7 Best Niches For Affiliate Marketing in 2023 (Highest Paying)
Whenever you decide to launch an online business or an affiliate marketing campaign, in order to actually be successful, one of the first things you need to decide on is a niche. Without one, you’ll just be posting stuff randomly without any purpose, and it’s highly likely that you won’t get any results.
In this article, I am going to give you all of the information you need to decide on the best niche for your affiliate marketing business, including the highest paying, the easiest to start with, and why.
If choosing an affiliate marketing niche is something that has been keeping you from getting started with this business idea, then keep reading because your solution will be here.
What are Niches For Affiliate Marketing?
Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. If you click a link and make a purchase I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you.
A niche is a category or topic. Similar to how there are different genres of music — country, metal, rap, etc.—there are different categories that you can go into for promoting affiliate products.
Imagine you heard a rock and roll song on Spotify that you really liked. You noted down the artist name and later on went to research that artist and listen to some of their other music. But when you found it, the rest of the songs didn’t sound at all like the original song you heard and liked. You were expecting more rock and roll, but you got some metal, some country, some rap, some opera…
Chances are, you aren’t going to connect with too many other songs written by that artist. The same applies to your affiliate marketing business.
You need congruency and consistency in your marketing, and that begins with choosing a niche. This will not only allow your marketing to be more clear and make more sense, but it will also allow you to define a specific target audience that you can reach consistently.
An affiliate marketing campaign that is all over the place will not convert well and you’ll be left with nothing to show for all of your hard work.
Some examples of popular affiliate marketing niches, commonly known as “the big 3” are Health, Wealth, and Relationships. These are popular because there are problems that the market has within those categories that apply to just about everyone. When serious enough, people are willing to pay you big bucks to make these problems go away, that means high ticket affiliate commissions.
All affiliate marketing niches also have sub niches. For example, under the umbrella of the “Wealth” niche, you will also see stock trading, crypto, credit repair, personal finance, etc.
Another popular affiliate marketing niche is Health. Some of the sub niches of Health are bodybuilding, weight loss, diabetes, skin care, etc.
Typically, you wouldn’t just focus on one of the broad niches for affiliate marketing, you would go into one of the sub niches and specialize there, becoming an authority of that particular space.
Now that you understand what a niche and sub niche is, let’s figure out how to actually choose the best affiliate marketing niche for you.
How To Choose A Niche For Affiliate Marketing
Choosing a niche for affiliate marketing isn’t just a black and white thing. There isn’t a specific set of metrics or information you should look at and consider that will solely determine what niche you go into.
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself that will help you decide on the best niche for your affiliate marketing business.
What things are you already knowledgeable about?
What things do you actually care about?
In what areas can you provide a lot of value?
What purchases have you made that have been life changing for you?
Answering those questions will help you get pointed in the right direction as far as choosing which affiliate marketing niches you might do best in.
However, a lot of times this decision is made based on what looks best based on the answers to these questions:
What niche pays the most?
What affiliate marketing niches are the easiest to get sales in?
What niches are affiliates making the most money in?
This inevitably leads to failure. While doing research and knowing the answers to those questions is important, it shouldn’t be the deciding factor in what niche you decide to start with.
See related article: 7 Affiliate Marketing Tips For Beginners in 2023
Remember, you’ll have to create content and talk about this topic every day in order to be successful. Knowing that, does it sound better to pick something you are passionate about and knowledgeable about? Or does it sound better to pick something just because other affiliates are seeing results and it pays higher commissions?
For example, if you read my story, you would know that I was a heavy equipment mechanic prior to becoming an affiliate marketer. This meant that whenever a family member or friend had a check engine light come on, the car made a noise, or they needed an oil change, I was the one who got the call.
I was an authority, or go-to person, in that area because of my knowledge and background. This prompted me to get my start in affiliate marketing by promoting products in that space. As a result, I had a much easier time getting a lot of sales faster because I could provide more value.
What good is a high ticket product in a popular affiliate marketing niche if I’m not getting any sales?
Think about these things when you are deciding on different affiliate marketing niches.
What Are The Best Niches For Affiliate Marketing?
