ShareASale Blog

How to Search and Join Merchant Programs

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The first step after your ShareASale account has been approved is to find Merchant programs to join, which can be overwhelming. With thousands of choices, spanning 40+ categories, where would someone start!

If you do already have a Merchant in mind, then this search process will be a piece of cake. But, even if you don’t know what you are looking for, our Merchant Search makes it easier than ever to browse until you find a relevant brand or product.

Let’s take a look at how it all works.

Log into your ShareASale account and then, go to ‘Merchants’ -> ‘Search for Merchants.’

 

The Merchant Search page has TONS of information and ways to find brands.

  • Select or scroll through the top icons to browse by featured categories.
  • Use the lefthand column to filter by detailed categories.
  • Scroll through our Trending Merchants.
  • Or, if you have a pretty solid idea for the type of brand or product that you are looking for, use the search bar.
 

Once you find the program you want – just click the blue ‘Join Program’ button on the far right. This is the simplest way to join one single program.

PRO TIP: If you are looking to do a post featuring numerous Merchants, you may be interested in joining multiple programs at once in order to save time. To do this, add the Merchants to your ‘Favorites’ by clicking the little star in the upper right-hand corner of each Merchant box. After you are done, visit your favorites list (bottom left) to apply to all programs at the same time.

Application Form (this part is really important!)

Affiliate Programs receive dozens, even hundreds, some closer to thousands of applications in a given time period. Therefore, you will need to make your application stand out. Think of this as your first impression to the brand.

You want to be approved for this program – so make sure to take the time to tell the Affiliate Manager what you plan to do! Use the space to explain how you plan to promote their products. If you are a blogger, tell them what you write about. Tell them how their links will fit in with your readers.

Trust us, this is an enormous step and your approval percentage on these applications will go through the roof if you come up with a good description.

 

You’ll Probably Need to Wait for Approval

Don’t worry!  As mentioned, Affiliate Managers have to review all of these applications and as long as you took my advice above to put in a really good description about yourself, you’ll have good odds of being accepted into the program. 

If you are not – don’t worry either!  Sometimes retailers are restricted from working with bloggers in certain States, or don’t work with deals/coupon sites, etc… try contacting the Affiliate Manager if you are declined from a program and further explaining your case in hopes or reversing their initial decision.

 
 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

How to Find New Merchants on ShareASale
How to Find New Merchants on ShareASale
There are many possible speed bumps along a blogger’s Affiliate Marketing journey. The first one that most Affiliates run into is how to find relevant Merchants. With so many options, it can quickly become overwhelming. However, fear not and don’t give up!
 
Q4 Thoughts: Optimize Your Top-Performing Pages
Q4 Thoughts: Optimize Your Top-Performing Pages
If you have an old post that is converting really well, use it to your advantage. As we enter into this busy season, take some time to revisit your top-performing pages and make updates or additional optimizations.
 
Ways to Resurface Your Blog Content
Ways to Resurface Your Blog Content
Blogging takes a lot of hard work and perseverance. Bloggers can accumulate years of blog posts before their website gains a significant amount of traffic. That means, a lot of their posts may have gone completely unnoticed. Building community takes time.

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