Imagine recommending a top-tier blender in your smoothie recipe post and earning a commission every time a reader purchases it through your affiliate link. That’s the power of modern affiliate marketing for food bloggers.
The affiliate marketing boom has revolutionized the way food bloggers monetize their passion. By joining cooking affiliate programs, bloggers can earn a percentage of product sales, effectively turning their hobby into a profitable venture.
In addition to financial benefits, affiliate programs provide access to exclusive content, promotions, and products that can enhance the quality and appeal of your blog. Compared to creating and selling your own products, affiliate marketing is a simpler way to monetize your site, as the affiliate partner handles everything from storage to shipping.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the top cooking affiliate programs available, helping you find the best fit for your niche. We’ll also showcase how WP Recipe Maker simplifies the process of integrating affiliate links directly into your recipes, making it an effective tool for monetizing your content. Let’s get started!
Exploring the top 10 cooking affiliate programs
Anyone shopping for an affiliate deal will quickly uncover the vast number of choices available, and knowing where to begin is an art form in itself. To make your task easier, we’ve covered some of the most reliable programs out there, so take a browse with the needs of your blog in mind.
Amazon Associates
Amazon Associates is the affiliate marketing program run by Amazon, AKA the largest online retailer in the world. With millions of products across its diverse category range, you can find relevant items for any food niche. You’ll also be partnering with a global household name that customers trust, potentially giving you a head start on those conversions.
Affiliates can earn up to 10% in commissions from qualifying purchases, with the exact rate varying by product category. The program offers customized linking tools to help affiliates monetize their food blogs and share millions of products with their audience.
Affiliate cookies last for 24 hours for physical products, and 90 days for digital products like ebooks. These enable sales to be tracked to the appropriate affiliate marketer, when a user clicks on a link and then makes a purchase within a set timescale.
Payments are made around 60 days after the end of any commission-earning month. This is much later than many other deals out there, but users do gain access to a massive product range and the potential to sell more.
ShareASale
ShareASale offers a wide range of affiliate programs across various niches, providing content creators and influencers with opportunities to build profitable partnerships. The network has been growing for over 20 years, so it’s fair to say ShareASale knows a thing or two about affiliate marketing!
The platform has over one million affiliate partners and provides data reporting, real-time insights into performance, and innovative technology to support program goals. Affiliates also benefit from a 30-day cookie generation. Payments are made on the 20th of every month, provided that $50 or more has been made in the previous month.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service that provides pre-portioned ingredients and recipes for home-cooked meals. Its affiliate program, managed through Impact, offers a straightforward and free sign-up process.
Affiliates can earn a £8 fixed fee commission or 25% of the order value on all sales generated. For voucher code affiliates, the commission is £5 per sale. The program features a 30-day cookie period and provides exclusive time-limited offers.
Subscribers also receive a daily product data feed update and access to a range of creative assets. Payments are made at the end of every month, with no minimum threshold.
The Chef & The Dish
The Chef & The Dish offers private, live cooking classes with chefs from around the world, conducted via video conferencing. Its affiliate program, managed through ShareASale, allows content creators to earn commissions by promoting these classes.
Affiliates earn a competitive commission rate of 15% on all sales generated. The program features a 45-day cookie duration and provides access to a range of creative assets. Affiliates must have a food, travel, or lifestyle-related website or social media platform to be accepted. Payments are made on the 20th of every month via ShareASale’s payment system.
Rouxbe
Rouxbe is an online cooking school that offers professional-level culinary education through video lessons, recipes, and personalized feedback from chefs. Its affiliate program allows food bloggers to earn commissions by promoting the brand’s courses.
The program offers a 60-day cookie duration and a commission rate of 10% on all qualifying sales. Affiliates must have a social media account or website dedicated to cooking, food, or culinary education. Payments are made monthly and affiliates can access a variety of promotional tools and data reports.
Stonewall Kitchen
If premium preserves leave you berry excited, here’s an affiliate deal for you! Stonewall Kitchen is a specialty food producer known for its high-quality jams, sauces, and other gourmet products.
Its affiliate program, managed through Rakuten Advertising, offers a competitive commission structure ranging from 3% to 6% on all qualifying sales. With 25 years of experience, Rakuten is one of the biggest names in affiliate marketing, so subscribers are in safe hands.
Affiliates receive a variety of creative banners, links, and products to integrate into their sites and marketing activity. Monthly payments are made automatically through the Rakuten Affiliate Network, and affiliates can track sales and view detailed reports.
Skinny Food Co
Skinny Food Co offers a range of low-calorie, low-sugar food products aimed at health-conscious consumers. Its affiliate program, powered by Webgains, provides affiliates with a commission rate of 8% to 12% on all sales. The average order value is £25, translating to an average earning of £3 per new customer sale and £2 per existing customer sale.
The program features a 30-day cookie duration and requires affiliates to request approval. Program members are provided with updated banners in line with promotions and seasonal events. Payments are made monthly, and exclusive voucher codes are available for everyone in the program.
Snake River Farms
Snake River Farms is a premium meat producer known for its high-quality beef and pork products. Affiliates can earn a commission rate of 10% on all sales, with a cookie duration of 30 days and a $100 withdrawal threshold. If you have a website or social media platform related to food, cooking, or gourmet products, Snake River Farm will be delighted to meat you!
