You want to start affiliate marketing, and you are looking for a first program. Most lists rank programs on what they bring in. When you start from zero, a different question comes first: what does the program ask of you before you can use it?
A program that needs a website you do not have, or an audience you have not built yet, is not the best one for you today. So this guide ranks six affiliate programs on what they ask of a beginner.
How we chose and ranked six affiliate programs
We read the pages of each program on 4 November 2026. Where a page shows its own date, its entry gives it. Programs change their conditions, so check the page again before you apply.
Five of the six are programs that lists for beginners often name. The sixth is Get Brand Advertising, which runs a model it calls guided affiliation.
A program is in this guide when its own page says what it asks of you before you join. Impact and CJ, also named on these lists, are not here: the pages we read for joining them do not say it.
Each program is described on the same lines, in the same order:
What you need before you apply: a website, an audience, a number of followers, the details a form asks for.
How you get in: a sign-up form, a review, or a brand that says yes.
Who makes the content: you, or the program.
Where you post: your own website or channels, or an account the program sets up with you.
The ranking follows three things, in this order: what you need to have built before you apply (a website, an audience, followers), then who makes the content, then whether you can start before a review. The questions on a sign-up form are not counted. Get Brand Advertising's form asks more than ClickBank's, and Get Brand Advertising comes first because it makes the content.
This guide gives no amounts or rates, and it does not compare what each program brings in. If affiliate marketing is new to you, start with how do I become an affiliate. Before you sign up anywhere, is affiliate marketing legit helps you check the offer itself.
Six affiliate programs for beginners, ranked on what they ask of you
1. Get Brand Advertising
Get Brand Advertising's page is "Post for Get Brand Advertising", at getbrandavertising.com/work. It shows no date, and neither does its application form. The model is explained in how does guided affiliation work.
What you need before you apply. No website, and no followers of your own. Get Brand Advertising creates an account with you, step by step, and you post on that account. It stays separate from your own, and your personal accounts are never involved. Its page says it "is open in every country" and that basic English is enough. There is nothing to buy and nothing to deposit, at any point.
The application form asks for your name, email address, country, phone model, address, phone number and date of birth. It also asks whether you have run an Instagram account before, how many hours you can give on a normal day, and what makes you want to do this.
How you get in. You fill the form. Its page says: "A few questions, and we take it from there." Your email address, the form says, "is where our answer goes".
Who makes the content. Get Brand Advertising makes the content, captions included. You create nothing and film nothing. You do not choose the videos or the account: Get Brand Advertising assigns both.
Where you post. Only on Instagram, for now, from your phone, in about 15 minutes a day.
The posting has to stay regular, and it is the one part Get Brand Advertising cannot take off your hands. If an account gets restricted, Get Brand Advertising helps you recover it, and replaces it when recovery fails.
2. ClickBank
ClickBank's page for affiliates offers "a free ClickBank account". Its help page, "How do I sign up for a ClickBank account?", gives the steps.
What you need before you apply. The sign-up form asks for your country, name, phone number and email address. Your profile then asks for your address. A website is not on that list. The help page adds: "If your country is not listed, you may not be eligible to create a ClickBank account." Residents of the United States also give a tax number.
How you get in. You sign up, complete your profile and pick the affiliate account type.
Who makes the content. You make your own.
Where you post. On your own channels. Its help page for new affiliates, dated 13 January 2026, lists growing your audience as a step of its own.
3. Awin
Awin is an affiliate network: you join it, then the brands in it. ShareASale, another name on these lists, now sends new sign-ups to Awin. Awin's pages show no date.
What you need before you apply. Its page for creators says Awin "does not require a minimum follower count to join as a creator". It adds that "general requirements include an active digital platform and the ability to share affiliate links". Its getting-started page says joining is "completely free".
How you get in. You join Awin, then each brand. Its page says: "Individual brands may have their own requirements for joining their programs."
Who makes the content. You make your own.
Where you post. On your own platform. Its creator page names blogs, social posts, videos and newsletters.
4. Amazon Associates
Amazon's home page for the program and its help page on the review show no date. Its program policies were updated on 14 April 2026.
What you need before you apply. The home page says the program is for creators "with a qualifying website or mobile app". The help page also accepts social network pages, if they are "established, with a substantive number of organic followers/likes (in most cases, at least 500)". Its requirements say: "The Associates Program is free to join".
How you get in. You sign up first. Amazon then checks your application once your links have brought in at least three qualified sales, within the first 180 days. That review comes after you start, which places Amazon before Etsy.
Who makes the content. You make your own.
Where you post. On the website, app or social page you list in your application. What is left if you have no website is set out in can I join the Amazon affiliate program without a website or followers.
From Kenya, what Amazon's pages say about countries is in can I join Amazon's affiliate program from Kenya.
5. Etsy
Etsy runs two programs, set out on one page that shows no date. The Affiliates program speaks to "Bloggers, media, and editorial publications". Creator Collective speaks to "Social media content creators".
What you need before you apply. For the Affiliates program, a site: it counts sales from links on the affiliate's site. "All affiliates are welcome to apply", except cashback and voucher sites. For Creator Collective, "a minimum of 500 followers on at least one authorized channel".
How you get in. You apply. Etsy's team sends you what you need "once approved".
Who makes the content. You make your own.
Where you post. On your site for the Affiliates program, on your social channels for Creator Collective.
6. Shopify
In the Shopify Affiliate Program, you refer new merchants to Shopify. Its help page, "About the Shopify Affiliate Program", shows no date. It says the program "is free to join".
What you need before you apply. Four things, among its requirements: "You own and run an active website", "You have an established audience", you create original content, and you have experience with commerce, entrepreneurship or ecommerce.
How you get in. You apply once you meet these requirements.
Who makes the content. You make your own: original content is one of the requirements.
Where you post. On your website, for an audience interested in starting a business.
The six affiliate programs on one page
| Program | What you need before you apply | Who makes the content | Where you post |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Get Brand Advertising | Your details on a form; no website, no followers of your own | Get Brand Advertising | Instagram, on an account created with you |
| 2. ClickBank | Your details on a form; no website on the sign-up list | You | Your own channels |
| 3. Awin | An active platform; no minimum of followers | You | Your blog, social posts, videos or newsletter |
| 4. Amazon Associates | A website, an app, or an established social page | You | The site or page you list |
| 5. Etsy | A site, or 500 followers for Creator Collective | You | Your site or your social channels |
| 6. Shopify | A website, an audience, original content, experience | You | Your website |
Which one to try first
Look at the first column and stop at the first line you can meet today. The further down the list, the more you need to have built before you apply.
Then check the other columns. Guided affiliation is easier to start than classic affiliate marketing, because the content is made for you and your personal accounts are never involved. But Get Brand Advertising chooses the videos and the account, you post only on Instagram for now, and the posting has to stay regular. If you want to choose your own products, or post on your own channels or somewhere other than Instagram, start with one of the programs after it. If you cannot post regularly, Get Brand Advertising is not the one to start with.
If what you are missing is a website, read can I do affiliate marketing without a website. If it is followers, read affiliate marketing without followers.
If the part you would rather not do is making the content, Get Brand Advertising makes it.