How Can I Find Affiliates? A Complete Guide to Finding Affiliate Programs and Partners

If you’re asking “How can I find affiliates?”, you may actually be looking for one of two things.

You might be a website owner or content creator trying to find affiliate programs you can join and promote. Or you might own a product, SaaS company, ecommerce store, or other business and want to find affiliates who will promote your products.

Both are important parts of affiliate marketing.

For most people building an affiliate niche site, the first question comes first: Which companies will actually pay me to send them customers?

The good news is that there are far more affiliate opportunities than you’ll find on the typical “100 best affiliate programs” list.

You just need to know where to look.

The Short Answer: How Can I Find Affiliates?

If you want to find affiliate programs to promote, start by searching for products and companies already serving your niche.

Search Google for phrases like:

[brand name] affiliate program

[product] affiliate program

[niche] affiliate programs

Then check major affiliate networks such as Impact, Awin, CJ, Rakuten Advertising, PartnerStack, FlexOffers, and Amazon Associates.

You should also study competing websites in your niche. If several successful sites are repeatedly linking to the same companies, there is a good chance those companies either have an affiliate program or are open to direct partnerships.

If you are a business trying to find affiliates, reverse the process: identify websites, newsletters, creators, communities, comparison sites, and niche publishers already reaching your ideal customers, then invite them to join your program.

That is the basic strategy.

But there are much better ways to do it than randomly Googling companies.

First, Understand What You Are Actually Looking For

An affiliate relationship typically involves three parties:

The merchant or advertiser sells the product.

The affiliate or publisher sends potential customers to the merchant.

The customer clicks the affiliate's tracking link and completes an action, usually a purchase or signup.

The merchant then pays the publisher according to the terms of the affiliate program.

That payment might be a percentage of a sale, a fixed amount per purchase, a commission for a qualified lead, or recurring revenue for subscription products.

Networks such as Awin describe publishers as website owners, bloggers, and creators who promote advertisers using tracked affiliate links and receive commissions when their referrals generate qualifying actions.

So when building an affiliate site, don't just ask:

“Which affiliate programs pay the most?”

Ask:

“Which products would someone visiting my website already be likely to buy?”

That distinction can completely change the profitability of a niche.

10 Ways to Find Affiliate Programs in Almost Any Niche

1. Search for individual brands

Start with the companies you already know.

Imagine you're building a website about small-space home gyms. You might create a list of manufacturers selling squat racks, adjustable dumbbells, benches, flooring, storage systems, resistance bands, fitness apps, workout programs, and supplements.

Then search each company name plus “affiliate program.”

You would be surprised how many programs never appear on popular affiliate marketing lists.

This is especially useful in narrow niches. A company doesn't need to be a household name to have an attractive affiliate program.

In fact, smaller specialized companies can sometimes make better partners because your website may represent a meaningful source of highly targeted customers.

1. Search by product instead of brand

Don't limit yourself to companies you already know.

Search:

[garage storage affiliate program](/niches/garage-storage)

camping gear affiliate program

homeschool curriculum affiliate program

project management software affiliate program

cat furniture affiliate program

pickleball affiliate program

Now repeat the search using specific product categories.

For a camping site, that could mean:

camping tent affiliate program

portable power station affiliate program

camping mattress affiliate program

roof rack affiliate program

campground membership affiliate program

This process often reveals monetization opportunities you wouldn't have considered when you originally chose the niche.

A niche isn't just one product.

It is an ecosystem of purchases.

1. Look at what competing websites promote

This is one of the fastest affiliate research methods.

Find websites ranking for commercial keywords in your niche.

Search for terms such as:

best [product]

[product] reviews

[product A] vs [product B]

best [product] for [specific use]

Then study which merchants those sites send visitors to.

You aren't copying their content.

You're researching the economics of the niche.

If 10 successful publishers all promote the same three merchants, those merchants deserve further investigation.

But also look for gaps.

Maybe every competitor sends visitors to Amazon even though the manufacturer offers its own affiliate program with stronger economics.

Maybe everyone promotes physical products while nobody is promoting the software, memberships, subscriptions, courses, services, or digital products surrounding the same audience.

Those gaps can be more interesting than the obvious opportunities.

1. Join affiliate networks

Affiliate networks make discovery much easier because one account can give you access to programs from many advertisers.

