If you’re interested in making money from your fashion blog, you’re in the right place. There are three primary ways to make money as a fashion blogger, and we’re going to cover them today.
1. You can promote fashion products through affiliate marketing.
2. You can promote fashion products through sponsored posts.
3. You can create and sell your own fashion products.
Today, we’re going to focus on affiliate marketing, but we’ll touch on the other two income streams at the end of this article.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY AS A FASHION BLOGGER (BY USING AFFILIATE MARKETING)
Affiliate marketing is essentially promoting products for a business that you are associated with.
And here’s how it works:
You apply to join an affiliate program that fits in your niche (in this case, fashion). When you get approved by that affiliate program, you gain access to a special trackable link for the products you want to promote. When someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission.
So, let’s cover the best affiliate networks for every fashion blogger to join. THE NETWORK is the platform that contains a pool of affiliate programs that you can join! You’ll need to join the affiliate network if you want to access the affiliate programs within that pool.
I’ll also be sharing a bunch of programs within each network and how much they pay you for each sale you make.
Let’s get to it: the best affiliate networks for fashion bloggers…
AWIN AFFILATE NETWORK
You can join the AWIN network HERE. There is a $5 screening fee to join this network, but the money is refunded to you after approval. I counted over 100 fashion and apparel programs in the Awin dashboard, but there might even be more than that! Here are a few of the most popular ones and the amount they pay to their affiliates.
FabFitFun // $9 flat rate for each sale
Etsy // 2-4% commission on each sale
MadStyle // 15% commission on each sale
DressLily // 16% commission on each sale
AliExpress // 2-7% commission on each sale
The Hut // 8% commission on each sale
Remember, you’ll join the AWIN network first, and then you’ll apply to the affiliate programs you want to join in that network. These are some of the highest paying and most popular, so start with the list above! Once you get approved by AWIN, your dashboard will look like this:
You’ll search for programs to join here:
And then you’ll click the button to “Join Program” here:
When you apply to join a program, you’ll have to agree to terms and select the primary promotion method you’ll be using. You also have the option to “add a message” to introduce yourself and share why you want to join the program. I highly recommend doing this extra step! It’s the best way to get approved.
SHAREASALE AFFILIATE NETWORK
You can join the Share-a-Sale network HERE. Share-a-Sale is another great affiliate network platform that connects you with awesome brands to work with! It is free to join and there are literally thousands of programs in the network. Here is a big ol’ list of some great fashion brands that are part of Share-a-Sale.
We’re starting with the highest paying and working our way down!
Warby Parker // 20% commission per sale
Able // 20% commission per sale
DressLily // 16% commission per sale
Olivia and Jane // 15% commission per sale
7 Charming Sisters // 14% commission per sale
Hobo Hand Bags // 12% commission per sale
Bella Bag // 10-15% commission per sale
SHEIN // 10% commission per sale
Stella & Dot // 10% commission per sale
Jane Affiliates // 10% commission per sale
Tieks // 10% commission per sale
Cents of Style // 10% commission per sale
Spanx // 8% commission per sale
Reebok // 7% commission per sale
Posh Mommy // 7% commission per sale
Swimsuits for All // 7% commission per sale
Swap.com // 5% commission per sale
Claire’s // 5% commission per sale
U.S. Polo Association // 5% commission per sale
So, what good does this long list of affiliate programs do for me, you might ask?
This list is a great starting point for any fashion blogger that wants to promote brand-name products to their audience…and get paid to do it!
You’ll simply join the Share-a-Sale network, apply to the programs that you want to join, and then start promoting your affiliate products to your audience. Once you get approved and login, you cansearch for programs to join here:
And then you’ll click the button to “Join Program” here:
Similar to AWIN, you’ll have to agree to the terms of the program and explain how you’ll promote the products. It’s perfectly fine to copy/paste the same promo spiel!
Now…the money-making part!
Let’s say you promote your favorite Warby Parker sunglasses to your audience. Someone buys $100 worth of product through your link. When they pay for their purchase, you earn $20 (or 20% of that sale). It’s that simple.
