The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Shopify Affiliate Marketing Apps

As a fellow Shopify store owner, I know you‘re always looking for effective ways to boost revenue. And one proven strategy is to launch an affiliate marketing program.

But getting started and managing affiliations can be daunting.

The good news is there are tons of great apps available that automate the busywork and help you run an optimized affiliate program.

In this comprehensive 2,200+ word guide, we‘ll explore:

How affiliate marketing works and proven benefits
The top Shopify affiliate app options
Key features and capabilities to look for
Pricing models across solutions
Tips for maximizing affiliate program success

By the end, you‘ll have the knowledge to pick the best affiliate app for your Shopify store goals and budget.

Let‘s dive in!

Why Affiliate Marketing is Effective for Shopify Stores

First, what exactly is affiliate marketing and why should you consider it?

![infographic on affiliate marketing]

Affiliate marketing is where external partners ("affiliates") earn commissions for promoting a brand‘s products and driving measurable actions like sales, leads, or app installs.

It‘s a performance-based arrangement where affiliates only get paid when their marketing efforts generate concrete business results.

For Shopify brands, setting up an affiliate program has many advantages:

1. Gain a wider audience reach

Affiliates already have their own audiences and platforms. By enlisting affiliates, you expand your brand exposure through:

Affiliate websites and blogs
Social media platforms
Email lists and newsletters
Loyal follower networks

This allows you to tap into new potential customers at scale without major upfront costs. According to recent surveys, over 80% of brands see increased traffic from affiliate partnerships.

2. Benefit from influencer marketing

Influencers with large engaged followings are ideal affiliates. Their recommendations add credibility and convert at high rates.

Shopify research shows influencers drive 20X more conversions per click compared to standard ads. Even micro and nano influencers generate substantial exposure and sales via organic promotions.

3. Only pay on performance

Unlike display ads, you don‘t pay affiliates anything unless they actually generate sales. Fees are only a percentage of confirmed revenue they earn you.

This makes affiliate marketing extremely cost-efficient. Many brands achieve over 2X return on investment (ROI) from affiliate spend. There‘s little risk, and infinite upside as your program scales.

4. Gain actionable performance data

Robust affiliate apps provide real-time tracking and analytics on actions taken through each affiliate link.

This performance data helps identify your best converting affiliates and content partnerships to optimize over time.

5. Recurring revenue from loyal affiliates

Once affiliates are earning consistent commissions driving online sales for your brand, they are highly incentivized to keep promoting you.

Many affiliates end up driving recurring revenue month after month. Data shows over 85% of brands see increased sales the longer they run and optimize an affiliate program.

Based on these powerful benefits, it‘s no surprise that affiliate marketing spending surpassed $12 billion in 2022 alone.

Now let‘s explore top affiliate app options that make launching and managing a Shopify affiliate program smooth and successful.

Refersion – Most Popular All-in-One Affiliate Software

![Refersion dashboard screenshot]

Refersion is arguably the most well-known all-in-one affiliate platform designed specifically for Shopify.

Over 50,000 brands use Refersion to automate and optimize their in-house affiliate programs.

With Refersion you can:

Set up your program in minutes – Great templates and settings make launch fast and easy
Generate automated links and promo codes – Hassle-free tools to provide assets to affiliates
Offer flexible commission structures – Set custom rates and minimums per product/category
Automate payments – Pay affiliates automatically when thresholds are reached
Track and report on performance – See clicks, sales, revenue for each affiliate
Manage communications – Send alerts, reminders, and payments within one dashboard

Refersion basically removes all the complicated manual work involved with running an affiliate program, so you can focus on recruiting great affiliates and growing the channel.

And their forever free Starter plan makes it easy to test out the software at no cost up to 500 monthly conversions.

For larger businesses, Growth and Scale packages add advanced capabilities like multi-user access, custom affiliate portals, and priority support.

Overall if you want a trusted turnkey affiliate management solution, Refersion is a top choice. Their seamless Shopify integration and powerful tracking tools justify the minimal costs for most merchants.

PartnerStack – Streamlined Influencer and Affiliate Manager

![PartnerStack dashboard screenshot]

Influencer marketing is an immense opportunity within affiliate partnerships. But collaborating with influencers poses unique challenges.

That‘s where a platform like PartnerStack shines – by automating and optimizing influencer affiliate relationships at scale.

PartnerStack makes it simple to:

Discover and vet influencers – Search profiles and easily manage outreach
Send free products – Fuel great content by shipping complimentary samples
Track results – Monitor engagement, impressions, sales per influencer
Pay commissions – Set rules to automatically pay upon milestones
Manage workflows – Collaboration made easy with their consolidated inbox

And their tools aren‘t just for influencers – PartnerStack facilitates streamlined management for any type of affiliate.

Their affiliate platform helps you stay compliant, with capabilities like fraud monitoring, takedown workflows, and payment processing.

Robust analytics provide visibility into your highest converting partnerships and campaign performance. This helps you double down on what‘s working well.

Pricing starts at $99/month for the Pro plan, with enterprise options for more users, capabilities, and volume. They offer a free 14-day trial to experience the platform.

For brands investing heavily in influencer and affiliate partnerships, PartnerStack is a powerful solution.

Post Affiliate Pro – Affiliate Tracking Software

While PartnerStack provides great marketing workflow features, Post Affiliate Pro takes a more specialized angle – offering unparalleled tracking and attribution capabilities.

