31 Fantastic Affiliate Marketing Tools to Use This Year

Cloudflare handles caching with APO. Lasso runs on WP Rocket, and its ease-of-use makes a world of difference to us.

WP Rocket

Make your site load faster in a few clicks. WP Rocket is recognized as one of the most powerful caching plugins for WordPress. We use it specifically for image lazy loading.

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Once installed, it immediately goes to work. And you don’t need to be tech-savvy to set it up.

#12. Imagify

Imagify speeds up your website with image compression and lets your page load faster. The more images your content holds, the longer it will take your visitor’s browser to load.

So, instead of taking the time to format your images, they’re automatically optimized with Imagify.

The plugin is free to use, and you can optimize for free 25MB of images (~250 images) per month. If you need more, plans start at $5.

You get three levels of image compression.

Content Creation & Writing Tools

These are some of the best tools we turn to for putting the finishing touches on our creations and sharing docs across devices.

#13. Grammarly 

Grammarly features both a free and paid version of its writing app. You can get the Chrome extension for free, and it will check your grammar, punctuation, and spelling across platforms from Linkedin to Slack to Twitter.

You also have the option to upgrade to Premium or Business. Our team uses the Premium plan, and I particularly like how it divides your writing into different “buckets.”

For example, when writing, your screen will have a sidebar appearing to the right of your screen split into four categories:

• Correctness
• Clarity
• Engagement
• Delivery

This feature helps when you’re struggling to make your content more engaging or improve its readability. It also runs a plagiarism check that you can access by clicking the icon at your screen’s bottom.

Further Reading:

• Grammarly Review: Can This AI-Powered Writing Tool Up Your Game This Year?

#14. Slash Edit 

Slash Edit is a WordPress plugin that lets you quickly access your posts and pages when placing the “/edit” at the end of a URL.

For example, if I want to quickly edit a post in Lasso, I could add the “/edit” to the end of the URL, and it instantly takes me to that page I want to update.

Here’s what it’d look like:

#15. Google Drive 

Google Drive is the most popular cloud storage solution in the world that syncs across all of your devices. It’s a simple way to collaborate and share files with friends and colleagues.

We use it extensively to help manage our affiliate sites as it helps to keep our teams organized.

Google Drive works seamlessly with its other services and stores all of your data in one place.

For example, you can share drafts or onboarding protocols for new contractors in docs; share budgets and content lists in Google sheets, or create surveys and forms for testimonials and research.

Plus, it features an intuitive and simple-to-use UI and 15GB of free storage.

Drive also works with Microsoft Office without needing to convert file formats.

#16. Wordable 

Wordable lets you instantly export Google docs into your WordPress site. If you (like me) always write in Google docs and run a WordPress site, you’ll find this tool will save you time.

It also exports any images, screenshots, or tables included in your doc. You’ll no longer need to format your posts for WordPress as all raw HTML, headings, and tables export automatically.

Design Tools

If you’re a new affiliate, you may not have the budget to hire a designer when first starting. This is why finding the right tools for adding an aesthetic element to your campaigns is huge.

#17. Canva 

Canva lets you create marketing materials from scratch with its drag and drop features, design types, graphs, charts, videos, and photo editing.

You can access popular designs for inspiration, how-to video guides, and their robust suite of free templates.

Their step-by-step tutorials teach you how to create anything from business cards to Instagram posts to flyers.

#18. 99Designs

99Designs is an online, global marketplace connecting professional designers with businesses to fulfill their design needs. It’s a one-stop shop to get quick, high-quality designs.

You’ll create a brief to give the designers an idea of what you want, then their support team helps find you an expert to match.

Or, you can start a contest and open your brief to the entire design community. Designers submit ideas to you, and you’ll choose your favorite.

Once you’ve settled on a designer, you’ll collaborate until the project’s completion.

99Designs lets you access a substantial number of talented designers that would be challenging to reach otherwise. We used them to find a designer for the Lasso blog.

#19. Pexels

Pexels provides free, high-quality stock photos and videos to publishers, designers, and advertisers. You can search by keyword or click ‘Explore’ and discover photos grouped by categories.

If you’re struggling to find ideas, the ‘Explore’ option is your best friend.

Website & Email Hosting

Hosting can be simple or complicated. You want something that gives you back your time, has robust customer support, and is user-friendly. A hosting provider should give you the least amount of headaches.

#20. WP Engine

WP Engine’s platform provides white-glove service, has excellent support, and is a leading content management system (CMS). It’s why WP Engine hosts all of our brands.

Our site owner, Andrew, has even spoken about this on his other blog. I also use their service to host my site, and it’s first-rate.

Its browser caching alone is worth the premium monthly sticker price. It also has daily website back-ups, ample customer support, free SSL certificate, real-time threat-detection, and a user-friendly interface.

Our Pick

WP Engine

Starting at $30 a month

We host all of our sites with WP Engine, nuff said. They are the best WordPress managed-hosting service that we've found. And we've tried most of them. Nothing beats the power and ease of use of their admin tools.

