- Orientation
- Course Breakdown
- Top 8 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses 2023
- 1. Best Overall: SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing
- 2. Best for Beginners: Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
- 3. Best for Amazon: Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot
- 4. Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day
- 5. Best for Those With No Website: ClickBank Success — Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
- 6. Best for Facebook: Affiliate Marketing: Facebook Method
- 7. Best for Social Media: Affiliate Marketing Without a Website for Beginners on Pinterest
- 8. Affiliate Marketing Foundations
- FAQ
- Extra Credit
- Recap
Affiliate marketing has become one of the most popular ways to make money online. If you’re looking to enter the affiliate marketing industry, there are dozens of great courses and resources to help you get started. While affiliate marketing continues to get more competitive, with the right knowledge and strategy, you can beat the competition in any niche: it just takes time, patience, and commitment.
That said, getting started is easier said than done. With so many options, starting your affiliate business can be overwhelming. The good news is that we’re here to help. Below we take you through 8 of the best affiliate marketing courses on the market. Moreover, we’ll help you narrow down your options to make sure you get the right course for your needs. Read on to learn more about affiliate marketing and the 8 best affiliate marketing courses.
Orientation
You may be tempted to jump right into the courses, but it’s crucial to get some background information on affiliate marketing first. Below is some info about how affiliate marketing works so that you can narrow down your options.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
In practice, affiliate marketing allows you to refer people to a product or service for a commission. When someone uses your affiliate link to make a purchase, you earn a percentage of that sale. Therefore, in its most basic form, affiliate marketing is a type of sales.
That said, affiliate marketing has some benefits over traditional sales. First and foremost, once you establish authority in your niche, you can start to earn passive income — money that you make without having to get out of bed in the morning. Overall, affiliate marketing is a great way to make extra money or even a full-time income.
While it’s great to know what affiliate marketing is, if you want to get started in the industry, you’ll need some specific information and courses.
How Instructors Play a Role
First and foremost, look for instructors and review their track records. This shows you how successful an instructor has been and if they will add value. The affiliate marketing instructor will usually have their own affiliate website and revenue aside from the course. After all, you want to learn from someone who has already had success with affiliate marketing.
While most instructors are featured on our Course List, you have to be careful. If instructors have never worked in the industry, that’s a red flag. In most cases, these instructors want to make money by luring you into their course. So, always read up on the person teaching the course before you register.
Consider the Topics
Moving on to topics, you want to choose wisely. In affiliate marketing, there are dozens of these to choose from. You’ll come across courses that teach you about sales funnels, social media marketing, blogging, vlogging, and more. While these are all useful topics, you need to choose ones that work for you and your needs.
For example, if you want to be an affiliate through social media, choosing a blogging course is not a good idea. While the information is good, it won’t meet your needs. That said, we always recommend learning about multiple strategies to maximize your success. The first few months of being an affiliate are challenging, so it’s best to enter the game with as much knowledge as possible. In doing so, you’ll avoid many mistakes.
Choosing a Niche
Becoming an affiliate also comes down to the niche you want to operate in. There are a ton of niches to choose from, ranging from health and wellness to cosmetics. That said, choosing a niche is about your level of knowledge in a given niche and how profitable it can be. Therefore, you want to choose a healthy balance between the two.
For example, the health and wellness niche is crowded, so it might be more challenging to gain a foothold. One way around this is to specialize in subcategories within that niche. One way to do that is to choose nutrition and fitness to carve out your own part of the niche.
While choosing a niche is one of the hardest parts, the market being crowded works in your favor. This is because you’ll have a hard time getting started in almost any niche. Therefore, we recommend choosing a niche based on what you’re passionate about. This will keep your content unique and give it a more human-like feel.
Price
The last thing to consider before choosing an affiliate marketing course is the cost. While the price varies, most affiliate marketing courses are affordable and under $50. Still, there is a lot of variation based on the platform that you learn through.
For example, SkillShare and LinkedIn Learning are subscription-based, while Udemy has a flat fee for each course. Depending on your needs, both can be great options. If you only need one course, Udemy is a great choice, but if you plan on taking multiple courses, it’s cost-effective to enroll with LinkedIn Learning or SkillShare.
Now that you know what affiliate marketing is about, it’s time to jump into our course list.