When we begin to look at the best niches for affiliate marketing we want to consider a few factors, how much can we earn? Is there a good size market for it? Is there problems within it that people are willing to buy products to solve? Does it consist of expensive products or inexpensive products?
As we go through this list, we are going to break down which affiliate marketing niches can be the best ones for you to get started with and why.
1. Software Niche (Best For Scaling)
The software niche is a sub niche of the wealth and business umbrella. While there are a lot of products that are useful for the average person, typically the consumers that will use these products ongoing are businesses.
What makes the software niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
As an affiliate marketer, there are 2 types of commissions you can earn that are undoubtedly the juiciest: High Ticket Commissions and Recurring Commissions. The software niche includes both of those types in most cases.
Typically the consumers of software products are long term users as well. Businesses need software in order to scale their businesses, so they aren’t afraid to spend money monthly to keep and use these softwares.
This means that as an affiliate marketer, once you capture a customer for a software product that requires a monthly subscription, you will get paid a monthly recurring commission every month when that customer pays to renew, for every customer you acquire.
The overhead for the companies that provide these products is generally pretty low in addition to the customer being willing and able to pay a premium for these affiliate products, which in most cases means the commission percentage will be a lot higher.
It is not uncommon for a software company to pay their affiliates 50% or more in monthly recurring commissions which makes this a great niche to build a scalable and sustainable affiliate marketing business.
Overall, the software niche is in my opinion the best affiliate marketing niche and you can create a lot of passive income from it.
What can your earnings look like?
For example, let’s create a hypothetical scenario where you are promoting a software that costs the customer $100 per month and the affiliate program pays you, the affiliate marketer, a 25% recurring commission for every customer that buys from your unique affiliate link.
If you can capture 5 customers per week, that will equate to $125 in earnings for that week. By the end of 4 weeks, or one month, you have acquired 20 customers. That is a total of $500 in earnings for that month.
If you were to stop there and never market that software product again, you would still earn $500 in passive income every month as long as all of your customers retained their monthly subscriptions.
But you wouldn’t do that, you would keep going. Let’s assume you never got better at the process and continued grabbing only 5 new customers per week. By the end of the year, you would have acquired 260 customers, equalling $6,500 per month in passive recurring revenue.
This is taking into consideration no increases in performance, all customers keeping their subscription, and only promoting 1 product. If you were to add in complimentary softwares or other products that go along well with this one, then the sky’s the limit with this affiliate marketing niche.
Affiliate Programs in the Software Niche To Consider:
Clickfunnels: Clickfunnels is a funnel building software used by marketers and e-commerce companies that use funnels to drive traffic to their offers. It offers a 40% recurring commission on a $97–$297 monthly subscription.
Aweber: Aweber is an email marketing software that starts at $20 per month and increases based on the number of leads stored in the list. Their affiliate program pays a 30% recurring commission.
NordVPN: NordVPN is a VPN software starting at $3.49 per month and pays a 30% recurring commission. This is a software that has great customer feedback, a low entry point, and is applicable to businesses and average consumers. Making this software an easy conversion.
What are some drawbacks to The Software Niche?
Because the software niche is one of the most lucrative affiliate marketing niches you can get into it means that competition is the highest. Conversions also become difficult when working with potential customers who are already using an alternative software to accomplish the same tasks that the software you are promoting does for them. Unless they are unhappy with the current software they have or they have outgrown it, they are less likely to switch.
Another downside to this affiliate marketing niche is the abundance of options available. You want your promotions to be genuine, which means you’ll likely focus on one software per software category. Because most softwares categories have many companies offering solutions, there are many options for you potential customers to shop around and choose from. This means that you may have done a great job of converting them into a software, there is a good chance they may decide to go with an alternate solution they feel is a better fit for them, meaning you aren’t earning a commission on that sale.
2. Make Money Online Niche (Best For High Ticket Commissions)
The Make Money Online (MMO) niche is a sub niche of wealth and business. The audience for this affiliate marketing niche is vast, consisting of budding entrepreneurs, gig workers, freelancers, and anyone looking to supplement their income or switch to a digital livelihood.
