The Target affiliate program is a program that may interest you if you are an affiliate marketer that promotes physical products.
In this review, I will show you all that the program entails for you to decide on whether to give it a shot or not.
There’s still the Target affiliate program.
For non-Americans, Target is an “everything” store.
They sell all sorts of things like electronics, movies, books, household essentials, baby products, health and beauty products, toys, school and office supplies, and many others.
Almost anyone can find a niche to promote amongst all these goods. But, there are a few things you should know before you decide whether the Target affiliate program is for you.
What Products Does Target Offer?
Target differs from other stores like Amazon in that they sell mostly physical goods.
They don’t sell online, soft copy products that can be downloaded.
Even products like books, movies, and music have to be delivered physically, or your audience must choose a store to receive it from.
If you’ve never promoted physical goods and you have a niche dedicated to products that can be bought and delivered electronically, you might have little challenges promoting Target’s goods.
Target has goods from the following categories:
- Grocery
- Household essentials
- Women
- Men
- Young adult
- Kids
- Baby
- Shoes
- Home
- Furniture
- Kitchen & Dining
- Patio & Garden
- Toys
- Electronics
- Video games
- Movies, music & and books
- Character shop
- Sports & Outdoors
- Beauty
- Personal Care
- Health
- Pets
- Luggage
- School & Office Supplies
- Bullseye’s Playground
- Party Supplies
- Gift Cards.
If you have a niche in one of the categories listed above, then you may be a shoo-in for the Target affiliate program.
However, it’s not a sure bet.
There are still some ifs and buts when it comes to commission rates.
How Does The Target Affiliate Program Work?
The Target affiliate program works by allowing interested affiliates to join the program, promote their products, and earn a percentage of each sale made through their affiliate links as a commission.
The program has a cookie duration of seven days. If a person buys a product from Target via your affiliate link and the same person buys another product within the cookie’s duration, you’ll still get a commission on what they bought even if they don’t use your link.
This 7-day cookie duration may seem quite small, but compared to Amazon’s 24 hours and Walmart’s three days, it’s almost a boon.
A cookie is a tracker that a website places on an individual’s device once they visit their website.
In affiliate marketing, the duration of a cookie (how long it’ll stay on a person’s device) is vital because a longer duration means a chance of a greater payout.
Target Affiliate Program Commission Structure
The Target affiliate commission’s structure is run like most stores of its caliber.
The target affiliate commission rates from goods sold by affiliate members are tiered and depend on both volume and the kind of goods being sold.
Yes, you read that right.
Not every category in Target earns money. There are only four categories that can earn you money. The amount of money you earn per unit sold is based on how much you’ve sold cumulatively.
All the stores have different commission rates at every stage.
1. Apparel & Accessories:
This category includes everything to do with clothing (men, women, and young adults), jewelry, and any other type of adornment.
The starting commission rate for this category is 5%.
Once you’ve sold your 11th unit, you’ll be bumped up to 6%. From your 51st unit to the 300th unit, you get 6.59%.
It goes on in that manner with a 25% increase when you meet a predetermined number of sales.
If you’re a bit confused, don’t fret, I’ll list out the commissions and rates for you.
- 0-10 = 5%
- 11-50 = 6%
- 51-300 = 6.5%
- 301-1000 = 7%
- 1001-2000 = 7.25%
- 2001-4000 = 7.5%
- 4001-10000 = 7.75%
- 10000+ = 8%
2. Home & Outdoor Living:
As a Target affiliate member, if you choose this category as your niche, please take note that home and outdoor living do not include items from household commodities and essentials.
The latter is an excluded category. However, you can make up to 8% in this category as well.
- 0-10 = 5%
- 11-50 = 6%
- 51-300 = 6.5%
- 301-1000 = 7%
- 1001-2000 = 7.25%
- 2001-4000 = 7.5%
- 4001-10000 = 7.75%
- 10000+ = 8%
3. Baby Gear & Furniture:
The commissions for this category aren’t that great; they peak at 5%.
- 0-10 = 3%
- 11-50 = 3.5%
- 51-300 = 3.75%
- 301-1000 = 4%
- 1001-2000 = 4.25%
- 2001-4000 = 4.5%
- 4001-10000 = 4.75%
- 10000+ = 5%
4. Health & Beauty:
This is the lowest-paying category in the Target affiliate program.