Course Breakdown
- Best Overall: SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing
- Best for Beginners: Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
- Best for Amazon: Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot
- Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start Day 1
- Best for Those With No Website: ClickBank Success – Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
- Best for Facebook: Affiliate Marketing: Facebook Method
- Best for Social Media: Affiliate Marketing Without a Website for Beginners on Pinterest
- Affiliate Marketing Foundations
Top 8 Best Affiliate Marketing Courses 2023
1. Best Overall: SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing
- 17.5 hours $149.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: The SEO Academy
- Topics: Niches, SEO, Arefs, WordPress, Keywords
- Niche: General
Why we like it
SEO Amazon Affiliate Marketing is one of our favorite courses because it’s one of the most comprehensive on our list. With over 17 hours of content, the course doesn’t miss any important information, and you’ll walk away an expert.
SEO Amazon Affiliate Marketing is one of the best courses for affiliate marketing because of its content. Taught by the SEO Academy, a legendary company for SEO, the course is packed with information about Ahrefs, keywords, content writing, social media, email marketing, and more.
SEO Amazon Affiliate Marketing is also a great course because of the amount of content it comes with. While it's not uncommon to see courses with 5-10 hours of video content, this course features over 17 hours of lectures. Furthermore, the course comes with additional study materials and hands-on training that prepare you for domain and web hosting. Overall, it's one of the most comprehensive courses available for affiliate marketing.
Things to Consider
SEO Amazon Affiliate Marketing is one of the best courses in the industry, but it's not for everyone. First and foremost, the course requires a big time commitment. 17.5 hours and additional materials requires a lot of time to get through. Secondly, the course focuses on Amazon affiliate marketing and not partnerships with other programs.
If you're looking for an alternative that doesn't require a hefty time commitment, Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot is a great choice. It covers a lot of the same information, but it's less than 17 hours of content. Plus, it still comes with many additional materials.
Who It's For
This affiliate marketing course is a great fit for anyone looking to get started in the industry. It has a ton of content and covers everything you need to know about the industry. Furthermore, it comes with a lot of additional materials to help you continue your education. The course goes over more challenging concepts like domain hosting and email marketing.
Pros
- Over 17 hours of content
- Comes with a lot of additional materials
- Beginner-friendly
Cons
- Big time commitment
- Not the best for social media
2. Best for Beginners: Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
- 1 hour $19.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: Greg Jeffries
- Topics: General
- Niche: General
Why we like it
We love Affiliate Marketing for Beginners because Greg Jeffries delivers a quick course that provides great value. You’ll learn about the basics without needing to commit at lot of time.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners is a quick course, and it’s one of the most popular on SkillShare. The course is popular because the instructor, Greg Jeffries, covers the basics of affiliate marketing while addressing many other topics. He's able to prepare you for keywords, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and sales funnels in about an hour. While the course is more basic than some of the longer options, it's a great place for beginners to get a feel for the industry.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners is also taught by one of the best instructors in the industry. Greg Jeffries has years of experience with affiliate marketing and has run several successful websites on his own. His hands-on knowledge makes his success relatable, and he knows how to break down key concepts with ease.
Things to Consider
While Affiliate Marketing for Beginners is one of the more well-rounded courses on our list, it's not perfect. This is because the course lacks detail when compared to some of the longer courses we feature. If you're looking for a course with more content and study materials, SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing is a great choice.
Who It's For
If you're after a short course that goes over the basics of affiliate marketing, Affiliate Marketing for Beginners is a great option. While it's not the longest course around, it gives you the tools you need to succeed without needing a hefty time commitment. Additionally, it's a great course for people that need a refresher.
Pros
- Short and to the point
- Teaches you a bit about every topic
- Well-known and respected instructor
Cons
- Very short
- Doesn't have a lot of depth
- Not great for social media
3. Best for Amazon: Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot
- 6.5 hours $29.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: John Colley
- Topics: SEO, Niches, Affiliate Programs, Keywords, Content Writing
- Niche: General
Why we like it
We love this course because it goes into detail about how to leverage Amazon for passive income. Plus, it helps you choose a niche and affiliate program.
Amazon is one of the most popular affiliate marketing platforms in the world. With products from across the globe and fair affiliate commissions, Amazon has become a leader in the industry. For this reason, many companies that have affiliate programs follow Amazon's model. Therefore, if you know how to work with Amazon, there is a good chance that you can work with anyone.
Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot is also one of the most well-rounded courses on our list. While it's not the longest or most in-depth course, it's packed with loads of great information. You'll learn about key topics like keywords, content writing, SEO, social media, email marketing, and more. The course also comes with additional study materials to help you continue your education. In fact, some of the additional resources are hands-on and show you how to build up your website.
