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An introduction to high ticket affiliate marketing

Written by Emma Sharp on 10 minute read

Affiliate marketing centers around driving traffic to advertisers to encourage clicks and sales, and it can be used for a wide range of products.

Affiliate marketing centers around driving traffic to advertisers to encourage clicks and sales, and it can be used for a wide range of products. While this is generally done with more commonly used items, many companies have affiliate programs for products in much higher price ranges too. Publishers eager to increase the commissions they receive for each successful conversion should consider looking into high ticket affiliate marketing. 

What is high ticket affiliate marketing? 

High ticket affiliate marketing is a type of affiliate program that has large commissions attached. While there is no defined price point at which a product officially becomes high ticket, commissions that provide over $100 per sale can generally be considered in this category. Certain affiliate marketers (publishers) use this technique to earn more profits on fewer sales - focusing on more expensive products or services that generate higher commissions per sale. 

Lower ticket items tend to provide the basis for traditional affiliate marketing. Products with lower price tags result in lower commission amounts, which means you need to make a significant number of sales to form a lucrative business. High ticket affiliate marketing allows you to focus on a few key sales, rather than many small ones. 

How to master high ticket affiliate marketing 

  • Establish a niche: When you’re first starting out as an affiliate marketer, you must build an audience with specific interests and develop rapport. This will enable you to tailor your affiliate campaign to that niche. To be successful – particularly with high ticket programs – you need to demonstrate trustworthiness, expertise and authority in one area.  
  • Choose the right programs: Once you’ve established your niche, it’s time to start reviewing and promoting products and services that fall into it. Pick your high ticket programs with care. Choose ones that you truly believe in, study the market and research the seller. For the campaign to be worth your time and energy, you need confidence it will be profitable in the long run. To get this, you need to believe the product or service you’re vouching for will provide value for your audience and communicate this to them effectively. 

With Awin’s Advertiser Directory, you can easily explore the profiles of every advertiser you’re interested in on the network. If you don’t have an advertiser in mind, you can browse businesses by industry until you find the right match for you. By looking through an advertiser’s merchant profile you can quickly find and compare commission rates, allowing you to identify high ticket affiliate programs with ease and start promoting the brands you love.

  • Test strategies: When it comes to high ticket affiliate marketing, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. You’ll need to be creative and find what works best for you, your audience and the product or service you’re promoting. Test a variety of marketing strategies and stay on top of current trends to remain competitive. Many advertisers provide a range of promotional content like banner ads to help you get started. There are also often dedicated affiliate support teams on hand to help you refine your approach. Working closely with the brand you’re promoting and doing your best to foster a spirit of partnership will only make you a more successful affiliate partner in the long run.

High ticket affiliate programs 

From health and fitness to business, marketing and entrepreneurship, there are high ticket affiliate programs for almost every industry. Equinox, HP and Booking.com are just a few examples of lucrative high ticket affiliate programs available through Awin and ShareASale. Let’s have a look at a few of them in a bit more detail and see some of the rewards these companies are offering for bringing in new business. 

Top Villas
As one of the world’s leading luxury villa rental companies, it comes as no surprise that commissions from Top Villas would be classified in the high ticket range. Top Villas provides users with a host of great options to choose from, offering luxury villas, condos and townhouses in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. With an average order value of $7,000+ and earnings starting at 3% per booking, publishers promoting this program can earn hundreds of dollars for each order they secure. Affiliates with an audience interested in traveling and willing to treat themselves could earn high commissions by promoting this brand. 

Booking.com
From apartments, boats and castles to treehouses, villas and yurts, the type of accommodation listed on Booking.com today is more diverse than ever. Truly international, Booking.com is available in more than 43 languages, and offers your audience access to 2.2 million properties in 227 countries. With an average commission of 4%  per booking, your followers can use the website to book their dream vacation and take comfort in the fact Booking.com guarantees the best prices for any type of property – making the purchase that much more appealing to complete and increasing your chances of a big payout.  

HP
HP is a technology company boasting a product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions that range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Affiliates can earn commissions on consumer and business personal computer systems, accessories and select printers, giving ample opportunity to earn a profit from any sales generated.  Beyond earning the standard commission dee, publishers can also work with HP to organize a payment on influence bonus of $10, for when they influence a sale but ultimately don’t get credit.  

