apparel, shoes, and accessories
Domain Names	Website domain names
Education	Online courses, tutoring, and educational resources
Family	Family-oriented products and services
Insurance	Auto, home, life, and health insurance
Recreation	Recreational activities and products
Weddings	Wedding planning and products
Real Estate	Real estate properties and services

---

How much money can you make with ShareASale?

Your earnings on ShareASale will depend on your audience, niche, and the type of products you promote. 

The commission rates on ShareASale vary widely, ranging from 2% to over 50% per sale, depending on the merchant and product.

Thousands of affiliate marketers earn several thousand dollars per month from ShareASale.

Here’s a snapshot of our website’s affiliate earnings from the ShareASale network.

As you can see, we generated several thousand dollars from multiple products. 

The key to higher conversion rates and more earnings is to choose only those products that align with your audience’s interests and needs.

---

ShareASale Alternatives

While ShareASale is a great choice, exploring alternatives like CJ, Impact, etc., can help diversify your affiliate earnings. Here are the top ShareASale alternatives, along with their features. 

Commission Junction (CJ)

Commission Junction (also known as CJ Affiliate) is a prominent player in affiliate marketing that connects advertisers with publishers worldwide. CJ is also one of the oldest affiliate marketing networks, founded in 1998.

What are the key differences between ShareASale and Commission Junction?

• For advertisers, CJ gives access to a wide range of publishers, including bloggers, influencers, content creators, and more.
• For publishers, CJ gives access to a ton of lucrative products and services, from electronics to retail to travel.
• Commission Junction offers access to a vast network of top affiliate programs across various industries. 

Impact.com

Impact is another excellent alternative to ShareASale, which offers thousands of high-paying affiliate programs. Its user-friendly interface and amazing features make it easy to manage affiliate marketing campaigns and track your earnings.

What are the key differences between ShareASale and Impact?

• Impact.com caters to a wide range of businesses, including SaaS, subscription models, etc
• Compared to ShareASale, Impact provides advanced analytics, custom reporting and fraud prevention tools
• Impact.com is best suited for agencies, large businesses and high-traffic websites

---

Conclusion: Is ShareASale the Best Affiliate Network For You?

ShareASale can be a great choice for affiliate marketers, especially those who are new to promoting affiliate products. It offers an easy-to-use platform for finding thousands of products to promote, no matter your niche.

Also, over a million affiliates use this platform because it offers competitive commission rates.

However, consider ClickBank or CJ Affiliate if you’re looking for advanced features and a higher earning potential. 

Remember, building an audience and making money from ANY affiliate network takes a lot of time. So, be consistent and consider your niche and target audience to pick the right affiliate network for your affiliate marketing needs.

---

FAQs