All sales on health and beauty products only get a 1% commission.
Because there are so many products in this category and lots of price competition, this category may not yield profits at all.
Target’s affiliate program also runs a system of bonuses.
If someone creates a wedding, college, or baby registry through your affiliate link, you’ll get a bonus.
For more information on that, you can go to the Target affiliate program’s official website.
How to Use Target Affiliate Program to Make Money
The best way to use the Target affiliate program to make money is to build a niche blog/website around one of Target’s top-earning categories.
You will need to start by writing informative content that promotes products within one of the subcategories of that category, link these contents together whenever possible, and gradually expand to other subcategories.
Building a website around one of Target’s categories with a high commission rate will make it easier to get the maximum income obtainable from the Target affiliate program.
And on the other hand, you still have the freedom to promote similar products from other affiliate programs like Walmart and Amazon.
Do Target Affiliates Get Materials for Marketing?
Unlike the Walmart affiliate program, I’m happy to say that, yes, Target does offer promotional materials for marketing.
They offer materials like banners, widgets, etc., that you can creatively work into your promotions for added impact.
There are hundreds of these materials, and they are constantly updated to keep up with any sales, promotions, or new items to attract even more sales and boost your income.
The banners come in many different sizes so you can choose the size you want to get the effect you want.
Help for Target’s Affiliate Members
In addition to providing promotional materials for you, Target’s affiliate program also has a responsive team dedicated to answering any questions affiliate members might have.
They’re quick to respond to any question, so you don’t have to spend hours waiting.
This is an awesome step up from other affiliate programs like Walmart’s and JCPenney’s, which don’t have any teams responsible for answering affiliate members’ questions.
Now let’s round off this Target affiliate review by looking at what’s great and what’s not-so-great about the program.
Advantages of the Target affiliate program
1. Target Affiliate Signup is easy:
Applying for Target’s affiliate program is very straightforward.
All you need to do is fill in some information about yourself and the websites you’ll be using to promote Target.
You can enter as many websites as you want.
Target isn’t very strict on application processes. As far as your website isn’t also promoting anything illegal, and your audience is primarily US-based, you should be approved.
2. Product variety:
Within the categories that produce commissions are hundreds of niche products.
If you search properly, Target will probably have something you can promote.
3. Brand Identity:
Target isn’t a newbie company.
They’re well-known within the United States and already have a reputation for quality goods.
And they already have loyal customers, so you don’t have to do a lot of convincing.
4. Fair Cookie Duration:
Target’s affiliate program has a seven-day long cookie duration.
This period gives a fair amount of time to earn commissions on multiple purchases made by one individual.
5. Fair Commission Rates:
Compared to commission rates offered by the competition, Target’s affiliate program might be one of the best available today.
The tiered rates also offer a challenge and chance of improvement for affiliates.
6. Promotional Materials:
There are hundreds of promotional materials like banners and widgets available for placement by affiliates.
7. Management Team:
There’s a management team dedicated to answering affiliate members’ questions.
Disadvantages
1. Commission rates are still low:
Target’s commission rates might be great for a general store, but it’s still a far cry from a top-tier affiliate program’s commission.
2. The program is restricted to the US:
Since Target does not ship outside the US, the program can only be directed to a United States audience.
3. Lower conversions:
Compared to some of its competitors, Target’s conversation rates aren’t that high.
So, Is the Target Affiliate Program for You?
A few years ago, there might’ve been several more variables to consider.
But since Amazon has decided to slash its commission rates, Target might be your best bet when it comes to earning proper income from affiliate marketing.
However, there are cases when it’s far more profitable elsewhere.
For instance, if your niche is health and beauty, I would not advise you to apply for Target’s affiliate program.
Joining affiliate programs like Clickbank will be a better option for you.
If your niche isn’t under apparel, home/outdoor, accessories, or baby products, you won’t make money off of Target.
But, if your audience is based mainly in the US, your niche is under the above categories, and you refer a lot of sales each month, then Target might just be your cash cow.
Conclusion
Thanks to the coronavirus, income from the Amazon affiliate program has been slashed drastically.
However, there’s still the Target affiliate program to help you make decent commissions.
There are hopes that Amazon, Walmart, and other general stores will restore their affiliate programs once the crisis is over, but until then, there’s enough of Target to go round.