Things to Consider
While Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot is one of our favorite courses, it's not the best one for overall content. It covers most of the basics, but there are most comprehensive courses like SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing that provides more content and materials. A more comprehensive course can cover more about subjects that carry over into other areas of affiliate marketing.
Who It's For
If you want to become an affiliate with one of the biggest platforms in the world — Amazon — this course is one of your best options. It will teach you everything you need to know in order to partner with Amazon. Plus, most of the skills apply to parts of affiliate marketing like email marketing, sales funnels, social media, and even blogging.
Pros
- Great for working with Amazon
- Beginner-friendly
- Covers most affiliate marketing topics
Cons
- Only suitable for working with Amazon
4. Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day
- 10.5 hours $39.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: Alex Genadinik
- Topics: Niches, SEO, Keywords, Email Marketing, Affiliate Programs
- Niche: General
Why we like it
Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day is one of our top choices because it gives you the tools to start your affiliate journey in one day. Plus, it goes over things many courses fail to mention, like email marketing and back-end commissions.
Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day is a great course. It teaches you how to launch an affiliate business right after you finish the course. You'll learn about important topics and how they work together. For example, you'll learn about how SEO can improve your Google ranking and how you can leverage social media to make the process faster.
Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day also comes with a ton of additional materials to help you make the most of your learning. There are practice exams and course materials that give you hands-on experience. Moreover, the course is taught by someone who has decades of experience in the affiliate marketing industry. Overall, it's a great course for getting started and launching a successful website or program.
Things to Consider
Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day is a great choice, but some of the content is geared towards beginners. This isn't an issue, but if you already have a website or social media platform, the course doesn't provide much value. Plus, it doesn't cover a lot about each topic, and some of the content feels rushed.
If you're looking for a more balanced alternative, SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing is a great choice. The instructor takes his time and covers each topic in detail.
Who It's For
If you're looking to start strong, Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start in 1 Day is a great option. You'll walk away with enough information to launch an affiliate business on the first day. While it doesn't cover everything you need to be successful, it can help you establish authority and build a foundation.
Pros
- Useful information for day 1
- Goes over social media and blogging
- Teaches you about useful email marketing techniques
Cons
- Best suited for beginners
5. Best for Those With No Website: ClickBank Success — Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
- 3 hours $149.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: KC Tan
- Topics: Niches, Social Media, Sales Funnels, Email Marketing, Affiliate Programs
- Niche: General
Why we like it
We like this course because it shows you how to operate an affiliate marketing business without a website. You’ll learn about how to leverage other useful tools like email marketing and social media to build sales funnels.
ClickBank has quickly become one of the best platforms for affiliate marketing. The organization shows you how to create sales funnels with social media, email marketing, blogging, and even vlogging. This is important because ClickBank offers many affiliate opportunities for people that take their courses or work with the website. That said, ClickBank is expensive and not right for everyone.
This is where ClickBank Success — Affiliate Marketing Without a Website comes into play. Taught by an instructor who's familiar with the platform, the course gives you an introduction to many ClickBank concepts. Furthermore, the course shows you how to leverage things like social media, email marketing, SEO, and sales funnels to your advantage. Overall, it's a great course with a focus on ClickBank.
Things to Consider
While ClickBank is one of the most profitable affiliate platforms, most people want to pursue affiliate marketing in their own way. This can happen through Amazon or other platforms. Therefore, if you don't want to work with ClickBank or don't want to use their sales funnel models, you'll want to choose a more general alternative.
One example is Amazon Affiliate Marketing on Autopilot. Instead of working with ClickBank and ClickBank ideas, this course has more of an emphasis on Amazon and Amazon affiliate programs.
Who It's For
ClickBank is one of the largest affiliate programs in the world and has a lot of resources to help affiliates create their own sales funnel and opportunities to earn commissions through the company. If you want to learn about ClickBank without paying a ton of money, this course is a great choice.
Pros
- Contains industry-specific information about ClickBank
- Helps you choose a niche without a website
- The skills translate to all areas of affiliate marketing
- Shows you how to create profitable sales funnels
Cons
- A lot of the information is geared towards ClickBank
- Guru-like instructor
6. Best for Facebook: Affiliate Marketing: Facebook Method
- 17 minutes $19.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: SK Araf
- Topics: Niches, Facebook
- Niche: General
Why we like it
This course is is great for showing you how to become an affiliate by using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. While the course focuses on Facebook, most of the skills also translate to other platforms.
