Raptive Affiliate Network – Are The Commissions Any Good?
Display advertising company Raptive (formerly Adthrive) has launched its own affiliate network and has started rolling it out to Raptive publishers.
Eager to test it out, I jumped at the opportunity as soon as I saw the application on my Raptive dashboard. But like most content creators, I’m already using other affiliate networks, like Impact Radius and Shareasale.
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So if I’m going to switch my affiliate links to a new network, the commission rates better be higher than what I’m already getting elsewhere.
Not one to sit around and wonder, I made a list comparing each of Raptive’s new affiliate program commission rates to the same brands hosted other networks. Guess who’s the winner?
In this guide, I’ll share this side-by-side comparison with you, so you can see exactly how each network stands up.
Raptive Launched Its Own Affiliate Network – But Are The Commissions Worth It?
Ever wonder which affiliate program gives you the most bang for your buck? Yeah, me too.
So, naturally, I put Raptive’s shiny new affiliate network head-to-head with other well-established networks that offer the same brands (merchants). I dug into the numbers to see where the bigger payouts really are.
Spoiler alert: one of them clearly pulls ahead in the “let’s make money” department.
If you’re an affiliate marketer or content creator who cares about your earnings (um, who doesn’t?), you’ll want to see how these two stack up!
Now let’s get to the juicy details!
Raptive Affiliate Rates vs Impact Radius and Other Affiliate Networks
At launch, Raptive has partnered with just a handful of brands (less than 20 directly), but they have plans to offer more soon.
However, Raptive also gives publishers access to more than 13,000 more brands via its partnership with Skimlinks.
But let’s just look at the direct partnerships. Here’s how Raptive’s commission offerings compare to the rates we get for the same brands on other affiliate networks.
CB2
Target
Walmart
Williams-Sonoma
Raptive offers a few brands under the Williams-Sonoma umbrella. This includes Pottery Barn, West Elm, and others.
But for comparison – I find it impossible to find official USA affiliate programs for any of the Williams-Sonoma brands!
I don’t see them listed on any trusted affiliate networks. There are some blog posts that say Pottery Barn gives 5-7% but no one seems to know where the affiliate program actually exists! Even Svorn doesn’t post any commission rate for Pottery Barn, west Elm, etc.
So for now, because Raptive states what the commission rates are for these brands, Raptive wins.
Williams Sonoma Affiliate Rates
Home Depot
This is where it gets a little confusing. Some Home Depot SKUs offer better commission rates on Raptive, while other SKUs are better on Impact Radius.
Best Buy
Grey area – it’s not clear which SKUs on Impact get 5%, but Raptive gives a flat almost 4% storewide.
AMAZON
When it comes to Amazon Associates vs Raptive affiliate…it gets rather complicated.
As you may know, Amazon pays widely different commission rates for the many different product categories. And Raptive’s rates are all over the map here too.
It took me quite some time to go through each category to find who will pay more for what, and the results surprised me.
Some categories pay better on Raptive, while others pay better on Amazon Associates.
I put the Amazon vs Raptive rates into a Google Sheet to keep things organized.
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How The Raptive Affiliate Network Works
This network is available to Raptive publishers. If your website isn’t running Raptve ads yet, apply here first.
There are two ways to monetize links on your site using this new network. 1) Link Generator and/or 2) Link Monetizer. I’ll explain what each means below.
Note: You need to apply to activate these tools. You can apply from within your dashboard.
Raptive Link Generator: How To Use It
On your Raptive dashboard, you’ll see an option that says ‘link generator.’
The Raptive Link Generator is a tool that turns any link from the list of Raptive’s affiliated brands into your own affiliate links.
Simply copy the URL of a product you’d like to promote (for example, something off the Target.com website) plop it into the link generator, and within a flash, you’ll be given an affiliate link you can now share on your blog, emails and socials.
The tool also offers handy tracking and reporting features, allowing publishers to see how their links are performing in terms of clicks and revenue.
