Awin Affiliate Network Review
Affiliate marketing is an excellent way of monetizing a website or a blog, and the good thing about networks is that they allow you to discover products and services that you might have never even thought of recommending to your audience.
In today’s article, we are looking at the Awin Affiliate network and everything you should know about it. We’re also discussing what affiliate marketers it is best for, whether it is legit, how it stands out from the crowd, and if there are any cons to using it.
Awin Affiliate Review
Awin is a combination of two former affiliate networks and has been known by this name ever since 2017. The company is headquartered in Berlin and has over one thousand employees across the world.
Based on the information that you can get from the Awin website, it seems that they have more than 100,000 publishers (and therefore, brands whose products you can promote). To date, there are more than 13,000 advertisers using the platform.
This makes it slightly less popular compared to ShareASale and other affiliate networks that we have also done a review of in the past. However, it doesn’t make it any less legitimate. Lots of affiliates have used it in the past and have found it to be quite effective in boosting their earnings.
What can you promote via Awin?
The good thing about the Awin Affiliate program is that the sky is the limit when it comes to what products and services you can recommend to your blog readers. The offers are categorized depending on the domains they are in.
For instance, you can promote financial products such as mortgages or investments, but you can also promote telecommunication services if those are more up your alley.
There is also a fair share of travel offers on the website, and while this niche has received a blow in the past few years, it is still quite popular. On Awin, the travel category includes everything from accommodation to cruises and holidays. Even car rentals are available.
Finally, it is also worth noting that you can recommend actual physical products to your audience. There is a truly generous array of products in this sense, from eco-friendly ones and those designed for babies and toddlers to gardening equipment, apparel, electronics, and anything that might have ever crossed your mind.
You can’t make an assessment of what you are going to earn with Awin, though, since every merchant available on the platform has different commission rates and cookie lengths.
There are also different ways of earning, such as cost per lead, cost per sale, or cost per action. You also have to be individually approved by vendors but there is the option of you going through the publishers and seeing which ones can auto-approve you.
Some products might give you a commission of 50% (which is probably the maximum amount you can earn) but with others, you will earn just 10% of the sale value. It all comes down to what program you choose and which one best suits your specific niche.
How to become an Awin affiliate
Signing up for an Awin affiliate account is extremely easy. However, what we do have to add with regard to the process is that you will have to pay a fee of $5 which will be returned to you after your account gets approved. If you are unlucky enough not to fit any of the requirements, that is a deposit that you will effectively not see again.
The form is pretty straightforward. You are going to have to add your name, password, as well as email address, and you are going to be asked for your company name and tax residency, too. If you do not have a company, you can enter the platform you are utilizing, such as the name of your blog or website.
How long does it take for you to be approved? Well, we found different information on this, but generally it should take less than a week. Every application is manually checked, so there will be an Awin employee looking at your form and analyzing it as closely as possible.
In any case, it is a rather simple process. All you need is a blog or website to get started. They do not even ask you for any data regarding the number of unique visitors you get on a monthly basis, for example, which is definitely a pro, especially for beginning bloggers.
Awin marketing tools
One of the best things about this affiliate platform is that it gives you a very large selection of marketing tools, especially when compared to other networks. You obviously have the option of creating affiliate links, but you can also use a browser extension for promoting products.
To top it all off, there is even an AWIN plugin available, although we do have to note that it is specifically made for WordPress websites. If you run your blog on any other platform such as Wix, for example, you will have to do everything manually.
The plugin is extraordinary. The reason for this statement is that it effectively turns all of the links you might have to product pages into affiliate links without you having to handle any hassle whatsoever.
But what is even more impressive (if that is possible) about it is that if there’s a merchant available for that link on Awin and you have not yet joined their program, an application will be automatically sent out by Awin on your behalf. So, if you are approved, that link will be totally viable and will bring you money without you even joining those programs.
Read more: How much does an eCommerce website cost?
How can you be paid as an Awin affiliate?
First of all, the best thing about this network is that it pays its affiliates on the 1st and the 15th of every month. That means that if you are in need of cash every two weeks or so, you do not have to worry about anything.
When it comes to the payment methods currently used by the network, there are three main ones: ACH, BACH, and international wire transfers.