Equinox+ 
Equinox+ gives its users access to live and on demand exercise bike classes via the Equinox+ mobile app and the award-winning SoulCycle at home bike. With a 21 .5” inch touchscreen and surround sound speakers, SoulCycle takes the immersive, high-intensity experience of a gym class and places it directly into its user’s homes. Equinox’s affiliates are tasked with driving users to their website to purchase the SoulCycle, which is available for $2,500. Each sale will earn affiliates commissions of $300 and orders that exceed $2,500, by combining the bike with accessories, will see returns of $500. Any content creator that specializes in fitness, exercise, health or wellbeing should consider adding this high ticket affiliate product into their mix. 

Avid Webmasters
The web development and digital marketing specialists at Avid Webmasters offer a generous 30% commission on all sales generated through their affiliate program. The company offers a wide selection of web development, marketing, design and optimization solutions that small businesses, entrepreneurs and anyone hoping to grow their business online will be sure to find useful. Avid Webmasters aims to help its customers generate leads and increase revenue and, with services spanning a price range of $359 to $125,000, there are huge potential earnings to be made by driving affiliate traffic their way. 

Time Etc Limited
Time Etc Limited provides its clients with a remote executive assistant designed to handle admin tasks on their behalf. The company describes itself as saving its users more than one million hours so far and has been covered by many well-known media outlets like Forbes and CNBC. The service has helped over 22,000 companies to date, with standout clients including major companies such as Google, Facebook and HubSpot. This market sector has grown rapidly with the rise of remote working and publishers promoting this brand will earn $220 per conversion. Time Etc boasts a 45% conversion rate on leads sent its way so affiliates that can reach business owners with a passion for productivity could see great returns by partnering with this advertiser. 

BetterLegal
BetterLegal allows business owners to set up LLCs and corporations in a quick and affordable way – promising its clients they will receive their documents within two business days. The fast and simple business formation service is charged at $299 and successful signups for the BetterLegal partner program will generously grant affiliates with two-thirds of the sale price, earning them $200 per sale. Top performing affiliates can also earn bonuses and special offers such as recurring subscription revenue. BetterLegal’s ideal affiliates would be accountants, lawyers, marketing experts and SEO specialists. If you fit within any of these categories, consider adding their links and banners to your site. 

Gusto
As a payroll, benefits and HR platform, Gusto is a great fit for publishers with an audience of small business owners, accountants or HR representatives. The platform is used by over 100,000 small business in the US and offers $100 for each additional customer or $50 for valid leads brought in by its affiliates. Gusto provides a dedicated in-house affiliate team available to support you with your promotions and has several conversion-optimized landing pages designed to make successful sign ups as seamless as possible. Special offers and incentives are provided every month and the 120-day cookie tracking window means even heavily delayed sales are correctly attributed to you. 

Sea Island Forge
Sea Island Forge builds artisan pieces for outdoor fireside gatherings. Its collection of handcrafted cooking tools and fire kettles, made by a team of expert metalsmiths, is a unique visual experience designed to bring people together. The average order value for a Sea Island Forge design is $3,700 and, with a commission rate of 18%, its publishers are rewarded for putting them on their reader’s radar. Publishers with a following of outdoorsy types and BBQ lovers will be well positioned to introduce their audience to the heirloom quality and passionate craftmanship of the team at Sea Island Forge. 

Next steps 

High ticket affiliate marketing is a lucrative industry that could allow you to enjoy commissions much larger than average. There is such a wide variety of brands with affiliate marketing campaigns that taking the time to explore some of the higher ticket options available in your chosen field can prove to be a wise investment. If you’re an Awin affiliate publisher you have access to tens of thousands of brands across all sectors, making it easy for you to find these high ticket programs and start promoting them.  

Consumer scepticism increases with price and just placing an affiliate link for a high-end service in front of your audience has no guarantee of success. A good way to calm any anxieties your readers may have about the products you’re sending their way is by providing product comparisons. By creating content where you review or compare high ticket brands in a particular field, you can provide meaningful recommendations to your audience and show them in practical terms what they are getting for their money. 

Doing this will increase the confidence your audience has in both you and what you’re promoting to them, while also helping you make substantial returns from the qualified traffic you can send to your partners.

While high ticket affiliate programs do require more trust from your audience for them to follow through on your suggestions, the process itself is identical to that of any other affiliate product. If you have a following, of any size, with people who will listen to your endorsements, consider endorsing a high ticket affiliate program.