Some of the major options currently include:

Impact, for example, provides a marketplace where publishers can discover brands and apply to their programs. CJ similarly gives publishers access to advertisers through its network, while Rakuten allows approved publishers to browse advertiser programs from its Publisher Dashboard.

PartnerStack is particularly worth checking when researching SaaS niches because partners can browse active programs through its marketplace.

One important update: ShareASale is no longer a standalone affiliate network you should be signing up for. Awin officially closed the ShareASale platform on October 6, 2025 and transitioned its activity to Awin.

If you're reading an affiliate marketing guide that still tells you to create a new ShareASale account, that section is outdated.

1. Search affiliate marketplaces before choosing your niche

Most people do this backward.

They choose a niche first.

Then they try to figure out how to monetize it.

Instead, affiliate marketplaces can be used as niche research tools.

Browse programs and ask:

What type of customer buys this?

What problem does the product solve?

What would that person search before purchasing it?

Are there dozens of related products?

Could I write 50 useful pieces of content around this audience?

Are there expensive products?

Are there recurring commissions?

Are there multiple merchants I could promote?

A boring-looking affiliate program can sometimes reveal an excellent niche.

You aren't just looking for a program.

You're looking for an entire market.

1. Look for SaaS affiliate programs

Software deserves its own research process.

Physical-product affiliates often earn a percentage of a single purchase.

Software companies may pay a fixed bounty, a percentage of a subscription, recurring commissions, or other performance-based incentives.

For example, someone building a website about podcasting might eventually promote microphones and recording equipment.

But they could also potentially monetize:

podcast hosting,

transcription software,

editing tools,

email marketing platforms,

website hosting,

remote recording software,

analytics software,

and creator tools.

That changes the economics of the niche substantially.

PartnerStack's marketplace is built around affiliate, referral, and reseller partnerships and is one place to research software partnership opportunities.

Whenever you research a niche, ask:

What software does this audience pay for?

1. Check the company's website footer

Sometimes the easiest method is the one people overlook.

Visit a company's website.

Look in the footer for:

Affiliates

Partners

Referral Program

Partner Program

Ambassador Program

Creators

Influencers

Earn With Us

Publishers

Not every company uses the phrase “affiliate program.”

A brand may call the exact same arrangement its creator program, partner program, or ambassador program.

Searching only for the word “affiliate” can therefore cause you to miss opportunities.

1. Email companies directly

No affiliate program?

That doesn't necessarily mean no affiliate opportunity.

This becomes particularly interesting once your site has traffic.

Imagine you've built a website dedicated to backyard saunas and you're receiving thousands of visitors every month.

You discover a $6,000 sauna manufacturer that doesn't publicly advertise an affiliate program.

Contact them.

Explain what your website covers, who your readers are, which pages receive traffic, and how you believe you could send them customers.

Then ask whether they offer a referral arrangement.

A merchant doesn't need sophisticated affiliate software to create a partnership.

Companies can use coupon codes, referral links, dedicated landing pages, lead forms, affiliate platforms, or other attribution methods.

A niche website with real buyer traffic is valuable.

Treat it that way.

1. Find adjacent products

This is where some of the best affiliate opportunities come from.

Suppose your website is about RV camping.

The obvious affiliate products are RV accessories.

But an RV owner might also buy:

camping memberships,

mobile internet equipment,

solar equipment,

portable power stations,

insurance,

campground subscriptions,

outdoor furniture,

cooking equipment,

navigation software,

security products,

storage products,

and travel services.

The best affiliate niches usually contain multiple layers of monetization.

Instead of asking:

“What affiliate programs exist for my topic?”

Ask:

“What does this audience spend money on?”

That is a much more powerful question.

1. Look at the entire customer journey

Someone doesn't suddenly wake up and purchase a $2,000 product.

There is usually a sequence.

They discover a problem.

They research possible solutions.

They compare options.

They narrow their choices.

They look for reviews.

They check prices.

They buy.

And eventually they buy complementary products.

Each stage can represent affiliate content.

For example:

Problem: My garage is too cluttered.

Solution: Garage storage systems.

Research: Cabinets vs shelving.

Comparison: Best garage cabinets.

Product: Gladiator vs NewAge.