Why is the Make Money Online niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
The MMO niche presents abundant opportunities for High Ticket Commissions. Because the products in this niche are mostly informational digital courses and masterclasses, the overhead is really low. The transformation delivered by these products is also extremely desirable, meaning that products cost a premium and the commissions are very high.
A great portion of MMO consumers are long-term users. They’re looking to achieve sustainable online income, which often means committing to a series of tools, courses, or platforms over a significant period. This commitment translates into consistent recurring commissions and repeat business for you, the affiliate marketer.
Many companies in the MMO niche understand the competitive nature of the market, offering lucrative commission percentages to incentivize affiliates. Commission rates of 50% or higher are not uncommon, making the MMO niche an appealing one for earning potential.
The MMO niche is also one of the evergreen niches in the sense that it will never go away. People will always have a need, want and desire to increase their income. This niche will also pair with the software niche very well because more often than not, all online business models require some form of software.
What could your earnings look like in the Make Money Online niche?
Let’s assume you’re promoting a course that costs $5,000, and the affiliate program offers a 30% commission for every customer that buys from your unique affiliate link.
If you can convert just one customer per week, you would earn $1,500 for that week. By the end of 4 weeks, you have brought in 4 customers, earning $6,000 for the month.
Let’s say you continue this pace for the entire year. That would result in 52 customers and a total of $78,000 per year in affiliate commissions.
Now we can take it a step further and say that every customer who bought the online course invested into a software needed to run their business, earning you recurring commissions.
If the softwares cost a total of $250 per month at 30%, this would add $3,900 per month to your bottom line. By the end of the year you’re looking at a total of $124,800 in earned income from this affiliate marketing niche.
Affiliate Programs in the Make Money Online Niche To Consider:
Legendary Marketer: Legendary Marketer is an online training course, community and mentorship for the core 4 online business models. The program offers a commission of 40%, with products ranging from $1 up to $4,500.
See related article: Legendary Marketer Review – Clever Scam, or Valuable?
ClickBank: ClickBank is an affiliate marketplace that includes numerous products in the MMO niche. Commission rates vary by product but can reach up to 75%.
Teachable: Teachable is an online course platform, with pricing plans ranging from $39 to $299 per month. Affiliates can earn a 30% recurring commission.
What are some drawbacks to the Make Money Online niche?
While the MMO niche is lucrative, it also has intense competition. The term “how to make money online” is searched 450,000 times per month on Google. Therefore, many affiliates promote products in this niche, making it the most competitive niche and difficult to stand out and get sales in.
Furthermore, the MMO market can be challenging due to skepticism. Many people have encountered scams or low-quality products in their quest to make money online, so they may be more hesitant to purchase new products. To succeed in this niche, you’ll need to build credibility and trust, which requires a considerable investment of time and effort.
Also, because this is undoubtedly the most competitive affiliate marketing niche, there are an abundance of affiliates all promoting the same product, in the same place. Meaning it is not uncommon for prospects to be looking at the same product from multiple affiliates. In some cases, affiliate marketers will have lost commissions just because the prospect purchased from someone else’s affiliate link.
3. Hobby Niches
Hobby niches revolve around the activities people engage in during their leisure time, offering a vast landscape from crafting and cooking to gaming and gardening. These affiliate marketing niches fall under the ‘passion’ category, and cater to a broad spectrum of audience interests and hobbies.
What makes the hobby niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
The first reason lies in the nature of hobbies themselves. Consumers with hobbies are passionate and usually willing to invest in their interests. This means they are likely to buy products and services to support their hobbies, making them a ripe audience for affiliates.
Hobby niches can offer both High Ticket and Recurring Commissions, depending on the specific hobby and product involved. For example, a hobby such as golf could include high ticket items like clubs or training courses, while hobbies like knitting or gaming could involve subscription boxes that offer recurring commissions.
The personal connection that consumers feel towards their hobbies also offers a unique advantage. By sharing your own enthusiasm and knowledge in the hobby, you can create engaging content that resonates with your audience, leading to a higher rate of conversions and an engaged community around your brand.
What could your earnings look like in the hobby niche?