Facebook marketing has become one of the most profitable affiliate marketing strategies over the last decade. This is because Facebook has a massive user base, and many of the strategies used in Facebook marketing translate to other industries. Therefore, Affiliate Marketing: Facebook Method has a lot of value. The course teaches you about the basic principles of Facebook marketing, like email lists, posting regularly, and joining various groups.
This course also helps you achieve success with other social media platforms. The information works for almost all platforms that require you to build a brand. For example, you can use the same paid advertising methods for Instagram. That said, it's a great course for getting the basics of a good social media strategy.
Things to Consider
While this course is great for social media, it comes up short in other areas. For example, the course lacks the information needed to help you host your own website and start driving organic traffic. While it's a great fit for social media, it's not the best option for more traditional affiliate marketing strategies.
If you're looking for a more balanced alternative, SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing is a great option. It's filled with additional information that can help you with blogging, sales funnels, email marketing, and more.
Who It's For
If you're looking to become an affiliate by using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, this course is a great choice. While it doesn't cover a ton of information, it gives you enough useful resources to get started right after you take the course. It's also a great course for people with blogs that want to expand onto social media platforms.
Pros
- Great for Facebook and Instagram
- Great for bloggers looking to build a social media brand
- Skills translate to most social media platforms
Cons
- Not great value for the cost
- Short course
- 30 minutes $19.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: Med Heddy Kesraoui
- Topics: Niches, Affiliate Programs, Social Media
- Niche: Pinterest
Why we like it
This is a great course for affiliate marketing because it goes into detail about logo building and creating your brand on social media. In fact, it covers a ton of topics without a major time commitment.
Building up your brand is one of the most challenging parts of affiliate marketing. For example, building your brand, you need to maintain your image, authority, and style. If any of these areas becomes weak, you can lose traffic and sales. Unfortunately, this can spell the end of your sales funnel or affiliate marketing business.
The good news is that Affiliate Marketing Without a Website for Beginners on Pinterest is a great course to help you with brand building. While the instructor focuses on how to accomplish this through Pinterest, these skills translate to other areas of affiliate marketing like blogging and social media. Furthermore, you'll learn about brand recognition and how to choose a niche.
Things to Consider
This is one of our favorite courses for brand building, but it comes up short in other areas. For example, it doesn't offer much information to help you start a blog or become a partner with a big brand. Furthermore, it's one of the shortest courses on our list.
If you're looking for an alternative that expands on branding or a course that works well alongside branding, Affiliate Marketing Foundations is a great option. It's another short course that covers the basics of the most affordable marketing strategies.
Who It's For
Building a brand for affiliate marketing is one of the most important parts of the job. While many courses touch on this, this course is a great option for people who struggle with branding because it covers the basics and how to leverage social media. While it's short, it's great information that you can use on your social media pages right after you finish it.
Pros
- Focuses on the brand aspect of affiliate marketing
- Beginner-friendly
- Opportunities for continued education with the same instructor
Cons
- Not great value for money
- Doesn't cover a lot of topics
- The skills don't translate to other areas of affiliate marketing
8. Affiliate Marketing Foundations
- 1 hour, 18 minutes $29.99
- Course Highlights
- Instructor: Sam Dey
- Topics: Affiliate Programs, Affiliate Strategies
- Niche: General
Why we like it
Affiliate Marketing Foundations is a great course because it covers the basics of affiliate marketing and helps you develop a strategy.
Affiliate Marketing Foundations is one of the best beginner-friendly courses for affiliate marketing. While it's a short course, it covers all the basics to help you get started. It works for every niche and helps you with affiliate strategies and choosing the right affiliate program. This is valuable information that many courses neglect to mention.
The course is also taught by someone with a lot of experience in the industry. Sem Dey has built a successful affiliate business and offers many courses if you’re looking for supplemental information. This course also comes with additional materials that help with hands-on learning.
Things to Consider
While this course is a great choice for beginners, it comes up short in some areas. For instance, it lacks in-depth information that you'll find in other beginner-level affiliate marketing courses. For an alternative, Beginner Affiliate Marketing to Start Day 1 offers triple the amount of content and can help you start a business upon course completion.
Who It's For
If you're looking for a quick and simple course to help you find an affiliate marketing strategy, Affiliate Marketing Foundations is a great choice. While it's one of the shorter courses, it covers each topic in detail instead of summarizing. That said, it's a good choice for beginners or people who are up to the strategy phase of affiliate marketing.
