Founded in 2003, Bluehost today is one of the world's biggest web hosting and digital solutions providers. Bluehost is also one of the leading open-source HTML providers and is highly reliable and well-trusted among the public and web developers. They have a 10+ year relationship with WordPress, the mega-popular open-source content management system (i.e., blogging website). Bluehost powers over 2 million websites and has a team of 800+ customer support reps helping their customers and affiliate marketers 24/7.
As you probably guessed, Bluehost also has an excellent affiliate marketing program that many consider one of the strongest in the marketplace. Web service and hosting are incredibly popular services that millions need and use, giving affiliate marketers a steady stream of potential new referral customers. Becoming a Bluehost affiliate empowers you to monetize this demand, and the company provides several excellent perks and benefits. Are you an affiliate marketer looking for a new program to add to your portfolio? Maybe you're an affiliate marketing newbie who needs information about the Bluehost affiliate program. Either way, we have the facts and figures you need to make an informed decision below. Read on to discover if Bluehost is the affiliate marketing program you want to create a new income stream.
Like any other affiliate program, the first task you must accomplish to become a Bluehost affiliate is to go to the Bluehost affiliate program page and sign up. Like many of the best affiliate programs, Bluehost's program is run via Impact, a 3rd-party affiliate program provider. Once on their page, you'll be asked to fill in quite a bit of information, which you should have ready. That includes:
• Name, address, and phone number.
• A unique Username
• A unique Password
• Company information
• Your Website
• Your location and timezone
Bluehost is one of the easier affiliate programs in terms of being accepted into their program. They require a website, which you can set up through Bluehost or any other web hosting company. You can also promote Bluehost using social media, email marketing, forums, and several other marketing methods, but a website is still needed.
Although their bar for entry into the affiliate program isn't high, there are a few things you should have before signing up. They include:
• An established website or social media page with traffic.
• Engaging content that attracts traffic to your website, social media, etc.
• Decent SEO skills so you know what keywords are best to attract traffic.
• A professional email address linked to your website.
Bluehost isn't a retail organization like Nike, Walmart, Amazon, and many others. They are a web hosting and digital services company with 100% digital products, which limits what they sell and what you can promote as a Bluehost affiliate. There are three hosting plans that they offer and which you can promote, including:
1. Shared Hosting. This is the basic Bluehost plan used by individuals who want their own website and/or blog.
2. VPS Hosting. VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. This service is thus for larger websites usually owned by businesses, enterprises, and other larger organizations. It comes with more powerful features and benefits.
3. Dedicated Hosting. This is the most expensive digital product Bluehost offers and includes custom-built servers for large organizations with multiple websites. It provides the highest level of service, better uptimes, and the highest power levels.
While they provide different levels of service and hosting capabilities, all three of these plans are similar at their core. The benefit for you as an affiliate is that you can promote them in similar ways and with similar content.
The Bluehost commission structure is one of the best we've seen, with an increasing payout structure that increases as your referral numbers increase. The more referrals you send them (that sign up) in a given month, the higher the payout per referral. Here's how it breaks down:
• 1 to 5 referrals (signups) per month = $65
• 6 to 10 referrals (signups) per month = $75
• 11 to 15 referrals (signups) per month = $100
• 20+ referrals (signups) per month = $120
• 50+ referrals (signups) per month = $150
If you know even a little about affiliate marketing, you'll immediately recognize that Bluehost has a very attractive and profitable commission structure. Compared to, for example, Amazon or Walmart, you could earn substantially more money with substantially fewer referral conversions. Of course, they sell a very specific service (web hosting), so the target market is smaller. However, web hosting is an evergreen product with new potential customers entering daily, so you'll never run out of potential customers.
Making $1000 per month on Bluehost shouldn't be difficult but will take some time and effort. One of the most important aspects is posting regular, engaging content that attracts traffic to your website, blog, or social media (or all three). This step is crucial, as the only way to get referrals is when they click on your website or other affiliate page and, more importantly, click your link to the Bluehost signup page.
In other words, engaging content that is interesting, informative, and persuasive is a must. Without it, you won't see any traffic; without traffic, nobody will click your affiliate link. That's why many affiliate marketers are also excellent content creators. However, if creating excellent content isn't in your wheelhouse of skills, you can subcontract your content to a content creation company (like iWriter). There you can hire top-notch, skilled content writers to provide your content for you.
Below is a breakdown of what you need to do to make $1000 per month as a Bluehost affiliate. We're using their base, $65.00 commission rate so that you get a close approximation of what you'll need. You would need 11 referrals per month to earn $100 per referral. To generate 11 referrals, you would need 1,100 visitors to your website per month and a 1% conversion rate.
• 1100 visitors x 1% conversion rate = 11 sales x $100.00 commission per sale = $1100.00
If you had a 2% conversion rate, you could make over $1000.00 per month, but with only 550 visitors to your website.
• 550 visitors x 2% conversion rate = 11 sales x $100.00 commission per sale = $1100.00
As with any affiliate program, Bluehost has several excellent features and a few drawbacks. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, but, of course, it depends on your personal preference. Here are the best and worst of them:
• $65.00 commission per sale.
• 90-day cookie, which is one of the highest in the marketplace.
• Excellent referral tracking system to ensure you get paid for all referrals.
• Many promotional materials, widgets, banners, etc.
• A dedicated affiliate support team and affiliate manager to help you.
• It's free to join.
• Low barrier of entry. (All you need is a website.)
• Officially recommended by WordPress.
• Discount coupons to increase conversions.
• Last click referrals.
• Downgrade penalties if referral changes their plan.
• Must have PayPal to get paid.
• Bluehost doesn't allow heavy promotion via social media.
There are quite a few web hosting companies out there, no question. Their affiliate marketing programs are similar but offer different commissions, cookies, perks, and bonuses. Before signing up with any of them, it's recommended to perform your due diligence so that you know what they require. Some of the best include:
• Ghost
• DreamHost
• HostGator
• GoDaddy
• HostArmada
• TMD Hosting
Bluehost offers one of the most impressive affiliate programs we've seen, and we've seen many of them. Their commission rates are excellent, their product is one of the best in the industry, and their barrier of entry is one of the easiest to hurdle. If you plan to start a blog, website, or social media page that concentrates on web hosting services, you will do well to consider becoming a Bluehost affiliate. They provide all the tools you need, plus a top-notch support team. Whether you're an experienced affiliate marketer or just getting started, Bluehost is one affiliate program that deserves your attention. Evergreen, well-respected and dedicated to its affiliates, Bluehost provides an excellent opportunity to generate a new income stream.