It is a little frustrating that they don’t have Paypal or other types of payments, but you can always create a Payoneer account and get an international bank account in this way. As such, we would not say that this can be considered a drawback.
Pros of becoming an Awin affiliate
One of the most substantial reasons for becoming an Awin affiliate is that the network is extremely easy to use. The interface does not really raise any technical difficulties even for less tech-savvy individuals, and the variety of marketing tools available is another pro to consider.
The plugin eliminates all the hassle of creating links manually, and it even creates applications to programs you might not have even thought of joining.
As for the stats that you can visualize on the platform, they are also quite clear and leave no room for interpretation. Your dashboard area is straightforward and basically gives you all the information you need.
On top of everything, the fact that there is no shortage of merchants to pick from is another advantage to mull over. Some of them are decent brands that have been around for many years, which in turn means that your blog readers are not going to be too reluctant to opt for their products.
Cons of becoming an Awin affiliate
Although this has been noted in other articles and by other affiliates, we would say that the $5 fee that you have to pay at the beginning of the process really is not that big of a disadvantage. After all, you will get the money back once you get approved, so that means that joining Awin is free.
There is a drawback that does have to be considered, though, and it is that sometimes, it can take some time for the payments to be approved. As you can imagine, all of the publishers have to approve them, so there could be a delay and your money might be left pending.
We could not help noticing that some affiliates feel like they could have gotten better customer service when they ran into an issue. Some say that they have not managed to get in touch with an Awin employee, which is not pleasant in the least.
On the other hand, there is also a fair share of affiliates whose experience with customer service has been nothing but excellent. If you have not managed to get in touch with someone, you can always contact the network representatives via other means, such as via Twitter or other social media platforms.
When you reach out to a brand publicly on the likes of Twitter, there will be other users seeing your activity and their replies, so they might feel more compelled to reply in a more timely fashion.
Read more: Top affiliate marketing networks
How does Awin compare to other affiliate networks?
The two main Awin competitors that we have found are ShareASale and ClickBank, although some people might argue that CJ Affiliate might be considered one, too. But naturally, there are others, such as Impact Radius or Rakuten Marketing.
For the sake of simplicity, we will only discuss how Awin compares to ShareASale and ClickBank.
Awin vs. ShareASale
These two are pretty similar in that you will find a wide variety of physical products on both of these platforms. They are also reasonably easy to use, but we would argue that ShareASale actually gives you fewer marketing tools compared to Awin.
As for the number of publishers available on both networks, a surprise is that ShareASale actually has fewer. Awin gives you access to several tens of thousands of merchants whereas ShareASale does the same to about 5,000.
What about the payments? ShareASale also does not have a PayPal option, so they are comparable in that respect, too. But while ShareASale pays once a month (on the 20th), Awin has bi-monthly payments (on the 1st and 15th of every month).
In terms of how much you can make, some affiliates say that ShareASale might give better commissions on some programs, but that is up for debate.
Awin vs. ClickBank
Comparing these two is like comparing chickens to eggs. ClickBank specializes mostly in digital products these days, which you will find a share of on Awin, too.
The ClickBank platform is clunky and truly doesn’t work as well and you also do not have access to as many marketing tools as you would on Awin.
Perhaps the biggest drawback to choosing ClickBank over Awin is that there are a lot of spammy products. In other words, you will have to spend a lot of time separating the wheat from the chaff, and no one likes that.
There are several differences in terms of customer support, too, with Awin’s being better in every possible way.
While it is true that some merchants on ClickBank offer 50-70% commissions, so you can theoretically make more money with this network, due to how shady some are, you simply might not convince your audience to make purchases as easily.
Read more: Best ClickBank alternatives
Final thoughts
So, does joining Awin make sense for you? We think that it is a network that is definitely worthy of your attention. It is legitimate, it pays its affiliates twice a month, and there are a lot of publishers available on the platform.
It is also better than other affiliate networks (such as ClickBank) and you will also find that the cookie durations are better for most merchants compared to other services such as Amazon Associates.
Of course, it has its pros and cons, but the bottom line would be that it is a neat way of making some money on the side, especially if you are a beginning blogger.
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Craig Campbell
I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years.
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