RAKUTEN AFFILIATE NETWORK
You can join the Rakuten Affiliate Network HERE. I love Rakuten because they have such a huge range of affiliate programs for bloggers in every niche. If you want to make money as a fashion blogger, this is one of the most important networks for you to join!
We are going to outline a few of the highest paying and most popular affiliate programs in this network. If you have an item in your closet that you purchased from one of these brands, you should (without a doubt) join that affiliate program and start promoting their stuff!
Basic Outfitters // 8% commission per sale
Famous Footwear (Canada) // 7% commission per sale
Nasty Gal Limited // 6% commission per sale
Urban Outfitters // 5% commission per sale
Mod Cloth // 5% commission per sale
Charlotte Russe // 4% commission per sale
Macy’s // 3% commission per sale
Calvin Klein // 3% commission per sale
Free People // 1-3% commission per sale
Nordstrom // 2% commission per sale
UGG Canada // 2% commission per sale
UGG USA // 2% commission per sale
Buckle // 2% commission per sale
Tommy Hilfiger // 2% commission per sale
Loft // 2% commission per sale
Ann Taylor // 2% commission per sale
Once you get approved by Rakuten, your dashboard will look like this:
You can search for and join affiliate programs here:
A box will pop up asking you to read and agree to terms. Read the terms, click the box to agree, and then hit “OKAY.” Approval can take a few business days.
IMPACT NETWORK
You can join the Impact (formerly Impact Radius) Network HERE. Impact has a lot of really great programs too, but we’re focused on fashion here today, so we’re just going to talk about the best affiliate program in their network: TARGET…
Need I say more??
If you’re a fashion blogger, you probably want to join the Target affiliate program…like, yesterday.
Join the Impact network, then join the Target affiliate program, and get to work promoting their stuff. This is especially helpful if you’re a mama blogger or Instagram influencer…because, who doesn’t love Target? Average commissions are 1-5% per qualifying sale.
If you need help finding your affiliate links after joining the program, you can check out this step-by-step tutorial HERE.
SHOPSTYLE COLLECTIVE NETWORK
You can join the Shop Style Collective network HERE. Fashion bloggers love Shop Style because they make it so easy to earn. They even provide a master list of their highest commission retailers, so that you can focus on the brands that are going to make you MONEY. A few from this list are:
Alex and Ani
GUESS
Gucci
Juicy Couture
Lucky Brand
Saks Fifth Avenue
We’ve covered a lot of ground here today, so we’re not going to do a Shopstyle tutorial. But they have all the tools and tutorials you need to make money through their network. Once you get approved, just go into your dashboard and click the “Help” button in the bottom left corner for assistance getting set up.
REWARD STYLE NETWORK
You can apply to join the Reward Style Network HERE.
Reward Style is one of the most popular fashion-focused affiliate networks. It’s also one of the more difficult networks to get into, which is why we saved this one for last. If you’re a new fashion blogger, I don’t recommend focusing on Reward Style yet.
Focus on the other networks that we discussed here today!
OTHER WAYS TO MAKE MONEY AS A FASHION BLOGGER
Okay, I know that was a lot of information to cover in our affiliate section, but we have two more ways to make money as a fashion blogger, so let’s chat about those for a quick minute.
Doing sponsored posts: you can reach out to individual companies that you want to work with and pitch them your idea for a sponsored post. Maybe there is a clothing subscription box that you use and love. Send that company an email and offer to promote their products on your own blog (for a fee).
Here is a comprehensive article about working with brands on sponsored posts. It also includes a pitching guide to help you land those gigs and get paid!
Creating your own products: think about creating and selling your own clothing and accessory line! I know several fashion bloggers that sell their own t-shirts, their own jewelry, their own handbags.
The sky is the limit. And when you’re a blogger, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket anyway. You want to have income flowing in from a few different places. So, do some affiliate marketing. Do some sponsored posts. Create something awesome and sell it to your audience.
There are so many fun and flexible ways to make money as a fashion blogger!