Let’s consider that you’re promoting a premium cooking subscription box that costs $50 per month, with a 20% recurring commission for every customer that subscribes from your affiliate link.
If you convert 5 customers per week, you’ll earn $50 for that week. By the end of a month, you’ve acquired 20 customers, leading to $200 in monthly earnings.
If you maintain this rate of conversions for an entire year, you’ll have 260 customers, resulting in $1,040 per month in passive recurring revenue. Of course, if you promote additional hobby-related products or expand into other hobby niches, your earning potential can grow significantly.
Affiliate Programs in the Hobby Niches to Consider:
Callaway: Callaway is a high-end brand in the golf niche, and their affiliate program offers commission rates up to 9% on their high ticket items.
Blick Art Materials: Blick offers a wide range of art supplies for various hobbies. The affiliate program offers a 10% commission on all sales.
What are some drawbacks to Hobby Niches?
One of the biggest drawbacks is that these affiliate marketing niches can be seasonal, depending on the hobby. For example, interest in outdoor hobbies like camping or gardening will diminish during winter months, leading to reduced sales and lead flow.
Hobby niches can also be highly specific, which can limit the size of your potential audience. However, this can also be a benefit if you’re able to carve out a loyal following in a less competitive niche.
Additionally, since hobbyists often form tight-knit communities, it can be more challenging to show up and gain trust. Affiliates in hobby niches need to demonstrate a genuine passion and knowledge for the hobby to effectively engage their audience and drive conversions.
4. Online Dating Niche
Online dating is a massive affiliate marketing niche that capitalizes on the universal desire for companionship. It’s a part of the broader ‘relationships’ category, serving a wide demographic range, from young adults exploring the dating scene to older individuals seeking companionship. This is another one of the evergreen niches that will never go away, as the desire for companionship exists in all of us, on a personal, professional and romantic level.
What makes the online dating niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
One of the unique benefits of the online dating niche is its evergreen nature. There will always be people seeking love and companionship, making this a very popular niche. Moreover, this niche offers opportunities for both High Ticket Commissions from dating coaching or matchmaking services and Recurring Commissions from dating site memberships.
Another advantage is the personal connection that comes with the territory in this niche. People are inherently passionate about their love lives, and this emotional investment can make them more responsive to recommendations and advice, translating into higher conversion rates for affiliates.
What could your earnings look like in the online dating niche?
Suppose you’re promoting an online dating platform that costs $30 per month, and you earn a 20% recurring commission for every customer that subscribes using your affiliate link.
If you manage to convert 10 customers per week, you would earn $60 for that week. By the end of four weeks, you would have acquired 40 customers, resulting in $240 in monthly earnings.
Maintain this conversion rate for a full year, and you would have 520 customers, leading to a monthly income of $1,040 in recurring commissions. This potential earning could further increase if you promote dating advice ebooks, relationship coaching services, or other related products.
Affiliate Programs in the Online Dating Niche to Consider:
Match.com: As one of the most recognized dating sites worldwide, Match.com offers a 100% commission on new subscriptions.
eHarmony: Another prominent dating site, eHarmony pays affiliates up to 30% commission on new memberships. Their prices vary based on the plan, ranging from $10.98 to $59.90 per month.
David Wygant Dating Coach: David Wygant offers dating advice and coaching services. His affiliate program provides commissions of 50% on digital products and 25% on coaching services.
What are some drawbacks to the Online Dating Niche?
Although the online dating niche has many upsides, it’s not without its challenges. The market is highly competitive, with numerous dating platforms and advice gurus vying for attention. As an affiliate, standing out can require creativity and an exceptional understanding of your audience’s needs and desires.
Furthermore, while the personal connection in the dating niche can be an advantage, it can also lead to higher scrutiny and skepticism. Trust is vital, and it can take time and effort to establish credibility and persuade your audience to follow your recommendations.
Finally, there’s a significant variety of products and services within the dating niche. If you recommend a particular dating platform, potential customers might opt for a different one they find more suitable. However, with targeted content and a unique approach you can find success in the online dating niche.