Purchase: Buy cabinet system.

After purchase: Bins, wall storage, workbench, lighting and organization products.

Your affiliate research should follow the same path.

That is how a small niche turns into hundreds of useful content opportunities.

Don't Choose Affiliate Programs Based Only on Commission Rate

A 50% commission isn't automatically better than a 5% commission.

You need to understand the entire offer.

Suppose Affiliate Program A pays $100 per sale but converts one visitor out of every 500 referrals.

Program B pays $30 but converts one out of every 50.

Program B could be significantly more valuable.

The basic equation is:

Traffic × affiliate click rate × merchant conversion rate × average commission = affiliate revenue

This means you should evaluate more than the headline commission.

Look at the product price, expected conversion rate, cookie or attribution window, commission structure, recurring revenue potential, refund or reversal rules, geographical restrictions, payment schedule, brand reputation, product availability and the merchant's landing pages.

A strong merchant converts the traffic you send.

A weak merchant can make a fantastic SEO page look unprofitable.

Find Affiliate Programs Before Building 100 Articles

This is one of the most important parts of affiliate niche research.

You should understand how a site can make money before investing months creating content. This should be part of your process to validate a niche website idea.

That doesn't mean every article needs an affiliate link.

It means you should be able to map the business.

Imagine you're considering a niche about espresso machines.

Before building the site, identify several ways the audience spends money.

There might be espresso machines, grinders, beans, water filtration systems, scales, tampers, milk pitchers, cleaning supplies, replacement parts, coffee subscriptions, barista courses and other accessories.

Then identify possible merchants for each category.

Now you aren't evaluating one affiliate program.

You're evaluating the monetization depth of the niche.

That is a far stronger way to choose an affiliate niche.

How Many Affiliate Programs Should I Join?

There is no ideal number.

You don't need 50 affiliate programs to launch a site.

You might start with three or four strong merchants covering the main products in your niche.

Then expand as your traffic grows.

Having alternatives is useful because affiliate programs change.

Commission rates get reduced.

Programs close.

Merchants switch networks.

Products go out of stock.

Tracking terms change.

Your account can even be removed from a program.

Depending entirely on one merchant creates unnecessary risk.

This is another reason to think in terms of audiences and problems, rather than building your entire site around one affiliate program.

Should I Just Use Amazon Associates?

Amazon Associates can be useful because Amazon sells products across an enormous number of categories and the program is designed to let publishers monetize traffic through qualifying purchases.

But Amazon doesn't have to be your only option.

Always check whether the manufacturer has a direct affiliate program.

Then check affiliate networks for alternative retailers.

You may discover better commission economics, better tracking terms, stronger product availability, or merchants that fit your audience better.

More importantly, having several merchant relationships gives you flexibility.

If one program changes, your business doesn't disappear with it.

What If I Don't Have Any Traffic Yet?

You can still apply to affiliate programs.

But don't be surprised if some companies reject a brand-new site.

From the merchant's perspective, they want to know how you're going to generate customers.

A site containing 20 genuinely useful articles usually presents a stronger application than an empty domain with a homepage.

If you are rejected, keep building.

Get content indexed.

Start generating traffic.

Then apply again.

Affiliate approval is not the finish line.

The real goal is building an audience that merchants want access to.

How to Find Affiliates If You Own a Business

Now let's flip the question.

Perhaps you aren't looking for affiliate programs.

You have your own product and you're wondering:

How can I find affiliates to promote it?

Start with people who already have your customers' attention.

That might include bloggers, niche websites, YouTubers, newsletters, comparison websites, educators, influencers, communities, review sites and complementary businesses.

Affiliate networks can also help advertisers recruit publishers. Awin offers partner discovery tools for advertisers, while Impact provides discovery and recruitment tools designed to help brands find relevant partners. CJ likewise provides advertiser recruitment tools for identifying publishers based on characteristics such as promotional model, audience and category performance.

But don't wait for affiliates to magically discover your program.

Search Google.

Search YouTube.

Search social platforms.

Search Reddit.

Look at who ranks for keywords related to your product.

Look at who is reviewing competitors.

Look at newsletters covering your industry.

Then approach those publishers directly.

Instead of saying:

“Would you like to join our affiliate program?”

give them a reason to care.

Explain the commission.