Post Affiliate Pro is designed for larger affiliate programs and provides enterprise-grade tracking, including:

Pixel tracking – Monitor clicks from any web page in real-time
Conversions API – Track actions beyond just sales like email signups
Lifetime cookies – Attribute late conversions days or weeks after a click
Fraud scoring – Identify and block potential affiliate fraud
Automated payouts – Pay commissions automatically upon defined events
Custom portals – Give affiliates their own interface to access promo materials and view performance

Post Affiliate Pro integrates directly with Shopify to pull in customer order data to accurately calculate commissions owed.

Their advanced tracking provides transparency into your earnings so you only pay affiliates for legitimate actions driven. No more overpaying on invalid clicks or sketchy sales.

This level of tracking complexity does come at a price – plans start at $199/month for up to 50,000 clicks, with enterprise options for larger volumes.

For high-volume affiliate programs, Post Affiliate Pro is likely the best solution available today. Their specialized capabilities justify the higher costs for big brands optimizing large partnerships.

Tapfiliate – Robust Tracking and Attribution

Another great option focused purely on granular tracking and attribution is Tapfiliate.

While a bit lesser known than Post Affiliate Pro, Tapfiliate offers similarly advanced tracking tailored for enterprise Shopify affiliate programs.

Notable features include:

Sophisticated attribution modeling – Accurately assign conversion value across multiple affiliates who contributed
Anti-fraud tools – Detect and block BOT traffic, suspicious clicks, etc
Automated payout processing – Directly deposit owed commissions into PayPal
Pixel tracking – Monitor engagement on websites/blogs driving actions
Custom affiliate portals – Give affiliates access to view their performance
Real-time dashboard – Monitor your program’s performance from one central console

Tapfiliate provides transparency and control over your earnings. Their platform ensures you‘re only rewarding affiliates for the true value they provide.

Like Post Affiliate Pro, Tapfiliate offers custom enterprise pricing for high-volume programs starting around $999/month.

For big brands spending over 6-figures a year on commissions, the investment pays dividends through the visibility and fraud prevention Tapfiliate enables.

Shoutcart – Influencer Affiliate Manager

Let‘s shift gears to a niche solution purpose-built for streamlining influencer marketing campaigns.

Shoutcart provides powerful tools to automate discovering and collaborating with influencers – making it perfect for affiliate partnerships.

With Shoutcart, brands can easily:

Discover influencers – Search profiles or get matched based on your niche
Send products – Provide complimentary samples to fuel content
Track mentions – Monitor engagement and impressions across posts
Pay commissions – Set rules to pay affiliates upon defined events
Manage workflows – Consolidated inbox for every relationship

Removing manual processes allows brands to scale one-to-one influencer partnerships exponentially.

And their recent Shopify acquisition means Shoutcart will only get more seamlessly integrated into the commerce platform over time.

Pricing starts at $49/month for core features, up to custom enterprise plans. They also offer a free 14-day trial.

For brands committed to investing in influencer marketing, Shoutcart is a game changer – empowering you to streamline hundreds of affiliate partnerships simultaneously.

Affiliate Marketing Pricing Comparison

Choosing the right platform comes down to finding the best match for your business goals, size, and budget. Here‘s a pricing comparison across some of the top contending solutions:

App	Pricing
Refersion	Free Starter plan, Growth $39/mo, Scale $99/mo
PartnerStack	Pro $99/mo, Growth $249/mo, Enterprise custom
Post Affiliate Pro	Starter $199/mo, Professional $499/mo, Enterprise custom
Tapfiliate	Custom enterprise pricing, approx. $999/mo starting
Shoutcart	Starter $49/mo, Team $99/mo, Enterprise custom
AffiliateWP	Basic: $99/year, Professional: $199/year, Ultimate: $299/year

As you can see there are quality options at various budgets. I‘d recommend considering:

Refersion or AffiliateWP for most small/medium Shopify brands
PartnerStack for mid-market stores investing in influencers
Post Affiliate Pro or Tapfiliate for established companies with large programs

Evaluate your needs, volume expectations, and opportunity cost. With the right solution, your ROI should far outweigh the platform fees.

Expert Tips to Maximize Affiliate Program Success

Selecting the right software is an excellent first step. But maximizing your earnings long-term also requires nailing execution.

Here are some pro tips I‘ve learned over the years:

Offer generous commission rates

Don‘t be afraid to share the wealth – affiliates want high payouts to make the effort worthwhile. Consider 40-50% for new products needing exposure.

Recruit selectively

Target affiliates already vested in your niche – not just ad farms. Reach out personally expressing why it‘s a valuable opportunity for both parties.

Make it effortless for affiliates by providing pre-made text, banners, images and anything else they need.

Pay quickly and consistently

Affiliates will be more loyal if you establish a track record of on-time commission payments. Automate it!

Monitor closely for fraud

Use pixel tracking and scripts that detect fake traffic. Stop rewarding bad actors early.

Communicate and optimize

Check in regularly with top affiliates – ask their perspective on what‘s working and how you can support further.

Following these tips will help you build authentic and lasting partnerships with affiliates who become advocates for your brand over the long-term.

Take the Next Step with Affiliate Marketing

I hope this guide provided you a comprehensive overview of the benefits of launching a Shopify affiliate program and the tools available to maximize your success.

My key recommendations based on your store size:

Early stage – Start with Refersion‘s free plan to test affiliate marketing
Mid-market business – Invest in PartnerStack for influencer growth
High-volume program – Leverage Post Affiliate Pro‘s robust tracking capabilities

Set aside some time this week to start researching potential affiliates and reach out to invite them aboard!

The minimal upfront effort is well worth it for the passive growth, new audiences, and potential recurring revenue affiliates can drive.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I‘m always happy to share insights on scaling revenue and partnerships as a fellow Shopify merchant.

Excited to see your affiliate program take off!