Conversions will be tracked on your ‘affiliate earnings’ tab on the Raptive dashboard.
The reporting breaks down earnings by source, so you can see whether your blog, email campaigns, or social media posts are bringing in the most conversions. Just make sure you remember to select ‘website’ ’email’ or ‘social’ when generating your links.
This helps you fine-tune your monetization strategy by focusing on what’s working best for your audience.
Raptive Link Monetizerer: How To Use It
Ever wish you could make more money from the links already in your blog posts without doing any extra work?
That’s exactly what Raptive’s Link Monetizer does. It finds product links on your site, automatically turns them into affiliate links, and helps you earn commissions when readers buy from your favorite retailers.
Now – this tool won’t be for everyone. For example, it’s not one I need personally because I don’t publish any third-party product links on my website unless it’s an affiliate link, already.
But this tool would be good for someone who does have unaffiliated links on their site.
If that sounds like you – listen up! Here’s how it works.
Let’s say you’ve got a blog, you’ve got traffic, and maybe you’ve even sprinkled in some product links. But what if those links could start earning you extra cash without lifting a finger? That’s where Raptive’s Link Monetizer steps in.
It’s like having a behind-the-scenes assistant that takes the product links already on your site and turns them into affiliate links. More money, less work. Sounds like magic, right?
So here’s the basic idea: you let Raptive install the Link Monetizer on your site, and it gets to work immediately by identifying the product links you’ve already included in your content.
Maybe it’s a kitchen gadget you raved about or that game-changing skincare product you swear by, but you didn’t have time to join that product’s affiliate program, so its not making any money currently.
The Link Monetizer automatically transforms those links into affiliate links with merchants you’re partnered with through Raptive.
Every time one of your readers clicks the link and makes a purchase, you earn a commission—without having to manually update every post yourself.
Now, who doesn’t love some good old passive income?
Once the Link Monetizer is installed, you can sit back and let it do its thing. No need to constantly hunt down new affiliate programs or manually swap links in all your blog posts.
The monetizer just works with what you’ve already got, making it the perfect tool if you’re short on time or just don’t want to be bogged down by the nitty-gritty of affiliate marketing.
It’s like having an extra stream of revenue that you don’t have to babysit.
But let’s get real for a second—does it actually make a difference? Well, the key lies in the amount of Raptive’s partnerships.
Although the direct brand partnerships are currently less that 20 at Raptive, there are over 13,000 merchants available via Raptive’s integration with Skimlinks.
So, there’s a good chance the products you’re already linking to are available for affiliate commissions.
This wide network helps ensure that more of your links are turned into money-makers.
It’s pretty satisfying to think about those long-forgotten blog posts quietly churning out income while you’re busy with other things.
Plus, the tool works across all the content you publish. Whether it’s a deep-dive article on the best home organization hacks or a quick recipe post, the Link Monetizer doesn’t discriminate. It finds those product mentions wherever they exist on your site and sets you up to be able to earn money.
When Will Raptive Pay Me My Affiliate Commissions?
When a customer clicks on your link and makes a purchase, it may take some time for your commission to show up. This delay is primarily because merchants often have return policies.
A product might be returned or exchanged, and Raptive waits for the return window to close before finalizing the affiliate revenue.
This means your earnings for a specific purchase might not be finalized for up to 60 days.
Understanding The New Raptive Affiliate Network – Conclusion
At the end of the day, the Raptive affiliate network offers some good options for publishers to make additional money.
The Link Generator tool provides a quick way to make affiliate links manually, while the Link Monetizer offers an effortless way to monetize the content you’ve already created, automatically.
I found that with the exception of a couple of brands, most of the direct partnerships Raptive offers will pay you more via Raptive’s network, than on Impact Radius.
So in my opinion, it’s a win-win: more money for you and more product recommendations for your audience.
The best part? It all happens in the background while you focus on creating content or handling other parts of your business.
So, is it worth a try? If you’re a busy blogger looking for a way to maximize your affiliate income without the hassle, it might just be the tool you’ve been waiting for.
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