Should You Chase Big or Small Affiliate Commission

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Is It Even a Question?

To those new to affiliate marketing, it must seem like the silliest question going. There are affiliate marketing opportunities with commission rates that give you pennies per action, and there are some that can literally earn you hundreds of pounds each time someone makes a purchase. Why would anyone go for the one that pays so little? Well the longer you’ve been in the affiliate marketing game, the more you’d understand the value of diversifying your portfolio and adapting to the market conditions.

A lot of factors will determine whether it makes sense to focus your time or attention on one end of the scale or the other. The most important are experience, time and your budget. Let’s deep dive into both, before you decide which affiliate marketing path you decide to take.

Why Chase the Small Affiliate Commission?

I would say that small affiliate commission is anything that earns you a few pounds or less per action/purchase. There are some that will pay you pennies for getting people to sign up to a newsletter, and there are some that pay a few pounds as a kickback for referring a customer. These are the reasons smaller commissions may be worth pursuing:

Experienced affiliates tend to avoid them
Little/no budget required
Able to front-load work and reap rewards long into the future
Commission can be generated on the fly, rather than with big projects
Requires a much lower skillset
Easy to earn first commission

There’s an affiliate scheme for everything these days, and there are positives and negatives that come along with this.

Why Chase the Big Affiliate Commission?

In my opinion a large affiliate commission is anything that pays out over £20 per action. I will lump subscriptions into this box too, as it’s easy for smaller monthly hits to surpass that sum. These are the reasons this direction may be worth your time:

Time/budget barrier means less competition
Able to front-load work and reap rewards long into the future
Specialist skills/knowledge may be required, favouring those with niche interests
High pay outs mean you can reinvest much sooner
Subscription-based consistent monthly earning is a possibility

What’s Your Plan from Here?

I would say that there’s no point in limiting yourself to one or the other, especially when you’re new to affiliate marketing. Now you know the limitations and difficulties of each, it’s up to you whether you think that the risk is worth going for it regardless.

In my journey, I opted for the small commission at first to build up my confidence, before I applied the knowledge I’d acquired to shoot for more lucrative, higher-paying opportunities. I’d say that earning your first affiliate sale is such a big milestone, and it’s a lot easier to generate it when you’re attempting to earn at the lower end of the scale.