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We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

In a nutshell, you get more speed, security, and support than you’d get with other hosting providers. You’ll pay more money (pricing starts at $25 per month), but you’ll spend less time with site issues.

#21. HostGator

HostGator is our budget pick if you want a shared hosting platform. They have the highest quality for the lowest price in that department.

They have a ton of theme selections and an easy drag and drop website builder tool with simple WordPress installs. It’s entirely mobile-friendly and customizable.

You’ll gain access to 24/7 tech support and all plans come with a free SSL certificate.

Plans start at $2.75 per month.

#22. Google Domains

Google connects to most of the internet, and you leverage Google’s cloud DNS when registering your domain with them. If you’ve used Google before, you also know how user-friendly their UI and UX are.

While it’s not a hosting provider, your website still needs to register a domain. Ideally, you’d want something easy to use, accessible across all of your devices, won’t try to upsell you, and includes domain privacy for free.

Google provides easy domain management tools, integration between domains, and you can connect to other web hosting and email accounts.

If you’re transferring from another domain to a Google domain, all of your DNS records transfer over because Google has already done it for you.

They provide fast DNS updates for domains too.

You can access all of your other Google services with Google Domains. For example, if you use G Suite, Search Console, Sheets, or Google Docs, you can access all of these through your Google account.

And Google’s domain privacy is already included in its pricing without the extra cost – i.e., they won’t try to upsell you.

You can also create up to 100 email aliases through G Suite or email forwarding. We’ve used this feature to create multiple work emails between our three businesses.

#23. Active Campaign

Active Campaign is an email marketing solution with a full suite of capabilities that help you create personalized email campaigns, build landing pages and forms, craft automated messages, and has fantastic customer support.

Your email list is THE lifeblood of your business, not your social media feeds.

Those belong to Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Kevin Systrom – not you. If you’ve got a solid email list, the next time Twitter crashes, it won’t affect your business.

The best way to grow your list is through email marketing

Ultimately, Active Campaign helps you to effectively and better engage your audience. It also integrates with hundreds of different apps and platforms.

For example, we use Active Campaign with Zapier to add contacts to our email list whenever someone purchases a course from us in Podia. The kinds of triggers and automations you can create with Active Campaign are among its top-selling points.

It’s possible to create powerful automations with its flexible and ample selection of triggers and segmentation. You have an infinite number of options for how you want to run them down to the most granular detail.

It’s brought our marketing to the next level, and we use it with all of our campaigns.

Chatbot Marketing Software for Enhanced Audience Engagement

Chatbot marketing lets you quickly connect with customers and promote your products using an automated computer application (aka, a chatbot).

Marketers have found substantial benefits from using this software type, including increased lead generation, revenue growth, and real-time customer support.

It’s seen a substantial ROI over the years and has proven to drive increased engagement with audiences more than any other channel.

The chatbot market is set to hit $9.4 billion by 2024 and is meeting the rising demands of 24/7 customer service while simultaneously lowering a business’s operational costs.

#24. MobileMonkey

MobileMonkey is a lead generation tool you can use to chat instantly with your customers in the apps they already use.

Its patented OmniChat technology lets you write conversations for multiple messaging apps and then translates every chatbot conversation and marketing funnel into its supported messaging platform.

You can create Facebook ad bots, native webchat bots, SMS bots, and more, all in a unified chat inbox.

This lets you create content only once while using it across multiple channels.

The service comes equipped with a “more leads money-back guarantee” within 90 days (or your money back).

You can sign up with MobileMonkey here.

Business Banking & Accounting

Trying to play the role of marketer and bookkeeper gets tough, the bigger your business grows. Having a tool that helps streamline the process, manage invoices, and track expenses make your life infinitely easier.

#25. Quickbooks

Quickbooks lets you do many things that make running an affiliate business easier. You can create and send custom invoices, track your expenses by scanning receipts that sync with your bank accounts, and process sales via bank and credit card transactions.

Its suite of reporting tools will help you track your projects’ profitability, costs, and manage the time of any employees or independent contractors.

For example, if you hired a writer to write blog posts, you could track that. It also integrates with hundreds of apps.

#26. Azlo

Azlo is a fee-free business bank account for sole-proprietors and established companies. You can pay vendors and contractors for free, easily transfer funds, and tag and track your business expenses.

Keeping your personal finances separate from your business finances will save you from frustration, headaches, and complicating your books. A user-friendly, digital business checking account is a good option.

Its mobile app lets you create, send, and manage invoices along with depositing checks.

You’re able to streamline your business banking to your accounting software. For example, if you use QuickBooks Online (mentioned above), Xero, or Wave, you can automatically import transactions.

You can also monitor your payouts and charges when using PayPal, Stripe, or Square.

Password Management

Gone are the days when we try to memorize every single password. Instead, we throw everything into 1Password.

#27. 1Password 

1Password provides you with a simple way to store and manage your passwords.

Think about it…

A million logins to a million affiliate platforms.

