05 Requirements to be Affiliate – Beginners Must Know!

Affiliate is one of the most flexible earning methods while doing MMO. In this article, we will list all the affiliate requirements you need to know before diving into that game.

Let’s explore!

What are the requirements to be an affiliate? 

There are no fixed requirements set for all affiliate programs, but each has its own affiliate requirements. These rules usually cover:

• Age limits 
• Location restrictions
• Affiliate profile requirements 
• Legal requirement
• Business license requirement

1. Age limits

Most affiliate programs require participants to be at least 18 years old. This is often due to legal restrictions and payment processor policies. For instance, PayPal requires users to be 18 or older.

So, can you do affiliate marketing when you are under 18? 

You can engage in affiliate marketing as a student under 18, but you need to navigate age restrictions. Typically, the affiliate age requirement is 18 or older to be an affiliate marketer. However, if you’re under 18, you can still start affiliate marketing by involving a parent or guardian:

• Sign-Up: Ask a parent or guardian to sign up for affiliate programs using their information.
• Account Management: They can manage the account and handle financial transactions.
• Content Creation: Focus on creating and promoting content.
• Admin Support: The adult handles the administrative aspects.

In short, you create and promote content while your parent or guardian manages the administrative side. This way, you can participate in affiliate marketing even if you don’t have to be 18.

2. Location restriction  

Some programs limit participation based on the affiliate’s country. For instance, many programs block affiliates from Nigeria due to a high rate of ad fraud.

Affiliates might try to use a VPN to bypass these restrictions. However, they could face challenges in receiving commissions. Violating affiliate contracts may result in termination or disqualification from earning commissions.

However, location restrictions are not a significant factor and also not a common affiliate requirement. There are numerous alternative affiliate programs available if the one you’re applying to has location restrictions.

Besides, specific location restrictions, there are 02 regional-based factors that may affect your affiliate marketing activities:    

• Payment Methods: Check available payment methods and ensure they suit your country. Some programs may only offer payment methods that aren’t accessible or convenient in your region.
• Currency: Verify the currency in which you’ll be paid and its compatibility with your country’s banking system. Currency conversion fees or unfavorable exchange rates can affect your earnings.

Additionally, please note that one brand can run different programs in various countries or locations, each offering different commission rates. Therefore, you might want to do a thorough research before joining one. 

Can you join an affiliate program designed for a certain location? Technically yes, but the affiliate manager has the full right to deny you, as you have to provide nationality info while applying to the program.  

3. Affiliate profile requirements

Following  

Some types of brands, especially in the clothing, beauty, and lifestyle industries, require affiliates to focus on social media promotion and only accept affiliates who have achieved a certain following volume. 

• This is required when you do affiliate marketing using your social media accounts. 
• You must provide the number of followers. The following benchmark of the affiliate program may not be public.
• Follower demographics (age, gender, and location) are typically required.

Due to the competitive nature of the industry, some brands require their affiliates to work exclusively with them and not promote competitors. 

Traffic requirement

You don’t need a big following or be an influencer to do affiliate marketing. However, to persuade the affiliate manager, you need to prove how you can drive traffic to their store. This can be done through ads, websites, and other methods.

• It is needed if you run a website or blog.
• You must provide your traffic details to become an affiliate. These details may or may not be public, depending on the affiliate program.
• Traffic demographics (age, gender, and location) are typically required.

Traffic count and audience demographics are the must-have affiliate requirements when you operate affiliate marketing as a website.

Content requirement

Content standards can vary widely, and approval often hinges on the discretion of the affiliate manager. Though it could be accessed a bit subjective, content quality is arguably the most important affiliate requirement.

Presenting a disorganized website during the application process is akin to attending an interview in informal attire – it suggests a lack of professionalism and may lead to disqualification.

Fundamentally, affiliate programs function as partnerships. Companies seek affiliates who will effectively promote their brand rather than indiscriminately sharing links.

4. Legal compliance

Understanding laws that regulate affiliate marketing is often underrated and not commonly considered a part of affiliate requirements. But it is actually one of the priorities to learn before doing affiliate marketing.

Affiliates have to be aware of and follow some rules to stay legal:

• Affiliate links Disclosure: You need to tell people if you are getting paid to promote something. This disclosure should be easy to see and understand.

• Customer data protection: Affiliates have to follow the laws of customer data protection. This includes getting permission to use personal information and keeping it safe.

• Tax compliance: Affiliates have to pay taxes when their affiliate marketing earnings reach a certain benchmark.  

• Trademark and Copyright Laws: Affiliates can’t use trademarks or copyrighted material without permission. They have to respect the rights of the companies they work with.

Those mentioned above are typically not clearly defined, mentioned when an affiliate applies to a program. However, understanding and following those rules are prerequisites for legal and ethical affiliate marketing practice. 