5. Weight Loss Niche
The weight loss niche is a part of the larger health and wellness category, with a primary focus on products, diets, exercises, and services that help people shed pounds. It appeals to a wide audience, given the global concerns around health, fitness, and body image.
What makes the weight loss niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
The weight loss niche is a highly lucrative field for affiliate marketing for several reasons. Firstly, it’s an evergreen niche with constant demand. People are always looking for ways to lose weight and improve their health, which creates a constant flow of potential customers.
Additionally, the weight loss niche is abundant with both High Ticket Commissions and Recurring Commissions. High ticket items can include fitness equipment, personal training services, or weight loss retreats, while recurring commissions can come from supplement subscriptions or digital workout programs.
Moreover, this profitable affiliate marketing niche allows affiliates to tap into the emotional motivations of their audience. Weight loss is often tied to personal goals and self-esteem, and as an affiliate marketer, your ability to empathize and provide solutions can result in high conversion rates.
What could your earnings look like in the weight loss niche?
Suppose you’re promoting a weight loss supplement subscription that costs $50 per month, with a 30% recurring commission for every customer that subscribes using your affiliate link.
If you convert 7 customers per week, that equates to $105 in earnings for that week. By the end of a month, you’d have acquired 28 customers, yielding $420 in monthly earnings.
Keeping this up for an entire year, you’d have 364 customers, which translates to $5,460 per month in passive recurring income. And remember, this is just from one product. The potential to earn more increases substantially when you add in other related products or services.
Affiliate Programs in the Weight Loss Niche to Consider:
PhenQ: PhenQ is a popular weight loss supplement with an affiliate program that offers up to 50% commission on all sales.
Weight Watchers: Weight Watchers, now rebranded as WW, offers a flat $10 commission for every new subscription. Their program is widely recognized and has a high conversion rate.
Peloton: Peloton offers high-end fitness equipment along with digital workout subscriptions. They offer affiliates a commission rate of up to 7% on sales.
What are some drawbacks to the Weight Loss Niche?
For one, it’s an extremely competitive niche, with countless products and services vying for consumers’ attention. As an affiliate, you need to find a unique angle or offer to stand out.
Another issue is the sensitive nature of the topic. Weight loss is a deeply personal journey for many, and promoting products in this area requires tact and understanding. Missteps can damage your reputation and trustworthiness.
Lastly, results in this niche can vary greatly between individuals, which can lead to skepticism and hesitation. To counter this, it’s important to promote products and services that are backed by scientific research and to manage your audience’s expectations realistically.
6. Pet Niche (Easy To Start With)
The pet niche is a profitable affiliate niche of the broader lifestyle industry, dedicated to products and services designed for our furry (and not so furry) friends. From dogs and cats to exotic pets, this niche appeals to pet owners who are often willing to invest considerably in the care and happiness of their pets.
What makes the pet niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
The pet niche is popular for affiliate marketing for several reasons. First, pet owners are often passionate about their pets and are willing to spend money to keep them happy and healthy. This passion can translate into high conversion rates for affiliates.
The pet niche also offers High Ticket and Recurring Commissions. High ticket items might include pet furniture or high-end pet tech gadgets, while recurring commissions could come from pet food subscriptions or regular supply of pet care products.
Additionally, this niche allows for a lot of different content angles. From pet care tips and training advice to product reviews and pet recipes, the pet niche offers a multitude of content creation possibilities, making it easier to engage your audience and promote products.
What could your earnings look like in the pet niche?
Let’s imagine you’re promoting a premium pet food subscription that costs $60 per month, with a 20% recurring commission for every customer that subscribes through your affiliate link.
If you convert 6 customers per week, you would earn $72 in that week. After a month, you would have 24 customers, netting you $288 in monthly earnings.
Maintaining this rate for an entire year would yield 312 customers and a monthly income of $3,744 in recurring commissions. And this is just one product. Your earning potential could increase dramatically if you promote other related products and services.
Affiliate Programs in the Pet Niche to Consider:
Chewy: Chewy offers a wide range of pet supplies. They offer a $15 commission for new customer referrals and a 5-10% commission on direct sales.