Pros
- Beginner-friendly
- Opportunities for continued education
- Focuses on creating an effective strategy
Cons
- Shorter than most courses
- Not great value for the cost
FAQ
Affiliate marketing is a complex industry, so we're sure you have some questions. We've gathered some of the most asked questions to help you get the answers you need.
While affiliate marketing has become a more crowded space, it remains competitive. If you build a website in the right niche and follow all the appropriate steps, you can start making a profit. That said, affiliate marketing isn’t profitable overnight. You’ll have to put in a lot of time for it to remain profitable.
At this stage of the game, many niches are already crowded with competition. While this makes it more challenging to get the conversion numbers you’re looking for, it also means you don’t have to sacrifice your passion to enter a niche you don’t enjoy. That said, any niche can be profitable if you put in the time and effort.
There are new ways to enter the world of affiliate marketing every day. While previously you needed a blog, now you can leverage platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and even Twitter. With this in mind, the best affiliate marketing platform is a combination of a good blog or vlog alongside a social media platform. Using that method will help you boost your results and expand your website.
Extra Credit
Having access to a handful of the best affiliate marketing courses is a great place to start. Still, it’s only half of the battle. If you want to choose the right fit, you need to evaluate your needs. In this section, we’ll take you through some of the popular affiliate marketing platforms and strategies to help you narrow down your options.
Getting Started
Affiliate marketing has many components that you need to master if you want to get the most out of it. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done because learning about affiliate marketing takes time. Luckily, beginner-friendly courses can point you in the right direction.
If you’re new to affiliate marketing and haven’t started yet, Affiliate Marketing for Beginners is a great option. Instead of focusing on advanced concepts, the course takes you through everything you need to know about the popular platforms and how they can be used for marketing.
Another great course for beginners is ClinkBank Success — Affiliate Marketing Without a Website. ClickBank is one of the most popular platforms for affiliate marketing and affiliate marketing training, so it’s handy to know what information they go over. Additionally, this course can help you get started without a website.
Lastly, one of our favorites for beginners is Affiliate Marketing Without a Website for Beginners on Pinterest because it shows you the fundamentals of affiliate marketing on social media platforms. While the course focuses on Pinterest, the skills you’ll learn carry over to other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even Snapchat.
While each of these courses offers something unique, the best approach as a beginner is to learn as much as possible. Therefore, you should mix and match a couple of beginner-level courses to help you maximize your success early on.
Affiliate Marketing Without a Website
Before we jump into leveraging websites to earn affiliate commissions, we want to talk about becoming an affiliate without having a website. If you don’t have a website, there’s no need to panic because there are ways to get around having one. While we recommend monetizing a website down the line, getting started without can make your life easier in the short term.
If you want to learn more about getting into affiliate marketing without a website, we recommend looking into ClickBank Success — Affiliate Marketing Without a Website. The course teaches you about how to leverage social media platforms and email marketing to create your own sales funnel.
Affiliate Marketing on Social Media
Affiliate marketing on social media has become popular over the last few years. Many people have grown their social media accounts to reach thousands of people in their niche. While it’s competitive, you can carve out your own niche with strong social media fundamentals.
If you’re looking to learn more about how social media can help with affiliate marketing, one of our favorite courses is Affiliate Marketing: Facebook Method. While this course focuses on how to leverage social media with Facebook, most of the skills you’ll learn transfer to other industries and platforms.
Furthermore, social media can be used alongside a blog to help you boost your organic traffic. Therefore, we recommend having many outlets to help you build more authority within your niche.
Affiliate Marketing With a Blog
One of the most common ways to make money with affiliate marketing is to have a blog. While your blog can be in any niche, you’ll want to recommend products and build-up articles to help you establish authority. While going the blog route can take the most time, compared to something like social media marketing, it’s one of the best ways to get conversation because good writing will keep your audience engaged.
If you’re looking to start a blog for affiliate marketing, one of our favorite choices is SEO: Amazon Affiliate Marketing This course covers everything you need to know about blogging. You’ll learn about search engine optimization (SEO), SEO tools, writing content, monetizing your blog, and more.
Recap
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online. While it requires a lot of time and effort up front, you can turn it into a strategy that earns passive income in the future. If you choose the right niche and leverage the right platform, you can make thousands of dollars each month. That said, we always recommend getting started with a quick training course so that you know the basics.
In the beginning, it’s important to minimize mistakes and maximize your success. When you enroll in an affiliate marketing course, you’ll learn about the mistakes in advance. This way, you can avoid it for your own website or social media platform. So, we recommend taking a few courses to familiarize your knowledge of each strategy.