5. Business license

Affiliate marketing is often considered a form of self-employment or independent contracting. If you work as an individual affiliate and not as a separate business, you typically DON’T need a business license. 

However, if you run your affiliate marketing as a business, you might need a license. Also, if you work in certain industries, like finance or healthcare, you might need special licenses. 

For those who do affiliate marketing activities as a business entity, a business license may be necessary to legally operate the business.

B2B affiliate programs typically do not require a business license to be presented. However, businesses doing affiliate marketing still need to have enough, otherwise, they will face the risk of commissions getting unqualified, breach of contract, or even violation of the law.

Steps to becoming an affiliate for brands 

After you understand the requirements, there are a fews note to become affiliate for brands. Though it is typically straightforward, some part of application might be tricky. Here’s how affiliates can do it step-by-step:

• Prepare your affiliate profile: Pick a topic or industry they are interested in, like technology, fitness, fashion, or travel. Ensure your website or social media presence looks professional and aligns with this niche.
• Find affiliate programs: Look for companies in your niche that have affiliate programs. Check their websites or join affiliate networks like Amazon Associates, ClickBank, or ShareASale to find their application portal.
• Sign up: Apply to the affiliate programs by filling out their application forms with your information. At this stage, each affiliate program requires a different type of their affiliate. This is how affiliates become partners of brands. 
• Get approved: Wait to get approved for an affiliate program. This often takes a couple of days to 02 weeks. 

In some cases, affiliates don’t get response. This can be considered a silent denial or simply an indication of program suspended.

By following these steps, potential affiliates can join an affiliate program and start earning commissions as product affiliates.

Among all of the steps above, the preparation phases & finding an affiliate program are the most important ones, as there are some affiliate requirements you need to understand what needed to get accepted to an affiliate program

Some reasons for affiliates being declined to the affiliate program? 

Even if you meet all the affiliate requirements mentioned above, you might still be disqualified as an affiliate. In many cases, affiliate managers deny applications without providing a clear explanation. Here are some main reasons they might not tell you:

• Program no longer active: Maintaining an affiliate program requires resources, especially for frequent communication with affiliates. Some businesses may not actively run their affiliate program even if the sign-up portal is still open.
• Mismatched niche or audience: If your niche or target audience doesn’t align with the products or services offered by the affiliate program, you might be declined.
• Unable to verify information: If the merchant cannot verify your information, such as a public social media account, they might deny your application.
• Concerns about fraud or misconduct: If there are suspicions or concerns about potential fraudulent activity, spamming, or other misconduct, the merchant might decline your application without providing explicit details to avoid compromising their investigation.

Important tip to get approval: Active reach out to the affiliate manager of the brands you want to affiliate with. In most case, affiliate manager is the person who decide to choose an affiliate or not. A proactive approach may give you insights & underlying standards of the brand’s program (which is often flexible) and also give you room to persuasive them. Finding their LinkedIn account is much easier than their emails.

Affiliate programs that don’t require approval

Some affiliate programs have an open enrollment process, allowing you to join without needing prior approval. Though there are no special affiliate requirements, it is important to note that you still have to provide basic personal info, and affiliate managers can still check out your marketing practice anytime. Here are a few popular options:

Amazon Associates

• Description: One of the largest and most well-known affiliate programs, Amazon Associates offers a vast range of products to promote.
• Auto-Accept: Yes, most applicants are accepted immediately, although accounts are reviewed after a period to ensure compliance with their policies.
• Commission: Generally low, around 1-10% depending on the product category.
• Cookie Duration: 24 hours.

BixGrow MarketPlace

• Description: BixGrow MarketPlace focuses on all types of products. 
• Auto-Accept: Yes, affiliates can join and start promoting immediately.
• Commission: Varies based on merchants, but typically ranges from 10% to 20%. 
• Cookie Duration: Varies

WarriorPlus

• Description: WarriorPlus focuses on digital products and internet marketing.
• Auto-Accept: Yes, affiliates can join and start promoting immediately.
• Commission: Often high, can reach to 50% or more.
• Cookie Duration: 60 days.

Target Affiliates

• Description: Target’s affiliate program offers a variety of products in numerous categories.
• Auto-Accept: Yes, most applications are accepted immediately.
• Commission: Typically around 1-8%.
• Cookie Duration: 7 days.

eBay Partner Network

• Description: The eBay Partner Network allows affiliates to promote eBay listings and earn commissions on sales. It can be a perfect alternative to Amazon. 
• Auto-Accept: Yes, most applicants are accepted immediately.
• Commission: Variable, depending on the item category and final sale price.
• Cookie Duration: 24 hours.

ShareASale

• Description: ShareASale is a large affiliate network with a variety of merchants across different niches.
• Auto-Accept: The platform itself auto-accepts affiliates, but individual merchants within ShareASale may have their own approval processes.
• Commission: Varies by merchant.
• Cookie Duration: Varies by merchant.

FAQs on affiliate requirements