The Farmer’s Dog: This is a premium pet food company that offers a $40 flat commission for each new customer referral.
Petplan: Petplan offers pet insurance and provides a $45 commission for every successful referral.
See Related Article: 23 Pet Affiliate Programs Ranked Best To Worst
What are some drawbacks to the Pet Niche?
One potential hurdle is the product specificity. Pet owners often have specific preferences or needs for their pets, which can make product promotion more nuanced.
Due to the nature of pet products, the perceived value of products on the market isn’t as high. There is not much opportunity for high ticket commissions simply because $1,000+ informational products that pay high commissions just don’t exist the way they do for some other affiliate marketing niches.
Finally, regulatory constraints can be an issue, particularly around pet health products and supplements. It’s important to ensure that any product you promote meets all regulatory standards and is safe for pets.
7. Travel Niche
The travel niche is a great opportunity to target many different demographics, targeting individuals and families who love to explore new places and cultures. It spans across a multitude of sub niches, from budget travel and luxury vacations to adventure tourism and cultural immersion trips.
What makes the travel niche one of the best niches for affiliate marketing?
The travel niche can be an incredibly lucrative affiliate marketing niche due to the variety of high-value products and services available, such as hotel bookings, flight tickets, travel insurance, and tour packages, which often generate High Ticket Commissions.
Additionally, the love for travel and exploration is a universal sentiment, meaning this is also an evergreen niche. The stories, experiences, and excitement associated with travel often result in highly engaged audiences, making it easier to promote relevant products or services.
While the travel niche isn’t typically associated with Recurring Commissions due to the nature of the products, it’s possible to earn recurring income by promoting subscription-based travel services, like travel magazines, language learning apps, or travel club memberships.
What could your earnings look like in the travel niche?
Let’s consider a scenario where you’re promoting a hotel booking service that provides an 8% commission on every booking made through your affiliate link. If a customer books a hotel room for $200, you would earn $16.
If you manage to refer 10 such bookings per week, you’ll earn $160 for that week. By the end of the month, assuming a similar pace, you’d have referred 40 bookings, translating to $640 in earnings.
If you consistently keep up this rate throughout the year, you would earn $7,680 from this one affiliate program alone. Now, consider adding in flight bookings, travel insurance, tour packages, and other travel-related services, and the earning potential becomes quite substantial.
Affiliate Programs in the Travel Niche to Consider:
Booking.com: A well-known accommodation booking platform, Booking.com offers affiliates up to 40% commission on referred bookings.
Skyscanner: Skyscanner, a popular flight comparison site, offers a highly competitive CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) based commission structure.
World Nomads: World Nomads provides travel insurance and offers a 83 cents commission on referral of leads. Meaning your referrals do not have to make a purchase for you to be compensated.
What are some drawbacks to the Travel Niche?
The niche is highly competitive with many influencers, bloggers, and agencies already established. Also, travel is a discretionary spend, meaning during economic downturns or global events (like a pandemic), travel budgets can be one of the first areas consumers cut back on.
Moreover, it’s a niche that depends heavily on external factors, including political stability, visa regulations, and safety concerns. Changes in these areas can significantly impact the popularity and viability of certain destinations.
Despite these challenges, with the right strategies, the travel niche remains a lucrative area in affiliate marketing, especially for those who are passionate about travel themselves and can connect authentically with their audience.
Wrapping Up
Choosing a profitable niche is essential to the success of your affiliate marketing journey, but it’s just one step of many to starting a profitable affiliate marketing business.
After choosing your niche, you will still need to create your business plan, create your funnel or website, set up your email campaigns, and create a traffic strategy in order to see success.
My guess is that if you’re looking for articles to outline the best niches for affiliate marketing then you are likely in the early stages.
There’s a lot of guru’s out there that have different opinions on the matter, but having scaled my affiliate marketing business to $15,000 per month consistently, there is only right way to approach this business model.
Are you feeling confused about where to start? Or what the right approach really is?
If yes, then I would encourage you to check out my post on how to get started with affiliate marketing from scratch.
It is a complete and detailed step by step guide that will walk you through my 8 steps for getting started.