Explain the product.

Explain who buys it.

Give them useful assets.

Provide product access where appropriate.

And, most importantly, make sure the offer is financially worthwhile.

Affiliates have limited attention.

They will naturally prioritize offers that generate revenue.

The Best Affiliates May Already Be Ranking on Google

If you sell a product, search the terms your customers search.

Imagine you sell garage cabinets.

Search:

best garage cabinets

garage cabinet reviews

garage storage systems

garage cabinets for small garages

NewAge cabinets alternatives

The sites appearing in those results have something valuable:

distribution.

They're already reaching people researching products like yours.

Some may already be affiliates for your competitors.

That doesn't automatically make them unavailable.

It makes them qualified.

Reach out.

A Simple Affiliate Discovery Strategy for Niche Site Builders

You don't need complicated software to begin.

Pick a niche you're considering.

Identify 20 products the audience might purchase.

Identify the major brands selling those products, then compare them in the affiliate programs directory.

Search every brand for an affiliate, creator, referral or partner program.

Then search the major affiliate networks.

Next, study five successful websites already publishing in the niche and identify the merchants they're promoting.

Finally, brainstorm adjacent spending categories.

You should end up with a rough monetization map.

If you discover dozens of products, several strong merchants, software or subscription opportunities, and plenty of commercial search queries, you may have found an interesting niche.

If you discover one mediocre affiliate program and almost nothing else?

That's useful information too.

The purpose of niche research isn't to convince yourself that every idea is good.

It's to eliminate weak ideas before you spend six months building them.

Finding Affiliates Is Really About Finding Markets

This is the bigger lesson.

New affiliate marketers often think the process works like this:

Find product → get affiliate link → publish review → make money.

Strong affiliate sites work differently.

They identify an audience.

They understand that audience's problems.

They map what that audience searches for.

They identify what the audience already spends money on.

Then they connect useful content with relevant products.

The affiliate link is almost the last step.

That's why the best question isn't simply:

“How can I find affiliates?”

It's:

“Where does this audience already spend money, and which companies will pay me to help them acquire those customers?”

Answer that question well, and you'll have far more than an affiliate program.

You'll have the foundation of an affiliate business.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find affiliate programs?

Search for individual brands followed by terms like “affiliate program,” “partner program,” “creator program,” or “referral program.” You can also browse affiliate networks including Impact, Awin, CJ, Rakuten Advertising, PartnerStack and FlexOffers.

How do I find affiliate programs in my niche?

Start with the products your audience buys rather than searching for generic affiliate lists. Identify brands selling those products, check their websites, search their names plus “affiliate program,” and study the merchants competing websites already promote.

What is the best affiliate network?

There isn't one network that is best for every niche. Impact, Awin, CJ and Rakuten cover many consumer brands, while PartnerStack is particularly useful for researching software partnerships. Amazon Associates can provide broad product coverage.

Is ShareASale still available?

No. The standalone ShareASale platform officially closed on October 6, 2025 as its operations transitioned to Awin.

Can beginners join affiliate programs?

Yes. Many affiliate programs accept newer publishers, although individual merchants can set their own approval requirements. Having a functioning website with useful published content generally gives a merchant more information to evaluate than an empty site.

Can I contact companies that don't have an affiliate program?

Yes. If you have a relevant audience or meaningful traffic, you can approach a company about creating a direct referral partnership. This can be especially valuable with specialized merchants in smaller niches.

How can businesses find affiliates?

Look for websites, creators, newsletters and communities already reaching your target customers. Affiliate networks also provide publisher discovery and recruitment tools. Instead of waiting for publishers to find your program, proactively recruit partners whose audiences match your product.

How many affiliate programs should I use?

There is no required number. A new niche site may only need a handful of strong programs. Over time, adding additional merchants can increase monetization opportunities and reduce dependence on any single affiliate relationship.

Final Thoughts

Finding affiliate programs isn't difficult.

Finding good programs that match the right audience is where the opportunity lies.

Don't build a website around whichever affiliate program happens to pay the highest percentage.

Start with the market.

Find the problems.

Find the products people already buy.

Find the companies selling those products.

Then build content that helps those customers make better decisions.

Do that consistently and you won't have to force affiliate products into your content.

The affiliate opportunities will be built directly into the niche.