Everything You Need to Know on High-ticket Affiliate
Learn about getting started with high ticket affiliate marketing and earning good passive income online today!
Ah, the next big online passive income: affiliate marketing. Everyone is buzzing about the ridiculous amounts of money affiliate marketers are making with some products.
Though the commission rates may be small for low to medium-priced products, cumulative earnings from affiliate sales compensate for that shortcoming. So, you might ask: “Are there any affiliate programs for expensive, high ticket products?”
We would answer: Yes. It’s called high ticket affiliate marketing, and it’s what you think it is: playing with the big guns.
What counts as high-ticket affiliate marketing?
Although there’s no definitive threshold to classify affiliate sales and respective commissions as “high ticket,” generally speaking, you can expect to earn in the ball-park of $500–$1,000+ for the sale of a high-value item.
Unlike recurring commissions in traditional programs, the highest paying affiliate programs usually have flat fees or one-time payouts. Usually, the reason for this is that either the product or service isn’t subscription-based, or it simply wouldn’t be cost-effective for the merchant to offer such high payouts repeatedly.
High ticket marketing efforts
Alongside standard promotional methods like a simple blog post/video review, or email, you need to build a relationship and trust with the customer. It’s more networking than selling. So, this means live webinars and constant social media one-on-one engagement–be it Facebook messages, Instagram comments, TikTok lives, YouTube streaming, whichever works best.
You should also prove yourself as an authority figure through leadership activities. When people get to like you, they’ll trust you and be ready to take your recommendation.
High-ticket niches
As you’ve probably guessed by now, high-ticket niches don’t include dog-lovers. We’re talking about educational courses, expensive technology and SaaS, jewelry, leases of private jets and yachts, exclusive credit cards, and more of the sort.
The “make money online” courses, for example, are a popular high-ticket niche. Unfortunately, it attracts many eager charlatans to share their “success stories” to entice viewers into the lifestyle, hoping they make a purchase.
SaaS affiliate programs are like a god-send in the affiliate industry. In the era of digitization, software as service products is the backbone of many business operations. Since they’re subscription-based (usually monthly), you enjoy recurring commissions from a single referral! Most merchants also offer free trials, which is a strong incentive for customers to get signed up–helping affiliates close the deal.
Do be cognizant that though many high-paying affiliate programs promise high commissions up to $1,000–for example, their affiliates may not end up earning such amounts. The high number is usually just a commission cap, mentioned for promotional purposes.
How to choose the right high-ticket affiliate product
Choosing the right affiliate product is crucial to your success–especially with high-ticket items because sales are less frequent. The high product price and generous commission rates are always at the forefront of discussion for many affiliate marketers. However, though important, price isn’t the only factor to consider when choosing between affiliate offers.
You should consider doing the following, too:
Determine product-audience fit
Prioritize the product-audience fit. The last thing you want to do is promote a product unrelated to your audience’s interests–they won’t like that. Ask yourself if the product matches the needs of your audience and focus your information on the value it adds to them.
Fleshing out a buyer persona and understanding the demographics of your audience like age, gender, group identity, and more will not only help you find the right product but allow you to make relevant affiliate marketing content, too.
Assess market demand and competition
Broad niches may have greater income potential because of the larger audience, but their markets are very saturated, so there will be lots of competition. You generally want to avoid that because it will be harder to build a new community and have conversions. If the product is too popular, a tighter niche product may suit you better.
Pro-tip for broad niches: if it’s challenging to create a community, join one. Through a forum like Reddit, connect with people, and share your affiliate links where they’re relevant.
On the other hand, don’t go too specific. Either extreme is bad. A very tight niche means an insufficient audience number that will prove difficult to monetize.
Additionally, if you’re a blogger or other kind of content-creating affiliate marketer, you should familiarize yourself with your industry’s relevant keywords for search engine optimization. Being able to rank against competitors for key terms will generate your content more organic traffic with visitors who have a purchase intent.
Product price–and your commission
Once the other factors are in check, now you can give some attention to the product’s price. Generally speaking, higher-priced items will tend to yield higher earnings–but they will also be more challenging to sell.
Typically your commission could be around 20%. Although high-ticket programs offering over $1000 in commission tend to be flat fees and one-time commissions, looking for recurring affiliate commission plans never hurt. Your number of commissions will matter more on the lower end of commission rates.
What sales cycle length will you tolerate?
B2B (business to business) products will usually have longer sales cycles than B2C (business to customer) offers, but the payouts are higher. You need to decide on what you’re okay with for your product’s sales cycle length–it will directly impact your affiliate earnings.
Your tolerance for the cycle length will also influence your marketing strategy. Are you willing to put the work in over a more extended period and try to score a significant win, or are you into shorter sales cycles where you produce more bite-sized content for quicker sales? Pick your poison–and consider what your audience might have the patience for and respond to best.
Additional incentives
Is your niche known for promotional discounts, bonuses, and marketing materials? Some high ticket luxury items won’t offer those kinds of incentives because it’s incoherent with the brand. Available promotions will help turn prospects into customers and motivate you to give it your best after seeing those conversions roll in.
Limitations of high-ticket affiliate marketing
As lovely as a one-time, bigger payout is, recurring, cumulative affiliate earnings are what determine your success in this industry. Usually, in the long-term, affiliates will earn more from recurring commissions because it’s more sustainable.
See, with many high-ticket items, like luxury goods, for example, the referral opportunities are minimal. How many people can actually afford to lease a private jet or yacht? You could be a marketing expert on both and know all about the companies leasing them, but you’re still unlikely to establish any stable source of affiliate income in that niche.
High-ticket affiliate programs require building an audience. It’s not as easy as finding the “highest-valued” product to promote–that won’t get you very far. As we mentioned, finding and fostering a community that can afford high-ticket items is especially difficult.
Your conversion rate isn’t dependent on the product, either. It’s dependent on the quality of your prospects–researching the ideal audience is meticulous work.
Three examples of high-ticket affiliate marketing programs in 2021
Okay, you know all there is to know about high-ticket affiliate marketing. Now, let us point you in the right direction with some of the best affiliate programs that promise high affiliate commissions.
Kinsta offers WordPress hosting and management for online businesses. You could get up to $500 per new customer and even better–10% recurring affiliate commission every month thereafter. Many high ticket affiliate programs offer this recurring payment benefit in the SaaS industry, so keep an eye out for them.
It’s in the name; they offer metal-plated, luxurious credit cards with an upgraded 24-karat gold version. There are many credit card referral programs, but Luxury Card pays a flat $405 in commission for each sign-up sent through an affiliate link.
These guys are an industry-leading marketing education company that sells comprehensive courses on various topics like digital marketing skills or passive online incomes–like affiliate marketing. Depending on the course, you could get up to $990 per sale and $10 in just earnings per click (EPC)!
Here are 32 more High Ticket Affiliate Programs (2021) to help you look for high-ticket affiliate products. Regardless of the price of your product or commission rate, affiliate marketing is a surefire way to make some decent passive income through an online business. Get started today.