The program provides a range of marketing materials, including banners and ads, to help affiliates with product promotion. Affiliates can also access pre-written content and email templates to use as a starting point for their campaigns. Payments are made monthly via wire transfer, PayPal, or Payoneer, and affiliates can track their performance through a dedicated dashboard.
Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray is a celebrity chef and television personality known for her cooking shows, cookbooks, and branded kitchen products. Her program allows content creators to earn commissions by promoting Rachael’s cookware, kitchen gadgets, and books. A commission rate of 5% can be earned on all qualifying sales.
The program features a 30-day cookie duration, and affiliates are provided with a variety of marketing materials, including product images and banners. Payments are made monthly via PayPal, wire transfer, or eWallets, and users gain access to reporting and analytical tools to monitor their progress.
ButcherBox
ButcherBox is a subscription service that delivers high-quality, grass-fed beef, free-range organic chicken, and heritage-breed pork directly to consumers. Its affiliate program is free to join and provides affiliates with a commission for every user buying Butcher Boxes, which begin at $137. Commission rates go up to $20 per sale.
The program offers a 30-day cookie duration and affiliates gain access to banners, text links, and other marketing materials. Affiliates have 24-hour access to their personal account, equipped with real-time statistics to track sales, traffic, and account balance. Payments are made monthly with a minimum $10 payout threshold.
Adding affiliate links to your recipes with WP Recipe Maker
Want to simplify the process of creating and managing recipes on your WordPress site? Enter WP Recipe Maker! Our nifty plugin can integrate affiliate links directly into your recipe pages, opening up new revenue streams for food bloggers and content creators. Direct links capture user attention at the optimum moment, increasing the chances of click-throughs and sales.
WP Recipe Maker makes the process incredibly easy with its intuitive Ingredient Links and Equipment Links, which are available with the Premium, Pro, and Elite Bundles. Through these handy devices, you can set links for specific ingredients or kitchen equipment. The plugin will automatically apply those links whenever those items are mentioned in your recipes.
This saves affiliates time and also ensures consistency across your entire recipe collection. Both can be added via a simple embedding process, without disrupting the user experience:
Navigate to Settings > Interactivity > Links, then select your preferred options for either Ingredient Links or Equipment Links.
Return to WP Recipe Maker > Manage > Recipe Fields > Ingredients or Equipment. Enter the name of the ingredient or equipment item you want to link to.
Paste your affiliate link in the designated field.
Click Save Changes.
One of our plugin’s main features is its ability to set both global and custom affiliate links. Global links apply to all instances of an ingredient or equipment item across your entire site. Custom links allow you to override the global setting for specific recipes, giving sellers full control.
Alongside using WP Recipe Maker to easily integrate links into your recipes, affiliates should try to provide as much value to their potential customers as possible. Consider including detailed product descriptions, personal recommendations, or usage tips to help your audience make informed decisions. Transparency about your product range can build trust and credibility for your brand.
Amazon affiliates gain further benefits through a WP Recipe Maker subscription as the plugin allows users to link their recipe equipment items directly to Amazon products. This feature is available in the Premium version of the plugin and provides several benefits:
Amazon PA API integration: To use this feature, users need to add their Amazon Product Advertising (PA) API credentials in the WP Recipe Maker settings. This integration enables the plugin to search for Amazon products by name or Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) and link them to the equipment items in recipes.
Automatic updates: Once equipment items are linked to Amazon products, the name and image of the product are automatically refreshed every 24 hours. Automatic updates ensure compliance with Amazon’s terms of use and guarantee that the information displayed on the recipe site is always accurate.
Template customization: WP Recipe Maker also offers extensive customization options through its Template Editor. Users can choose how the equipment should be displayed, including whether to use images and what size they should be. This flexibility allows for a tailored appearance that fits a website’s design, ensuring that affiliate links integrate with the overall aesthetic of a site.
Monetize your food blog with cooking affiliate programs
Monetizing your food blog with cooking affiliate links is a logical progression for content creators. Why not make money from something you enjoy, and turn your passion into profit?
After reading this article, you now have a selection of trusted cooking affiliate programs to join and take your blog into exciting new pastures. When shopping around, be sure to choose the path of yeast resistance by finding an affiliate partner in step with your specific food niche.
Evaluate commission, cookie duration, and conversion rates to ensure a deal can be profitable. Research the platform’s reputation, payment terms, and marketing materials provided. Ultimately, the ideal affiliate program should complement your offerings and resonate with your customers. A great user experience encourages people to return, helping grow your business.
“As a food blogger, you’re already creating content around cooking, recipes, and kitchen tools. By joining an affiliate program you can earn commissions on products you would promote anyway. It’s a win-win situation – your audience discovers high-quality products that fit their needs, and you get rearded for your recommendations.”
Alongside introducing some of the best programs, we’ve also shown you how to add affiliate links to your recipe content using the WP Recipe Maker plugin. With this nifty tool in your kitchen drawer, selling from your ingredient and equipment lists has never been easier.
Ready to make a culinary leap? Learn more about WP Recipe Maker and start monetizing your food blog today!
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