It makes sense to have them in one location, and its apps are compatible with Mac, iOS, Windows, Android, Linux, and Chrome OS.

It records usernames and passwords when you sign in to apps and websites, so next time you access your accounts with a look, click, or touch.

It’s also an easy way to share login information with your colleagues, friends, and family without the worry of hackers attacking your system.

You can think of it as a safe for all of your sensitive data. Its simplicity lies in the fact that you only need to remember one password, your login for your 1Password account.

Affiliate Networks 

Affiliate networks connect publishers (e.g., bloggers) to a merchant’s affiliate program. Joining a network makes it easier to find programs suitable for your business needs.

Some of the top affiliates we’ve used and worth mentioning include:

• ShareASale
• Impact
• FlexOffers
• CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction)
• Amazon Associates

Further Reading:

• Best Affiliate Programs for Beginners (7 Worth Joining Now)
• The Best 2,300+ Affiliate Programs of the Year

Spy Tools

Spy tools let you analyze your competitor’s campaigns to gain insight into what’s driving an ad’s traffic, clicks, and conversions. There are many platforms available that let you see a successful campaign’s metrics and use to your advantage.

#28. Adplexity 

Adplexity is a tool that lets you see which campaigns are already profitable, helps find ads promoting affiliate offers, and provides real-time insights.

You can see which campaigns drive traffic and convert best by keyword, advertiser, publisher, or affiliate network filters.

It’s also made by affiliate marketers which is why it’s one of the most popular spy tools available.

AdPlexity gets granular, so you see ad trends, targeted devices and browsers, and traffic sources. It also provides you with mobile, desktop, and native tracking options.

#29. Redirect Detective

Redirect Detective is a free URL redirection checker. You can enter a competitor’s affiliate link and see what affiliate network they belong to by observing the final URL.

Another trick is to search our affiliate program database to determine what networks your competitors belong to.

A few other reasons why using this tool is advantageous:

• Checking if the link you see redirects to a legit site
• Ensure your website’s links work correctly
• Discovering how many redirects a specific site uses

You may also want to avoid being tracked, so using a redirection checker tells you if you’re being redirected by adware or tracking sites.

Social Media Tools

Having to constantly create multiple social posts to keep audience engagement up becomes time-consuming quickly. Instead, automate the process and save time.

#30. Buffer

Buffer is a social media management tool for publishing content across your social channels. It lets you schedule every post’s publishing date and time (and it’ll tailor your posts to each network).

One key point users point out is its user-friendly automation; you can schedule advanced publishing dates for days you’re not working (e.g., the weekend) and maintain an active presence even when you’re not there.

And if you want to measure your campaign’s performance, its reporting tools give insights on ways to improve engagement with your audience.

If you’re active across social media channels, a tool like Buffer helps streamline the entire process.

#31. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a tool that scours billions of articles across the web and social media channels to find you the most shared and popular content.

It helps plan your content marketing strategy, locating industry influencers, and getting content insights.

One popular feature of BuzzSumo is its ability to set up alerts for topics, competitors, and keywords that directly affect your business.

Alerts also let you stay up to date with industry thought leaders so you can be the first person to comment on their content.

BuzzSump has the largest index of social media engagement.

Which Platform Is Best for Affiliate Marketing?

You should weigh several factors like commission rates, product selection, and cookie duration before signing up for any program (like this one).

For example, Amazon Associates has a massive selection of products but a short cookie duration, and they slashed their commission rates.

Whereas FlexOffers also has a substantial selection of merchants, you might be able to earn a higher commission depending on the merchant you sign up with (and the cookie duration will also vary by merchant, so you could potentially earn a better commission AND longer cookies).

The primary benefit of using an affiliate network is leveraging their reach with merchants and products. Consider what you’re promoting, and if it makes sense for your business.

How Many Affiliate Programs Should I Join?

The short answer: it depends. While there is no magic number, and you can join as many as you’d like, things like the amount of time it takes to promote products and the ease of payout matter.

Promoting products through a merchant’s affiliate program requires your time and effort. A wise decision is to join as many programs as you think you can promote without significantly reducing your output – if you spread yourself too thin, your work will suffer.

Tip: Focus your efforts on relevant products within your niche that make sense.

The payout method should be hassle-free and seamless. If it’s too much trouble getting paid or if your country doesn’t support the payment method, it’s not worth your time chasing down merchants to get them to pay you.

And be aware of when you get paid.

For example, Lasso’s affiliate program is Net 60, meaning you will receive your payment 60 days after a conversion. Amazon Associates follows the same model.

The Last Word

You don’t need every affiliate marketing tool on this list to run a successful online business. The trick is to prioritize based on your business goals.

Choosing the right ones should make life simpler. Ready to find out how Lasso will grow your business? Try a 14-day free trial.

Sean Brison is a dad, writer, business owner, and Chief Growth nerd at Lasso. He's spent the past several years in cahoots with Lasso's founder, Andrew, creating awesome things for people. He's also addicted to perfectly-balanced cocktails, the outdoors, and John Mulaney's stand-up comedy.